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NEWS: 1st K-On! Volume is Now #2 Blu-Ray in Japan So Far


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Kaioshin_Sama



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 1215
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:33 am Reply with quote
Charred Knight wrote:
Nemo_N wrote:

Yes, when a studio (or company or artist, etc.) produces something a group of people likes, that group of people will buy it.


Tell that to the american anime community


Yes, it doesn't work that way in the American anime community because it operates more on an individual basis. If one person likes the show and buys the DVD there's probably at least 10 other people that like the show just as much, but don't go out and buy the DVD because they just don't feel like it. In the group oriented Japanese otaku culture, the more popular a series is and the more it is recognized as containing a popular name that will sell and that they are expected to be loyal to as a group, the more they will feel that they are expected to buy the DVD as part of the group and will do so. There's obviously some hold outs though, but for the most part Japanese people tend to act in the manner that is expected of them as part of their cultural system.

Buying products that contain popular names are practically second nature. I don't know if it has anything to do with the business/consumer culture borne out of the 80's that created what we now know as the economic bubble, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does since I think part of that plan involved people buying products that they didn't really need because it was expected of them as part of the society in order to try and make the Japanese economy competitive.
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bayoab



Joined: 06 Oct 2004
Posts: 831
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:07 am Reply with quote
Kaioshin_Sama wrote:

Yes, it doesn't work that way in the American anime community because it operates more on an individual basis. If one person likes the show and buys the DVD there's probably at least 10 other people that like the show just as much, but don't go out and buy the DVD because they just don't feel like it. In the group oriented Japanese otaku culture, the more popular a series is and the more it is recognized as containing a popular name that will sell and that they are expected to be loyal to as a group, the more they will feel that they are expected to buy the DVD as part of the group and will do so.
It has little to nothing to do with individualism vs collectivism. It mostly can be over simplified and generalized to perceived value and materialistic worth of the hobby. Most American fans view anime as a free/cheap hobby and have no attachment to the show nor see a reason to spend money on it (which is pretty much the exact opposite of Japan).
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Draneor



Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 355
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:00 am Reply with quote
bayoab wrote:
Most American fans view anime as a free/cheap hobby and have no attachment to the show nor see a reason to spend money on it (which is pretty much the exact opposite of Japan).


If people in R1 actually bought anime, Japan would make more of what they like. Instead, R1 anime DVDs sales--which once peaked at $500 million in 2003--have been dropping steadily each year (down to around $300 million in 2007). The Japanese market is declining but not at near the rate of R1--it's also a lot larger. If the R1 market was still strong, there would be more incentive to make anime people here want. But bills have to be paid, so anime that Japan likes gets made.

K-on!--at this point--was produced for the Japanese audience alone. There was not a legal, international broadcast, and it has not been licensed for release in R1. At the moment, our opinions of it are irrelevant because we weren't supposed to be watching it in the first place.
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Mario1234567



Joined: 05 Sep 2008
Posts: 614
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:06 am Reply with quote
People are actually mad about this. Wow some people would complain about anything.... Moe is Anime there i said it.
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VincentVelier



Joined: 10 Sep 2008
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:05 am Reply with quote
Quote:
People are actually mad about this. Wow some people would complain about anything.... Moe is Anime there i said it.


I second that. And to add up, some peoples really can't differentiate between Animes that is intended to be light and fun and Animes that is intended to be serious.

Beside, what is the point of being mad about something intended for entertainment? Building up unneeded stress.

Ah I forgot, cynic got WIN written all over it...
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Nemo_N



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 272
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:59 am Reply with quote
Kaioshin_Sama wrote:
Charred Knight wrote:
Nemo_N wrote:

Yes, when a studio (or company or artist, etc.) produces something a group of people likes, that group of people will buy it.


Tell that to the american anime community


Yes, it doesn't work that way in the American anime community because it operates more on an individual basis. If one person likes the show and buys the DVD there's probably at least 10 other people that like the show just as much, but don't go out and buy the DVD because they just don't feel like it. In the group oriented Japanese otaku culture, the more popular a series is and the more it is recognized as containing a popular name that will sell and that they are expected to be loyal to as a group, the more they will feel that they are expected to buy the DVD as part of the group and will do so. There's obviously some hold outs though, but for the most part Japanese people tend to act in the manner that is expected of them as part of their cultural system.

Buying products that contain popular names are practically second nature. I don't know if it has anything to do with the business/consumer culture borne out of the 80's that created what we now know as the economic bubble, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does since I think part of that plan involved people buying products that they didn't really need because it was expected of them as part of the society in order to try and make the Japanese economy competitive.


