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Interview: BONES Studio President Masahiko Minami

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ANN interviewer wrote: in the vein of moe– which foreign audiences tend not to be as receptive to. Asian audiences, who are part of the foreign audience too, are very receptive to it.

I don't think the interviewer was asking about the niche market. It's well known that moe is exceptionally successful among hard-core asian fans, particularly in South East Asia. But moe titles have never appealed to non-anime fans. Moe sells exceptionally well in many markets, but it doesn't bring new fans to anime. Titles like Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Dragonball and Cowboy Bebop do that.

I agree with the above, I think moe, kawaii, the perverse, and the downright strange can still bring fans to anime without the need of a Cowboy Bebop-like crutch. Perhaps they're the kind of fan you don't want to see added among the ranks, but that's YOUR problem, not theirs. Sure I may have gotten into anime in the 90s with the likes of Project A-ko, Armitage III, and Green Legend Ran, but I quickly came back after a break with the likes of Haruhi, Shakugan no Shana Rozen Maiden, Inukami, and Zero no Tsukaima. Even if your Little Busters and Clannads don't themselves bring people into initially anime, new fans can instantly flock to them once they discover their own likes and dislikes. I'm sure Toradora alone hooked many new fans to anime.

Also the notion of COWBOY BEBOP FOR THE WESTERNERS, MOESHIT FOR JAPANESE is outdated and should make you look like an idiot, plenty of us MURRICANS love the moe and ecchi (and I suppose the shoujo and josei, since that's as opposite of CB as you could get), and buy the merchandise. There is no clear cut divide, and I would argue the greater threat to not creating future anime fans is the lack of Toonami at the 4-6 PM weekday time slot.

There's no doubt that's the case for some fans, but what about in general beyond here, that fansub forum, the blogsphere, 4chan, and such? If you were to entice any random everyday person or a group of peeps into anime that also allows them to remove some preconceptions about it as well, what will you show them?

Cause you know, nothing made since 2000 makes any new fans. Only old graybeard anime can do that!

Even worse, all these anime are shonen/seinen shows. No shoujo or josei anime create new fans, only male-orientated shows can possibly do that! No fans were created by shows like Sailor Moon, Madoka Magica, Princess Tutu, Free!, or Revolutionary Girl Utena of course.

I'll refer back to my point on the absolute lack of "get from the middle/elementary school and turn on anime" television block.

Perhaps they're the kind of fan you don't want to see added among the ranks, but that's YOUR problem, not theirs.

Also the notion of COWBOY BEBOP FOR THE WESTERNERS, MOESHIT FOR JAPANESE is outdated and should make you look like an idiot, plenty of us MURRICANS love the moe and ecchi (and I suppose the shoujo and josei, since that's as opposite of CB as you could get), and buy the merchandise.

I hope you look forward to Space Dandy, the universe's stupidest [baka] anime! We've taken one great hardships to ensure this is the universe's stupidest anime. It will definitely be something to look forward, enjoy, and laugh at.

Was this directed towards me? I was never referring to Japan vs. America. But mainstream vs otaku. The problem is the same in Japan, and in many other markets. The growth in the consumption of anime has slowed down in part due to the fact that a larger portion of the anime that was produced in the past decade was not "mainstream accessible." Especially the stuff geared towards older (ie: seinen/josei) audiences.

This stuff is accepted fact in the industry. Denying it is like denying climate change.

Man, it would be cool if someone did a little survey on fans nowadays on what was the first anime that got them hooked in the first place. I wonder if it is the same type of shows as before or if there's some shift.

Man, it would be cool if someone did a little survey on fans nowadays on what was the first anime that got them hooked in the first place. I wonder if it is the same type of shows as before or if there's some shift.