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INTEREST: Hideaki Anno Voices His Concerns About the Anime Industry


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Apollo-kun



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1213
Location: City 7, Macross 7
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:14 pm Reply with quote
Anno has always been right on the money with his criticisms of the industry, I feel. While I do think great stuff still gets made, I have definitely noticed a decline in overall quality in the past decade. It's refreshing to hear more and more creators speak out against the direction that anime, by and large, has veered towards, and I'm hoping it's a signal for more fresh, innovative, and interesting stuff.
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Lann



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 268
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:19 pm Reply with quote
Overall quality yes, but there has been at least one great anime pushing through per season, i feel.
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ryanvamp



Joined: 08 May 2007
Posts: 416
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:20 pm Reply with quote
Because:

*Releasing Death&Rebirth and THEN End of Eva (making twice the money by reusing footage twice)
*Remastering the original
*greenlightning tons of spin-off mangas of questionable quality
*Doing the remake movies

...had no commercial considerations whatsoever. None.


That being said, I do agree with his opinion to an extent.
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7jaws7



Joined: 17 Aug 2013
Posts: 704
Location: New York State
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:26 pm Reply with quote
idk, anime has been pretty par for the course these last few years if you ask me. Still, these last ten years have seen a few positive spikes: 2006 and 2011 were amazing years for anime.
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danilo07



Joined: 25 Dec 2011
Posts: 1580
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:29 pm Reply with quote
Right, anime is totally dead and the project of your studio is the only thing that can save it. Toshio Suzuki was right, this man is a successor to Miyazaki.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8459
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:34 pm Reply with quote
Says the guy who keeps making the same one story over and over again, with diminishing returns.

But hey, maybe that's the dead end he's talking about.

I guess he isn't wrong. I just don't want to hear it from him.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15298
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:40 pm Reply with quote
penguin: He's as hilarious as Suckass claiming he really wants to make small and personal films.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:44 pm Reply with quote
What does "without commercial considerations" mean in this context?
Anime is a business, a commercial enterprise, so I do not understand what he expects.
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:56 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Said Anno, "the Japanese animation industry has hit a dead end—it will be tough to escape unless we can make animation without commercial considerations... It may even be too late."


That's totally ironic, if not hypocritical of you Anno.

animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-09-18/evangelion-ladies-underpants-for-sale-in-japan
Quote:
The official online Evangelion Store began offering Evangelion ladies' shorts for shipping early next month





http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/09/24/asukas-official-underwear-sells-out-quickly-on-evangelions-online-store/
Quote:
Asuka’s official underwear sells out quickly on Evangelion’s online store



http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/28/take-a-tour-of-tokyo-3-on-an-evangelion-bus/



Eva Coffee Mug:
http://www.amazon.com/Evangelion-NERV-Mug-Cup-Black/dp/B000SM129S

And countless other Eva merchandise and commercialization efforts

This interview with Anno shows that Eva video sales generated $800 million in sales and merchandise generating $400 million... back in 2007! And now with Hideki Anno fully controlling and owning all the rights to Eva with the new movies, if he truly feels this way, why does he keep licensing Eva merchandise out?

Hell, if he fears commercialization, why doesn't he put his money where his mouth is, bear all the expenses, and release the Eva movies maybe even for free, without any commercialization whatsoever? He certainly has the power to do so, since he's not beholden to production committees, a very rare case. Yet he won't.


Last edited by configspace on Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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H. Guderian



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 1255
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:10 pm Reply with quote
He means the reliance on Production Committees, I am sure. Not that merchandising occurs.
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animefanworried



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 126
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:13 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
What does "without commercial considerations" mean in this context?
Anime is a business, a commercial enterprise, so I do not understand what he expects.

It means Animator Expo payed a lot of money to have Anno advertise them as the answer to anime at a public event or maybe he's involved with them directly. Its about as credible as the Under the Dog comments mentioning to all the old school fans how old school and awesome his project is going to be with all the "Anime is dead, lets save it!" rhetoric old school fan get boners over.

Anime has always had commercial considerations from day one, quality has remained consistent to this very day if not better thanks to new technologies and a greater amount of series produced and therefor diversity. Anime isn't declining, its doing as usual. Of course, it isn't uncommon for old school fans to not like anime made for a generation other than their own, or to idealize a past through nostalgia glasses, or for old animators to not be enthusiastic for an industry in which their relevance is declining (Not the case with Anno but certainly other animators who have a reputation for complaining).
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:15 pm Reply with quote
H. Guderian wrote:
He means the reliance on Production Committees, I am sure. Not that merchandising occurs.


Except he's doing exactly the same thing as production committees! The whole point of production committees is to bear the huge cost of making anime, to put money upfront and invest and later try to recoup the costs by various commercialization efforts. You don't get to point the finger and whine about something, then turn right around and do it yourself. That's called being a hypocrite.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:21 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
without commercial considerations...


Yeah good luck with that. I'm sure animation studios will love working on $25,000 an episode. If you want to put forth your own money into making your experimental visions come to reality, you'll also enjoy going directly into poverty with no regrets.


Last edited by walw6pK4Alo on Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Blackiris_



Joined: 06 Sep 2013
Posts: 535
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:26 pm Reply with quote
The problems with the production commitees is that the actual creators of the anime often have very limited freedom. This is a problem. Creative and original works that might pose a risk are unlikely to even get financed.

That problem is more relevant now than it was in the past. And not trying anything new is not exactly the best way to change the market. That's the point: The market usually changes when creators try new things that become popular. They can't become popular if they are not even created in the first place, though. Ergo: The market does not change.
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H. Guderian



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 1255
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:28 pm Reply with quote
The point of a Production Committee was to diversify the risk. You could get one big sponsor, or numerous smaller ones on a committee. Many creators acknowledge the meddling these committees can have on the creative process.

UTD utilized Kickstarter, which they stated was to circumvent the Committee problem.

From Wiki:
Quote:
After Evangelion, Anno directed a significant portion of the 1998 anime series Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō (known in English as His and Her Circumstances or Kare Kano for short) — the first Gainax work to be directly adapted from previously-written material — until disputes with both the show's sponsors and the original manga author ended in the director's departure


He left his job because he had problems with a Committee.

Miyazaki despised the Committee system that Tezuka pioneered, Anno is Miyazaki's pupil.

I think it is unfair that just because there are products to pay for shows under the existing system that he is somehow supporting the system entirely. Maybe by being The Big Dog now if he barks loud enough he can foster a conversation to get things changed. Also modern anime wouldn't have happened if the Committee model didn't happen.

Do we actually want to get off it? How are the teen/adult animation markets globally? Pretty poor for TV Animation, especially 2D.


Last edited by H. Guderian on Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
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