At the well-known manga distributor Manga Entertainment, Wu-Tang Clan almost had their own official animation, The Imperial Warrior.
In an interview with AnimEigo, Manga Entertainment’s senior vice president, Lawrence Guinness, recently shared some information about the show that almost became a reality.
Around 33:30 in the interview, Guinness stated that although the series was almost finalised, some of the members of the renowned hip-hop group did not approve it. As Wu-Tang “challenging the forces of evil through music and martial arts skills,” he allegedly offered the series to Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records. Guinness described the concept as “the project I was proudest of that never happened” and said he thought it was “revolutionary.”
There were other musical acts that Manga Entertainment thought about performing with besides the Wu-Tang Clan. According to Guinness, the Spice Girls and his business had “very advanced talks” regarding an animation that would appeal to Studio Ghibli aficionados. Teenage girls “may have gone to the cinema to see this,” the senior vice president was certain. To view this, I believe you would have had to wait in queue for a very long period. The vision was this. Look, I’m not sure what else exemplifies girl strength if that isn’t it.
Because of their long-standing affinity for anime, Wu-Tang Clan has incorporated elements of its themes and visuals into their work. In particular, RZA, a member of Wu-Tang, produced the soundtrack for the anime adaptation of Afro Samurai.
Wu-Tang Clan and game developer Brass Lion Entertainment revealed Wu-Tang: Rise of the Deceiver, an anime-style game, last month. The action role-playing game will be compatible with Ghostface Killah and RZA’s upcoming movie, Angel of Dust, and may be played online by one person or with up to two more pals.
Bryna Dabby Smith, the CEO and co-founder of Brass Lion Entertainment, told The Washington Post that Wu-Tang adored the ideas the company submitted for the game.
Before that, the renowned group had a fighting game called Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style that was launched on the PlayStation 1 and contained anime influences.
