Joshua Elder Interview (Mail Order Ninja)

By David Rasmussen
20th Apr 05

Rasmussen - First off can you tell us abit more about yourself?
Mr. Joshua Elder - Typical bio stuff: I was born and raised in the small town of Carmi, Illinois. I currently live the not-very-small town of Chicago, Illinois where I'm employed at one of our fine city's many Barnes & Noble bookstores. I'm 24 years old, I'm a graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Film, I'm a Taurus, I like long walks on the beach... You get the idea.

Rasmussen - How did you first get into Anime/Manga, and what titles are you interested in these days?
Mr. Elder - To be perfectly honest, I'm more fanboy than otaku -- and I have the Superman tattoo to prove it. Though I think that's due to the fact that there was literally nothing in the way of manga or anime available to me when I was growing up. When I was about 13, a friend let me borrow his bootleg copy of "Akira", and I think it's safe to say I was never quite the same afterwards. I sought as much anime and manga as I could after that, though the pickings were still pretty slim until I got to college. I was exposed to dozens of anime and manga series during those four years and here a few of my
favorites: In terms of anime, I have to put "Cowboy Bebop", "Neon Genesis: Evangelion", "Akira" and the work of Hayao Miyazaki at the top of the list. When it comes to manga, "Akira" reigns uber alles with "Planetes", "Eagle" and "Ranma 1/2" rounding out the rest of the top four.

Rasmussen - As a Miyazaki fan what is your estimate of the work Disney is doing to release Miyazaki's works in both theaters and DVD? Are you enthusiastic about their efforts, or do they leave you cold?
Mr. Elder - While I don't doubt that Disney could have done a better job promoting Miyazaki's work here in the states, I think they've done all right by him. I mean, I never expected major theatrical releases of his work here in the states at all. And unlike a lot of anime fans, I don't mind the English dubbing. Especially since Disney really puts serious effort in making it good by hiring writers like Neil Gaiman and voice actors like Gillian Anderson and Billy Bob Thornton.

Rasmussen - With the release of Miyazaki's next movie, Howl's Moving Castle, coming up shortly do you have any expectations about this release, or opinion of how people will respond to this latest Miyazaki movie?
Mr. Elder - I really don't know enough about it to make any informed opinions. But what the heck, I never let that stop me before. Each of his movies has been better received here than the last, and I see no reason that trend won't continue. Especially now that his entire back catalog is available on DVD.

Rasmussen - A few questions, if you may, about upcoming anime films that I’d like to gauge your opinion on. 1) Neon Genesis Evangelion the Movie. From what you heard so far of it what is your opinion on what may very well be the most controversal anime to live action translation of the coming years?
Mr. Elder - Given the themes of apocalyptic Christianity and adolescent sexuality that Evangelion is built around, I think it's fair to say that it will be a controversial motion picture. As for how controversial it will be amongst NGE fans... Any movie adaptation is going to have to simplify and streamline the story considerably just to fit it into a 90 minute movie. I'm sure fans will be crying foul over that, and with some justification. Still, I'm sure it'll look great and the publicity surrounding it can only help the sales of the original series.

Rasmussen - 2) The legal conflict between Mr. Otomo and Guellermo Del Toro over Domu : A Child’s Dream. In your opinion do you believe that this kind of disagreement between Japanese creator and American director over the "translation" of one’s work into a live action movie a one shot deal or will other creators eventually follow suit to block American "translations" of their works into live action movies, following Mr. Otomo’s example. And, considering movies like Real Bout High School are in the works, SHOULD Japanese creators put the brakes on some productions before they actually reach theaters?
Mr. Elder - These kind of conflicts happen with any translation of any intellectual property into any other medium. It's simply the nature of the beast. Throw in cross-cultural issues and I'm not suprised that there's been friction between the creators. Still, I think Del Toro is a terrific director with a lot of respect for his source material, so I'm sure he has valid reasons for the creative decisions he's made. If Otomo feels
otherwise, then he has every right to back out of the project. I suppose it all just comes down to what he, and other creators in the same position, desire more: creative control of the big fat Hollywood paycheck. It's almost impossible to have both.

Rasmussen - Finally, with the recent "death" of Miramax does this mean that, finally, we can safely say the Poke’mon movie "franchise" is now dead and buried, or will there always be someone to release yet another movie onto DVD here in America as long as they’re making them left and right in Japan? And (in your opinion) why are they still making Poke’mon movies in Japan when it’s obvious the creative energy of these movies died way back when they released Poke’mon the Third Movie? Who are watching these movies in Japan?
Mr. Elder - Pokemon will never die. It will outlive us all. When the aliens come to investigate our civilization a few million years hence, all they'll find are cockroaches and automated factories still churning out Pokemon DVDs.

