“Progress makes me happy.” – Mario Bueno
It’s a late winter afternoon, and I’m speaking with Mario Bueno over Skype and finishing the interview we started at Anifusion. In the quote, he is referring to wrapping up post-holiday cleaning, but I think it is relevant to his long career as a fan of the genre.
Mario Bueno’s had a busy week. Between moving, the holidays, and managing everyday life; Mario has a full plate. However, Mario is still producing episodes and making appearances at events in New York City. As of late, he has become even more prominent in the fan community. From guest status at the 2009 New York Anime Festival to co-hosting the recent AniFusion event, it’d be fair to say that Mario has become something of a figure in the New York City Anime fandom community.
Doujinopolis is a fan produced internet series that has the characters from various anime working and interacting inside the Image Anime store in New York City. It was originally created by Mario after a request from the store, that he produce a campaign to help promote them. The show is somewhat reminiscent of the ASOS Brigade videos that were released when the Haruhi license was first announced.
Of course, it cannot be denied that Doujinopolis has a very niche appeal. After all, only anime fans who have seen certain series will understand its humor or be able to identify the characters who appear on the show. And that’s just how Mario likes it. He tells me that trying to bring in a broad spectrum of fans, “[Would] be like selling a boutique product at Walmart”. “When it comes to fans, it’s quality over quantity,” he tells me;“I’d rather have a small fanbase that likes what I make than a huge group that’s bitching at me left, right, and center no matter what I do.” However, change is coming. Image Anime has been pushing for a new format so the show will have a broader appeal through the inception of original characters. This new style will allow the show to dodge some of the sticky legal issues that result from using copyrighted characters; while no one has complained yet, Image Anime would rather stay on the safe side.
While it’s obvious that Mario is very pleased with Doujinopolis as a creative project; how is it doing as a promotional tool? After all, it’s not hard to believe that when dealing with a store that has as narrow an appeal as Image Anime does, that anyone who is going to stop by the store already does. “A gentleman from London had come to the store. Apparently he had seen the show with his anime club in England, and since he was in the city, he decided to stop by.” Mario even been recognized as “that guy from that show” in plain clothes on the street.
Mario’s production group: Digital Era Entertainment, which he releases Doujinopolis under, is also expanding. The companies Youtube page and all of it’s upload views show that the group is growing. “Just like myself, I wasn’t going to limit Digital Era Entertainment to just one thing” says Mario. In this spirit, Digital Era Entertainment has not only served as the production company for the wide variety of videos that Mario has released, but also at one time was a news group. Working for Latest Issue Entertainment Mario conducted interviews and wrote reports. He’s also co-hosted programs for Anime News Network and even appeared on mainstream television shows like New Amsterdam and Law&Order. With such a variety of positions, I asked him what job he wants his business card to display when all is said and done. Apparently that was an issue when he had his cards made. “When I was working with the people who were designing the card, they told me all the things I wanted to put on it would never fit” Instead, his card currently has no occupation listed. As to what he wants it to finally say “It would be a toss up between actor and film-maker. Each of those really go to the core of what I’m about. Entertainment is what I’m all about, and each of those offers me a different means through which I can entertain.”
His personal Youtube page (separate from the one he uses to post Doujinopolis) is filled with videos of masquerade skits dating all the way back to the long defunct Big Apple Anime Fest. They range from karate demonstrations to dance numbers, but they all share a common passion. Despite the countless preparations, rehearsals, and the final shows in front of waves of choosy nerds, he is ultimately still an unpaid entertainer. He work for nothing more than the positive response of the crowd. Five years after the earliest skit on his page, he’s still doing his costumed song and dance, but now with the world as his stage.
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