The history of anime in the United States began in 1961, when Magic Boy and The White Snake Enchantress, both produced by Toei Animation, became the first and second anime films to receive documented releases in the country. Anime has since found success with a growing audience in the region, with Astro Boy often being noted as the first anime to receive widespread syndication, especially in the United States. Additionally, anime's growth in popularity in the US during the 1990s, commonly referred to as the "anime boom," is credited with much of anime's enduring relevance to popular culture outside Japan.
Streamline Pictures was an American media company. Founded by screenwriter Carl Macek and animation historian Jerry Beck, it was one of the earliest distributors of English-dubbed Japanese animation.
Carl Frank Macek was an American screenwriter and producer. Noted for his work on English-language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s, he was the creator of the Robotech franchise and the co-founder of Streamline Pictures. His work is considered to have been instrumental in creating mainstream awareness of Japanese animation in the United States.
Unico is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Sanrio's shōjo manga magazine Ririka from November 1976 to March 1979 and collected in two volumes. A pilot film for a potential television series was produced in 1979. Two theatrical anime film adaptations were produced by Tezuka Productions and Madhouse in the early 1980s.
Barbara Goodson is an American voice actress who has done voice-over work in cartoons and shows. Her best-known role was providing the English dub voice of the main villain Empress Rita Repulsa in the Power Rangers franchise, starting with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and including Power Rangers Zeo, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, and Power Rangers in Space.
Goemon Ishikawa XIII is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series Lupin III, which debuted in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967. Goemon is a thirteenth generation descendant of the renegade samurai Ishikawa Goemon. He is famous for a reticent personality coupled by apparent unlimited skill in martial arts and swordsmanship with his sword Ryusei (流星), known in the anime as Zantetsuken (斬鉄剣). A partner with Arsène Lupin III and Daisuke Jigen, he tends to join their exploits only on a when-interested basis.
Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo, also known as Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo, is a 1978 Japanese animated science fiction action adventure comedy film. It is the first animated feature film based on the 1967–69 manga series Lupin III by Monkey Punch. The film was originally released in Japan as Lupin III, but was later retitled to Lupin III: Lupin vs. the Clone. Directed by Sōji Yoshikawa, who co-wrote the screenplay with Atsushi Yamatoya, the film was produced by animation studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha and distributed by Toho. The film's plot follows master thief Lupin III, who attempts to foil Mamo ― a wealthy and powerful recluse seeking immortality ― while trying to win the affections of his rival and would-be lover, Fujiko Mine.
Edie Mirman is an American voice actress.
Michael John Sorich is an American actor, writer and director.
Michael McConnohie is an American voice actor, writer and director who has provided many voice roles in movies, anime, and video games. He and fellow actress Melodee Spevack run a production company called VoxWorks. Some of his major works include the Narrator on Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo and Hunter x Hunter, The Necromancer in Diablo II, Azulongmon in Digimon, Gork in Masked Rider, Keiichi Ikari in Paranoia Agent, Rolf Emerson in Robotech, Manzou the Saw in Samurai Champloo, Cosmos and Tracks in Transformers, Hot Shot / Ironhide in Transformers: Robots in Disguise, D in Vampire Hunter D, Chief Inquisitor Margulis in Xenosaga and Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass.
Steve Kramer is an American actor who has provided voices for English language versions of Japanese anime films, television series and video games. He has also done voice acting for various Power Rangers series in the past, with the best-known of those roles being the voice of Darkonda in Power Rangers in Space. His wife, Melora Harte, is a voice actress. Kramer has also been credited as Steve Kraemer, Steven Kramer, Drew Levi Thomas, Drew Lexi Thomas, and Drew Thomas. Kramer is usually cast in the role of wise old men. He is also a voice director and script writer, adapting many anime and video games.
Mike Reynolds was an American voice actor and writer.
Doug Erholtz is an American voice actor. He is best known for his performances as Inspector Zenigata from Lupin the Third, Gin Ichimaru from Bleach, TK Takaishi from Digimon Adventure 02, Squall Leonhart from the Final Fantasy series and the Kingdom Hearts series, Asuma Sarutobi and Kankuro from Naruto, Jean Pierre Polnareff from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and Hamrio Musica from Rave Master.
Rebecca Forstadt is an American voice actress, best known for playing young female roles in various animated series. After studying theater at Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, California, Forstadt began her acting career by working at Knott's Berry Farm's Bird Cage Theater, performing melodramas, often as the damsel in distress character. Later, she went to Hollywood where she worked as a wardrobe mistress on such television shows as The White Shadow and Hill Street Blues, as well as for the film S.O.B.. She also spent several years doing live theater in the Los Angeles area. Most notably, she won some recognition for her portrayal of the character Josette in the world premiere of Eugène Ionesco's Tales for People Under 3 Years of Age at the Stages Theatre Center in 1982. She starred in several low-budget movies such as Mugsy's Girls, with Ruth Gordon and Laura Branigan, and Round Numbers with Kate Mulgrew, Samantha Eggar, and Shani Wallis. She also appeared as a television actress in Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and L.A. Law. Her voice acting breakthrough came when she landed the leading role of Lynn Minmei in the English version of Robotech, the popular anime series of the 1980s. Since then, she has voiced hundreds of other anime characters like Nunnally Lamperouge in Code Geass, Rika Furude in When They Cry, Monomi from Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair, and Tima from Metropolis and has branched into non-anime cartoons, live-action shows, commercials and radio work, and has performed background voices for movies such as Antz, Dr. Dolittle, and The Santa Clause.
Eddie Frierson is an American voice actor and writer. He has provided voices for such films as Wreck-It Ralph, Hotel Transylvania, The Princess and the Frog, ParaNorman, Curious George, Tangled the video games Medal of Honor: Airborne and Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes and the animated television series MÄR: Märchen Awakens Romance.
Steve Bulen is an American voice actor. He has been doing voices for many animated films and television shows for Walt Disney Animation Studios and Hanna-Barbera as well several video games and anime titles such as Doomed Megalopolis, Giant Robo, Outlaw Star, Street Fighter II V and Rave Master.
Melora Harte is an American voice actress. In addition to voice acting in anime, she also adapted and directed several anime dubs. Her husband, Steve Kramer, is also a voice actor.
Jeffrey Alan Winkless was an American actor born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two of his younger brothers, Terence H. Winkless and Daniel Owen Winkless, worked with him on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. He was also credited as Jeffrey Brock. He did voice-overs for several anime titles including Lupin the Third, Castle in the Sky, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Wicked City and Vampire Hunter D. Winkless died of a brain tumor on June 26, 2006, in Evanston, Illinois.
Studiopolis, Inc. is an American post-production studio located in Studio City, Los Angeles. It specializes in voiceover recording and dubbing for cartoon, anime, and video game projects. They were formerly known as Screenmusic Studios and then Studio E Productions until 2005. The studio is owned by Jamie Simone. It has another studio located in Burbank, California.
Lupin III, referred to in some English adaptations as Arsène Lupin III, is a fictional character created by Kazuhiko Kato aka Monkey Punch as the protagonist for his manga series Lupin the Third, which debuted in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967.
