Forum - View topicAnswerman - Is Netflix Good For Anime?
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CatSword
Posts: 1489 |
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I don't see how Netflix's current turnout is concerning. They've produced a variety of genres - supernatural horror, suspense, sci-fi, musical/fantasy, comedy, martial arts, and crime. Their other Western animated/live-action movies and TV shows show that they're not afraid of any genre. |
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scowler
Posts: 93 |
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Knights of Sidonia and Devilman Crybaby seemed to do well on Netflix. Aggretsuko and Ajin did ok, I suspect. I don’t have numbers of course, just going by social media mentions. The idea that all “Netflix Original” anime are doomed to fail is itself too simplistic.
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kotomikun
Posts: 1205 |
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I can try to test out that theory, but I'm not quite sure how to do it since "super otaku-centric" is a very subjective label, and if you're really going to paint all shonen with that brush (Naruto, Pokemon, MHA, etc.; "shonen" literally just means it's made for young boys) then that kinda explains a lot. Ironically, Evangelion probably qualifies as otaku-centric since it's a deconstruction of mechas and the culture surrounding the genre, and Netflix apparently didn't have a problem with that. Personally, I'd only call something otaku-centric if it's either about the anime/manga industry or anime fans (so, yes, Shirobako, though it's by far the least "anime" example and would be perfectly fine for a non-anime-fan to watch); so overloaded with anime tropes that it would make no sense to a newcomer; or fanservicey, especially if in a manner that most people consider inappropriate (these days, that usually means siscon). Looking at the current season, the clear examples I can see are (the trio of terribleness) Conception and My Sister My Writer and Uzamaid, Senran Kagura, Zombie Land Saga, and (maybe) the bunny girl one. Zombie Land is one of my favorites despite my hate for zombies, so I'm not saying those shows all suck, but it's only 6 out of the 35 shows in the preview guide, not counting the shorts. That's a long way from a total otaku takeover. Netflix, for its part, is a big giant conglomerate media company, and ultimately those don't turn out to be good for much of anything other than their own profits. Art has always been in conflict with capitalism; at one end, trashy low-budget shows are cranked out to make some extra money, and at the other, big-budget deliberately "safe" mainstream content gets made for the same reason. Netflix influence might mean we get more of the latter than the former. But anything interesting will still be somewhere in between. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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We can't tell for sure and they may have very well lost money on some of them depending on what they paid for licenses. The only we do know is that Netflix paid a nice sum for the licensing fee according to ANN interview with Polygon studios. And one thing to keep in mind is that Netflix has nothing to do whatsoever with the home video sales of these titles (and keep in mind that Knights of Sidonia is completely different on home video) That would belong to Sentai for Knights of Sidonia and Ajin This is in contrast to Funimation, Sentai and currently about halt of Crunchyroll licenses. When they license a title for streaming, at least Funimation and Sentai also grabs the home video rights, so an anime's success also includes their home video sales, and all of merchandise if they also become the master licensee which Funi and Viz does become for a few titles.
Netflix as well as several hyped up tech companies deeply in the negative have a popular perception as being successful, but investors, especially more critical, non-sentimental investors looking at their financial records are very skeptical: https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/is-netflix-being-run-by-the-united-states-congress-24233/ Some of that is catching up: https://investorplace.com/2018/11/netflix-stock-in-bear-market/ who knows if they can keep borrowing their way to growth with debt continuing to outpace revenue forever. Hulu was in Netflix's place before this for a few years, driving the price of anime licensing up... then suddenly they dumped all of their exclusive anime licensing on Hulu and now just piggy backs from sub-licensing, sharing titles with others. |
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Ermat_46
Posts: 737 Location: Philippines |
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(1) Netflix has no problem with Eva since it's very popular, and a classic regardless of its being "otaku"-ish (2) You didn't count CGDCT shows like vampire loli, cheerleading loli and space fishing shit as otaku-centric. Normies are repelled by CGDCT, hence you may want to count them as otaku-centric. (3) I don't have a problem with Netflix's preferred genre(s). I think most people's beef w/ Netflix is their release schedule (release show X months after Japanese airing). I don't think people will have that much problem w/ Netflix if what they did is simultaneous worldwide release ala Devilman Crybaby, Hero Mask, Sword Gai, etc. |
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configspace
Posts: 3717 |
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Netflix is still very selective about what they license, and probably for good reason. Like has been mentioned i don't see very many they've licensed that has been in the super niche category or anything in the offensive category at all. Out of their licenses, there's also a reason why small fraction gets truly exclusive treatment that precludes airing on Japanese TV, and it's likely because they're only willing to pay the absurdly large license fees for a few titles, and not all titles. I'd also bet a few of those didn't turn out too well. |
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LetMeLive
