ANIME ON IFC

Everyone is getting into the anime act. Anime is cool among the kids and teens (thus its presence on Kids WB, Cartoon Network, Toon Disney, Nicktoons, etc.), sci fi fans (Sci-Fi Channel), tech nerds (G4TV), and classic film geeks (TCM). I half-expect to see an anime series start appearing on The Weather Channel soon.Starting April 1st, The Indepedent Film Channel will begin running Akira Kurosawa’s SAMURAI 7 (do you think it was the name “Akira” or “Kurosawa” that attracted them to pick up the show?). To help promote this series, filmmaker Dan Persons has created several “Anime in the USA” mini-documentaries (3 minutes each) for the IFC website. Animation director Kevin Alteri (BATMAN: TAS), producer Frank Gladstone (IDT), anime historian Fred Patten and yours truly (that’s my talking head in the frame grab above) participated with our comments and observations. You have to work a bit to find these mini-films, but here are the directions:Go to IFC.com (or, if for some reason you have trouble bringing that page up, try ifc.com/news); and click on “UNCUT ON DEMAND” at the top of the page. Once the viewer pops up, click on pause to stop the startlingly loud promo clip, click on “SERIES” on the right, then click on “SAMURAI 7.” The two episodes of “Anime In The USA” should be at the very top of the list.