Future Of ‘Anime’ Industry In Doubt (Money, Success Elude; Outsourcing, Piracy Abound)
Japanese animation officials and anime insiders discuss the future of anime and the reforms it must face in order to survive.
“The deepening recession and rapid shift in the overall landscape surrounding the industry have caused many to fear for the future of one of the nation’s most prized cultural exports.”
…that’s never a good opening. Why not try something like, “Hi, I’m an online newspaper. Anime is awesome!” That’s a lot less depressing than what you wrote…
“The global fan base for Japanese ‘anime’ is increasing, but with the old business model crumbling it isn’t translating into profits,” said Yasuo Yamaguchi, executive director of the Association of Japanese Animations.”
LE GASP! You don’t fucking say!? Pardon my French, but anyone who’s smart enough to know not to buy a 3 (4 if your lucky) episode DVD for $31.99+tax could tell you that the business model has been flawed, crumbling, and in need of repairs for quite some time!
“The financial crisis is forcing sponsors to cut down on television advertisement fees, and this in turn is shrinking the budgets for animations, pressuring everyone involved in the production,” Yamaguchi said.“I think we’ll see a major decrease in the number of anime programs broadcast. Agencies dependent on television as a primary financial source will need to search for alternatives.”
I’ve been saying from the beginning, maybe this whole crisis has to do with ppl just being broke, or at least not fully able to support the fandom as predicted by whomever predicts such things. I mean it’s nice hear how it affects the other side of the coin, those who make it, but I would love to see more focus of the economy on the fans who support it so it can FINALLY take the blame for some of this ‘State of the Industry’. I’m so tired of ppl and reports saying that sales are down due to piracy, lack of interest, teenage-romance novels, but not once addressing the fact that fans can’t spend as much…
“These sites upload programs almost immediately after they are broadcast in Japan,” accompanied with “fan subs” — English subtitles translated by fans,” Iwata said. “This is causing a very big dent in sales.”To counter the trend, TV Tokyo tied up with popular San Francisco-based animation-sharing site Crunchyroll in January, offering some of TV Tokyo’s popular titles in advertisement-free, high-quality format with subtitles for a monthly fee of $6.95.
Yukio Kawasaki, manager of TV Tokyo’s animation business department, said the move was an attempt to create a legitimate distribution channel between animation producers and overseas fans, as well as a way to send out a message.”
Brownie points for CR….
“The study revealed that a single cel on average earns animators a meager ¥186.9. Considering how a grunt worker has to fill in 500 in-between cels per month for a television animation series, this means a monthly wage of ¥94,000 at best — for an average of 250 hours of work — until an artist gets to handle key frames or storyboards.
With an estimated 90 percent of in-betweens being outsourced overseas — a result of the industry trying to squeeze out more content than it can from domestic hands — there are also concerns that opportunities to nurture future generations of quality animators are being lost.”
I can’t believe how little they get paid…also, where does Japan outsource anime to exactly?
“And with the recession eating away at production fees and forcing agencies to downsize or go bankrupt, young and aspiring animators can’t find places to work,” Kawachi said.”
Again, I could really go for some less depressing news here….
“The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Jan. 23 released a report on the state of the animation industry, listing several major concerns.”
Sounds like there’s a long way to go for everyone involved in the industry before things get turned around…
[via The Japan Times]
