CEOs Say the Darndest Things

Dogasu's Backpack | Humor | CEOs Say the Darndest Things

Alfred R. Kahn is the CEO and chairman of 4Kids Entertainment. He also happens to be the the favorite scapegoat for fans' hatred toward the dubbed versions of the anime his company produces. With an apparent disregard for the fans of the shows he helps reversion for American consumers, Mr. Kahn has been a source of humor for years.

Below are a few of his most memorable quotes collected from a variety of sources.

"I think the term anime is misleading; I think kids don’t know from whence we cometh. By the time we localize the programs kids don’t even know they’re from Japan any more." - Animation World Magazine

"I remember Ninja Turtles, which we do, came from two drunks in um...in Massachusetts." - ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference at NY ComicCon 2006

"The designs are pretty so they appeal to girls, but the characters are very sexy so boys like them." - on the third-grade protagonists of Magical Doremi, as reported on c21media.net.

"If we can't merchandise it, it really doesn't have a lot of interest for us." - ANN Interview

"The market for them [uncuts] just isn't as large as the one for the cut version." - ANN Interview

"My manga comment is...I think manga is a problem. It's a problem because we're in a culture that is not a reading culture. The kids today don't read. They never...they read less today. Every survey...they're watching more television, they're on the Internet more...And manga, in my mind, is trying to put a square...um...y'know, a square peg into a round hole in the United States. It will never be a big deal here. For kids that are into the computer, or the Internet generation. They're not going to read. They haven't read, so they're not gonna start now." - ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference at NY ComicCon 2006

"Japan is over....." - ICv2 Conference on Anime and Manga 2007

"Manga is dying in Japan." - ICv2 Conference on Anime and Manga 2007

The picture of Alfred Kahn comes from the C.W. Post Campus website.