Last Updated on by
With Rick and Morty: The Anime premiering on Adult Swim this week; Thursday, August 15 at midnight, followed by the Japanese premiere on Toonami on Saturday, August 17 at midnight, Adult Swim gave me the opportunity to talk with some of the producers following the Rick and Morty panel at San Diego Comic-Con. This includes Toonami creator and Executive Producer Jason DeMarco, Executive Producer Joseph Chou, Director Takeshi Sano, and Producer Takenari Maeda (whom also was doubling as Sano’s translator).
You can check it out in video format on YouTube or you can read it below.
Daniel: What’s up Toonami Faithful. My name is Daniel Limjoco. Also known as @AnimeSavior. And today, I’m hanging out with Jason DeMarco, alongside…mind if you say your names.
Jason: *Pointing to the respective producers sitting counter-clockwise from him* Joseph Chou, Takashi Sano director, and Takanari Kanada, whom is a producer for Rick and Morty.
Daniel: All right, thank you. How’s your how’s your Comic-Con going so far?
Jason: Busy. *Laughs* A lot of work.
Joseph: It’s great to see [Comic-Con] back on like this.
Daniel: Yeah, After the pandemic shut everything down.
Maeda: It’s the first time for Sano, the director to come [to San Diego].
Daniel: Hope you like it here. I’ve been living in San Diego, my whole life, so…
Sano: I never thought the venue would be so big.
Daniel: Yeah, lived there my whole life and I’m still pretty shocked at how big Comic-Con is. Yeah. So, uh, we just had the panel, uh, for the Rick and Morty anime…
During the midst of the pandemic, you guys shown the five Rick and Morty anime shorts on Toonami which culminated into what is now a full-fledged anime series. Give us a little bit into what made you decide to make this anime series?
Joseph: Just to clarify the question, he [Takashi Sano] and I worked on three, (Rick and Morty vs Genocider, Summer meets God (Rick meets Evil), and The Great Yokai Battle of Akihabara). [Takeshi Sano] did [directed] two, (Rick and Morty vs Genocider and Summer meets God (Rick meets Evil)) and [Jason produced] all five [shorts]. So, he probably needs to talk about that.
Jason: Obviously at Adult Swim, for a long time, we would do original animations where we would reinterpret our shows and characters, just because we thought it was fun, for little IDs and bumps and things. Where the anime idea came in was, we just were thinking about different people to collaborate with internationally. And so, I had the idea of approaching a couple different people to do anime shorts. So, some of them were the Rick and Morty: Samurai and Shogun folks. And then I came to Joseph and said, “Hey, you know, we want to make a couple of these shorts. Do you know anybody, do you know any Japanese directors who like Rick and Morty and who might be interested in this? And amazingly, he was already working on Tower of God with Sano and he said, “I don’t know, you know what I’ve talked to Sano and he’s a huge Rick and Morty fan.” So, it was just a confluence of events and just great luck. And so, we said, “okay, let’s go ahead and commission one from Sano, and that one did so well. Got 15 million views within a month that we said, “let’s do another other one, if he’s game for another one.” And we found out he was. And really from there, the idea opened up to “Wow, we could maybe do a series here, because there’s enough interest in these shorts.” And really after that, it hung on Sano being able to, “could you wrap your head around an idea for a series?” And that’s kind of how we ended up where we are.
Joseph: That’s the story. *Laughs* That’s the story.
Now while there is some crossover historically, (at least from what I’ve personally seen), the anime and animated comedy sides of both [adult swim] and Toonami have mainly been different audiences, so to speak. At least in regards to what we’ve seen in the Nielsen ratings. How do you plan on bridging this Gap and trying to please both crowds with this anime series?
Jason: So, believe it or not; I’ll let Sano talk about his approach to this as a Western IP and making it as an anime. But believe it or not, what research tells us on Adult Swim is that, and this is not a joke stat, 95 percent of people who watch Rick and Morty on Adult Swim, also [in some capacity] watch Toonami. So, there’s actually way more of a crossover than I think anyone thinks. Because Rick and Morty is a massive global hit on its own. That goes far beyond even Adult Swim globally. I think people don’t necessarily think of it as like, “Oh if you watch anime, you probably watch Rick and Morty” because they seem like very distinct audiences. But they’re actually not as distinct as people think they are, at least on Adult Swim. So, if you’re watching Adult Swim, you’re probably watching [both] Rick and Morty and Toonami. Just most of them. So, knowing that allowed us to have the freedom of not being worried that, “Oh, this anime is not going to appeal to a huge segment of the audience.” That said, there’s still the challenge of adapting something that’s fundamentally a western IP into Anime and I think Sano should speak to that.
Joseph, translating for Sano: Well, in terms of like a general question of anime versus how the Toonami…Adult Swim gets connected. I think, creatively for him, creatively specifically for this project, the flagship franchise (the original Rick and Morty cartoon series) is so well done and he loves it, he loves it a lot. So, there’s that framework that’s been given to him. But rather than try to “copy” what was done to try to appeal to the same audience, he would basically break down each character. Like, basically, take out each character, separate them all. The world that they’re in, each character, the relationships; that he would have to digest all that to see. “Okay? How do we, how do I put this back together in a different puzzle? To show it in an interesting way that reflects the experience.” And what he’s learned in his decades long career in the Japanese anime industry. So, I think, for him, the bridging aspect sort of happened in that sense. but it wasn’t consciously or like unnecessarily, about trying to redo this thing in a “Flagship franchise” way to try to connect with the audience. But it wasn’t like a “let’s set out to make a complete Japanese anime” either. It was somewhere in between, where he was trying to strike the right balance with what he loved about the franchise.
