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(C) 2005 Production I.G., Aniplex, MBS, HAKUHODO
(C) 2005 Production I.G., Aniplex, MBS, HAKUHODO
(C) 2005 Production I.G., Aniplex, MBS, HAKUHODO
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March 09, 2008
by: Serdar Yegulalp
A few words with the folks who helped adapt Production I.G.'s new opus into English.
Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves, story editors for the English edition of the Blood+ TV series, conducted a short interview with us by email to answer some questions about the way the show’s been reworked for us English-speaking audiences. Here they are: AMN: To start things off, can you please introduce yourselves and tell us what projects you’ve worked on? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: Tom and I have been writing together for about seven years. We worked together on Astro Boy [the 2003 version. –ed]; Joe was Executive Producer and shared story editing duties with Tom. Tom also wrote several episodes on his own. We developed several animated series for Sony Television including a series based on the Academy Award winning short, The Chubbchubbs, plus pilots and TV movies of the week for everyone from Lifetime to Disney Channel. AMN: What sorts of changes did Blood+ have to undergo when it was being prepped for TV broadcast (even if it was Adult Swim)? How much difference will people notice between the TV edition and the DVD? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: The great news is this was one of the few anime shows that stayed as pure as possible to the original Japanese creators’ visions. No edits and no story points altered. The only things that changed were a couple of character names (spellings only) and we enriched some of the relationships (e.g. Saya/Kai and David/Julia) where there was obvious intimacy that was not referenced in the Japanese version until later episodes. It was a joy not to have to change or cut scenes for violence or language. The DVD has bonus material but the footage is identical to what was aired in Japan and on Adult Swim. AMN: How closely were you able to collude with the Japanese production team? Did you have to go back to them with questions about how things might be worded, such as how certain words (“chiropteran”, for instance) would have to be Romanized? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: We did not have much contact with the Japanese production team once the project started. We worked with them here in Los Angeles for a few days early on and did get clarification on a few “phrases,” but they were still in production when we began writing the US version and due to tight production schedules our interaction was limited once they returned to Japan. It was interesting because we got so involved in the characters and stories but when we asked them how it ended, they were still writing and did not yet know! We should also note that we had a wonderful translator named Yurika Araki-Dennis who was very valuable in answering any cultural questions or giving clarifications when needed. [Editor’s note: Yurika Araki-Dennis, also credited as Yurika Dennis, has also worked on shows as diverse as Crayon Shin-Chan, Requiem from the Darkness and Gungrave.] AMN: Were you able to keep most of the flavor of the original dialogue in the dubbed version? (A sticking point with many fans, I know, but we’re curious.) Also, the subtitles appear to be based off of the English dub, not a literal translation of the Japanese audio - why did this happen? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: We tried hard to keep the essence of the Japanese dialogue and again our goal was to stay as true to the original creators’ vision as possible. That was our number one goal. We were not involved with the inconsistencies with the subtitles. Perhaps someone on the Sony production side could help clarify the second part of the question. AMN: One of the things that’s been persistent in just about every incarnation of the Blood stories, from the movie on out, has been the subtext of the American military presence in Japan. What did you think about how that was being expressed here? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: Obviously a very important part of the series and we felt strongly about leaving it in. We did talk to Sony about the subtext and after many discussions they were very supportive to keep the story “as is” and not try to hide or change the point of view of the creators. Of course this is a fictional fantasy-based story and we were not trying to make a political statement but wanted the property to remain pure and I hope we did the creators proud. AMN: Have you heard anything yourselves about the live-action Blood movie, or the Blood+ manga or light novel tie-ins? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: We’ve heard a lot of rumors but nothing concrete. Blood+ left a few doors open and sent characters off in numerous directions. We hope the franchise continues and would love to be a part of it. It is truly an amazing story with complex characters and deep emotions animated beautifully. AMN: What shows are you working on next? Joe D’Ambrosia and Tom Teves: We are actually developing an internet horror thriller series and we are writing three feature films - one called Mother of Invention for Walt Disney Pictures, a sci-fi adventure called Motel Galileo for Wind Dancer Films and an animated horror comedy for Wildbrain. We really appreciate your interest in Blood + and hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did adapting it. Thanks!
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