DBZ Uncensored: Take Ten With FUNimation

Take Ten With FUNimation

Reprinted from Animerica magazine, Vol. 4, No.11 (November 1996) This article appears for informational purposes only.
The following interview is a little old, but it's still quite valuable and interesting; it is one of the very few available public statements from FUNimation about their version of Dragon Ball Z. It provides a rare opportunity to get inside the heads of the executive producers, and it is very illuminating as to where they're coming from, how they perceive things, and what their goals are.
I had some trouble deciding how exactly to present this interview. Of course I've got PLENTY to say to just about every one of their statements, and feel that it's perfectly OK to do so. To comment on the Peter Kelamis interview would have been incredibly rude since he was nice enough to interview for me specifically. But this case is a little different. It's merely a reprint, so I have no qualms about picking it apart word by word. Originally, I was going to put my comments underneath each answer, but there are many of you who simply want to read the interview without my smart ass remarks getting in the way. Ultimately I decided to have the interview appear as-is first, and following that, the thrashing.
So, without further ado, "Take Ten With FUNimation."

In Japan, Dragon Ball has been one of the anime/manga world's greatest success stories for years, but here in America, it's only just arrived. In this exclusive mini-interview, Animerica goes behind the scenes at San Jose-based FUNimation Productions and talks to Gen and Cindy Fukunaga, the husband and wife team heading Dragon Ball's U.S. production, to get the real story behind Dragon Ball's journey west.
NOTE: [CBF]: Cindy Brennan Fukunaga; [GF]: Gen Fukunaga.

What made you want to bring the Dragon Ball series to America? Were you a fan of the series before you began working on it?

We definetely were familiar with Dragon Ball, and were fans of it, and knew of its huge popularity. We'd been told, actually, that here was this number-one hit show in Japan, the most popular ever, and that it hadn't yet come to the U.S. So we actually went in search of it to find out why, and to try and bring it over ourselves. My husband, Gen, is an American, but he's of Japanese heritage, and he's very familiar with the Japanese shows. He went back and lived over there in the eighth grade, and just loved the Japanese animation style. It's gorgeous work. [CBF]

So why hasn't Dragon Ball been brought to the U.S. before now?

Basically, Toei, which is the shows' anime producer, together with Shueisha, its manga publisher, and Akira Toriyama, the creator, all really wanted to make sure that they found a company who would treat the property properly. Because it is their flagship property, after all, and it's dear to their hearts, in more ways than one. They wanted to make sure it was treated properly in the U.S. We try really, really hard. Obviously we have to censor it somewhat for the U.S. market, in order to meet broadcast standards, but we're very careful to try and keep the stuff that really made the series great. So we stay true to the characters and the storylines, because they're fabulous. [CBF]

Why did you decide to skip ahead to Dragon Ball Z for this fall's TV season? In other words, why did you decide not to continue producing English episodes of the earlier, first series? Do you ever intend to go back and fill in some of the Dragon Ball episodes you skipped, perhaps for home video?

It was a combination of factors-it doesn't mean that we'll never go back and do Dragon Ball again-'cause we may go back later and re-introduce Dragon Ball. But Dragon Ball Z is much more action-packed, and so in some ways it's a really good fit for the U.S. market today. Our desire would be not to do the other Dragon Ball episodes for video release only, but rather to have them appear on television. [CBF]

What challenges did you face in adapting Dragon Ball for U.S. television? Did television broadcast rules demand a lot of editing in the story?

Actually, one of the things that the censoring body told us they considered to be really good about the show is that, often, in U.S. televsion episodes, there may be a suspenseful moment, but twenty minures later the problem's solved and everything turns out all right. In Dragon Ball, however, sometimes you have to wait until the next episode. It's just like real life-things aren't always solved in twenty minutes. [LAUGHS] It's a valuable lesson for kids to learn, even besides the good-vs.-evil values of the show. [CBF]

Would you say that Dragon Ball Z was harder to adapt to U.S. TV than Dragon Ball, or would you say that it was easier?

That's probably a question that our producer should anser, but I myself don't see a great deal of difference in difficulty. [CBF]

Can you tell us about the digital effects used for some scenes, such as Goku's "digital underwear"? Were these effects very expensive? What made you decide to do it this way?

