Anime Trailblazer Jan Scott-Frazier Passes at 59

Anime trailblazer Jan Scott-Frazier passes at 59 due to health complications. She was best known for her work in the Japanese animation industry and her role in bridging cultural barriers to bring anime to America.

Frazier moved to Japan in 1987 to pursue a career in the anime industry. She attended the International Animation Institute and became a teacher a year before graduation. After that, she worked in the industry for 13 years and was the first foreigner to hold a job in the production department of an anime studio.

In 1992, she founded her own production company, TAO Corporation Ltd. in Bangkok, Thailand. And in 1994, she co-founded GENESIS Digital Publishing Company with Izumi Matsumoto where they created the first digital manga, Comic ON.

Over the years, she worked on the animation team for games such as Granstream Saga, Madou Monogatari, Kyoushin Senki, and Panzer Dragoon OAV. She also directed episodes of Susie-chan & Marvy and was the background artist for Doomed Megalopolis and Genocyber.

Later in her career, she worked on productions such as Koiko no Mainichi, Riki-Oh 2: Horobi no Ko, Transformers: Victory, Bio Armor Ryger, Lost Universe, Dead Leaves, Psychic Academy, and Scryed.

She was a producer, director, translator, technical director, production assistant, background artist, 3D animator, and in-between checker. She pretty much did every job imaginable in the anime industry aside from voice acting.

Colorado Anime Fest shared a post on Facebook saying, “Colorado Anime Fest is deeply saddened to share the passing of Jan Scott-Frazier, a beloved Denver local and a trailblazer in the American anime community. Jan was one of the first Americans to work in the Japanese anime industry, contributing as a producer, director, and teacher. Her groundbreaking work helped bridge cultural gaps and brought anime closer to fans in the U.S.”

Frazier was an anime trailblazer with a heart of gold. The anime community is indebted to her for all of time.

Image from UnSplash