Frazier was the first foreigner to work in the production department of a Japanese animation studio
Anime industry veteran Jan Scott Frazier launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign on Friday to help her move into assisted living. Frazier wrote that she had been in the hospital for the entire summer. As she can no longer live in her townhome, she has to move into assisted living and needs help moving in, getting a truck and movers, and setting herself up to live alone.
As of press time, the campaign has raised US$10,000 of its US$12,000 goal. She posted an update on Saturday stating, “Wow! A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far. You’re making my life possible.”
Voice actress Amanda Winn Lee (Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Rei, Persona 4‘s Yukiko) previously launched a crowdfunding campaign in January 2022 on behalf of Frazier. On the GoFundMe page, Winn Lee wrote that Frazier has been experiencing medical problems, noting that she was ejected from the kidney donor list. Because of this, she was depending on her oxygen concentrator and needed the money to fix or replace it. She was also the caretaker for her elderly mother and needed help dealing with other miscellaneous expenses. “Please help someone who has helped so many,” Winn Lee wrote.
The campaign raised US$14,130 of its US$10,000 goal. Frazier later posted an update to thank donors and announce that she had purchased the new oxygen concentrator.
Frazier has worked in the anime industry in Japan for 13 years in a number of different positions, including as a producer. She joined Artland‘s production department in 1989, making her the first foreigner to work in the production department of a Japanese animation studio. In 1992, she founded her own full production company, TAO Corporation Ltd., in Bangkok, Thailand. In 1994, she co-founded GENESIS Digital Publishing Company with Izumi Matsumoto (Kimagure Orange Road) where they created Comic ON, the first digital manga.
She became the president of Production I.G. USA in 1995 and worked as a producer and technical director on the Japanese side. She was technical director of the animation for the Grandstream Saga, Madou Monogatari, and Kyoushin Senki games as well as working on the Panzer Dragoon OAV. As a freelance director, Frazier directed episodes of Susie-chan & Marvy and worked on the development of original TV series projects. After returning to the United States, she founded the non-profit voice actor project Voices For.
Source: GoFundMe