You know, it really is expensive. That work is done in our Texas studios, and basically what it consists of is altering the image, one frame at a time. And so, even though it's expensive, we had reached the point in a lot of cases where there were things that weren't acceptable for U.S. children's television, and it was either edit it, slash it out, or redo it. Most of the time, we just ended up going with the extra expense and effort, and employed people to just sit there and sigitally "paint," frame-by-frame. [CBF]

Will the Japanese theme song be included at all in the U.S. broadcast of Dragon Ball Z? If not, how did you decide what type of music would be used?

No, we composed a new theme. It was done in Los Angeles. It's a very distinctive sound, and I'm told it's of the sort that's very popular among American children right now. [CBF]

Since there are literally hundreds of episodes of Dragon Ball Z, may we ask how many episodes of Dragon Ball Z you're planning to produce? Will you be looking for complete "story arcs"? If so, which ones?

We're producing 26 for the first season, and we intend to continue production; we'll probably do 26 for next season, as well. I don't know if we've made a firm commitment to next season as yet. Actually, we are producing them in the same order in which the original Dragon Ball Z aired, since it's a continuing saga, so... [CBF]
The first "arc" will essentially be the first storyline of the original series, where the basic nemesis of Vegeta is introduced, along with his henchman Nappa, concluding with their big battle. We'll have improved syndication this time through Saban TV, which means easier clearances, better timeslots, and broader coverage nationwide. As of now, we have 88% of the country covered. [GF]

How would you say Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z differ from American animation?

One of the things we really feel is that it's unique. For most American cartoons, you can look at it, and say that it's just like five others, but we think that Dragon Ball is actually unique because the characters and story are so wonderfully drawn and have depth to them. It's a true epic that goes on and on; you meet Goku in Dragon Ball and he's a small boy, but then he grows up and has children of his own. There's a history and richness that I think you have a hard time finding in American shows. [CBF]

Will you be releasing any of the Dragon Ball movies or TV specials? Any chance of releasing any of them theatrically? How about the current merchandise plans?

We'd very much like to, but we don't know our exact plans right now. It's certainly a desire of ours. They're wonderfully done, and we would certainly have an audience for them, based on the television show. We've got our first TV videos in the stores right now. We've produced a "style guide," using original Dragon Ball art done for us by Toei, which gives the manufactureers guidelines for producing merchandise-to know what the character look like, how they act and move. We're very particular that our licensees, when making Dragon Ball products, have to stay true to the original artwork. They can re-draw the character, obviously, but what they come up with has to have a realistic pose and look accurate. A lot of time when people make toys and so forth based on animated shows, they really change the look of the character, and that's not right, is it? [LAUGHS] [CBF]
For the purposes of merchandising, Nielsen ratings, and advertisements, we're targeting mainly 6-to-11 year old boys. But we also found, during our broadcast of the first Dragon Ball, that it was doing quite well with men, too, all the way up into their mid-20s. The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target; in actuality, the characters are fairly deep. It's comparacble to a number of comic books these days that are read by a higher age group than kids. We intend to leave in that depth of story and character that was present in the Japanese original. [GF]

