Answerman - Anime References in Western Media

Jake asks:

Hey Answerman,

I was recently watching The Bookie on MAX and Sebastian Maniscalco's stepson in the first episode is cosplaying as Levi from D.Gray-man. This happens a few times throughout the show's run as well. His actor even openly references anime and manga. This had me wondering about Hollywood writers putting blatant anime references into non-nerd-centric shows. I remember ten years ago The Big Bang Theory, TED 2, and a slew of Nickelodeon shows would make tongue-in-cheek references to anime like DBZ but never actually showed anything.

I do realize anime and manga have become increasingly popular in the mainstream since the pandemic. More recent examples are clear anime figures and posters in the background of children's bedroom scenes, the One Piece NBA night, or the upcoming MLB Demon Slayer event. What has changed to these TV and movie productions actually wanting to advertise anime and manga? What are the hurdles to getting permission to make these references in non-Japanese shows?

Thank you for your time.

Anime is now part of the American pop-culture firmament. The oft-cited Polygon survey published in January 2024 boldly claimed that “For Gen Z, anime is bigger than the NFL”. Anime culture is becoming ubiquitous, and it is no surprise we see “anime artifacts” like posters, collectibles, and t-shirts appearing as set-dressing in the bedrooms of fictional American teenagers in all manner of dramas and movies.

The medium's steady rise from niche interest to above-ground pop-culture phenomenon reminds me a lot of the rise of hip-hop. Another important artistic medium that has become a global cultural force that impacts everything from music and fashion to sports and politics.

More and more anime fans are realizing just how ubiquitous anime has become. Even over here in Great Britain, a bit of a cultural backwater when it comes to the prominence of anime. It feels like barely a week goes by without a politician or political journalist using “cosplay” as a term of derision against the sitting government. I found this headline in the March 6th edition of the right-wing newspaper, The Daily Express. If you'd like to learn more about the adoption of the term cosplay as a political put-down, may I recommend this excellent piece by Henry Jenkins on his Pop Junctions blog.

So! Yeah! Anime is seeping into all corners of American and British popular culture. It's becoming inescapable.

I am excited to receive this question from you because it is a topic I think a lot about, and something that over my twenty-year career working in anime distribution, promotion, and licensing, I've spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to do. Finding new ways to promote anime to a broader audience via partnerships including product placement is one tool in the pop-culture marketer's arsenal.

I don't know if you've watched the 2010 movie, Kick-Ass - a superhero vigilante parody based on the Mark Millar comic and directed by Matthew Vaughan (The Kingsmen), but that has some anime in it. A lot of the movie's external New York City street scenes are shot at London's Pinewood Studios on the famous Eyes Wide Shut set constructed for Stanley Kubrick nearly ten years earlier. What's remarkable about this set is that nearly all of the shop fronts on the street are practical. You can shoot inside them.

The Atomic Comics cafe and store as it appears in Kick-Ass was a real building with real interiors, and I lent the set dresser a ton of Manga Video point-of-sale shelving, DVDs, posters, and collectibles to include in the final scenes. Not only did Manga Video and Ghost in the Shell get a shout-out, but I also got to appear as an extra in some of those scenes. I failed to make the final cut though. Story of my life.

For that shoot, Manga Entertainment signed a clearance agreement with the film production guaranteeing that we granted full permission as the trademark owner of Manga Video and Manga Entertainment for it to appear in the movie. We also signed a waiver for the appearance of the licensed anime products and promotional items to appear in the movie.

I wanted to dig further into the legal pros and cons of your question, so I asked my friend, Entertainment Law and Legal Expert, Simon Pulman, Partner at Pryor Cashman if he could break down for us the appropriate way for a TV or filmmaker to insert “references” into a piece of live-action film-making, and to help us understand the difference and difficulties with inserting an actual “appearance” from a popular anime/manga/video game character or logo in one of these works.

“So! To break it down. Firstly, there are no issues with “references.” There's generally no issue with a character referencing an entertainment IP, although if it's disparaging or defamatory you might get a claim. As far as the appearance of characters and logos. There are two possible issues - trademarks and copyright. I'm not a trademark lawyer but my understanding is that under a case called Rogers vs Grimaldi, there's no issue using a trademark in an expressive work in an organic way.

You could also, in theory, receive a claim for copyright infringement. In fact, there are companies and law firms who “troll” for these kinds of claims using detection software that picks up on potentially unauthorized usage. Damages may be speculative, and it's unclear whether companies would actually sue (especially if you don't use the work in advertising or a commercial manner), but even if your use is legally defensible, you could end up with a nuisance claim.”

So far, so good right? Not exactly.

Simon goes on to add, “But here's the real answer to your question. The best practice is to clear every logo and piece of art you intend to use in a scripted TV show or movie, and that's what typically happens. In addition, you must have E&O insurance in case there's an inadvertent error, but on a big production, everything will be cleared just in case.”

I always wondered why anime, manga, and comic book references and appearances were so coded in The Big Bang Theory, one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, and a series that revolves around the lives of a group of American otaku who are obsessed with all things comics, games, and sci-fi.

/Film recently ran an article titled, “Why The Big Bang Theory Never Did a Proper Comic Con Episode,” and it perfectly illustrates the issues that Simon raises. The sheer impracticality of shooting in such a busy and crowded environment full of members of the public, all of whom would require a signed clearance, and ensuring you capture a good take without the very well-known cast being swarmed by eager fans. But! Also! The main hall at Comic-Con, or Anime Expo for that matter features copyright and trademarked intellectual property as far as the eye can see.

As the series co-creator Bill Prady explains, “Our line producer just laughed [at] us, 'You're kidding, right?' You can't shoot in any direction because of all the copyrights. So, any direction you shoot is copyrighted material. It's somebody's logo, or trademark. So we would end up with fake Comic-Con with fake costumes. Yeah, it would be awful.” It makes sense right?

We will continue to see references to anime in well-known television series and movies. Still, I guess that they will be confined to one or two specific copyrighted works to limit the filmmaker's liability and maintain a manageable workload for the producers and lawyers responsible for ensuring that everything is cleared, above board, and safe from liability before its public broadcast.

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