James Cameron Urged Guillermo del Toro to Watch This Anime Classic in the Early 90s

Guillermo del Toro just casually dropped some great trivia: he and James Cameron were roommates for a while, they bonded over anime marathons, and their taste swaps ended up changing both of their careers. Oh, and del Toro says he has already seen Avatar 3 and calls it a masterpiece. So, a lot to unpack.

The Paris video-store moment that kicked this all off

Del Toro swung by Video Club in Paris to film France's riff on the Criterion Closet bit, put together by Konbini Video. Within minutes he grabbed a DVD of Cameron's Avatar and launched into a story about meeting Cameron more than 30 years ago. They hit it off right away, he says, and he admired Cameron instantly. According to del Toro, he also ended up living in Cameron's house for a long stretch, where the two of them watched a ton of anime together. Yes, roommates. For a long time. Did not have that on my 90s trivia card.

The anime trade that changed some movies you know

• Del Toro introduced Cameron to 'Battle Angel' (the Yukito Kishiro manga also known as 'Gunnm'). Cameron loved it so much he chased a live-action adaptation for about two decades. That finally turned into 2019's 'Alita: Battle Angel,' which Cameron produced and Robert Rodriguez directed.
• Cameron returned the favor by showing del Toro 'Patlabor' (aka 'Mobile Police Patlabor'), a late-80s/early-90s manga-and-anime mainstay. The manga was by Masami Yuki, and the animated features were directed by 'Ghost in the Shell' legend Mamoru Oshii. Premise refresher: Tokyo's Special Vehicles Section 2, Division 2 uses giant robots called Labors to police a city where criminals also use heavy machinery. It is as cool as it sounds.

Del Toro on Avatar 3: he has seen it, and he is not subtle about how he feels

Del Toro says Cameron has been dreaming about Avatar since the day they met. He also says he has already watched all three films, including the upcoming third entry, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which hits theaters next month.

'I have seen the three Avatars. They are absolute masterpieces. I know where it is going and I think it is going to surprise a lot of people. I can't say anything about the third, but I can say there are very few Americans who have created an entire mythology. You have George Lucas. You have the entire Wizard of Oz mythology with Frank Baum. Jim is creating that with Avatar, and he is going to take you places.'

Translation: he is all-in on Cameron building a whole sci-fi mythology, and he thinks Avatar 3 will zig where people expect it to zag. Also worth noting: del Toro is saying this while riding the high of his own current Netflix moment with Frankenstein.

Release date check

'Avatar: Fire and Ash' opens December 19.