Forum - View topicINTEREST: Director Hideaki Anno Laments Over Anime's 'Decline'
|
Goto page Previous Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
enurtsol
 Posts: 14758 |
|
|||||
|
Another crash so soon after we just recovered from the last crash?
 
Did ya guys feel the crash in the late 00s? Foreigners may not felt it since they're a step removed from the industry, but those in the industry in Japan sure felt it. Nowadays there's more revenue, but there's also more productions, so the revenue per production may not have increased. Think of anime industry like industry of moving pictures like Hollywood. Despite how much ya say it sucks, that in decline?
You're not the only person to notice that, though currently I can't seem to find those old newsgroup data from someone who compiled it while in Japan the last decade for several years.
That's a more likely scenario. Can't put all your eggs in one basket or the same type of people (otaku). Diversify to lessen the shock if one of your demographics takes a hit. |
||||||
|
||||||
Gasero
 Posts: 939 Location: USA |
|
|||||
But when Anno did it, it was "dignified" and meaningful 
|
||||||
|
||||||
Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
|
|||||
Shinji growing a semblance of a spine for 10 minutes cuts it pretty close, I would think. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||||
We did feel it, but it wasn't a "crash" but rather a correction. 2006 featured an unnatural jump in the number of anime series that were being made, and the level was ultimately unsustainable. Tellingly, the nadir of the "crash" in 2010 was still above 2003 levels, i.e. right in the middle of the early-00s boom. So it wasn't like the market completely bottomed out. Your chart also ends in 2011 and I'm pretty sure that in the last couple of years there have been an incredible number of anime series being made. I don't know why people get so up in arms about booms and busts, Even if there was a future "crash" it would be just another correction. After all, anime moves in cycles just like everything else. We're in a golden age, sometime in the future things will get worse but then they'll get better again. Even an astrologist and their tea leaves could tell you that much. As long as one looks at the long-term view then the picture is fairly rosy.
Perhaps at the bottom end of the market more titles (relatively speaking) are having trouble making a profit; there's not enough clear data to say one way or another. But the data is clear for the top end; there are more strong sellers than ever. It used to be extremely notable for a show to break the 10,000 average unit/volume mark, now it's no longer surprising to see multiple shows in a single season break that threshold. That is strong evidence that the fandom in Japan is growing and that top shows are making more and more money. It's also worth pointing out that the business model has changed. These days most titles aren't expected to be profitable in and of themselves but to simply exist to promote the manga, light novel or game that the series is based off of. Not to mention all of the associated merchandise, figures et cetera. |
||||||
|
||||||
Kadmos1
 Posts: 13552 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
|
|||||
Something close is that Misato's Japanese VA played Sailor Moon. As far as industry is concerned, I wonder how much piracy has a factor with this. |
||||||
|
||||||
Jayhosh
 Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
|
|||||
Um... hello? Gunbuster? Nadia? And then you have the Animator Expo, which Anno created in direct response of his disdain for only working on Evangelion for so long. He's contributed much more than just Evangelion to the anime industry.
You know, you can actually make some good points when you're not being a complete forum troll. I share your feelings on the issue, and it's embarrassing just how many people seem to completely ignore what the man is actually saying because of the vague article title. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
|
|||||
|
Anno is right when he says that Anime is in decline. Making hundreds of 12 episode commercials is not the sign of a healthy industry. And furthermore look at the technical quality of these series. Talking heads, no animation to speak of. Yeah yeah Anime is in great shape.
