Spotlight: Jimmi Busa, Vice President of Studio Nine Lives
My pal and the VP at animation firm “Studio Nine Lives” talks about his influences, breaking into the industry and his dream project.
by Chris Clay
QCP: Let’s start with the burning question on everyone’s mind: How did you get into anime?
JB: Growing up with 90’s anime gave me the best childhood,along with the pipe dream that maybe someday there was the possibility that I could produce my own anime series or even have my own anime studio. The chances of making that a reality were very unlikely, since I took medical courses, in college only to follow that up with a career in real estate sales! The chance came in 2012 when a friend of mine was impressed with a few of my miniature sculptures and introduced me to a western animation studio owner who wanted me to do some miniature model figures for an original project she planned to pitch in Busan, South Korea that summer. I ended up getting there to present the content itself and saw a way to finally enter the animation industry with a different tactical approach.
My entry into anime was completed when I met Mr. Brian “Bobby” Barredo within days after arriving from Busan. For the next two years, we planned out the process of upgrading his anime studio (Cat Animation) and later on deciding to make a bigger one, which became Studio Nine Lives and it’s sister school, South East Asian Center of Animation Technology or SEACAT. Our aim is to produce an army of next-generation animation professionals by making sure that kids growing now up don’t just dream about having their own studios, but have the knowledge & resources to make it happen.
QCP: How do you decide what projects to take on, as a studio?
JB: We envisioned Nine Lives as a total animation outfit, handling full production work up to corporate project requirements. While we keep anime production close to heart, we actively seek projects that offer us new challenges and provide the best opportunities for our studio and creators to grow, even if it is not anime-related. At present, we are deep in outsourced anime work from Japan, which keeps us on our toes as we prepare for big projects coming up throughout 2020.
JB: If you could work on any project you wanted right now, what would it be?
A: We have set our eyes on a lot of original content out there, including [QCP’s original property] King Blood (laughs), but we would to love to work on Boku No Hero Academia with Studio BONES or WITs Kabaneri Of the Iron Fortress.
Those are my personal takes but knowing Brian, that guy would shoot for anything involving MADHOUSE! (laughs)
QCP: I can relate… I’m a total MADHOUSE fanboy, too!
JB: Yoshiaki Kawajiri will never die! (laughs)
QCP: Speaking of which, do you remember the specific movie or tv series that started your passion for anime?
JB: For me it was Chodenji Machine Voltes V. I grew up watching that show, like most Filipino kids of my generation.
Dragonball Z and Ninja Scroll didn’t help either! (laughs) The pivotal series that made my animation dream burn brightest throughout the years will forever be Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk.
QCP: Really? Interesting! Why Slam Dunk?
JB: Filipinos are madly in love with basketball and with Slam Dunk, I found myself relating to one character’s knee injury and the subsequent struggle to reconcile his past and injuries to get back to the game he loves. it really hit home. To see a creator be able to portray heartfelt emotions through a sports anime, that certainly lit a fire.
QCP: Sports manga are surprisingly underrated.
JB: Yeah, they are. My top two anime are Slam Dunk and Haikyuu and though they are quite popular, I think they should get more credit.
QCP: I have a particular fondness for Eyeshield 21. Yusuke Murata infuses every on-field image with more fighting spirit than a lot of more straightforward shonen battle manga.
JB: Yeah, “Eyeshield 21” is a damn good one. no wonder YM got the nod for “One Punch Man”, his gritty aesthetics really lends itself well to sakuga.
QCP: What are your thoughts about the current state of animation?
JB: Well, the prevalence of CG and 3D effects certainly gave rise to the possibility of higher qualities of animation… but there seems to be more of a focus on quantity over quality, on new and old IPs alike. While I miss the classic animation “feel”, there’s certainly some new titles worth watching for. You just have to choose well, I guess! (laugh)
Tune in next week for part 2 of my interview with Jimmi Busa, where we discuss Disney+, anime hype cycles and the future of genre tv & films.