It's safe to say that anyone who is a fan of anime knows about Anime News Network, the unquestioned king of anime websites. I can't rightly remember if it was through complete happenstance or me emailing first, but I struck up a conversation with Jonathan Mays, then a contributor and now the editor for ANN. After many, many late night chats via MSN, I finally asked him to swap some emails with me for my latest segment of Good, Serious Fun.  Little did I know that this was going to be a near-2,800-word epic that took nearly six months to complete, but it was well worth the wait.  Dear readers, here is the result.  My questions are in boldface.

Please give me a brief bio about yourself. The interview equivalent to an A/S/L check in a chat room. You can either use your real name or not. It's your choice.

Man, I had to Google A/S/L…I'm Jonathan, 21, and somewhere between St. Louis and San Diego at the moment.

How did you get started with jpop? I mean, you're a chemistry major, right? Was one of your prerequisites "redefine Japanese music in America?

 Several years ago at our state orchestra retreat, I was hanging out with some people who had peculiar music tastes. One of them liked J-Pop and told me about someone named Namie Amuro. I guess that stayed in the back of my head until summer of 2003 when Geneon started selling anime CDs over here. By then I was confident enough in my so-called anime writing that I figured I'd try an anime music column. Since then, curiosity and a patient boss have allowed me to expand it to J-Pop, interviews, and, um...tangential items.

So what was the first JPop CD you ever purchased? Is that the one that went into your review?

 Chihiro Onitsuka's Sugar High CD and Budokan DVD.

And what in the heck are "tangential items?" That just means you get a lot of free swag, huh?

No, no, I mean stuff that is tangentially related to anime and anime music. I guess you could say the column begins with anime music, but it usually doesn't end there.

In your experience in reviewing, do you think there's a difference between reviewing a rock/pop-based album versus a classically-based album? I mean, most folks know Led Zeppelin before then know Gershwin, so when you talked about Hyde's guitar sounding like a horn in your review of "Season's Call," my first thought was, "Dude, he's just creating a harmonic between strings." Anyway, should a reviewer be totally versed in the genre of music he/she's reviewing—or at least a similar vein—or is that irrelevant?

Of course it helps to be well versed in something you're reviewing. My strength is classical music, but that didn't keep me from foolishly regarding part of a Beethoven concerto as a Shiro Sagisu original. I'm only more likely to make those mistakes in other genres. But as long as I'm fair, honest, and kind of consistent, I think folks will forgive my occasional missteps, especially when most other J-Pop writing has an excess of blind love, hatred, and cowardice.

What is the absolute crown jewel in your writing collection? Is it the Sailor Moon book that you published, or something else?

As far as contributions to the "community," the Studio Ironcat story. That thing combined months of original reporting into one feature that exposed a company for the disaster it was. I was pleased with my recent Live 8 commentary in which I invited a Kenyan economist to give his thoughts, though that was more about breaking conventions than making anything really good. I have an Ayumi Hamasaki review that I think is an ideal way to approach J-Pop over here, with equal parts background and analysis. It's just too time consuming to keep up regularly. I take some measure of pride in my Warner Music story, which began with a Wall Street Journal report and took it much further. And hopefully my Hyde concert report will be evocative without too much pretension or false drama.

Wow, that was long and indulgent. I guess I'm proud of small bits and pieces that, humility aside, I believe have taken J-Pop coverage to places they have not been before in America. I would probably be more successful were I more consistent and focused, but this way is definitely more fun.

During the time you've reviewed and interviewed the folks who make Japanese tunes, have you ever found a person that keeps coming up time and time again? I know that Marty Friedman (former Megadeth guitarist) has written/produced music for both Nanase Aikawa, Ami Suzuki and a few others, but is there like some sort of kingpin who is credited as a major source of music production?

I should pay more attention to credits beyond the big artists and their producers, but I'm afraid I really haven't so far. I was recently surprised, however, to see Avril Lavigne's writer doing songs for Puffy AmiYumi.

In the couple years I've "known" you (how well can you know a cat via intermittent IMs?), you've risen from reviewer to senior editor to just plain “editor” at ANN. How'd that all come down? Any fun new stuff coming up down the road from those guys?

It's not a very interesting story—just working hard and staying open to new ideas. Interviewing Japan's best artists was not on my mind when I was entering encyclopedia data, but I guess that's how things work sometimes.

And when that sort of thing was presented to you, why'd you pop on it? Resume building or just for fun?

Aside from my internship at a hard rock station during college, I don't think I've EVER had this sort of opportunity just plunk itself down in front of me and ask if I'd like to go out for coffee. Personally, I think it's a fascinating story. Nothing was presented; I just didn't expect everything to work out as it has. I guess it's a matter of actually going out and doing something rather than waiting and wishing and hoping.

