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At this point in time, I’m not prepared to concede that American consumers are being consciously or even practically “denied” the three Marvel Anime series on domestic home video. Certainly, they haven’t reached American DVD quite as quickly as 4C’s Thundercats animation went from American broadcast to DVD, but less than six months has passed since the G4 broadcast of the final episode of Blade. The first season of the Japanese animated 2011 Thundercats did reach American DVD only four months after broadcast premiere, but that turnover from broadcast to home video was unusually swift.

Reverse importation may be a concern, but considering that the Marvel Anime series haven’t threatened any Japanese sales records and the shows were produced with American release certainly in mind, reverse importation doesn’t seem like an especially likely explanation for a home video delay. The possibility of an American home video release was probably negotiated early in production, if not before Madhouse even began animating the four shows.

Licensing, particularly audio tracks, may be a concern, but again probably isn’t especially likely. Voice actors appearing in the show would almost certainly have contracted in advance regarding the distribution of their work in multiple channels, including TV broadcast, digital distribution, and home video.

The most likely explanation for the present absence of a DVD or Blu-ray release is a matter of practicality. Who’s going to release it? The G4 television network is own by NBC Universal. Streaming is simple because digital distribution requires minimal investment and places most of the onus on the streaming host rather than the title owner. A home video release requires far more logistics and resource investment. Presumably, either NBC Universal or Disney may presently own the domestic distribution rights or possess temporary domestic distribution exclusivity to the Wolverine, Iron Man, X-Men, and Blade anime series. Both companies are multi-billion dollar conglomerates that may deem a domestic DVD or Blu-ray release of these four anime series a relatively insignificant priority, especially given the limited exposure of the four series in the American viewer marketplace and the small size of the domestic anime market. An American DVD release of the Marvel Anime might be foreseen to sell 50,000 discs. A domestic anime specialty distributor like Viz, Funimation, or Sentai Filmworks would certainly be thrilled with that sort of sales success. However, the estimated sales of Marvel Anime on domestic disc, however many units that may be, may be a piddling amount to a distributor like NBC Universal or Disney that counts sales in millions, not thousands or even tens of thousands.

Given the massive variety of programming available on domestic DVD and the potential consumer interest from both anime fans and Marvel Comics fans, I don’t expect that we’ll go indefinitely without the Marvel Anime available on domestic disc. But we may have to wait until their domestic distributor gets around to them, or decides to sub-license them to another domestic home video distributor more eager and likely to rush the titles to DVD or Blu-ray production.

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I consider myself an anime fan in the literal sense that I enjoy and appreciate anime: all genres, vintages, and varieties. Naturally, I find certain anime more appealing than others, and I don’t hesitate to call bad anime “bad.” But I want to like every anime, and give every anime the benefit of as much positive goodwill as I can muster until I actually watch some of the show to determine whether or not it actually deserves my respect. I don’t ever predetermine that I’ll certainly watch the entirety of any given anime, especially if the show is a multi-episode series, although certainly some shows immediately seem more or less likely to be titles I’ll routinely watch. Following excellent anime is fulfilling and rewarding. But I’ve also watched the entirety of some very bad anime, because bad anime sometimes have their own, unique appeal.

I’ve watched all of particularly bad anime series including Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Koi Koi 7, Chou Henshin Cos-Prayers, Narutaru, Ghost Hunt (starts good but quickly becomes very, very bad) and Soukou no Strain. In comparison, the current Phi-Brain is far from the worst anime I’ve ever watched. Phi-Brain is rather silly because it revolves around a goofy concept – the idea that a multi-national organization implements deadly and even terrorist-worthy brain puzzles in order to train genius puzzle solvers. Furthermore, the show’s characters consistently maintain a deadly serious approach, even when joking around and being playful, despite being involved in such a patently ridiculous environment. The show’s two supporting masculine characters, Gammon and Cubic, also exude a devotion and infatuation with male protagonist Kaito that seems to extend beyond ordinary friendship or rivalry into sublimated homosexual attraction. I have no objection to homosexual characters or themes, but the presence of such passion feels entirely out of place and awkward in this particular show. And, in fact, it’s particularly these characteristics of the show which partially keep me watching.

The adage “so bad it’s good” does have some occasional validity. I particularly continued to watch the Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Cos-Prayers television series motivated by a masochistic curiosity to see just how ridiculous, disjointed, and unbelievable the shows would get. Bad anime like Musashi Gundoh and Zaizen Jotaro have developed a bit of a cult following because the programs are fun to ridicule. I don’t particularly like insulting anime, so the only shows I watch to laugh at are designed comedies. But certain bad anime are fascinating because they’re so unpredictable and unconventional. Simply watching an anime that’s so unlike the majority of anime in tone and production is sometimes a refreshing change of pace. Often times, bad anime are also easy to watch. Excellent anime are often very engrossing. They mandate intellectual and emotional engagement. Mediocre and bad anime often don’t require or engage such exhaustive engagement. Anime is meant to entertain and relax. So sometimes just watching a show to pass the time and ease the stress of the day is satisfying. Watching very disposable episodes of Phi-Brain is enjoyable because it’s much less taxing than watching shows like Nisemonogatari, Ano Natsu de Matteru, or Inu x Boku SS that naturally require more conscious investment and viewer engagement to watch and enjoy.

I’m not masochistic enough to force myself to watch bad anime. I’ve begun and quickly stopped watching countless bad anime, including Zaizen Jotaro, Hikari to Mizu no Daphne, Giniro no Olynsis, Kujibiki Unbalance, R-15, and Maken-ki, to name just a few. But a seasoned connoisseur is, or should be, familiar with both the good and the bad, as familiarity with the bad provides context for the good. Furthermore, drivel has its periodic place and purpose. An exclusive diet of expensive excellence risks becoming stultifying. A mixture of good and occasional bad keeps the palate refreshed and taste diversified and receptive.

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Since the spring 1997 debut of the Pocket Monster anime, the anime medium has felt like it’s been heavily populated by monster collecting shows. To a limited degree, and in a certain sense, collecting shows and anime involving kids partnering with a monster have been prolific since 1997. However, strictly speaking, actual monster collecting shows have not been especially common. Provided that clearly unaffiliated children’s hobby anime are excluded, including shows like Kabutoborg VxV, Medarot, and Danboru Senki, which may include kids, toys, and competition but don’t include anything resembling monsters, a relatively large number of anime series still remain for consideration. Some of those anime are “monster collecting” shows while some are not but may get arbitrarily lumped into the category due to superficial similarity.

In the years since 1997, a number of anime have premiered that revolve around kids partnering with and battling monsters, creatures, or insects. For example, the Jibaku-kun (1999), Bouken Yuuki Plusterworld (2003), Konjiki no Gash Bell!! (2003), Kochu Ouja Mushiking ~Mori no Tami no Densetsu~ (2005), Spider Riders ~Oracle no Yuusha-tachi~ (2006), and Net Ghost PiPoPa (2008) television series all star kids that partner with creatures, but none of these shows involve collecting anything.

