Worrying signs for the US anime industry

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
AnimeNation has quoted a recent magazine article that paints a less than flattering picture of the apparently declining US anime industry. Quoting a number of US industry insiders, the comments reveal several vital problems that are cropping up with increasing frequency.<ul class="menu">"'A title that cost $2,500 an episode a couple years ago would now cost $20,000 or $25,000 an episode,' said one industry head. That's pricing some companies out of the domestic anime business."
"'Now, when it gets to be a bidding war for a title, we can't compete,' said Tokyopop spokesman Matt Nixon."
"Perhaps the biggest problem anime companies are facing is the relative stagnant growth of the fan base." "'We need to reach out to more than just these core fans,' Bandai's Jerry Chu said."</ul>You can read the full article at HomeMediaRetailing. Of course, the UK industry ultimately relies on the US companies in terms of both English language dubbing and general releases and so anything that dramatically effects the US anime industry will inevitably make waves in the UK community too.
 
It sounds like the US anime industry has become a victim of its own success. By flooding stores with releases, the market has become oversaturated with mediocre and hard to sell titles and given the increased competition for the best new series, license fees have ballooned up to mad levels. I'm not surprised the likes of ADV have had to slow down, it seems as though they were just licensing anything in '03 and '04.

It also makes you realize how important Naruto will be for the future of the anime industry too. Whether you like the series or not, I assume a lot of people are banking on this series to be the kind of success that will force a lot of stores to once again invest in anime.

I don't think the US anime industry will ever die though. The way everything is established now, from the internet to conventions seem to suggest there is way more stability in fandom than there used to be. Now, people can't just suddenly forget about anime.
 
I think a lot of companies only have themselves to blame for this. ADV in particular should have started doing "bare bones" slimpak boxsets years ago. That way people who want shiney bonus features have an incentive to get the DvD's as they come out, and those who dont want extras get a cheaper slimpak when the series is done.

ADV in particular are also to blame for having to cutback like they have after licensing pretty much utter trash last year with the exception of a few titles. (Although other companies have licensed bad titles too) , Quality over Quantity should have been the main thing from the get-go for all companies not just a seemingly new concept.

Of course if Naruto does revitalise the industry the companies may just forget all this and go back to licensing everything under the sun again. :p . Not nessecerily a bad thing of course if theres lots of choice, but it leaves the market in a difficult situation again once the "boom" ends. Just like this time.
 
A very interesting article, if a little worrying.

I'm sure in the US and in various European countries the anime industry is too deeply rooted for it to fade away, however I can see the industry and competition within the industry being damaged severely. I don't particularly see the anime fanbase dying; merely the market a victim of it's own success.

Geneon, more than any company, seem to have a monopoly on the anime industry, with Funimation, Bandai and ADV Films among others vying for 2nd place. The oversaturation of the market could be seen as a natural development from it's previous growth, as demand increases, profit increases and companies seek even further to increase their profits until they over-extent themselves, and the supply exceeds the demand.

I doubt the anime fandom will be damaged, and anime will continue to sell in the USA, but I can well see a large-scale relapse. I wouldn't be suprised if at least one company fell out of the market or get bought out.

I also don't think the extremely high profile Naruto will completely raise the market to it's former level. Other big, although perhaps less popular due to their more mature nature, titles such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo haven't suceeded in doing so, despite selling well themselves.

The statement from Tokyopop, I think, reflects how Viz are gaining control of the manga market. While Tokyopop have perhaps more varied titles of high quality, Viz have got most of the bigger-selling titles, such as Naruto and other Shounen Jump titles, as well as Fullmetal Alchemist and Evangelion, among others, while Tokyopop has resorted to licensing American-made manga. In terms of high-profile titles, even Dark Horse has my personal favourite Berserk and Trigun, while Tokyopop seems to languish behind. It seems Tokyopop have got a dangerous and rugged road ahead.
 
I must admit I've been a little surprised at some of the trash that has seen a region 1 release and also some very controversial titles that surprised me too.

I was quite amused at the mention of the Asian bootlegs, not often you see anyone referring to those! The biggest problem with them is, you can buy an entire series that's a direct rip of the region 1 version, even in some cases, complete with the extras, for £10 or £20, compared to £100++, but the majority of people who buy them are the same people who download and never buy official DVDs anyway!
I think blaming fansubs and pirate DVDs is just their way of excusing mistakes in anticipated sales.