It could also be the case that they bought it because they actually liked K-ON!. No need for all these culture theories.
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Splitter



Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 1276
Location: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 1:52 pm Reply with quote
VincentVelier wrote:
Quote:
People are actually mad about this. Wow some people would complain about anything.... Moe is Anime there i said it.


I second that. And to add up, some peoples really can't differentiate between Animes that is intended to be light and fun and Animes that is intended to be serious.

Beside, what is the point of being mad about something intended for entertainment? Building up unneeded stress.


I don't think either of you seem to understand that this isn't about moe being bad. Moe has existed for years now. Moe isn't bad. The stagnation of moe is bad. The fact that retardation is packaged as something we should find adorable is bad. The idea that we can settle for sub-par animation from animation gods and characters with minimum personalities that are hailed as amazing and so perfect is bad. No, moe is not the problem here.

Saying that "but the anime is a moeblob anime" or "the anime is supposed to be light-hearted" is by no means an excuse to do a piss-poor job on it. Manabi, Hidamari, Potemayo; all fun light-hearted anime that put forth a great deal of effort in animation, characterization and comedy. All anime that are very fun to watch. K-ON! by comparison is an insult to my desire to be entertained. It puts forth the absolute minimal effort in all departments and gets by on name recognition alone. This is why the Twilight books could turn to stool and sales wouldn't change. This is why Transformers 2 could make 400 million dollars, and this is why K-ON! is a gold mine.

I swear, it's because of people like you two that anime can get away with doing nothing but being "moe" that the rest of us have to put up with more truckloads of mediocrity like K-ON!
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Hentai_JP



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 605
Location: Toronto, ON
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:04 pm Reply with quote
This is what I call KyoAni magic. With any other studio K-ON! would be incredibly boring.
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Kaioshin_Sama



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 1215
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:11 pm Reply with quote
Hentai_JP wrote:
This is what I call KyoAni magic. With any other studio K-ON! would be incredibly boring.


But it is incredibly boring to people that aren't that into moe. And even people that are moderately in to moe I saw getting tired of the premise by the second half. There's no magic to it, Kyoani just knows what that target audience in Japan wants and knows they will spend money on it if they give it to them. It's just business sense.


Last edited by Kaioshin_Sama on Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
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Location: IL
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:15 pm Reply with quote
Hentai_JP wrote:
This is what I call KyoAni magic. With any other studio K-ON! would be incredibly boring.
And yet with an actual boring show like Munto TV, the magic fades in terms of sales.

Could it be that KyoAni is just really, really good at adapting a source material?
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Splitter



Joined: 19 May 2003
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:23 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:

Could it be that KyoAni is just really, really good at adapting a source material?


Because everyone was so excited about the K-ON! manga before KyoAni said they'd adapt it, weren't they?
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:31 pm Reply with quote
I've read that the first K-ON! manga volume sold around 25,000 copies in its first week. While that's not Shounen Jump level, it's still respectable.

Remember these sales reflect Japanese otaku and I guess the few people who imported the R2s. If you want to talk about fansub popularity, that would be for a whole other topic.

If everything KyoAni turned to gold, why did't Munto sell well?
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Splitter



Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 1276
Location: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:36 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
I've read that the first K-ON! manga volume sold around 25,000 copies in its first week. While that's not Shounen Jump level, it's still respectable.

Remember these sales reflect Japanese otaku and I guess the few people who imported the R2s. If you want to talk about fansub popularity, that would be for a whole other topic.

If everything KyoAni turned to gold, why did't Munto sell well?


KyoAni didn't spam Munto to high heaven. They released it the same time they covered the second half of After Story. Open-shut case.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:44 pm Reply with quote
Doesn't matter. Apparently KyoAni could just put a still frame up there of some moe girl and it'll sell thousands upon thousands of copies since the quality of the show doesn't matter as the label sells itself.

I countered that argument with an actual example of a recent KyoAni show that didn't do so well. Argument successfully refuted.
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Kaioshin_Sama



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:53 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
Doesn't matter. Apparently KyoAni could just put a still frame up there of some moe girl and it'll sell thousands upon thousands of copies since the quality of the show doesn't matter as the label sells itself.

I countered that argument with an actual example of a recent KyoAni show that didn't do so well. Argument successfully refuted.


Munto was largely a rerelease of an older series that barely registered as a new show with it's last 3 episodes. Rereleases don't sell as well as full blown sequels. That's your X Factor along with the fact that is was their only in-house produced show and it just never managed to get that name brand power going and recognizable characters like K-On did. Also like you said K-On did have an install fanbase going into the show.

I recall hearing though that upon it's first release it was so popular that they made a sequel that they originally weren't planning. This sort of makes sense when you consider how the first OVA pretty much ends with a finale.
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