YBFREE.comIn Pursuit of Human Interests
| YBFREE.com In Pursuit of Human Interests |
Archives | BLOG | Auctions | Shoppe | Message Board | Company Info | Search |
Probably the best part of the AnimeNext convention was the panel discussion dealing with the state of the anime industry. Discussing the rising popularity of the Japanese animation that have hit our shores and steamed over the American competition, Toshifumi Yoshida, producer for Viz; David Williams, producer for ADV and Matt Greenfield, vice-president and senior producer for ADV, enlightened the audience on the current trends and possible future for the business.
"I had been watching anime all my life and not realizing it was anime," said Greenfield, discussing such classics as Astroboy and Speed Racer. "I realized what it was in 1982 and discovered that Japanese anime was doing things in the graphic medium that on one ever did; not even Heavy Metal. It blew me away and was the type of entertainment I was looking for. Anime fills the void that live action, even with CGI, can't fill."
Williams explained what made him love it. "I was wandering around the Sci-Fi convention and in a dark room, they were playing anime," he recalls. "They just killed the main character. This is cool. They don't do that in cartoons."
Yoshida's family would bring back anime from overseas for him to play in his Betamax, and shows like Star Blazers, Voltron and Robotech hooked him in. "It just blew my mind," he said. "I had to seek out more."
However, for many anime fans, it was difficult to track down their favorite shows. Average fans did not have access to the Internet, which helped interest in anime grow even when American companies were not interested. Fansubbers helped the industry by bringing attention to titles no one had ever heard before with English subtitles that allowed American fans to enjoy the show. Still, fans without this access could not readily get their hands on new titles. Distribution was bad; only a handful of titles appeared on a shelf and new titles weren't introduced for months. Then something changed.
"Pokemon led the way," said Greenfield. "People locked on to that yellow little rat. This is anime. Anime is not all tentacles, robots and people shooting each other. Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon really turned it all around. They became a gateway drug providing a different kind of storytelling and people started to say, 'I want to see more.'"
Then the invention of DVD revolutionized the movie industry, providing movie viewers with new ways to see their favorite films. It was even better for anime fans. "You have to let the product find its own market," said Greenfield. "The biggest thing to happen to anime was the DVD. It took up less shelf space and you didn't have to see two separate videos for people who liked dubbed or people who liked subtitles. In the last seven or eight years, these new shows; these new formats, helped change the face of anime and now instead of a small shelf, stores like Suncoast, have entire sections devoted to it."
The newest creation to expand this growth of anime is Video on Demand (VOD). From your home, a viewer could sort through a list of titles and pick one and the channel will play it for them, allowing viewers to sort through a barrage of new anime from various companies in the industry. While a regular anime channel offering preprogrammed shows, 24 hours a day, is in the works, Video on Demand is a big new step for the industry.
"I think VOD is the wave of the future," said Greenfield. "You may look at something and be like ehh! but for a small fee every month, you may watch a few episodes of a show and then may want to buy the DVD and see more. Companies are now giving away free samples of shows for the same reason, and it is going to help the industry, because people will buy what they like."
And now people are learning that besides anime, they like its' sibling, manga, just as much. When asked, a majority of anime fans in the room said they also buy manga. "Comic books are dead," said Greenfield. "If you heard Frank Miller's keynote address at the San Diego Comic Con, he said the day of the 32-page comic book is dead. People want graphic novels and manga filled that need."
"You see Shonen Jump in a 7-11, now," added Williams. "Who would have expected that? Manga is now breaking away from anime as they own entity with their own section, even away from the traditional American graphic novels."
When it comes to graphic novels, manga is considered the best. "The top 10 graphic novels scanned are either us or TOKYOPOP," said Yoshida.
Such a major growth of the Japanese culture in such a little amount of time, a fear that too much too soon is not a concern for any of the panelists. "The growth is not going to hurt anime, because it is fueled by the demand here and that demand is still high," said Greenfield. "It's nowhere near the saturation point. I don't see any sign of it stopping. There is so much of a variety out there."
"Do you have any idea how long it would take to license so much of the anime that is in Japan," noted Williams. "There is also some great stuff from Hong Kong and Korea that is out there that people are noticing."
Even big companies are noticing as Disney purchased the rights to several anime titles like Princess Mononoke (Hime Mononoke). Their lack of real attention to these titles has angered many anime fans who would rather see the pure vision of the animated work brought to American shores. Anime fans won't have to worry too much about American audiences ruining what they love since the basic model of the business in America is to spend too much money on advertising, big name voice actors and other expenditures, limiting the profitability of anime, making it less desirable for big name companies to take a risk with.
"They may experiment with one or two titles, but they are only going to go after the big money makers," said Greenfield. "Spirited Away only made $10 million. They spent that much on advertising." Williams notes that the numbers dropped even after its Oscar victory in the Animated Feature category. Greenfield then added, "American animation companies spent $80 million on Sinbad and $140 million on Treasure Island. Ghost in the Shell cost $3 million and Jin Roh cost $7 million. Where is all the extra money going that the American companies are spending? It's going to Brad Pitt so he can do a voice of a character."
"We have Clint Eastwood as the voice of Pokemon," jokes Williams.
"People are not going to see a movie or anime for the voice actors," exclaims Greenfield. "The most important element is the story and that is why people have been drawn to anime. It is the same reason why fans were drawn to Lilo & Stich. Disney concentrated on the story and that is why the film was so popular."
Like Lilo & Stich, like all American animation is not horrible. "There is some really good stuff in America," said Williams. "Just like not everything that comes out of Japan is great. We all have our shares of bombs. A lot of Japanese anime fans refuse to acknowledge that, believing if it is anime, it's great, but that's not true."
New titles, bad and good, will keep popping up. The future of anime is good, because people are voting to keep it coming through their hard earned dollars. There does not seem to be an end in site. Said Greenfield, "If people buy it, there will be more."
Send your comments and or questions to Bandwidth@ybfree.com.