Simply defining “monster collecting” anime becomes further confusing due to the presence of numerous shows that revolve around kids partnering with a collectable creature or involve collecting of some sort, but still don’t actual contain literal monster collecting. In the Rockman.exe (2002), Dragon Drive (2002), Legendz: Yomigaeru Ryuuou Densetsu (2004), Onmyou Taisenki (2004), Bakegyamon (2006), Bakugan Battle Brawlers (2007), and Kodai Ouja Kyouryuu King D Kids Adventure (2007), the protagonists only have one monster partner rather than collecting a variety of them. But these shows do revolve around collecting something other than monsters, or the protagonists simply don’t make an effort to collect a variety of monsters, although they could.

A variety of card battle anime have premiered since 1997, including Yu-Gi-Oh (1998), Duel Masters (2002), the Kabutomushi Ouji Mushiking: Greatest Champion e no Michi motion picture (2005), Treasure Gaust (2007), Battle Spirits (2008), Live On Cardliver Kakeru (2008), and Cardfight!! Vanguard (2011). Strictly speaking, these aren’t monster collecting anime because the children actually collect trading cards, many of which depict monster avatars.

Among the anime which may be strictly and accurately defined as “monster collecting,” Pokemon (1997), Digimon Adventure (1999), Monster Farm ~Enbanseki no Himitsu~ (1999), and Rokumon Tengai Mon Colle Knight (2000) have all received official American release, although Mon Colle Knight, the anime adaptation of the Monster Collection trading card game, did not get a home video release. The only remaining strictly defined “monster collecting” anime that I can recall which has never received an American release is the 50 episode Shin Megami Tensei Devichil TV series from 2000 and its 52 episode sequel from 2002, Shin Megami Tensei D Children Light & Dark. While the 2002 Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: Hikari no Sho/Yami no Sho Game Boy Advance RPG was released in America in 2003, none of the anime based on the game series was ever officially brought to America.

Answer:
Following a bit of consideration over this question, I realize that I probably wouldn’t be a good programming executive because my ideal line-up is too eclectic and idealistic to be practically effective. After a few minutes of thought, I realized that if I had carte blanche to program a television network of anime the way I wanted, I’d envision a network that encapsulated the spirit of anime. I’d select many of the shows that influenced, intrigued, and inspired me; shows that contributed to forming my perception of anime.

From the 1960s, I’d pull titles like Goku no Daiboken, Ribon no Kishi, Gegege no Kitarou, Sasuke, and Dororo because they’re stylish, creative, and simply still very fun to watch even by today’s standards.

From the 1970s, I’d want influential, memorable titles like Matsumoto’s Uchu Senkan Yamato, Uchu Kaizoku Captain Harlock, and Ginga Tetsudo 999. I’d also select landmarks titles like Cutey Honey, Shin Lupin III, and Shinzo Ningen Casshan because they’re good, and they contributed to the tone and style of modern anime. I’d select Sasurai no Taiyo, Muteki Chojin Zambot 3, and Tosho Daimos because they’re good shows that reflect the spirit and feeling of their time. For the same reason, I’d pick Chojin Sentai Baratack. It’s not one of the best 70′s robot anime, but it’s the one which most epitomizes 70′s robot anime in my mind. I’d also love to expose more viewers to the Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi series that’s little known in America but far ahead of its time in terms of esoteric, experimental, stylish animation techniques and design.

From the 1980s I’d largely select shows that I think emblemize the spirit of the golden era of anime: Sue Cat, Urusei Yatsura, Taiyo no Kiba Dougram, Patalliro, The Kabocha Wine, Tokimeki Tonight, Macross, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Cat’s Eye, Tokuso Kihei Dorvack, Tongari Boshi no Memoru, Kyoshin Gorg, Dirty Pair, Aoki Ryusei SPT Layzner, What’s Michael, Kido Senshi Gundam Z, Maison Ikkoku & Ranma 1/2, City Hunter, Kimagure Orange Road, Chouon Senshi Borgman, Warau Salesman. Among these picks, Sue Cat, Patalliro, Stop! Hibari-kun, Tokimeki Tonight, What’s Michael, and Urusei Yatsura reflect the casual weirdness of 80′s anime. Dorvack isn’t one of the golden era’s greatest robot anime, but it epitomizes the look and style of golden era sci-fi anime better than most of its sibling shows. Warau Salesman may be one of the 1980′s best loved iconic characters that remains practically entirely unknown in America.

I divide the 1990s in half. From the first half, I’d pick titles including Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, Kingyo Chuuihou!, Mahou no Princess Minky Momo, Dragon Ball Z, Hime-chan no Ribbon, Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Akazukin Chacha, Mahou Kishi Rayearth, Fushigi Yuugi, and in substitute for the OVA series, the first Tenchi Muyo TV series. These are fun shows that begin to reveal the emerging sophistication of contemporary anime.

Beginning with Evangelion, my picks from the 1990s are divided into the mature, serious exceptional anime like Tenkou no Escaflowne, Kido Senkan Nadesico, Kido Senshi Gundam W, Shojo Kakumei Utena, Kenfu Denki Berserk, Hameln no Violin-Hiki, Seihou Bukyou Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial Experiments Lain, then a selection of contrasting fun and unique shows that serve as a counterbalance: Kiko-chan Smile, Slayers, Momoiro Sisters, Popolocrois Monogatari, D4 Princess, and Soreike! Uchu Senkan Yamamoto Yohko.

Because I think that the 2000s are adequately represented with domestic DVD releases and largely aren’t that unfamiliar, I’d personally concentrate on contemporary anime that I consider forgotten and deserving, or shows deserving of re-evaluation. Among them: Miami Guns, Hidamari no Ki, Chikyu Bouei Kazoku, Jyuuni Kokuki, Saishu Heiki Kanojo, Princess Tutu, Hanada Shonen-shi, Air Master, Uchu no Stellvia, Futari wa Pretty Cure & Pretty Cure Max Heart, Fuujin Monogatari, Damekko Doubutsu, Gallery Fake, Fushigi Hoshi no Futago Hime, Hachimitsu to Clover, Ichigo Mashimaro, Renkin San Kyu Magical? Pokaan, Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo, Binbou Shimai Monogatari, and Shion no Ou.

I realize upon reflection that my own picks largely exclude shounen adventure anime. Shows like Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach may contribute to the popularity of anime, but in my mind they don’t contribute as much to the subconscious impression of what anime is. Sailor Moon is also not on my lists, possibly because its influence wasn’t especially strong on my own development as an otaku. While I think that a selection of titles like these would evoke a palpable impression of anime as a pulsing, maturing, creative entertainment medium, I’m not convinced that a large American audience would be eager to watch these shows in order to appreciate them individually and absorb the impression that they create collectively.

