Soft Power Hard Truths / American anime fans party, but don’t pay
Author of Japanamerica talks about the anime industry and its fans.
“The role of the Internet in cultivating communities without generating profits has been amply addressed. On top of that, producers of Japanese pop media are struggling with outdated and self-destructive business models.”
You know this is the first time I’ve started hearing the media talk about the “outdated and self-destructive business models”. Like, I’ve heard fans rant about it (I myself even at times), but now the issue just seems to be more open, more out there…
“Overseas communities built on love of Japan’s pop media are intensely passionate–keen not merely to share their enthusiasms, but often to pursue them further by learning Japanese or visiting Japan. According to the Japan National Tourist Organization, the number of foreign visitors to Japan rose by 3 million from 2003 to 2007, with more than 8 million trekking to the archipelago in ’07, and a projected 10 million by next year.”
Living the dream, huh?
“One producer I spoke to ruefully noted that many young employees burn out after only six weeks, dubbing them “kamikaze animators.”"
…ouch…
“The nature of fandom is different inside and outside of Japan. Japanese generally indulge in anime fandom as a personal pleasure beyond daily drudgery. For Americans, it’s less of an “escape valve” (in a culture that seems to provide many) and more of a channel toward a centrally shared celebration. Anime cons are parties in the United States–loud, friendly, inclusive. In Japan, the silence of the otaku is, as they say, deafening.
The Tokyo International Anime Fair, open to the public March 20 and 21 at Tokyo Big Sight convention center, is a case in point. Amateur cosplay, the star attraction for attendees of U.S.-based events, is strictly forbidden, keeping the focus on producers and their wares. The cosplayers at the Big Sight this weekend are paid personnel, hired explicitly to promote characters and titles. Any American convention that imposed similar restrictions would see their attendance figures drop precipitously–and hear complaints aplenty.”
It’s amazing how different we are, yet we are who we are because of the same thing…
“A DVD screener of Takeshi Koike’s forthcoming anime feature Redline arrived in the mail from Japan a few weeks ago, courtesy of Madhouse productions. An outer-space thriller chronicling the greatest auto race imaginable, Redline’s characters are like the Cantina crowd from Star Wars on acid, and its narrative thrust is like Speed Racer on, well, speed. Still, watching it aboard a bumpy flight back to New York, I kept thinking: Great–but who’s gonna buy this?”
This might be big in Japan, but its the type of thing that would be more-than-likely ignored in America. Everything that comes from Japan is not gold, and fans on both sides of the Pacific have different views of the fandom.
[via Daily Yomiuri Online]
State of the Anime Industry (Main Article)
