Since its inception, the anime industry has been a closed-off ecosystem exclusive to Japan. But its doors have been slowly opening up recently, as Japanese studios seek co-production opportunities to extend the reach of their work in the international market. 

Veteran animation producer and development executive Eric Calderon told Kidscreen Summit attendees at his “What You Need to Know: Kids & Anime” presentation last month that the key to nailing down a co-production deal with an anime studio is to first understand the core elements that make anime such an addictive medium, and to keep those components as authentic to the source material as possible. 

“Understanding the soul of anime and what’s on the inside is more important than the visual design that people associate with the medium,” says Calderon. “It’s similar to hip-hop. If you’re into the genre and you know it intimately, the audience recognizes it right away. The same thing goes for anime; the audience knows when it’s off, and it won’t appeal to them.” 

But what are those essential elements? Calderon highlighted the emotional intimacy of anime, as well as the four-act structure of Japanese storytelling, which differs from the three-act hero’s journey that’s more common in Western storytelling. But Calderon said the soul of an anime first and foremost comes from its characters, which need to have layers of depth and the ability to develop new strengths and weaknesses over time to grip an audience for hundreds of episodes. Stories also have to evolve and build toward incremental changes that have a lasting impact— such as an evil rival turning good, or the heroes losing a key battle—to get viewers emotionally invested for the long term. 

Calderon points to series like Naruto, Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia and One Piece as being prime examples of anime that accomplish these arcs, making each development feel like an event for the wider fandom to discuss and bond over. 

Recent co-production deals between MAPPA and Netflix, and between Crunchyroll and Aniplex, show that anime studios are opening up to non-Japanese collaborators. Still, Calderon warns that this is a slow process that takes years, not months, because of various cultural misunderstandings between the parties and the difficulties that come with working with anime production committees—composed of the anime studio itself, but also licensees, distribution partners and any banks funding the project. 

To ease this burden, Calderon suggests that prodcos interested in working with anime studios should partner with creators who natively understand the medium. Calderon himself is one such pioneer of anime co-productions, having developed Afro Samurai (2007) and Linkin Park’s “Breaking the Habit” animated music video (2004) with Gonzo. But he also calls out Joaquim Dos Santos (Sony’s Spiderverse films) and Adi Shankar (Castlevania, Devil May Cry) as other experts in the field. 

“I will warn everyone: Go in with an open mind, but if something doesn’t feel right, in my experience, discussions are only going to get worse and worse,” says Calderon. “The best way to approach anime co-productions is to know when to walk away. Japanese companies don’t ever say no; they just keep going and veering off, which can create a lot of wasted time and effort if you don’t know how to read the atmosphere.”