Akadot had the opportunity to interview CEO Shinichi Kobayashi of Madhouse Animation Studio in Japan. Once employed in the Japanese video game industry, Kobayashi talks to Akadot about his experiences in the animation industry and some of the recent projects Madhouse Studio is currently working on such as Animatrix, Ninja Scroll 2, and their new 3D television series which will be broadcasted in Japan. Kobayashi also talks to Akadot about Madhouse Studio's recently released film, Millennium Actress, which will be released domestically by Dreamworks sometime next year.

Akadot: Please tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get in the animation business?

Shinichi Kobayashi: I worked for the video game business before I started my career in animation. At that time, I thought I should learn animation because we used 2D animation to animate video games. I knew Madhouse and started a school for animation study and to produce video games.

My first animation project was Bomberman. I worked on animation projects before that as well, but no one knows those titles. [Laughs]

Akadot: Before you started in the animation business, did you watch anime or read manga?

SK: When I was a child, I liked comics such as Shonen Magazine and Shonen Sunday.

Akadot: The animated film Millennium Actress was recently released in Japan. Do you have any expectations for the film?

SK: Millennium Actress is a very different from usual animation. Since this anime is not for kids or just families, we expect the market to expand to audiences who watch live-action films.

Akadot: So this film is not just for anime fans? Would you say it is more like an arthouse film?

SK: I want to expand the entertainment market for animation, rather than just the artistic world. Art is more personal and individualistic. Anime is a different type of art and I think many people should join in the production of animation. We need money [laughs] and facilities to produce animation. Also, we need a lot of talented people. So it is a little different from other artwork.

Akadot: Usually when an animation movie is released in Japan, do only anime fans see the movie?

SK: Most of the animation feature films are produced from original comics or TV series. So usually only TV series or comic fans go to see the films and it is a very thin market. We usually expect that. But, with this movie [Millennium Actress], it may be different.

Akadot: In Japan, if a manga or anime TV series is produced into a live-action movie (vs. an animation version), do they have more of a general audience?

SK: Even if a live-action movie originated from animation or not, no one really cares [in Japan]. Fighting, love comedy, science fiction, etc... usually a majority of the audience doesn't care where the original story comes from. Live-action movies have a live-action audience market. I hope to expand animation to this market.

Akadot: So through Millennium Actress you plan to get anime and live-action movie fans to see it?

SK: Yes. Actually, we have some data from the past two weeks since the movie opened. At least one-third of the audience that went to see this movie were not animation fans. Young couples and ordinary people went to see this film. I know because they wore suits when seeing this movie, and were not wearing casual attire. [laughs]

Akadot: What gave you the idea to bring this movie to America [Dreamworks]?

SK: We always hoped to show our work worldwide, but until today there are very few chances. It is very difficult to find distributors. In the United States, very few and independent distributors exist. Recently, major studios have shown interest in distributing animation.

But, this movie will be different from other animation movies in America. For example, the Pokemon feature film already has a TV series in America that is doing well. So it is easy to pick up the feature film for release. In our case, we are bringing a film that no one knows. It is a great chance for us to try out in this market.