Answer:
Actually, where consumers purchase their anime from is just as important, if not more so, than what anime they purchase. Practically speaking, collecting out-of-print domestic anime DVDs does little to support the anime industry. The original manufacturer/distributor earned its wholesale revenue from out-of-print DVDs long ago, so the consumer sale of the disc now only provides revenue to the retailer. However, purchasing anime DVDs from a retailer may encourage the retailer to continue stocking or even purchase more anime DVDs from current, active distributors. Simply purchasing anime DVDs – any anime DVDs – from retail companies lets these companies know that a demand for anime DVDs still exists. While the purchase of out-of-print discs may not contribute profit directly to any anime company, the purchase encourages retailers to not disregard or dismiss current anime releases from active distributors.

Certainly, purchasing new release discs does the most to benefit the domestic anime industry. Typically American anime distributors deliver a supply of new anime DVDs to a wholesale distributor that sells a supply of the discs to retailers. When those discs sell to consumers, the original distributor receives the wholesale cost of the disc plus a small amount of per-disc sales royalty, usually 90 days after the initial DVD release street date. Typically small retailers purchase their supply of DVDs from the wholesaler and keep the discs until consumers buy them. Big, influential chain retailers like Best Buy and Wal-mart have the clout to force wholesalers to accept returns of unsold discs after 90 days. If wholesalers receive large shipments of returned, unsold DVDs from retailers, the wholesalers eventually return those discs to the original manufacturer/distributor in place of monetary revenue. So distributors like FUNimation, Viz, and Media Blasters patiently wait the initial 90 days after release and hope to receive money from sold discs, not returned unsold discs.

Purchasing new release DVDs keeps retailers happy, prevents unsold discs from being returned to the distributors, and sends money back to the licensor/distributor. Purchasing old, out of print DVDs that remain on the shelves of small, specialty retailers helps them recover their original cost of purchasing the discs, and provides revenue for these small companies to continue stocking new anime. Purchasing out of print discs that remain on the shelves of big retailers doesn’t contribute any money to the anime industry but does show the big retailer that anime still sells, hopefully encouraging the retailer to continue stocking current anime. Purchasing anime DVDs from fellow fans, for example, through Ebay, doesn’t really make any significant contribution to the anime industry in any way, but hopefully the fans that do purchase anime DVDs from other private fans are also devoted enough to likewise purchase new discs from commercial retailers.

Ultimately, buying new release anime DVDs and Blu-rays is the most effective way to support and sustain the domestic anime industry. But purchasing any legitimate anime DVDs any way is still a greater help to the anime industry than not purchasing any DVDs at all. After all, if no one buys domestic anime DVDs, there will be no reason to produce, release, and distribute domestic anime DVDs. Practically speaking, doing something is better than doing nothing.

This price is because of the ongoing cultural popularity of many characters and the rarity of the comic books. (Most people didn’t keep their old comic collections, basic supply and demand.) I’m curious but does the world of Japanese manga have any similar rare collectibles which have collected extraordinary prices? And which one was the most expensive of them all that Japanese otaku dreaming of finding hidden away in their houses or at a garage sale?

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I first need to explain that my primary field of interest and knowledge if anime rather than manga, so my consciousness of manga valuations and scarcity is itself very limited. Partially based on differences in the philosophy of Japanese collectors compared to Americans, I’m not aware of any existing manga that have collector values that rival the most expensive American comics, like Action Comics issue 1, Detective Comics issue 27, or Superman issue 1. America’s comic collecting community is largely focused around possessing archival copies of landmark books. The Japanese otaku community, on the other hand, is typically far more concerned with reading comics than necessarily possessing historical artifacts. Vintage and rare manga do accrue some significant collector value in Japan, but typically these exuberant prices are based solely on scarcity, not innate historical relevance. For example, the first volume of Seimu Yoshizaki’s contemporary manga series Kingyo Used Books – a manga series about respecting vintage manga – cites that Mitsuhiro Kawashima’s 1954 adventure manga series Billy Puck has been out of print for years, and first edition books are the valuable “envy of all serious manga fans” due to their scarcity and historical significance. Likewise, the first volume of Kingyo Used Books cites mint condition copies of Yukiko Kai’s manga from the early 1980s as especially valuable because they’re no longer widely available. However, again citing Kingyo Used Books, even first editions of Akira Toriyama’s perennially popular Dr. Slump have minimal collector value because the series is still in print and is widely available. So there’s little reason for Japanese collectors to seek out vintage first editions when current reprints are cheap and conveniently available.

Another cause for some degree of Japanese manga valuation can be censorship. While I’m not aware that books like the early printings of Katsura Masakazu’s Video Girl Ai manga volumes 3 & 5 are especially valuable, they are relatively sought after because they’re uncensored while later printings of the books changed the art in select panels to cover up nudity.

The Kingyo Used Books manga series partially revolves around “sedori,” professional speculators/scavengers who spend their days buying rare manga cheaply from bookstores and collectors that don’t realize the books’ values, then reselling the treasures at a profit. The existence of such professionals clearly dictates that Japan does have a large number of valuable, collectible manga. However, possibly due to my own forgetfulness or ignorance, I’m not aware of any Japanese manga that command collector values approaching the million plus recently paid for comics like Detective Comics 27 and Action Comics 1.

Answer:
Naturally, representatives of FUNimation and the various companies affiliated with Section23 would be the ideal spokespeople to address this issue, but none of them will do so in order to preserve their legal integrity. My own position to speak on the issue is arguable but defensible. I have no more or less right to an opinion on the situation than any other affected consumer, and likewise little, if any, insight into the situation not publicly known.

The American fan community largely seems to be interpreting FUNimation’s suit against Sentai & company as a Goliath bullying David situation, which seems rather ridiculous to me. Lest we forget, FUNimation is a privately owned distributor that was practically valued at only $24 million as of last April when founder Gen Fukunaga along with John A. Kuelbs, and Darwin & Doug Deason purchased the company from Navarre. An estimated $8 million dollars is a significant sum to a company that just sold for $24 million a year ago after no one besides the company’s founder would even offer that much. While FUNimation has pursued legal action on behalf of Japanese companies in the past, this domestic lawsuit is not on behalf of Japan’s Sojitz corporation. FUNimation appears to have acquired 30 anime titles from Sojitz with the stipulation that it could recover and keep the debt tied to those 30 titles. FUNimation claims it has been ADV’s creditor since July 2008, meaning that ADV no longer owes Sojitz/ARM; it owes FUNimation. Sentai & company seem to even concede that FUNimation does have a legal right to collect unpaid royalties on those 30 anime titles that it owes, but Sentai appears to claim that it shouldn’t have to pay the debt because Sentai & company weren’t formally incorporated in July 2008 when the debt transferred to FUNimation, and FUNimation didn’t file a lawsuit to force repayment within a legally stipulated two-year window. Seemingly, FUNimation interprets Texas credit law to read that the particular circumstances of this situation allow for a four-year window, not a two-year window to file suit.