There is of course another reason (which is purely speculation on my part), but compare the number of anime made in 1994 to the amount in say 2004, as an example and there is approx. twice as many anime titles made in that one decade of time, so at what point do the licensers draw a line when deciding on how many of them to release. If say 50% of the titles in 94 were released and again in 2004, that's still double the titles. I know what I'm trying to say, it just sounds a little confusing. Basically I think the market in Japan is just as saturated with anime titles, which then reflects on the rest of the world's releases - anyway as I said, this is just my theory :lol:
 
Miaka-chan said:
I must admit I've been a little surprised at some of the trash that has seen a region 1 release and also some very controversial titles that surprised me too.
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I agree; perhaps companies are just taking every title with the remote possibility of sales without considering choosing more carefully what to release.

Miaka-chan said:
I think blaming fansubs and pirate DVDs is just their way of excusing mistakes in anticipated sales.
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I also agree here; fansubs are too convenient a scapegoat for companies such as ADV, as well as a foil to distract attention from troubles within the company. I'd argue that fansubs bolster sales and work well as promotion, although with sub-par titles it can work backwards.

Miaka-chan said:
Basically I think the market in Japan is just as saturated with anime titles, which then reflects on the rest of the world's releases - anyway as I said, this is just my theory :lol:
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I certainly agree with you there. Now, it seems, there is a huge range of anime to choose from, which must be daunting for anyone new to anime, or someone on a budget who has to decide what titles merit a purchase.
 
ADV certainly need to take a step back and put a little more thought into their licensing, their current catalogue is worringly slim and packed with unexciting and generic acquisitions. They really need to stop laying the blame at the feet of fansubbers and realise that their glut of recent insipid licenses is partly to blame.

Hopes of a resurgence definitely lie with Naruto, if it does as well as expected it hopefully force ADV and Geneon to look to the current big hitters and license some of the fan-favourites. Titles such as Hunter X Hunter and Monster which have a lot of gravitas amongst fans would be a step in the right direction.

If anyone's playing the game right at the moment it's FUNi, their combination of intelligent licensing, comparatively low volume counts, and use of fansub circuit to gain their titles a little momentum before release is paying off. Just look at this years licenses, Spiral, Bakuten and the Gonzo big 3 and what have ADV got: Yugo the Negotiator, the solution to ADV's problem is easily solved- just give us a few titles worth caring about instead of hundreds of cheap licenses no one wants.

Phew........all ranted out now :p
 
Chomolungma said:
I also don't think the extremely high profile Naruto will completely raise the market to it's former level. Other big, although perhaps less popular due to their more mature nature, titles such as Fullmetal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo haven't suceeded in doing so, despite selling well themselves.
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I don't think you can compare Naruto with FMA or Samurai Champloo. As you say, they are more mature "Adult Swim" titles that are shown on US TV from 11pm onwards. On the other hand, Naruto will be on Toonami- meaning it's aimed at a completely different demographic, the same age group that made Dragonball Z such a massive hit.

Personally, I think Naruto can do it. There aren't many series that can get 10-year-old kids in their thousands to download foreign language and subtitled episodes each and every week.
 
Yes I agree, the reason Naruto is so big is that it appeals to all ages, kids like it for the humour and adults like it for the emotion driven storylines etc, if theres one series that can do it its Naruto!
 
Ramen89 said:
I hope this does'nt mean that UK companies will start dubbing series themselves in future :oops:
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Why?

I would love to hear and English accent for once lol, if u mean the cost then thats fair enoguh :p
 
DaNiMé said:
Ramen89 said:
I hope this does'nt mean that UK companies will start dubbing series themselves in future :oops:
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Why?

I would love to hear and English accent for once lol, if u mean the cost then thats fair enoguh :p
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I'm so used to hearing American dubs which I like I think I'd find it weird to hear English accents outside of most anime. I know most anime isnt set in America , but I have kinda got used to US accents for dubs I think I'd find English accents outside anime's like Hellsing or ROD weird. :?

But I very much doubt we will see UK companies dubbing anyway.
 
Paul said:
Personally, I think Naruto can do it. There aren't many series that can get 10-year-old kids in their thousands to download foreign language and subtitled episodes each and every week.
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True, and as Mangaminx has mentioned Inuyasha previously caused an anime boom in the US, and Naruto has maintained an equal level of popularity. I guess we'll have to wait and see; most likely you're right.

Although I'd love to have British VAs in Hellsing or ROD, as this article shows, the prices for licensing anime per episode are too high for a UK-based company, and it's much less cost-consuming and time-taking to use another, pre-existant English dub.
 
does VA=voice accent?

And i was just wondering, other than the DB series, Inu Yasha, Naruto, Bleach etc. Are there any un heard of long running anime series' that are out there? :p
 
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