NIS America Brings a Unique Philosophy to Anime
Known for publishing very Japanese video games in the United States, some might not know that NIS America recently got into the anime business. After a year of growing pains, NIS hosted their anime panel in ways that you wouldn’t expect from corporate PR; humble, upfront and honest. So what goes into bringing an anime to America from NIS?
1. It has to be silly.
There are enough serious, violent anime series out there. In order to stand out, the series they bring over have to be fun, weird and over the top! To convey that spirit, the head of the localization team and one of the heads of the division came out dressed up as a star and a kappa. Now come on, who wouldn’t trust a man in green?
2. It has to be story driven.
Most of the mainstream anime use story as a background device to give an excuse for the action, but not if it’s coming over from NIS. Each of its properties must have story as the driving force to keep viewers on the edge of their seats until the next release comes out.
3. Japanese popularity isn’t a factor.
It seems like not taking popularity from its home land into account might be a mistake, but the panel put it pretty well. What’s popular and appealing to Japanese audiences won’t always be received as well worldwide. So they look at each property individually and choose the ones that they think will make them the most money overseas. Yes, they said that. An executive being upfront and honest? Who would have thought!
4. No dubbing.
No, it’s not because they have any kind of problem with localizing the product or because they’re afraid of dubbed voices ruining the “sacred” original version. It’s because it costs a lot to dub and they want to maximize profits, plain and simple. Wow, more honesty. Thanks for being upfront, but that sucks for the dubbing community.
5. No fanservice.
Oh, fanservice, the one part of anime that makes me embarassed to be an anime fan. NIS America doesn’t want anything distracting or unnecessary taking away from the stories they bring over, so they try to avoid anime with a large amount of panty shots and giant, jiggly boobs. It’s ok though, we were assured that the men on the panel in fact, love boobs.
No boob sniping at NIS.
At the close of the panel, we were treated to teaser trailers for two new properties coming in the near future. Enjoy!
Kimi Ni Todoke:
Dororon Enma-Kun Meeramera:
For more information on NIS America, visit www.nisamerica.com