Do you think that Japanese music will ever take off in America as much as Japanese animation did?

No. That doesn't mean it can't be a lot bigger than it is now, or that the odd artist won't make a mark on the Billboard charts, but imagine where anime would be if there were no English dubs.

So "localization" is pretty much the only way for the music to really hit? Oh, I wouldn't say that at all, just that music in Japanese will almost certainly not be as popular as cartoons in English.

Are bands who don't exhibit a high level of Japan-ness (musically anyway)—like UVERworld or High and Mighty Color—in a better position to score with American audiences? An analogue I can think of would be the bands Evanescence (from Arkansas) and Lacuna Coil (from Italy). Lacuna Coil had been cranking out albums for years before Evanescence scored big with pretty much the EXACT same sound. Probably not coincidentally, the last two LC albums (that came out concurrently and after Evanescence) have sold huge and made their label a lot of money, even though nothing really changed.

 I don't know. I'm not totally ignorant when it comes to "business" stuff, but sitting back and saying this guy is a guaranteed superstar and that guy doesn't have a chance is kind of foolish for me to do. I'd only say it probably helps to do what you do best, which for most Japanese bands means singing in Japanese.

What are the obstacles that either stand in the way or move aside passively?

Someone I know made a passing comment about this yesterday, and I thought it was sort of profound. "Japan has always seen the US market as out of reach," he said. Why? "They see us as the innovators of cool and don't realize we have the reverse perception of them."

That's a really good observation. On the flip side of that coin, another interviewee for my site here said that it's like "Japan has convinced asphalt is a tasty snack," meaning that we'll pretty much consume anything from them just by virtue of where it was made. It's interesting that the two sides haven't met up yet.

I guess Japan has been the shy middle school boy who had a crush on the girl across the classroom but was too afraid to ask her out, and little did he know she would have said yes. At least with J-Pop, the window to make a serious pass has not yet closed. Avex and its new management is probably the most likely to find the courage to try.

Do you think it'll be someone like Hikaru Utada or Dir en Grey that will breakthrough first? Am I ever going to see Onmyouza tour here?

It's hard to say "someone like" because most of the failures so far, except for Utada's, have owed more to the marketing than the music itself. Dir en Grey has a shot this summer, so I guess we'll see how that goes.

How do you mean "except for Utada's?" Did she just put out a sub-par album or something? I haven't heard it, so I don't rightly know. As for DeG, what's your off-the-cuff gut feeling on their success or failure with Korn on the Family Values Tour?

Yes, Utada's Exodus was a sub-par album. It was bold but not a smart move for someone with her huge overseas success to so severely change her style as she's trying to use that same reputation to get a foothold in the US. Dir en Grey, I really don't know.

My buddy in Nagoya has a metal band that kicks ass (I've mentioned them a lot on my site, name of Vio System Divide), but his lyrics are kind of in "Engrish." Is that more of a hindrance to gaining airplay outside of Japan than singing entirely in Japanese? "Engrish" is a hindrance and a pointless one.

Mari Iijima once told me she was singing in English at a local anime convention, and the fans demanded she switch to Japanese. As sad as it may be, there's no doubt that exoticism gives J-Pop artists an edge in America. Unless, of course, they know English like Utada and feel they can compete on a level playing field.

What's spinning in your CD player/MP3 list right now?

Right now, uh, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major. My grandparents saw Singapore's Min Lee play it with the San Diego Symphony, and they sent my sister the CD, which I have now adopted. Also, Dead Run by SENS, a group I fell for when I saw “Kamisama, Mou Sukoshi Dake” and finally interviewed this spring after trying for a year or so.

Yeah, I haven't heard a lot from SENS, but what I have heard I REALLY like. They're a pretty prolific duo, aren't they? Like 30 albums or something?

Yeah, 30 sounds about right—it's just crazy.

And speaking of interviews, how do those go down? Do you do phone conferences or face-to-face?

Phone, in person, rarely over e-mail because those usually suck, but I did just finish a good one with Avant Garde's Ai Uchida. We traded correspondence for about a month.

Is there one dude/ette whom you rely on for translation purposes?

Not yet.

When you've had ENOUGH!!!! jpop, what do you like to listen to? How's the actual performing of music going these days?

