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Read about Iku Mohamed, Class of 1983

Nikkei Business, March 10, 2003 (Translation)
The Disciple of High Quality Japanese Animation

Iku Mohamed (President: Japan Digital Entertainment, Inc.)
www.bubuchacha.com
Born and raised in Japan by Pakistani parents, this man´s dream is to bring high standard animation to the children of the world. His work has given him a huge following amongst parents wanting their children to watch his show.

Every Saturday at 5:30Pm, you can watch a yellow car, which was formerly a dog, zoom across the television screen. Yes, this is BuBu ChaCha, the popular animated series. BuBu ChaCha was first broadcast on NHK Satellite Channel in 1999. The high ratings and the educational concept of the show have led to several reruns on the station. Overseas, Disney Channel Asia has picked up the show from early on. BuBu ChaCha has gone to become one of Disney Asia’s top shows, and the show is starting to spread to European countries as well.

BuBu ChaCha was created and produced by Iku Mohamed, a 37 year-old Pakistani, who was naturalized 5 yeas ago.

Japanese animation for children
I was raised reading Japanese Manga and watching Japanese cartoons, and have learned many things from them. My dream has been, and will always be, to bring good quality Japanese cartoons to children across the globe.

Iku graduated an international school in Kobe, then went on to graduate Sophia University, in Tokyo. Iku is the eldest of 4 children, and he was raised to take over his father’s trading business. Being dissatisfied with trading, he went to work for several companies, the last one that was owned by Malaysian Tycoon Ananda Krishnan. As Iku was in charge of acquiring Japanese contents for Asian broadcast, animation naturally caught his eyes. He talks about his endless and unsuccessful efforts to acquire remake rights to several good old Japanese animated series. He thought to himself that if he had 2 years, he would be able to go ahead and make his own show from zero. And this is the time he meets renowned animation director, Amino Testurou. Amino and Iku clicked immediately, and they began discussing a potential future project, a cartoons series for the family audience. Once they had the concept in mind, Iku took the project to NHK, where they decided to give him a green light in broadcasting his show almost immediately. According to Kiichiro Okamoto of NHK, "BuBu ChaCha is truly the only recent show made only for the benefit of children. It was a perfect match NHK’s concept."

The nostalgic celluloid animation, over computer graphics
Fund-raising was the final issue for this project. Iku had already pre-sold various licenses and procured 70% of the funding. Many who know Iku talk about him as a "warm-hearted and honest person". For example, Masayoshi Yamano, Chairman of Yamano Gakuen, mentioned about how Iku would take care of his daughter Jane Yamano, and his mother, Aiko Yamano, whenever they would visit Osaka. "He was single then, and must have had many other things to do, but he treated them like his own family and showed them around. I always wondered how he could be so thoughtful."

However, being nice does not lead to a successful business. It is his knowledge as a businessman in the field of entertainment that led to his success. Tetsu Kayama, COO of Sega Corporation, had licensed the game rights to BuBu ChaCha when he was at his previous job. "Iku’s integrity, strong determination and dedication to quality, adding to his keen business sense, provides him with a perfect balance."

Most firms are only interested in the merchandising aspect of an animation show, with no regard to the content itself. Iku thinks different. He believes that the content of the show is most necessary to make it successful. And Iku stuck it all out for quality. For example, he decided to use the orthodox method of animation, using celluloid and ink/paint by hand, instead of computer-graphics, as it would give a warmer feeling. He also insisted in using a full orchestra for the music, rather than a synthesizer, as he wanted to deliver real sound to children. Another decision he made was to incorporate corporate governance in the business, whereby all the investors and production staff get to know the details of the revenues and expenses. His offered incentives to the production staff as well, which was a first time in Japan. His multi-cultural background gave him the confidence in making sure the show does not offend any race or religion.

Long-term business
In order to concentrate on the quality of the show until the final episode, he chose to broadcast BuBu ChaCha on NHK´s Satellite Channel, which has fewer viewers that terrestrial stations, and is also sponsor-free. This has led to a constant quality control over the entire show, and from May this year, Toys R Us will be carrying the BuBu ChaCha merchandise in their stores nationwide. This would generate revenues of US$1 billion locally. Hitonori Arai of Imaizumi Corporation, licensee of marine and leisure items, talks of BuBu ChaCha as "A heart-warming show I haven’t seen in a long time, and I think girls would like it too."

Iku is not in a hurry though. His insists on teaming up with the right people in every territory, those who will take good care of the show. He goal is to produce a theatrical version of BuBu ChaCha and have it distributed worldwide. Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away have gained tremendous artistic recognition overseas. On the other hand, Japanese firms are interested only in profits from animation, thereby pushing down the quality of each show. Kayama of Sega says, "Entertainment Business boils down to people and relationships." Iku has been a well-trusted person from a long while back, and he is perfect for this business.

Looking like a foreigner, the Japanese Iku is the person who will carry on the true tradition of Japanese animation.