Ah, such GREAT guys, aren't they? They obviously care deeply about DBZ. (Yep, Chris is in one of those moods, this is going to get ugly.)
Let's go back to the beginning:
"We definetely were familiar with Dragon Ball, and were fans of it, and knew of its huge popularity."
(Snicker) Oh pardon me, you were saying how you were such big FANS. Obviously. Do go on...
"Toei, which is the shows' anime producer, together with Shueisha, its manga publisher, and Akira Toriyama, the creator, all really wanted to make sure that they found a company who would treat the property properly."
It's too bad they never found one, isn't it?
"We try really, really hard. Obviously we have to censor it somewhat for the U.S. market, in order to meet broadcast standards, but we're very careful to try and keep the stuff that really made the series great."
Oh, like the music? The dialogue? The voices? Yeah, you definetely tried really, really hard. Really hard to change them. It was most certainly necessary to change all that to meet broadcast standards, wasn't it?
"Dragon Ball Z is much more action-packed, and so in some ways it's a really good fit for the U.S. market today."
Translation: "We weren't making enough money off of Dragon Ball, so to HFIL with the story! The viewers don't need any of that!"
"We had reached the point in a lot of cases where there were things that weren't acceptable for U.S. children's television, and it was either edit it, slash it out, or redo it. Most of the time, we just ended up going with the extra expense and effort, and employed people to just sit there and sigitally 'paint,' frame-by-frame."
Thank goodness! You might have had to cut out that oh-so-important filler episode where Goku goes to Hell! And then... we would have never known that the place is REALLY called HFIL! I'm sure keeping people employed and showing off your innovative technique had nothing to do with it, either. You were just trying to preserve the artistic integrity of the show.
"We composed a new theme. It was done in Los Angeles. It's a very distinctive sound, and I'm told it's of the sort that's very popular among American children right now."
Ah, yes. This must be you "trying really, really hard" again. And that "distinctive sound" is called crappiness. And if it's so popular, then why is it that, almost without exception, the original theme is preferred far and away over "Rock the Dragon?" (Look at the Opinion essays if you want proof.) Have you ever ASKED the viewers which they would like better?
"We're producing 26 for the first season, and we intend to continue production; we'll probably do 26 for next season, as well."
I'll just continue this for them: "Yes, and zero episodes for the season after that. Our plan is to stretch the series out so that it won't be finished for 27 years."
"We'll have improved syndication this time through Saban TV, which means easier clearances, better timeslots, and broader coverage nationwide."
Once again, they're leaving a few things out: "Also, Saban is going to make us kiddify the show to a ridiculous extent, but hey! Coverage, timeslots, and ratings matter more to us than the degree of censorship."
"One of the things we really feel is that it's unique. For most American cartoons, you can look at it, and say that it's just like five others, but we think that Dragon Ball is actually unique"
Oh, OK. So THAT'S why you chose to change the theme song to one of "the sort that's very popular among American children right now." That will really allow its "uniqueness" to shine through. And the background music! Yeah, that Japanese stuff just sounds too much like everything else out there. Oh, and by the way guys, I really liked the American DBZ score the first time I heard it: WHEN IT WAS USED IN POWER RANGERS!
"We're very particular that our licensees, when making Dragon Ball products, have to stay true to the original artwork. They can re-draw the character, obviously, but what they come up with has to have a realistic pose and look accurate."
Oh yeah, those Bandai figures looked MARVELOUS! SSJ Goku often looks constipated in the show, too. And those cotton candy balls that the figures came with were a stroke of genius.
"For the purposes of merchandising, Nielsen ratings, and advertisements, we're targeting mainly 6-to-11 year old boys. But we also found, during our broadcast of the first Dragon Ball, that it was doing quite well with men, too, all the way up into their mid-20s. The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target; in actuality, the characters are fairly deep."
HUH? Let me get this straight. You're targeting young boys, even though "The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target." Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And there's that "trying really, really hard" thing again! "In actuality, the characters are fairly deep," but it's a good thing you took all of that out, isn't it?
"We intend to leave in that depth of story and character that was present in the Japanese original."
I intended to win 40 million dollars in the lottery yesterday, but that didn't happen, either. I know how that "intention" thing can be.
Alright, I'm done.
So I'm a bitter, sarcastic little asshole, I know. But does anyone else see the inherent contradiction between everything they say here and everything they actually did? Even WITHIN THIS INTERVIEW they are contradicting themselves! I know my sarcasm sounds mean-spirited, but this whole thing just drips with insincerity, and I don't see ANY of their statements being backed up with real actions. This is PR for the fans, and nothing more. I don't think they're out and out LYING about anything, but I just don't feel like they are being completely honest, either.
Obviously, neither of them are big anime (or Dragon Ball) fans. "My husband, Gen, is an American, but he's of Japanese heritage, and he's very familiar with the Japanese shows. He went back and lived over there in the eighth grade, and just loved the Japanese animation style. It's gorgeous work." Oh, the eighth grade? And how long ago was that? I'm sure he could probably tell us all a lot about Speed Racer and Astro Boy. And what about you, Cindy? What are your favorite shows? Directors? Styles? Genres? Do you know anything whatsoever about anime? Or is it just "gorgeous work" to you?
I bring this up because it is essential that one be an anime fan, and a knowledgeable one, in order to deal with it properly when translating to English. Mr. and Mrs. Fukunaga suggest quite the opposite.
And as far as Dragon Ball is concerned, if you pay attention to the way they present themselves it's obvious that they simply aren't fans of the show in the otaku sense, which is also very necessary for anyone in their position. There's very little depth to anything they say, it's all just rhetoric. If I asked either of them what their favorite scenes in the series are, or which of the movies/TV specials stays truest to the spirit of the original manga, or any number of other questions that a real fan would take five minutes answering, I have a feeling that I'd receive a blank stare in reply.
Well, that's about it. And if the two of you are out there and feel that I've been unfair, let me know! I'll take back everything I said if you've got the right argument.