This may be subculture sacrilege, but I do enjoy most of the radio Top 40 stuff. Billboard's seasonal Hot 100 lists are fun, too. As for specific artists, I don't want to bore you with too much classical stuff, so I'll just say Sibelius, Vivaldi, Bruch, Chopin, and Shostakovich. I also love Sting, Santana, Matchbox 20, Ben Folds, Josh Groban, Green Day, OutKast, 3 Doors Down, Tori Amos, and others that are too embarrassing to name. Viola is going well. I've finally learned to loosen up when I play, something I wish I had learned about ten years ago.

Watching much anime these days or is there just no time in your schedule? You know what, gimme some faves and fehs anyway. It's my website, dammit.

Anime is almost nil now, though I watched Nausicaa when it was on TV a few weeks ago. I could still watch FLCL anytime, and probably Ghost in the Shell. Recently I've been into the unfortunately named Love Revolution, which is only like the fourth drama I've ever seen, but I'm on a roll after GTO, Long Vacation, and Kamisama. I also saw the last half of April Story on TV recently. Maybe I'll pick that one up.

I know you're a big SaiKano fan, so how'd you feel about the OVA?  

What? The Saikano OVA is out?

Yeah, it came out a while ago. We'll talk more about it after you watch it. Of these composers, give me your favorite: Shiroh Sagisu, Kou Otani, Joe Hisaishi. Now justify your decision. And yes, I've left two important figures off for the next question.

Oh, fun. Hisaishi is in a league of his own, I can't find any Otani these days but I loved Haibane, and Sagisu is resilient even if he shames me by ripping Beethoven passages that I only realize two years after the fact.

Do you think it'd be safe to call Hisaishi the John Williams or the Johannes Brahms of anime? It seems like his scores are always just HUGE with sound. Very epic.

Sure.

As for Otani, he mailed in a performance with "Shakugan no Shana," which I didn't realize until much later. And since Sagisu is one of my favorite guys out there, you'll have to explain the Beethoven comment to me. I took a class in music history in college, but that was a long time ago.

The second half of Sagisu's "Yukino Miyazawa I (Concerto)" is a straight rip of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.

Do you think that either Yoko Kanno or Yuki Kajiura have "jumped the shark?" I mean, it takes me about 16 seconds to recognize their work, and it's usually stuff I've heard before. Is there any gas in the tank left? That being said, who's a more formidable duo: Kanno & Maaya Sakamoto or Kajiura and Minami Kuribayashi?

If songs are recipes, Kajiura make sure nobody leaves her anime songs with an empty stomach, though maybe not a satisfied one. Tsubasa Chronicle was a big change of pace for her. So that's a good sign. Is Kanno really that easy to recognize? I don't even know who Minami Kuribayashi is, so I'll go with Sakamoto.

Listen to the Ops for Mai-HiME, Chrono Crusade, Mai-Otome and Rumbling Hearts and you'll get the idea really quickly. And from what I understand, Kajiura writes most of her music. And yes, though the horse is dead; we continue to beat it. Who's your favourite overlooked composer in anime?

Masamichi Amano is totally overlooked. His Giant Robo and Princess Nine scores were great, and apparently he did Battle Royale's music, too. Kenji Kawai also gets no respect, for some reason. I guess people don't really like Ghost in the Shell's music that much.

Who's your favourite artist of all time? Since I also hate answering this question, I'll give you the out of selecting artists in differing genres.

In J-Pop land, Utada. It's not even close. I love "First Love." I post on Utada forums. I'm a total Utada dork.

So you're studying in Missouri, which means there's mad barbecue all around you. Where's your favourite place to eat when you're at school or at home? What do you get when you're there? If you owned your own place, what would be "The Jon," your own signature dish?

El Maguey has decent Mexican food—none of that Tex-Mex junk. Burritos or chicken. KC Masterpiece and Super Smokers were awesome, but they both closed! I would like to buy back Old Town San Diego from those jerks at Delaware North (the same folks who do stadium food service, which should tell you all you need to know) who drained the place of its life and sent all the tourists and locals elsewhere. I would bring back Hamburguesa for its quesadillas and especially its Flamenco guitars.

Wait, wait, wait… I asked you about barbecue because you're in one of the three most important barbecue places in the country (see also: Texas, North Carolina) and you nerd out on Mexican food? C'mon boss, you've gotta do better than that. I want some full-on "smoky ribs with sauce getting all over everywhere" stories, not burritos and quesadillas. But I'll give you a mulligan on the Flamenco guitars; those are cool.

Okay, okay, you're in luck because Super Smokers just opened back up thanks to some cash from one of the local car dealers. I saw a BBQ special on Travel Channel last night that gave Memphis the crown, but I can't imagine any city beating the sauces around here.

Sweet, dude! Thanks for taking the time to hang out with me here!