Although actual market shares are not recorded, FUNimation clearly has a bigger market share of the domestic anime market than Sentai & company. But even FUNimation is a relatively small company on the scale of American home video distributors. FUNimation is a privately owned and operated business, so observers should have no reason to begrudge the company’s efforts to persue and obtain money which it believes is legitimately and legally owed. This lawsuit may not be so much an effort that FUNimation can afford to pursue as one which the company can’t afford not to persue. After all, FUNimation may possibly have acquired the 30 anime titles in 2008 specifically with the intention of supplementing the consumer sales of those titles with repayment of the debt attached to the shows. While FUNimation may be one of America’s most successful anime distributors, FUNimation is probably not successful or rich enough to allow it to simply forgive and forget an $8 million debt.

Sentai and company never formally filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors, instead assuming that a legal shell-game of transferring rights and changing names would make its debt vanish. Perhaps Sentai & company have succeeded in legally erasing their tracks and defaulting on financial obligations. A Texas court will have to judge whether or not Section23 and its companies have successfully excised their obligations. While outwardly Sentai Filmworks is aggressively licensing new anime titles and appearing very healthy to consumers, inside industry discussion suggests that financal responsibility isn’t one of Sentai’s strengths.

American otaku fear that in-fighting between the Texas licensors will compromise anime licensing and distribution in America’s already diminished field. Both FUNimation and the reincarnated A.D. Vision have proven their tenacious sustainability. Both distributors are doubtlessly doing whatever they believe they need to do in order to remain stable and solvent. Amateur anime fans presume that this lawsuit is a frivolous matter of one-upmanship or corporate sabotage, but America’s anime companies are not gigantic conglomerates. Many of them operate on a skeleton crew and barely make ends meet. So rather than a spiteful frivolous suit, FUNimation’s charges against Section23 and Section23′s countersuit are likely measures of necessity rather than whimsy, and neither company wants to damage or further diminish the already weakened domestic anime market.

Answer:
For the majority of American anime viewers, anime falls strictly into one of two categories; it’s either nostalgia or trendy entertainment. Regrettably, the massive majority of vintage anime don’t fall into either of those categories. Anime series that aired on American DVD many years ago, shows that today’s fans grew up with, remain popular. Vintage anime including Macross, Go Lion, Samurai Troopers, and Sailor Moon remain popular because viewers fondly remember and favor them. Apart from those select titles, typical American viewers are interested in whatever anime is new and cool. Countless times I’ve attended anime conventions and witnessed fans clamoring for whatever titles are brand new or whichever DVDs feature the longest running time for their price. The theory that 30 minutes of unforgettable, affecting anime is worth more than 100 minutes of disposable, inferior quality anime doesn’t seem valid in the minds of many American anime consumers. Americans instinctively feel a need to justify and rationalize watching cartoons. Keeping up to date with the latest hot trends and pop culture hits, and watching the same programs that other chic, alternative folks are watching is easily justifiable. Refreshing childhood memories by being fashionably retro is also justifiable. However, just watching old cartoons is weird, creepy, or pitiful.

But keeping up with the Joneses isn’t alone responsible for why Americans disregard vintage anime. Young, contemporary American anime viewers have shorter attention spans and expect immediate, rapid-fire gratification. Typically older anime simply have a slower pacing than contemporary anime. Countless giant robot anime from the 1970s and early 1980s don’t reveal their titular robot in the first episode. Such leisurely development would be unthinkable for contemporary anime. The Ashita no Joe boxing anime is an acclaimed classic, yet it doesn’t actually depict any boxing during its early episodes. I’m fascinated to notice that it wasn’t unusual at all for golden era anime to begin with lengthy, sometimes even a minute long, prologues that establish setting without depicting any characters. Notice how many contemporary anime launch with multiple cuts that don’t include a primary character. Almost no contemporary anime begin this way anymore. Because characters have become so important to the identity and marketing of anime titles, they have to be established and revealed as quickly as possible. Furthermore, contemporary viewers have become so used to brisk pacing that even three or four scene cuts without a human character on screen now seems unusual and slow paced.

Classic anime aren’t classic just because they’re old. Most classic anime are classic specifically because they are stylish, creative, and unfurl involving, entertaining stories. However, the traditional American philosophy that spurns animation combined with the psychological character of young contemporary American anime viewers creates a significant barrier to vintage anime. Simply put, Americans largely don’t define anime as a form of Japanese art with a half-century of history; they define anime as a precise type of entertainment that looks a particular way and satisfies a particular niche interest. While American viewers may consciously, rationally recognize that older titles are still anime, these viewers unconsciously compartmentalize the anime which conforms to their own perceived characteristics of entertaining, enjoyable anime and, simply, everything else that may be technically considered anime but doesn’t fit into their own subconscious definition of anime. This strict unconscious categorization explains why so many American viewers impulsively reject vintage anime and even contemporary anime that doesn’t fall within their delineation of “anime,” including children’s anime like Doraemon, Anpanman, and Sazae-san, and anime with a non-typical Japanese look like Alexander Senki, Dead Leaves, and Red Line. The majority of America’s self-proclaimed anime fans actually don’t like, or even want to like, the totality of anime; they’re actually only interested in the select strain of shows that fit their personal criteria of anime. That limited personal criteria isn’t wrong or inappropriate. But it is, regrettably, very limited.

Answer:
Without trying to sound self-serving, I’ve watched a whole lot of anime and seen countless anime opening sequences, most of which I now only recall vague, if at all. I respect the consideration, artwork, and effort that goes into creating an anime opening animation sequence, but sometimes opening animations or opening songs don’t seem to compliment the shows they introduce. A handful of instances immediately leap to my mind.

The 1999 Betterman anime is a literally dark sci-fi horror adventure. So why does it have a new age opening theme song with soothing live-action footage of coral reef diving?

I like John Sykes’s song “Cautionary Warning,” and I think that the opening animation for the 1999 Kacho Ouji television series is very stylistic and evocative. However, it’s as stylistically and tonally distant from the style and tone of the actual show as can be.

Similarly, the 2003 Narutaru anime feels like it should be condemned for begining such a grim, violent, and simply unpleasant anime with a playful, childish opening animation sequence that feels more appropriate to a family-friendly anime like Chibi Maruko-chan or Azuki-chan.

The opening animation for the 2008 Kure-nai television anime is wonderfully stylish, distinctive, and memorable. It’s also practically completely different from the show it introduces. This opening feels far more appropriate to a lighthearted romantic comedy like Ouran High School Host Club than a relatively serious tragedy involving crime, violence, and sexual oppression.

The opening animation for the 2007 Yattokame Tanteidan TV anime is far more lively than the show itself is. The opening theme song by mama-Dee, though, is among the most cacophonous openings I’ve ever heard.

