Toonami Article | Sean Akins' AJC Interview

Transcribed by Jeff Harris

Toonami 2000.

It was the best of times. It was the BEST of times! New Dragon Ball Z. New Sailor Moon. Gundam Wing. Tenchi. The Intruder. Blue Submarine No. Six. In the middle of all of that, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution did an article on Toonami's creative director Sean Akins. It was published on Sunday, June 4, 2000 and was rarely seen by the Toonami fanbase.

So, with no claim to ownership of the article, here is the rare, insightful look at Sean Akins' love for his job from the AJC.

Why I Love My Job
by Sean Akins, For the Journal-Constitution

Creative director, "Toonami" cartoon show, Cartoon Network, Atlanta
AGE: 29
SALARY: Typically, creative directors in television programming earn annual salaries well into the six-figure range.

WHAT I DO: I make a franchise show. A franchise show involves taking several properties --- in this case four 30-minute action cartoons --- and creating a show. "Toonami" is the name of the franchise, which includes "Dragon Ball Z," "Gundam Wing" and others. These are anime, animated shows that originated from Japan. Our franchise involves a lot of 3-D animation of characters I helped create. I created "Toonami's" virtual host, Tom. He introduces all the cartoons we show, and I help decide what cartoons we actually run. We also create original music and make a bunch of television spots with it. To get anime on the air and in children's programming when most people said it wouldn't work was a monumental step in my life.

HOW I GOT STARTED: I started working in Turner Broadcasting in the mailroom in 1989. From there, I did internships and worked hard to meet all the people involved in the same sort of things that I was interested in doing. I did internships in sports, Headline News, TNT and TBS. I then got a job at TNT as a production assistant and worked my way through the ranks.

BEST PART OF MY JOB: I work with a group of phenomenally talented people. We made this thing basically out of nothing. Over the summer, we're going to Japan to talk to the production studios there about animation and the licensing of new properties as well as the joint production of (cartoon) titles in the future.

MOST CHALLENGING PART: Trying to keep everything looking good. When we started out, it was just me and another guy producing television spots, so it was pretty easy. Now that the scope of the project has increased, there's so much more stuff that needs to be done and so much to be delegated. Trying to keep it all together and still make it look cool is the tough part.

FAVORITE CARTOON: When I was little, I went through the whole gamut of cartoons: "Bugs Bunny," "Daffy Duck." When I was a little older, I got into the action cartoons such as "Voltron," "Robotech" and "The Thunder Cats." These days, I'm big into "Toonami." I really like "Dragonball Z" and "Gundam Wing." We're going to start showing a new show called "Outlaw Star," which I really like.

ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE: If they're trying to get into the television business in Atlanta, they need to work hard and go confidently in the direction of their dreams.

WHAT KEEPS ME GOING: All this other stuff aside, my single goal in life is to continue to make beautiful things, and if I can do that, I'll be satisfied.

Sean Akins / BRANT SANDERLIN