Just for comparison, take any slife of life anime from the eighties and it will have more animation than what you see today. This is a sign of decline. Technical decline. The inability to adapt to new creative tools and run with it. Just pointing to 1 or 2 points of excellence doesn't derail Anno's judgement. What does it tell you that to remake a 26 episode series of a 40 year old cartoon with new technologies the Japanese had to go over the OVA format and sell it to cinemas beforehand ? We are witnessing in the Anime world the same transition that shook the Japanese videogames industry between the ps2 era and the xbox 360 and ps3 era. There is a reason why nowadays most state of the art videogames are made in the west. And no, it's not because Microsoft bribbed every developper. The generation that was raised on ps1 and ps2 thought that nothing good could ever come out from the west. That the word videogames was a synonym with Japan. And they were wrong. Fundamentally wrong. When the Japanese had to compete on technical merits (as a whole industry not just one or 2 studios) with western developpers they fell behind. And did what ? Isolate themselves from the rest of the world and embrace 2d. This is what is happening to anime. Not the 1 or 2 series that are broadcast in daytime for the children and which are marketable to the rest of the world. The 98% percent of the industry that caters to asocial Otakus, perverts, pedophiles etc... There is the problem. Those products are not marketable outside Japan. There are even e-commerce Japanese websites that sell figs that are borderline pedophilic in nature that it blocks western visitors. How's that ? |
||||||
|
||||||
Via_01
 Posts: 551 |
|
|||||
Whoa there. That 98% of the industry you're talking about is one that I enjoy and one that I certainly throw my money at every now and then, without being any of those things you listed (at least I hope not). Even if I'm not a harcore otaku, calling every single hardcore otaku asocial, pervert, pedophile, etc... that seems like some heavy AND insulting generalization there. |
||||||
|
||||||
Urban Flow
 Posts: 6 |
|
|||||
|
Well yeah I mean anime is mostly surrounded by Fanservice and moe garbage these days anyways.
|
||||||
|
||||||
Moroboshi-san
 Posts: 174 |
|
|||||
Last year the disk sales revenue were lowest since 2001.
Real numbers do not support that claim. SInce 2005 the number of top sellers has remained around the same (=10 titles plus/minus few per year).
Miyazaki said it best. When creeps make anime to other creeps its not going to end well. |
||||||
|
||||||
SupraZ
 Posts: 20 Location: Fuyuki city |
|
|||||
|
I've been hearing these horror stories for 20 years; the end of capitalism, the end of oil...the end of the world! and now the end of Anime.
Talking about cliches this look like "notice me senpai" |
||||||
|
||||||
Jonny Mendes
 Posts: 997 Location: Europe |
|
|||||
Guess what. That 98% are bringing allot of new fans to anime. Not everybody want to see the 300+ episodes of never-ending shounen anime. Some people that was thinking that was all the anime had to offer, are turning to watch that 12 episodes shows that are not that time consuming. Not everybody want to watch a peace of art. Some people just want to watch a light show, with some comedy, action, romance and been entertained And moe, battle/harem, fan-service attracts an older audience that don't think animation is for kids only, increasing the anime fan base. And im not saying that all fan-service shows are great. Like in all things. Some are great and some are bad. But there are no need to offend the fans of that kind of anime just because you don't like them. Those products are not marketable outside Japan? What world are you living on. There are a big marked for DVD/BD, figurines, LN, VN and seinen fan-service manga. Just a simple search on the net you can find lots of forums and sites were lost of fans can buy and talk about the Moe related products. And if you go to a cosplay gathering there are allot of people that are cosplaying as that fan-service show characters. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Via_01
Posts: 551 |
|
|||||
I usually don't make the effort, but today I feel like it, so I'll produce some numbers. Let's see... out of the 40-ish shows airing this season, I count around 6-7 that have a moderate level of fanservice, half of being having it as a prominent component of the show. Some of those, like DanMachi, are actually kind of decent (specially considering later episodes). Now, as for moe shows... well, there are certainly many shows with moe aesthetic, but most of them are either harmless, just to pass the time (like Kiniro Mosaic), or just have the aesthetic for the heck of it (or because they are actually aimed at kids). Some of them are even quite fantastic, like Hibike! Euphonium. My point is: saying that most anime is based on fanservice or moe garbage, when not even half of the shows a season (in other words, more than 20 shows), lack these elements on a significant evel, is a big generalization of the matter... specially in a season where a show like Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blackade Battlefront) is expected to be a big seller, possible THE biggest seller. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Moroboshi-san
Posts: 174 |
|
|||||
Just to fix your numbers: we have around 60 NEW shows this season, on top of which we have the continuing shows. |
||||||
|
||||||
Hawkwing
 Posts: 317 Location: Sweden |
|
|||||
|
Decline?
Yeah, you can thank Ishihara Shintarou for that. Heavily censored anime and manga with great restrictions. |
||||||
|
||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group