*Take Ten With FUNimation*
*Reprinted from Animerica magazine, Vol. 4, No.11 (November 1996) This article appears for informational purposes only.* The following interview is a little old, but it's still quite valuable and interesting; it is one of the very few available public statements from FUNimation about their version of Dragon Ball Z. It provides a rare opportunity to get inside the heads of the executive producers, and it is very illuminating as to where they're coming from, how they perceive things, and what their goals are. I had some trouble deciding how exactly to present this interview. Of course I've got PLENTY to say to just about every one of their statements, and feel that it's perfectly OK to do so. To comment on the Peter Kelamis interview would have been incredibly rude since he was nice enough to interview for me specifically. But this case is a little different. It's merely a reprint, so I have no qualms about picking it apart word by word. Originally, I was going to put my comments underneath each answer, but there are many of you who simply want to read the interview without my smart ass remarks getting in the way. Ultimately I decided to have the interview appear as-is first, and following that, the thrashing. So, without further ado, "Take Ten With FUNimation."
In Japan, Dragon Ball has been one of the anime/manga world's greatest success stories for years, but here in America, it's only just arrived. In this exclusive mini-interview, Animerica goes behind the scenes at San Jose-based FUNimation Productions and talks to Gen and Cindy Fukunaga, the husband and wife team heading Dragon Ball's U.S. production, to get the real story behind Dragon Ball's journey west. NOTE: [CBF]: Cindy Brennan Fukunaga; [GF]: Gen Fukunaga.
	What made you want to bring the Dragon Ball series to America? Were you a fan of the series before you began working on it?
	We definetely were familiar with Dragon Ball, and were fans of it, and knew of its huge popularity. We'd been told, actually, that here was this number-one hit show in Japan, the most popular ever, and that it hadn't yet come to the U.S. So we actually went in search of it to find out why, and to try and bring it over ourselves. My husband, Gen, is an American, but he's of Japanese heritage, and he's very familiar with the Japanese shows. He went back and lived over there in the eighth grade, and just loved the Japanese animation style. It's gorgeous work. [CBF]
	So why hasn't Dragon Ball been brought to the U.S. before now?
	Basically, Toei, which is the shows' anime producer, together with Shueisha, its manga publisher, and Akira Toriyama, the creator, all really wanted to make sure that they found a company who would treat the property properly. Because it is their flagship property, after all, and it's dear to their hearts, in more ways than one. They wanted to make sure it was treated properly in the U.S. We try really, really hard. Obviously we have to censor it somewhat for the U.S. market, in order to meet broadcast standards, but we're very careful to try and keep the stuff that really made the series great. So we stay true to the characters and the storylines, because they're fabulous. [CBF]
	Why did you decide to skip ahead to Dragon Ball Z for this fall's TV season? In other words, why did you decide not to continue producing English episodes of the earlier, first series? Do you ever intend to go back and fill in some of the Dragon Ball episodes you skipped, perhaps for home video?
	It was a combination of factors-it doesn't mean that we'll never go back and do Dragon Ball again-'cause we may go back later and re-introduce Dragon Ball. But Dragon Ball Z is much more action-packed, and so in some ways it's a really good fit for the U.S. market today. Our desire would be not to do the other Dragon Ball episodes for video release only, but rather to have them appear on television. [CBF]
	What challenges did you face in adapting Dragon Ball for U.S. television? Did television broadcast rules demand a lot of editing in the story?
	Actually, one of the things that the censoring body told us they considered to be really good about the show is that, often, in U.S. televsion episodes, there may be a suspenseful moment, but twenty minures later the problem's solved and everything turns out all right. In Dragon Ball, however, sometimes you have to wait until the next episode. It's just like real life-things aren't always solved in twenty minutes. [LAUGHS] It's a valuable lesson for kids to learn, even besides the good-vs.-evil values of the show. [CBF]
	Would you say that Dragon Ball Z was harder to adapt to U.S. TV than Dragon Ball, or would you say that it was easier?
	That's probably a question that our producer should anser, but I myself don't see a great deal of difference in difficulty. [CBF]
	Can you tell us about the digital effects used for some scenes, such as Goku's "digital underwear"? Were these effects very expensive? What made you decide to do it this way?
	You know, it really is expensive. That work is done in our Texas studios, and basically what it consists of is altering the image, one frame at a time. And so, even though it's expensive, we had reached the point in a lot of cases where there were things that weren't acceptable for U.S. children's television, and it was either edit it, slash it out, or redo it. Most of the time, we just ended up going with the extra expense and effort, and employed people to just sit there and sigitally "paint," frame-by-frame. [CBF]