Also possibly to the benefit of anime fans everywhere, Showgate has prohibited online streams of the opening animation for the 2005 Petopeto-san television series. The opening animation sequence is just fine, but Isako Saneyoshi’s opening theme song “Shiranainai Sora” is one of the least pleasant I’ve ever heard attached to an anime.

The primary problem with the opening of the 1998 Weiss Kreuz anime is that apart from looking a bit dated now it’s far better than the show it introduces. The opening animation was produced by an entirely different staff than those who animated the actual show. So the Masami Obari directed opening doesn’t look the like the show and has a kinetic style, pace, and tone that are entirely different than the body of the show. It’s a cruel bait and switch that practically uses an entirely diffent anime as the opening credits sequence.

Answer:
Part of the reason Evangelion is so widely respected is because of its conscious, incisive illustration of complex human psychology. Anime prior to Evangelion typically didn’t delve so deeply into character motivation and anxiety. Practically speaking, that particular variety of literary development simply wasn’t ever seriously attempted in anime prior to the mid 1990s when Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno introduced it to anime. Evangelion introduced new possibility into anime construction, informing creators that anime could be far more ambitious and narratively complex than it had been before. While many anime since Evangelion have included more focus on complex character psychology, a handful of anime series stand out as examples of particularly fascinating illustrations of multi-faceted, complex and interwoven psychology.

1997′s Berserk is primarily a visceral action story, but its unusual degree of insight into its character’s motivations and anxieties really brings the show to life and gives it an exceptional depth. Unlike shows such as Dragon Slayer Densetsu, Fullmetal Panic, or Black Lagoon that similarly feature mercenary action, viewers really get to know why the characters of Berserk fight, what they emotionally search for, and how they physically and emotionally support and even betray each other.

2005′s Akagi and 2008′s similar One Outs are fascinating and compulsively watchable anime about psychologically manipulative gamblers. The stars of both shows may be called villains. Akagi is simply the most devious and insightful devil in a criminal underworld. Toua Tokuchi, the star of One Outs, is a master of psychological manipulation and interpretation. Both of the exquisite shows revolve around mind games; characters outsmarting, psychologically intimidating, and manipulating others. Viewers get inside characters’ heads to see their schemes and mental analysis, then also see these characters fall prey to doubt, anxiety, and outright terror as their psychological quirks and confidence are undermined, twisted, and turned against them.

2006′s Death Note uses a similar technique but in different measure. The art design and animation quality of Death Note are superior to both Akagi and One Outs, but the psychological insight is reduced. While in Akagi and One Outs, viewers are allowed into the minds of both the manipulator and victims, Death Note largely limits the viewer’s insight into just what villain Light Yagami thinks, excluding viewers from detective L’s mental analysis. As a result, Death Note is a wonderful and fascinating suspense tale, and while it’s much more focused on character psychology than most anime, it’s still not quite as psychologically deep as either Akagi or One Outs.

The little known and highly under appreciated 2007 suspense drama Shion no Ou stars a teen girl shogi champion rendered mute by the psychological trama of witnessing the murder of her parents and playing a shogi game against their killer, with blood fresh on his hands. Since Shion cannot speak, viewers get to hear her thoughts and insights. Furthermore, the show devotes great effort to making its supporting characters psychologically complex characters with multi-faceted personalities and complex motivations.

Last year’s Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai is a tearjerker drama about five teens each still emotionally coming to grips with the accidental death of their mutual childhood friend. Although “AnoHana” doesn’t put viewers literally into the minds of each character, much like Evangelion, viewers can apprehend and interpret each character’s anxieties, hopes, resentments, and sense of guilt through dialogue and actions. All of the characters in AnoHana are thoroughly believable, psychologically complex characters whose personalities and behaviors are shaped by their experiences and thoughts. Recognizing and understanding all of those motivations and feelings, and watch the characters themselves come to recognize and deal with their own and each other’s mental and emotional scars is deeply affecting and ultimately gratifying.

When asked for recommendations of psychological anime, countless otaku will cite titles including Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Perfect Blue, Serial Experiments Lain, Monster, Code Geass, NHK ni Youkoso, Bokurano, Shinreigai ~ Ghost Hound, Mirai Nikki, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Shoujo Kakumei Utena, among many others. In certain respects, these are all good and even excellent anime, and any Evangelion fan will probably enjoy most or all of them. However, I do think that some distinction should be made between rationally engaging and absorbing anime, anime which employ psychology and character motivation or thought process as a narrative component, and titles like I’ve highlighted which actually make analysing character psychology itself a Raison d’être for the anime, a basis for the substance of the anime, not necessarily a device used to advance the story.

Answer:
Regrettably, to a certain degree the remaining active domestic anime distributors, which also include AnimEigo, Manga Entertainment, Discotek, Nozomi Entertainment, NIS America and to lesser extent Image and Buena Vista, are limited in options by the realities of the Japanese market and corporate perspective and the demands of the domestic American consumer market. In the early 2000s, Japan’s anime distribution industry envisioned America as a massive potential commercial audience for anime. America is many times larger than Japan and, therefore, logically, has many times more potential anime consumers. As the American anime market continued to swell annually, Japan was quick to exploit that seemingly burgeoning market. But simple figures failed to account for the intangible fact that anime is both animation and foreign, two characteristics which inevitably limited the mass market acceptance of anime in America. The efforts to exploit the American audience with excess releases, titles that the domestic market couldn’t support (Human Scramble, Super Milk-chan, Time Bokan, among others), and costs – both corporate and consumer – which the American market either couldn’t or wouldn’t bear crippled the domestic industry, seemingly permanently.

As Bandai Entertainment CEO Ken Iyadomi revealed this week, the decision to downsize the American subsidiary was made by the Japanese parent company despite confidence that Bandai Entertainment could have continued to operate at its present level. Bandai Namco of Japan determined that the minimal returns generated by the American subsidiary weren’t worth the hassle of continuing licensing negotiations and handling royalties and production & distribution expenses. Now that America is literally just a small supplemental revenue stream to the primary Japanese market, and there’s no sign of significant growth potential in the American market, there’s no longer any reason for the Japanese industry to nurture an American market. Allowing streaming and making Japanese releases officially available to American consumers require little extra effort from the Japanese side of the anime industry. Certainly, financial returns from such limited distribution that excludes American TV broadcast and American packaged media home video results in lowered grosses. But the Japanese distribution industry is satisfied with minimal returns in exchange for minimal investment and effort. The American market has shown little interest in financially supporting anime, so Japan’s anime industry has responded appropriately to America. Anime is not cheap. It’s never been cheap. It’s not cheap in Japan. But American consumers expect anime to be cheap. They expect it to be comparable to the cost and availability of domestic TV programming and movies when the media and financial realities surrounding the media are not remotely similar. In effect, we get what we pay for, and now that we’re paying very little for anime, we’re getting very little anime.