Posts: 18 |
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Well aren't they going to be surprised when they find Shinji masturbating over a comatose Asuka Eva isn't offensive, but there certainly is a lot of questionable stuff in it compared to what modern day "western" sensabilities typically accept. My guess is without tons of promotion, Eva on netflix will flop with everyone except the typical anime audience who would watch it regardless. Even though The Seven Deadly Sins was popular, you actually don't HEAR about it a bunch. Nobody memes it, nobody discusses it, it's kind of a show that just *exists* |
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bluesheep02
Posts: 78 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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I work in Japan for both Netflix, Polygon pictures and a bunch of other media properties for executive search. Netflix DOES pay the studios nearly 60% the average ammount and it does trickle down to the workers. For one project finance animation position they were looking to pay 12m jpy for someone with anime broadcast experience. I met with many candidates and most had been in the industry at numerous studios for over 10-15 years and were on an average of 4m. Don’t trust random people on YouTube who don’t actually work first hand in the industry. |
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Nordhmmer
Posts: 1028 |
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Animation wise,story wise? Ya peaked my interest....cause the anime dropped a fair bit from the manga(though the manga dropped the ball with that rushed ending) |
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Mune
Posts: 379 Location: Minnesota |
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My take on this is that people, not just anime fans, may flock to it on Netflix. Many households only have 1 streaming subscription, and for the vast majority, it is Netflix. Since an individual in those households like anime, but have limited access, this is another gateway to popular anime.
So, in the long run, this move could create new anime fans, cater to fans without as much access, and generate more interest in Evangelion. Netflix has also decided to take a serious approach to merchandising in the last year, which could apply to Evangelion. It also isn't a simulcast, since it has been out for 20 years. I'm also curious if it will be the director's cut version and if they will have any extras, like deleted scenes included. |
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Chichiryuutei
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Do I wish that Funimation had gotten Evangelion? Sure. Does it bother me that Netflix fo got it? Nope.
In terms of eye balls, Netflix has >110M pair compare to maybe 2M from Funimation. I enjoy Netflix's releases. I don't care about the long wait time because if I know that there's gong to be a dub, I'll wait. And, Netflix dubs in multiple languages so I can refresh my Spanish/Portuguese or at least compare which version I think sounds better We need to get away from the anime needs to be "x" argument. Anime (cartoons & viceversa) is a form of story telling that I enjoy. If the French (insert other rationality) were making anime/cartoons I'd watch it. I love the format. It just doesn't have limitations. |
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fuuma_monou
Posts: 1838 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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I can actually watch a decent amount of anime on Netflix Philippines. If I'm lucky I can get maybe two or three simulcasts I want to watch per season from Crunchyroll. The other U.S.-based anime streaming services aren't legally available at all to me.
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H. Guderian
Posts: 1255 |
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I think its okay as a back catalog for people that don't have much harddrive space or can't afford discs. Once shows disappear from it, or you only get one form, I can see more problems being had.
Binge watching is antithetical as to how anime is made to be watched. There always has been binge watching, but to have that as the only mode? Overall Netflix isn't doing much at all for Anime except flinging over a few bucks to the creators. So it helps the industry for a little while. But I think it is doing more disservice overall for the fans in the long term. Many of my best memories came from being left on fantastic cliffhangers for a week and wondering with friends where it would all go. Fansubbers that formed the backbone of the community, those that are still active, love their craft. So much of anime is consumed at a slower, Eastern, pace. Frankly, I just cut my last streaming service. |
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Chester McCool
Posts: 322 |
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To be fair, the same could be said about people saying they're insiders. I'll say the same thing as I did to Justin's article when he tried to debunk that Digibro anti-Crunchyroll video with the only source being his own 'insider info': unless we get actual numbers with sources, I take everything people say with a grain of salt. Not that I'm siding with anti-Netflix people here or anything
Are you waiting for the Netflix premier date with those shows, or are you watching them as they air in Japan and get fansubbed? If you're waiting for the Netflix premier date to talk about these shows, then I could see why you'd think that about anime on Netflix given the discussion for the show would no doubt be over by then. Netflix definitely gets popular shows, but I don't know how many people actually wait for them to drop all the episodes. |
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BadNewsBlues
Posts: 6208 |
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Yes I know that wasn't really thinking at the time if I got that right or wrong. Since oversights happen even when you're trying to avoid them. |
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