	Will the Japanese theme song be included at all in the U.S. broadcast of Dragon Ball Z? If not, how did you decide what type of music would be used?
	No, we composed a new theme. It was done in Los Angeles. It's a very distinctive sound, and I'm told it's of the sort that's very popular among American children right now. [CBF]
	Since there are literally hundreds of episodes of Dragon Ball Z, may we ask how many episodes of Dragon Ball Z you're planning to produce? Will you be looking for complete "story arcs"? If so, which ones?
	We're producing 26 for the first season, and we intend to continue production; we'll probably do 26 for next season, as well. I don't know if we've made a firm commitment to next season as yet. Actually, we are producing them in the same order in which the original Dragon Ball Z aired, since it's a continuing saga, so... [CBF] The first "arc" will essentially be the first storyline of the original series, where the basic nemesis of Vegeta is introduced, along with his henchman Nappa, concluding with their big battle. We'll have improved syndication this time through Saban TV, which means easier clearances, better timeslots, and broader coverage nationwide. As of now, we have 88% of the country covered. [GF]
	How would you say Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z differ from American animation?
	One of the things we really feel is that it's unique. For most American cartoons, you can look at it, and say that it's just like five others, but we think that Dragon Ball is actually unique because the characters and story are so wonderfully drawn and have depth to them. It's a true epic that goes on and on; you meet Goku in Dragon Ball and he's a small boy, but then he grows up and has children of his own. There's a history and richness that I think you have a hard time finding in American shows. [CBF]
	Will you be releasing any of the Dragon Ball movies or TV specials? Any chance of releasing any of them theatrically? How about the current merchandise plans?
	We'd very much like to, but we don't know our exact plans right now. It's certainly a desire of ours. They're wonderfully done, and we would certainly have an audience for them, based on the television show. We've got our first TV videos in the stores right now. We've produced a "style guide," using original Dragon Ball art done for us by Toei, which gives the manufactureers guidelines for producing merchandise-to know what the character look like, how they act and move. We're very particular that our licensees, when making Dragon Ball products, have to stay true to the original artwork. They can re-draw the character, obviously, but what they come up with has to have a realistic pose and look accurate. A lot of time when people make toys and so forth based on animated shows, they really change the look of the character, and that's not right, is it? [LAUGHS] [CBF] For the purposes of merchandising, Nielsen ratings, and advertisements, we're targeting mainly 6-to-11 year old boys. But we also found, during our broadcast of the first Dragon Ball, that it was doing quite well with men, too, all the way up into their mid-20s. The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target; in actuality, the characters are fairly deep. It's comparacble to a number of comic books these days that are read by a higher age group than kids. We intend to leave in that depth of story and character that was present in the Japanese original. [GF]
Ah, such GREAT guys, aren't they? They obviously care deeply about DBZ. (Yep, Chris is in one of those moods, this is going to get ugly.) Let's go back to the beginning: "We definetely were familiar with Dragon Ball, and were fans of it, and knew of its huge popularity." (Snicker) Oh pardon me, you were saying how you were such big FANS. Obviously. Do go on... "Toei, which is the shows' anime producer, together with Shueisha, its manga publisher, and Akira Toriyama, the creator, all really wanted to make sure that they found a company who would treat the property properly." It's too bad they never found one, isn't it? "We try really, really hard. Obviously we have to censor it somewhat for the U.S. market, in order to meet broadcast standards, but we're very careful to try and keep the stuff that really made the series great." Oh, like the music? The dialogue? The voices? Yeah, you definetely tried really, really hard. Really hard to change them. It was most certainly necessary to change all that to meet broadcast standards, wasn't it? "Dragon Ball Z is much more action-packed, and so in some ways it's a really good fit for the U.S. market today." Translation: "We weren't making enough money off of Dragon Ball, so to HFIL with the story! The viewers don't need any of that!" "We had reached the point in a lot of cases where there were things that weren't acceptable for U.S. children's television, and it was either edit it, slash it out, or redo it. Most of the time, we just ended up going with the extra expense and effort, and employed people to just sit there and sigitally 'paint,' frame-by-frame." Thank goodness! You might have had to cut out that oh-so-important filler episode where Goku goes to Hell! And then... we would have never known that the place is REALLY called HFIL! I'm sure keeping people employed and showing off your innovative technique