Domestic fans can take moderate comfort in the knowledge that FUNimation, Manga Entertainment, Discotek, Nozomi, Media Blasters, AnimEigo, and the assorted companies affiliated with Section 23 are not Japanese owned companies, so they’re not in danger of being arbitrarily shut down by decisions made on the other side of the planet. NIS America is the epitome of a boutique distributor that appears satisfied to maintain its present level of minimal but sustainable revenue and market penetration. Discotek and Nozomi appear likewise satisfied to manage their present small but sustainable market positions. Viz Media is a Japanese subsidiary, but Viz is America’s oldest active anime distributor (provided AnimEigo is considered not presently active in anime licensing and distribution). Throughout its history, Viz Media has always aggressively prioritized business strategy, frequently to the consternation of domestic anime fans. As a result of that acumen, Viz Media is likely to remain viable and active in American distribution.

Viz has arguably been consistently America’s most successful anime and manga distributor because the company has always remained active and has managed the ups and downs of market shift smoothly. Viz’s strategy involves acquiring select, optimum titles without overextending, carefully branching out to supplemental and ancillary mediums slowly, and promptly excising unprofitable endeavors. The result is a company that largely only selects and distributes profitable titles. The downside of that strategy for consumers is a lack of eclectic, niche market anime titles. The upside for the distributor is few risky investments and little possibility for catastrophe. FUNimation and Section 23′s affiliates (Sentai, Maiden Japan, Happy Carrot) seem to partially adhere to Viz’s strategy. Sentai and its companion distributors are careful not to flood the market and devalue their own product with tiered discounted re-releases. The companies are careful to manage costs by excluding dubbing for shows unlikely to significantly benefit from the dramatic extra cost of including a dub. These companies largely concentrate on distributing titles with an assured audience, although recently titles including Loups=Garrou, Himawari, and Glass Maiden, among others, seem like longshot hopes rather than releases assured to generate a profit. FUNimation appears to be doing precisely what AD Vision did in the lead up to AD Vision’s demise: relying heavily on cash cow titles, acquiring a large catalog including titles with no planned release date, multiple simultaneous releases of the same title and tiered discount re-releases that encourage consumers to wait instead of buying on initial release. However, if FUNimation can avoid the mis-steps that AD Vision took, including investing heavily into a live-action feature that never materialized and failing to pay proper royalties to its Japanese licensors, FUNimation may be able to sustain itself indefinitely.

Rumors of ill corporate health at Media Blasters have circulated for the past two years or so, but the licensor, of late, has made deliberate licensing choices and doesn’t appear to be aggressively overextending. Hopefully experience and lessons learned through navigating the 2008 industry crash will allow Media Blasters to continue at its present lean and effective state.

Answer:
Given that there are two questions presented, and answering the first alone is substantial, I’ll address the later question separately early next year.

As per my habit, not for recognition or praise, I try to sample as much of each year’s new TV anime as I can just to educate myself about the current state of the anime industry and learn first-hand what new anime are actually like. By my rough count, 2011 saw the premieres of 147 unique television and web anime series and specials. I’m consciously excluding Ad Lib Anime Kenkyu because I classify it a live-action program rather than an anime. I’m also excluding Inumarudashi because I can’t confirm whether it actually did have a TV anime series. Titles including Honto ni Ata! Reibai-sensei and Genki!! Ekoda-chan are segments of Yuruani?, not separate, self-contained shows. So among those 147 titles, I’ve been fortunate to have watched a full episode of 139 of them. I’m aware that sampling one episode doesn’t create a comprehensive appreciation of a complete series, but in many cases sampling one episode is sufficient to provide a functional impression of a show. So I can’t authoratatively and comprehensively critique the entire year’s total of new anime, but I can express my personal perspective on this year’s TV anime. I base my selections on objective cinematic quality, not necessarily popularity. Rather than limit my selections to some arbitrary number, I’ll nominate the shows I believe deserve mention. With so many new anime this year, a slightly larger number of top-shelf titles seems appropriate.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica appeared almost out of nowhere and literally took anime by storm, shocking viewers out of complacency, enthralling with equal measure of fascination and horror. Director Akiyuki Shinbo’s distinctive visual design has been evident in anime since the early 1990s, but in Madoka Magica it was not only rendered skillfully, it was complimented by the effective contrast of Ume Aoki’s character designs. Gen Urobuchi’s script revolutionized the magical girl genre by simply extending the genre’s tropes to their terrifying logical conclusion, simply going where no other anime had ever dared to go before. The stellar complexity and depth of visual design which included even actual narratively relevant runes and foreign scripts in the backgrounds, combined with an emotionally devestating narrative positioned Madoka Magica as a masterpiece that went far above and beyond the everyday expectations of conventional anime. This is a show which will resonate and serve as a landmark in anime history for years and decades to come.

Very closely rivaling the emotional and narrative impact of Madoka Magica is the stylistically opposite Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai. This tender slice-of-life drama about teens forced to confront their own feelings of lonliness and guilt surrounding the accidental death of a close friend is a heartrending yet hopeful story about love and redemption. Although the characters are probably nothing like people we know, every one of them feels entirely real. The honesty with which they face themselves and their relationships with each other is incisively painful but absolutely necessary and ultimately cathartic and healing. AnoHana is a beautiful show, both visually and narratively, that dives deep into the churning dark pits of emotional suffering in order to emerge whole and stronger. While the story and character development revolve around the show’s fictional characters, the journey takes viewers along on an equally tumultuous, ultimately rewarding emotional venture.

The Usagi Drop slice-of-life series serves as a reminder that anime doesn’t need fan service, fantastical settings, complex and convoluted narratives, and spectacular action to be satisfying. Usagi Drop is a very simple story illustrated with great charm and humanity. The characters all feel real and believable. There are no villains or even antagonists, just everyday people facing the humors and difficulties of routine life. This quiet show reminds viewers of the simple pleasures of life: the fun of taking a walk, of kind conversation, the warmth of family, the wonder of discovery, and the innocence of childhood belief. The anime’s soft, gentle animation, art design, and color setting invite viewers in and suggest a reassuring world where every difficulty can be overcome with love and human compassion.

Sometimes, as shows like Seirei no Moribito, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Macross Frontier have done in the past, an anime rises to the top simply by virtue of its exceptional production. This year’s Fate/zero may be just a bit too convoluted, resulting in it seeming to contradict some of the narrative points it’s trying to establish. However, the show’s rich atmosphere and lush animation cannot go unrecognized. Fate/zero practically embarasses other TV anime with its feature film caliber art design, fluid animation, and elaborate choreography. Sequences like Lancer & Saber’s extended battle are more dynamically animated in this TV series than even action sequences in typical big budget movies. Fate/zero is not without its flaws, including hideous looking character design in episode 11 and an overbearing pretentiousness, especially in the first episode. But like an 800 pound gorilla in the room, the series just can’t be overlooked.

