Ask John: Can K-On Become an International Hit?

Question:
I love K-On! and watched all of the series’ episodes. Do you think since the show crosses cultures with combining cute Japanese schoolgirls with American-style rock, do you think this show will have the potential for a universal appeal to anime fans worldwide?

Answer:
I feel confident in saying that the K-On anime series has already demonstrated the extent of its potential, which says something about the show itself and more about the attitudes of international anime fans. Countless American otaku have been proclaiming for the past two years, at least, that the prevalence of moé anime has become a shackle on the creativity of the anime industry. K-On seemingly demonstrates that moé anime certainly still has a devoted following in Japan, but even in Japan the strength and breadth of that support may be decreasing. Examining the popularity of the K-On TV series may be best considered in relation to the two cult hit TV productions from the same studio that preceded it.

Kyoto Animation’s Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu television anime premiered in 2006 and quickly became an international cult hit. Japanese fans began spontaneously performing the “Hare Hare Yukai” dance in public. The Chinese government copied an image of Haruhi for the cover of a promotional pamphlet about the Beijing Olympics. An image of Haruhi surfaced during a public political demonstration in Palestine. Clearly, Suzumiya Haruhi was an international cult celebrity. KyoAni’s follow up and even more moé show Lucky Star generated phenomenal devotion in Japan. Series creator Kagami Yoshimizu’s home was literally turned into a public Lucky Star museum. The small, rural Japanese town of Washimiya turned into an overnight tourist attraction because of its association with Lucky Star. The Japanese city of Satte formally granted Lucky Star’s fictional Izumi family official residency papers. However, although tremendously popular among international otaku, Lucky Star didn’t exhibit the obvious international celebrity that Suzumiya Haruhi had earned. Most recently, K-On caused Japanese sales of the Fender left-handed jazz bass guitar to suddenly soar by 800%, the $750+ professional grade AKG K701 model headphone to sell out, and the older FOMA D902i model cel phone to suddenly surge in consumer interest – all because K-On character Mio Akiyama used them. K-On audio CDs began to dominate Japanese record sales charts. But the international fascination with K-On seems smallest among the three shows. Even in Japan the following for K-On seems most concentrated in a smaller core of obsessive devotees than the fan following of Suzumiya Haruhi and Lucky Star. Furthermore, it should be noted that Suzumiya Haruhi was successful enough to spin off two web anime series, and expanded 2009 re-broadcast and an upcoming spring 2010 movie. Lucky Star was extended by a single OVA. No plans have been announced yet for any type of anime sequel for the 13 episode K-On TV series.

Considering its relatively tremendous Japanese success, K-On is virtually assured to eventually reach American home video. It may not become an American breakthrough hit, but there’s certainly enough American K-On groupies to make the show viable for domestic release. K-On hasn’t developed the juggernaut of international fanaticism that its elder sister series did, which may be taken as evidence that the world’s anime viewers are beginning to tire of anime thats sole purpose is to be moé. In fact, since K-On premiered this past spring I’ve suspected that a portion of its popularity is attributable entirely to its lineage rather than its innate properties. The Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight TV anime premiered two years prior to K-On. The two shows are remarkably similar in content and style. I consider Manabi Straight easily the superior of the two shows, yet Manabi Straight generated only fleeting interest from a seeming handful of viewers. I’m not suggesting that K-On is bad, only that its popularity may be significantly influenced by something outside of the show itself. That something, interest in new Kyoto Animation productions, seems clearly more pronounced and significantly more influential in Japan than outside of Japan. K-On has been unquestionably successful, but its influence and its potential for international popularity seem lesser than the shows that directly preceded it. I don’t believe that increased official distribution internationally will significantly boost the series’ popularity above the height it’s already reached through unofficial fan distribution.