had nothing to do with it, either. You were just trying to preserve the artistic integrity of the show. "We composed a new theme. It was done in Los Angeles. It's a very distinctive sound, and I'm told it's of the sort that's very popular among American children right now." Ah, yes. This must be you "trying really, really hard" again. And that "distinctive sound" is called crappiness. And if it's so popular, then why is it that, almost without exception, the original theme is preferred far and away over "Rock the Dragon?" (Look at the Opinion essays if you want proof.) Have you ever ASKED the viewers which they would like better? "We're producing 26 for the first season, and we intend to continue production; we'll probably do 26 for next season, as well." I'll just continue this for them: "Yes, and zero episodes for the season after that. Our plan is to stretch the series out so that it won't be finished for 27 years." "We'll have improved syndication this time through Saban TV, which means easier clearances, better timeslots, and broader coverage nationwide." Once again, they're leaving a few things out: "Also, Saban is going to make us kiddify the show to a ridiculous extent, but hey! Coverage, timeslots, and ratings matter more to us than the degree of censorship." "One of the things we really feel is that it's unique. For most American cartoons, you can look at it, and say that it's just like five others, but we think that Dragon Ball is actually unique" Oh, OK. So THAT'S why you chose to change the theme song to one of "the sort that's very popular among American children right now." That will really allow its "uniqueness" to shine through. And the background music! Yeah, that Japanese stuff just sounds too much like everything else out there. Oh, and by the way guys, I really liked the American DBZ score the first time I heard it: WHEN IT WAS USED IN POWER RANGERS! "We're very particular that our licensees, when making Dragon Ball products, have to stay true to the original artwork. They can re-draw the character, obviously, but what they come up with has to have a realistic pose and look accurate." Oh yeah, those Bandai figures looked MARVELOUS! SSJ Goku often looks constipated in the show, too. And those cotton candy balls that the figures came with were a stroke of genius. "For the purposes of merchandising, Nielsen ratings, and advertisements, we're targeting mainly 6-to-11 year old boys. But we also found, during our broadcast of the first Dragon Ball, that it was doing quite well with men, too, all the way up into their mid-20s. The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target; in actuality, the characters are fairly deep." HUH? Let me get this straight. You're targeting young boys, even though "The story itself is actually for a higher age group than the basic audience target." Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And there's that "trying really, really hard" thing again! "In actuality, the characters are fairly deep," but it's a good thing you took all of that out, isn't it? "We intend to leave in that depth of story and character that was present in the Japanese original." I intended to win 40 million dollars in the lottery yesterday, but that didn't happen, either. I know how that "intention" thing can be. Alright, I'm done. So I'm a bitter, sarcastic little asshole, I know. But does anyone else see the inherent contradiction between everything they say here and everything they actually did? Even WITHIN THIS INTERVIEW they are contradicting themselves! I know my sarcasm sounds mean-spirited, but this whole thing just drips with insincerity, and I don't see ANY of their statements being backed up with real actions. This is PR for the fans, and nothing more. I don't think they're out and out LYING about anything, but I just don't feel like they are being completely honest, either. Obviously, neither of them are big anime (or Dragon Ball) fans. "My husband, Gen, is an American, but he's of Japanese heritage, and he's very familiar with the Japanese shows. He went back and lived over there in the eighth grade, and just loved the Japanese animation style. It's gorgeous work." Oh, the eighth grade? And how long ago was that? I'm sure he could probably tell us all a lot about Speed Racer and Astro Boy. And what about you, Cindy? What are your favorite shows? Directors? Styles? Genres? Do you know anything whatsoever about anime? Or is it just "gorgeous work" to you? I bring this up because it is essential that one be an anime fan, and a knowledgeable one, in order to deal with it properly when translating to English. Mr. and Mrs. Fukunaga suggest quite the opposite. And as far as Dragon Ball is concerned, if you pay attention to the way they present themselves it's obvious that they simply aren't fans of the show in the otaku sense, which is also very necessary for anyone in their position. There's very little depth to anything they say, it's all just rhetoric. If I asked either of them what their favorite scenes in the series are, or which of the movies/TV specials stays truest to the spirit of the original manga, or any number of other questions that a real fan would take five minutes answering, I have a feeling that I'd receive a blank stare in reply. Well, that's about it. And if the two of you are out there and feel that I've been unfair, let me know! I'll take back everything I said if you've got the right argument.