Mawaru Penguindrum is dense, convoluted, highly symbolic, and, honestly, a task to watch. However, it’s a rare anime which can be so challenging to watch because it demands so much intellectual and interpretative attention from the viewer. Penguindrum bursts with creativity and originality. In a modern era characterized by otaku longing for shows that don’t pander or rely on tired tropes and popular themes, Mawaru Penguindrum delivers exactly what otaku want, to such an extent that it’s over plentiful. Mawaru Penguindrum isn’t an easy show to watch; it’s even more difficult to comprehend. However, the very existance of such a dynamic, visually stunning, complex and dense literary narrative in animation form is reason for respect and applause. Penguindrum is absolutely not a show for everyone. In fact, even many of its supporters will concede that the show is difficult and convoluted viewing. But a show that succeeds in being so stylistically beautiful and narratively complex without being cliche or pretentious is special and rare.

Studio P.A. Works commemorated its tenth anniversary effectively with the original bishoujo coming-of-age drama Hanasaku Iroha. Despite a harsh first episode and some arguable narrative missteps in the early episodes, Hanasaku Iroha was a consistently attractive looking show that quickly developed into an engaging character-centric drama with plenty of passion and heart. The dynamic and diverse cast play off each other well, and the narrative does a fine job of allowing the characters to gradually reveal themselves. As characters become more familiar with each other, and viewers spend more time with the characters, the characters drop their guard and reveal their true personalities that are filled with unique quirks and foibles. The characters also genuinely mature and evolve, changing their perspectives in accordance with their growing understanding of the people around them and their own increasing recognition of their own perspectives and personalities.

Finally, I’d like to mention [C] THE MONEY OF SOUL AND POSSIBILITY CONTROL just for its daring to be unique. [C] may be criticized for merely shifting the tropes of Digimon into an adult setting, but the audacity to merge concepts reminiscent of Digimon with ethical philosophical debate on the responsibility of the wealthy, the degree to which external influence affects individual people’s lives, and the moral obligation to obey a personal moral code versus an order prescribed by authority make the show a fascinating example of the dynamic creativity that anime is capable of.

Particular titles from this year including Hourou Musuko, Hyoge Mono, and Level E garnered critical praise while Tiger & Bunny earned acclaim and tremendous popularity, but I think that in each of these cases, the shows I’ve nominated as best of the year are more deserving of the recognition because they’re more creative or more affecting.

Unlike some years from past memory, including 2006 & 2008 particularly, 2011 didn’t deliver any disasterous anime. Instead, this year was heavily dominated by very mediocre TV anime including C³, Dantalian no Shoka, Infinite Stratos, Kyokai Senjo no Horizon, Dragon Crisis!, Freezing, Sengoku Otome, Itsuka Tenma to Kuro Usagi, Kamisama Dolls, R-15, and Maken-ki, to name just a few. The year’s biggest disappointments were three shows which should have been much better than they actually were. Fireball Charming dramatically improved the first series’ animation but almost entirely lost the first series’ satirical, absurdist wit. After a string of good and excellent anime including Nijuu Menso no Musume, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Darker than Black: Ryusei no Gemini, Star Driver, and Gosick, studio BONES produced the back-to-back disappointments No.6 and Un-Go. No.6 began well but unraveled into a narrative mess filled with irelevant characters, under-developed narrative threads, and blatant homoeroticism bluntly inserted to rally fujoshi interest. Un-Go touted a celebrity staff but ended up a half-baked hybrid of supernatural horror, detective mystery, and political criticism that felt like half of its story and most of its character development was missing.

Here’s my complete list of 2011′s TV and web anime. The 8 titles in italics are the ones which I haven’t watched any of yet.

+tic Neesan [web anime]
30-sai no Hoken Taiiku
A-Channel
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai
Ao no Exorcist
Astalotte no Omocha
Baka to Test to Shokanjyu ni!
Bakuman (second season)
Battle Spirits Heroes
Beelzebub
Ben-To
BLADE
BLOOD-C
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Buso Chugakusei Basket Army [web anime]
Buso Shinki Moon Angel [web anime]
[C] THE MONEY OF SOUL AND POSSIBILITY CONTROL
C3 -C Cube-
Card Fight! Vanguard
Chi-Sui Maru 2nd Season
Chibi Devi
Chihayafuru
Copihan [web anime]
Cross Fight B-Daman
Danboru Senki
Dantalian no Shoka
Deadman Wonderland
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
DD Hokuto no Ken
Digimon Xros Wars: Toki wo Kakeru Shounen Hunter-tachi
Dog Days
Dororon Enma-kun Meramera
Dragon Crisis!
Duel Masters Victory
Fate/Zero
Fireball Charming
Fractale
Freezing
Fujilog
Ganbare! Natto-san
gdgd Fairies
Gintama’
GOSICK
Guilty Crown
Gyakkyo Burai Kaiji: Hakairoku-hen
Hanasaku Iroha
Happy Kappy
Hello Mainichi Kaasan
Hen Zemi
Hidamari Sketch x SP
Hidan no Aria
High Score
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
Houkago no Pleadies [web anime]
Hourou Musuko
HUNTER×HUNTER
Hyoge Mono
THE IDOLM@STER
Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
IS
Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
Jewelpet Sunshine
Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel ~Kyun Kyun Tokimeki Paradise~
Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai II
Kamisama Dolls
Kamisama no Memo-cho
Kampfer fur die Liebe
Kayochu
Kido Senshi Gundam AGE
Kimezo no Kimarimonku Ja Kimaranee. Featuring Sabu-Otoko
Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season
Kimi to Boku
Kono Danshi Uchuujin to Tatakaemasu [TV special]
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
Kyokai Senjo no Horizon
Kyousogiga [web anime]
Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam
Level E
Lupin III: Chi no Kokuin Eien no Mermaid [TV special]
Mai no Maho to Katei no Hi [web anime]
Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai!
Maken-ki!
Manyu Hikencho
Mariaholic Alive
Mashiroiro Symphony
Mawaru Penguindrum
Mayochiki!
Metal Fight Beyblade 4D
Mirai Nikki
Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu
MonHun Nikki Girigiri Airu-mura G
Morita-san wa Mukuchi
Moshi Koko Yakyu no Joshi Manager ga Drucker no Management o Yondara
Natsume Yujincho San
Nekogami Yaoyorozu
Nichijou
Nihon Omoshiro Mukashi Banashi
NO.6
Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyo
Nyanpire the Animation
Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki ja Nai n da kara ne
Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
Otona Joshi no Anime Time
Paperman Battle 1 [web anime]
Peeping Life -The Perfect Extension-
persona4 the ANIMATION
Phi-Brain Kami no Puzzle
Pretty Rhythm Aroura Dream
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
R-15
Ring ni Kakero 1: Sekai Taikai Hen
Rio RainbowGate!
Ro-Kyu-Bu!
Sacred Seven
Seikon no Qwaser II
Sekaiichi Hatsukoi
Sekaiichi Hatsukoi 2
Sengoku Otome ~ Momoiro Paradox
Sengoku Paradise -Kiwami-
Shakugan no Shana III -Final-
Shiawase Haitatsu Taneko
Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
Showa Monogatari
SKET DANCE
Sockies Frontier Quest
Softeni
STEINS;GATE
Suite Precure
Suzy’s Zoo Daisuki! Witzy
Tamayura ~hitotose~
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Tokubetsuhen
Tennis no Oujisama: Best Match
TIGER & BUNNY
Tonno to Issho Gantai no Yabou
Torico
Tottoko Hamutaro Dechu
UN-GO
Usagi Drop
Uta no Prince-sama ~ Maji LOVE 1000%
Wolverine
WORKING’!!
X-Men
Yondemasuyo Azazel-san
Yugioh Zexal
Yumekui Merry
Yuruani?
Yuruyuri