More recently in this decade (and even the last) we’ve been seeing a lot more cooperation between Japanese creators and Western creators for the many original productions you have been creating; likewise for a lot of your competitors. On the other hand, a lot of the so-called “otaku” or “weeaboo” crowds have been quite resistant to a Western-Eastern cooperation. Saying that anime should be “exclusively for the Japanese, made for the Japanese, and that Western audiences are largely irrelevant from the conversation.” Why do you think there’s such a resistance to this?
Jason: I mean, so I think I’ll say a couple things. The first thing is, I actually think that resistance is smaller than people think. I think it is a very, very, vocal group of people. But they are still in the minority, that’s number one. Number two, I think that that comes from a place of thinking that anime feels like, for a lot of people especially in other cultures, finding anime is like unlocking a door that they didn’t know existed. It feels like you’re settling into another world, in a way that few other mediums do. And I think they get very protective of it, and they feel like one of the reasons they like it is because it feels so different from their daily experience. And I’m talking specifically about American otaku. [Anime] feels so different from their daily experience, that they almost get to a point where they can fetishize it. The Japanese-ness of it. And I think that actually does it a disservice and doesn’t really fully understand these artists as human beings. I also know that Japanese people don’t care at all about that kind of thing. Like there is not that protective like “we want to keep Americans out!” [attitude] For Japanese fans for the most part, and definitely not for creators. They like seeing new challenges, that’s how I feel as an American Creator.
I feel like Anime is a broad enough tent that it can hold all kinds of shows that includes [the] “very, very Japanese” productions that feel like they could have come out of nowhere but Japan; that also includes projects like ours or the Terminator series that are Western IPs, that are being reinterpreted through anime, that are the cultural product of both places. I think there’s room under the tent for all of it. And the only reason to argue that there isn’t, is if you’re insecure in some way shape or form about anime and it being an art form, you know? And look, whatever we do, whatever I do in anime or any Westerner [that co-produces an anime]? Anime as an art form is not endangered by any of that. Like, there’s still going to be plenty of “Japanese only” titles for everybody to engage with. We’re not pushing Things in any larger direction. We’ve just got a lane that we’re working in that I think is interesting. There are people that don’t think it’s interesting and that’s okay with me. But it doesn’t say anything larger about anime. That’s my opinion.
Joseph: Yeah, I appreciate a lot of people being, I mean, it’s nice for people to be protective of the genre that they love. But the problem is that they tend to pigeonhole anime into whatever they like. But like you [Jason] just said, it’s an art form. It can be anything. I mean, if you really look in the history of anime, [there’s stuff] for kids, there’s fantasy, there’s hero, action, porn (hentai), horror, right? If there’s anything, right, like, you can do anything with it. It’s like a film, you know? It’s, it’s a format, um, and artists do what they want to express with it.
Now you know, certain fans are like kind of married to a certain drawing, right? And the way they see it is, that’s anime. But I mean just speaking of that, I worked on The AniMatrix back when I was at Warner [in 2003]. So, what is that right? The Matrix itself was inspired by Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell in itself by was inspired by Blade Runner. Same with Akira, right? So, a lot of these titles have this kind track record where art kind of influences each other [in] both sides of the ocean. And there are different expressions, and depends on what people like to do. So, take this, project, for example, it’s a title, even though it’s very western, the flagship [Rick and Morty] franchise, he [Sano] as a Japanese animator, loves it. He wants to interpret it through his lens, and here’s the answer that we have for that. And so, hopefully, people will enjoy it. I think the shorts were certainly loved by a lot of people. I’m just hoping because you know, I myself am a foreigner working in Japan, creating this anime. And I do a whole bunch of different things, and same with him, same with Jason. So, it’s really, it’s like I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions. because if you ask different people about what anime is, they have a different definition. But it’s really not just one thing, you know, it’s all.
What should fans look forward to with this animation? While this is called Rick and Morty: The Anime, some fans and even yourselves would say that this isn’t “anime” in the regular sense. What should we what do you think we should look forward to?
Joseph: For this project?
Daniel: Yes.
Joseph: Okay.
Jason: I would ask Sano.
Joseph (Translating for Sano): So, what’s probably unique about this project as anime [in] the way that we named it is [because] He would think it would be interesting for the fans to appreciate the movements and actual animation, because it moves at a different Rhythm. Because you know, Japanese Animation have been “limited animation” and whereas in the west it’s more “full animation.” So, the movements are different. Timing is different. Cadence is different. Even explosions, robots, how they move, how they, how people walk, how people do action, and how that’s expressed on screen is very, very different. So, that’s probably one thing that stands out and [makes it] unique from The Flash of franchise that you would see. So hopefully, that’s something that the audience can find interesting and fun, for people who are not used to Japanese anime. But for people who love Japanese anime, it’ll be something very familiar to them.
Anything Else you’d like to say before we head out?
Jason: We hope you enjoy it.
Joseph: Watch please.
Jason: We really hope it works, whether you’re a big fan of Rick and Morty or not.
Daniel: Well, I’m still rather new to this brand, the Rick and Morty franchise. But personally, I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully we’ll see more from you guys.
Joseph: Spread the word for us. Thank you. Thanks for helping.
Daniel: So, basically, on behalf of the Toonami Faithful, and my colleagues at Toonami Squad, thanks for talking with me and we’ll see you again soon.
Jason: Thank you so much.
Joseph: See you next time. Yeah, appreciate it.
Are you looking forward to the new Rick and Morty: The Anime series? Sound off in the comments below or on our social media outlets. And if you missed it, check out our news report of SDCC 2024 and check out Szuniverse’s review of the show’s first two episodes by clicking here. Also, look forward to additional interviews, including one with Deneen Melody and Kimberly Woods coming soon.