Rasmussen - Well… uh… that was more disturbing of an answer than I thought I‘d hear. Ahem… ANYWAY Tell us abit about your title, Mail Order Ninja, and how did you first come about to collaborating with Mr. Owen on said project?
Mr. Elder - Well, it's basically "Calvin & Hobbes" if Hobbes was a ninja. Just a fun, cute little story that (hopefully) everyone can enjoy. I wrote "MON" during a particularly difficult time in my life. I had just graduated college and was midway through a seven-month cycle of chemotherapy to treat my late stage Hodgkin's lymphoma. Life wasn't exactly giving me much to be happy about right then, so I wrote a story that would. I spent the next two years trying to find an artist to bring "MON" to life. After several false starts, I finally found Erich through online artist collective Golden Goat Studios. And he was more than I could have ever hoped for. His angular, energetic style was totally unlike what I had originally envisioned for the story. It was also approximately 1,237 times better. Which just goes to prove that good things really do come to those who wait.

Rasmussen - How did the MON story evolve? From when you first started writing it to today? Also how do you envision the story possibly evolving if you continue to expand on it in the future?
Mr. Elder - MON was first written nearly three years ago and I had been toying with the idea for another four before that. That being said, it actually hasn't changed much at all over the years. All the story elements were there right from the beginning, so much so that the first draft was pretty much identical to the last save for some purely cosmetic alterations here and there. As for what the future holds for MON... Probably not much. It was designed a cute one-off story and that's probably what it will remain. The story Erich and I are pitching to TOKYOPOP shares a number of stylistic elements with MON but isn't a sequel or continuation of that story in any way.

Rasmussen - Now that you won the next step is to pitch the series to TOKYOPOP, how are you going to present your pitch to them and what do you see as your odds on nailing an ongoing series with them?
Mr. Elder - The key to a good pitch is to have a good story. Erich and I think we have one. Given that the editors at TOKYOPOP already know -- and like -- the kind of work that we do, I think the odds of us landing a publishing contract are pretty darn good. That being said, I'm not going to quit my day job anytime soon.

Rasmussen - But isn’t the whole idea of winning the Rising Stars of Manga competition supposed to be pitching the series that you won with, i.e. Mail Order Ninja? Do you see any difficulties in pitching a different series to TOKYOPOP, and will any of the characters from Mail Order Ninja play any part in this new series you are pitching?
Mr. Elder - The RSOM is a talent search, and the best way to win a talent search is to tell a story that showcases one's talent. MON did that. Stories that are essentially commercials for as-yet-unpublished manga series do a disservice to the reader by giving her an open-ended 20 page tale that may or may not ever see completion. It's like having American Idol contestants sing random songs from an unreleased concept album. It might sound nice, but it won't make any sense out of context. And like I said in answer to an earlier question, the series Erich and I will be pitching shares certain thematic and stylistic elements with MON but is not a continuation of that story in anyway.

Rasmussen - How about the entry into the Rising Stars of Manga competition? How did that come about, and what were your expectations about entering this contest? Did you expect to win it outright or were there doubts about your chances?
Mr. Elder - I entered the contest because it seemed like the best way to make a name for myself in the industry. TOKYOPOP has more resources and a better business model than any other graphic novel publisher in the business today, so hitching my horse to its wagon just made sense. As to my chances at actually winning the contest... I had a good story, a great artist and nothing to lose by trying. The competition in this volume was especially stiff, but then again you can never be the best if you don't compete with the best.

Rasmussen - Have you read any of the works of the previous winners of the Rising Stars of Manga competition? If so what did you think of their work?
Mr. Elder - Before submitting MON to the ROSM contest, I read all the previous volumes cover to cover. I was greatly impressed by the overall quality of the entries and thought that the creators all had artistic talent and enthusiasm to spare. Unfortunately most of the stories just didn't appeal to me that much as they were either pastiches of other manga or original but out-of-context chapters plucked from some larger work. With MON I set out to do just the opposite and create a self-contained story that a casual reader not steeped in manga minutiae would be able to enjoy. Whether I succeeded or not is up to the readers.

Rasmussen - Any final words for our readers?
Mr. Elder - MON was just the beginning. Believe me when I say that you haven't seen anything yet.

-- David Rasmussen 20th Apr 05