I'm not disagreeing with what you said.
All that I find disagreeable is the mud-slinging that came afterward. It takes two to sling mud, and it makes the place smell of Jeremy Kyle.
You're absolutely right, the decent stuff doesn't get a look in because the companies need to make money, which means selling the generic mass market stuff that will actually turn them a profit. But, sometimes that mass market stuff can be pretty good too.
Mass market for one country isn't necessarily mass market for another though. Moe may be big in Japan, but blood and guts sells in the West.
Let's assume that anime has a 9:1 crap to decent ratio. I'm not going to name names as one man's crap is another man's fertiliser. But obviously Japan gets 100% of the anime output, the US gets 20-30%, and we in the UK get a fraction of that.
That's down to what the market can support, and though we may complain, and whine, nothing's going to change hat, unless you can brainwash 50 million people into suddenly realising there is something called anime in this world. But no matter how much we get, it's always going to be in the ratio of 9:1, crap to good.
I lied about naming names, as I went through the same phase, exasperated at the dross that was coming out, and the lack of the good stuff. I mean, Ninja Scroll TV. But the point is that the Ninja Scroll TV sold enough to justify a tin boxset for the collection.
We can deal in two ways, this way, with the it sucks to be a UK fan thread, bitching at the dross coming out, bitching at the companies releasing it, bitching at the fans for buying it, which isn't good for your blood pressure, or how you feel about other fans, it's just not nice. You find yourself, one day, because a company used the wrong colour font for its subtitles, starting Internet petitions and organising boycotts. (Been there, done that, when I was a lot dumber/younger).
Or you can be positive. Be grateful about the shows that are released here, and believe me, in the middle of a recession, with a couple of companies pretty much non-existent, we are right now getting more anime in the UK now than at any time in the past. I've got a tall review disc pile to prove it.
Can't get it in the UK? Who cares? We can import it from the US, or Australia. There's no law against it. Be grateful that if the UK market isn't big enough to support its release, there is an English speaking market that is. Hasn't been licenced in the West. Well, chances are it's been fansubbed.
Have a little patience anyway, old shows, interesting shows do make it to the UK. I had totally given up on FLCL ever coming here.
Take advantage of forums, and communication. Can you imagine having the sort of access you do to anime companies with a company like Fox or Paramount? We are getting Slayers in this country because MVM asked the fans if they wanted it, and a majority said yes. (I said no, given the Region 1 boxsets, the age of the show, and the intended UK release format. Turns out I was wrong, as Slayers is making money in the UK). Anime companies in the UK listen to the fans, they have to, market research costs money. But, they listen to majority opinions, weigh it against economic factors, and always go with the profitable option. You may not get your way, but you will be heard, especially if you are polite.
Patience above all! We live in a now generation, but the world doesn't work that way. You may get your next hit of anime instantly on the Internet, but deals take time, imports take time, pressing discs takes time. My favourite movie, Blade Runner came out in 1982. It was 25 years before I had a home video version I was truly satisified with. I got what I wanted eventually, but I could have spent that intervening time whining and bitching and complaining, or doing something constructive.
And how much anime does any one person need? No seriously, I need to now how much a person needs. I still want more, and I've calculated that if I watch eight episodes a day, I can get through my current collection in 18 months.
