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Godzilla's getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Well deserved in my opinion, especially since other fictional characters like Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and The Simpsons all have stars (don't know if The Chipmunks have a star, though I do remember an episode when they were trying to get one, and if Popeye still doesn't have a star, some heads need to roll). It's also, to my knowledge, the first fictional character from Japan to get such a prestigious honor. However, since we're opening up international fictional stars, here's a short list of Japanese characters that should get a star, and it's a very, very short list:
Astro Boy.
Told you it was a short list. Nothing modern. No otakutastic series. No 4Kids-guided franchises. Nothing seen on Cartoon Network (well, the original 60s version anyway; the 00s version came and went and came and went this year, but the original never aired on Cartoon Network) or The Anime Network. Just Astro Boy.
Astro Boy is the first anime superstar. Without him and his creator, Osamu Tezuka, there wouldn't be an anime industry that thrives today and provides programmers and opportunists enough material to make a mint in this country. Astro Boy was anime before anime was anime. Kids of the 60s saw the series as just a cartoon (otakus cringe whenever they see the word "cartoon" attached to anime because they feel Western distributors made anime "cartoons;" I can imagine their surprise if they ever found out that shows like ReBoot, Batman, Fairly Oddparents, and other American shows are called "anime" in Japan just to spite them). People like Fred Ladd helped engineer the series' arrival and created a new industry in the US bringing numerous anime titles stateside all the way up to Sailor Moon. If Toho could pony up the dough to give their iconic character Godzilla a star on the Walk of Fame, certainly Sony (US distributor) and Tezuka Productions would be willing to do likewise for a character that launched an entire industry.
Maybe they'll do it when the movie comes out. Heaven knows the franchise needs some kind of jumpstart in this country. Perhaps Sony needs to position the current series on an outlet that will actually show it. Fox Box and ABC Family would be nice, especially since Kids' WB and Cartoon Network has given up on it. Part of it is the KWB/CN bloc's fault since they had very little fate in the series, but you have to be a dummy not to blame Sony for the way they handled the series in North America. Watered-down colors, not airing the original music, not airing it in its original ratio. Astro Boy is a very different show in America than it is in Japan, and that's a shame. The GBA game has gotten a lot of praise, so there has to be something to that. I really want Astro Boy to succeed in this country and reach even higher heights. After all, this franchise jumpstarted an entire global industry, and Astro Boy and his creator Osamu Tezuka should be honored by Sony, if not the powers that be at the major anime distributors, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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