Question:
I just got finished watching Mawaru Penguindrum, and I don’t know what to even think about it. On one hand it has some incredibly good visuals and the characters are adequately fleshed out. However, the ending left so many unanswered questions (the penguin hat? The three penguins? The survival strategy magical girl scenes), and the symbolism was slathered on so thick that I’m struggling to understand the meaning of this series; let alone whether I truly enjoyed or not either. So, what is your take/opinion of it?

Answer:
I’ve watched the 24 episode Mawaru Penguindrum television series once and haven’t had much opportunity to mull the show and analyze its twists, revelations, and symbolism. This is a dense, weighty narrative bursting with complexity, theme, and nuance. It’s also not certainly entirely cohesive. While imagery and concepts that remain present and consistent throughout the show suggest that creator/director Kunihiko Ikuhara knew what he was doing and had a conscious plan for the show, the prominent shift in tone from bizarre sitcom to grim fantasy tragedy and the show’s sheer amount of symbolism and narrative complexity suggest that some extent of the program may have been arbitrary. I can’t explain every aspect of the show. I’m not even convinced that every aspect of the show has a straightforward explanation or meaning. After all, numerous aspects of Ikuhara’s slightly more comprehensible Shoujo Kakumei Utena are merely irrelevant gags and elements randomly inserted into the narrative. So I can provide my own rough interpretation of the meaning of the show and its ultimate climax, but I can’t insist that my interpretation is comprehensive or even accurate.

I’m intrigued by the fact that Mawaru Penguindrum wrestles with many of the same philosophical and narrative concepts that Evangelion does, suggesting that these two distinctively different shows both mine a common existential anxiety present in Japanese culture. Watase Sanetoshi resents the inescapable alienation that exists between people, particularly within society. Because human beings can never fully understand what each other are feeling and thinking, inequalities and anxieties exist between them. Evangelion’s Seele Project sought to literally eliminate the boundaries between humans. Sanetoshi seeks to destroy the society which encourages those restrictions. Arguably even more so than in Evangelion, all of the primary characters in Penguindrum are emotionally scarred. They’ve all encountered traumatic childhoods and tragedies, leading to the zeitgeist that the world is divided into those who seek love and those who give love.

Seemingly, Sanetoshi manipulated Kenzan Takakura and his wife to establish a terrorist cult that would destroy the world. However, Momoka Oginome managed to partially obsctruct the plan by changing destiny. Dramatic change is always difficult, so for the massive scale of the changes Momoka makes, she had to sacrifice her own life. However, she was seemingly only partially successful. Having served his purpose, Kenzan Takakura was executed, and Sanetoshi returned as a ghost to again manipulate the Takakura family into doing his destructive bidding, the second time convincing Kanba to follow in Kenzan’s footsteps. However, Sanetoshi didn’t return in spirit form alone. Ringo Oginome is not the reincarnation of Momoka; Himari Takakura is.

Momoka sees the world in black and white. Black is negative. White is hopeful and happy. Momoka sees people as ones who need love in their lives and herself as a person who provides love. As Tabuki realizes, Momoka wanted he and Yuri to remain in the world because they both seek love. Love will eventually heal their lonliness and grief. Sanetoshi doesn’t fit into either of Momoka’s categories. He neither seeks nor gives love. Since he doesn’t fit into Momoka’s world, Momoka tries to literally expell him from the world. The first time, she’s not fully successful, but the second time, in episode 24, she walks away from Sanetoshi, taking both the black and white penguin caps with her, symbolically taking away both of Sanetoshi’s possible directions for the future.

When Momoka’s spirit takes over and speaks through Himari, the penguin princess emerges from the white teddy bear, suggesting that she comes from the positive side of destiny. She addresses people who stand upon and fall through the black bear, people who stand upon and descend through misery and suffering. The apple represents not knowledge but fate, possibility. When they were children and desperate, on the edge of death, Kanba found possibility, an apple, and split it with Shouma, allowing both of the brothers to live. Seemingly forever tied to those roles, Kanba becomes a martyr, always giving of himself to sustain his adopted sister and family. He gives love. He’s a playboy, dating many girls, spreading his love around. But at the same time he seeks love. He harbors an unfulfilled love for Himari. Shouma, on the other hand, cherishes life after receiving the gift of salvation from death. It’s Shouma who rescues young Himari from death. Shouma takes pity on Ringo and spends time with her, even risking his life to save her. Shouma rejects the death and destruction caused by his parents. Ringo isn’t the reincarnation of Momoka; she’s the embodiment of destiny’s possibilities. Ringo is Japanese for “apple,” the fruit of fate. Ringo is the one that, from the outset of the series, believed in destiny. It’s she who recites the spell to alter the direction of fate in the final episode.

Taking cues from anime like Serial Experiments Lain and My Hime, Mawaru Penguindrum concludes with Momoka, through Himari’s body, with assistance from Ringo, redrafting the world into a more pleasant environment. Ringo shifts the world from the path it was on to another parallel path in which a makeshift family descended from terrorists doesn’t exist and Himari, Kanba, Shouma, and even Masako Natsume now live separate but happier lives. The show is very much one about the decisions and ramifications of one generation coming to bear on the next generation, like divine punishment falling upon the children of the blasphemer. But love and sacrifice allow this fate to be averted, rewritten.

Answer:
I’m sure that I’ve addressed this question before, but since I haven’t done so recently, a new response may be valuable to new readers.

In most cases – powerful studios like Ghibli are an exception – anime production studios don’t always get to choose the titles they animate. Anime productions are originated by production committees that decide what to animate, secure production financing, and contract a studio to create the animation. These production committees have an obligation to their investors to create anime that will generate a financial return. Adaptations of hits simply have a greater probability of being profitable than original concepts. Adaptations of successful properties already have a complete story concept to build from, so sponsors don’t have to worry about a production falling apart. For example, in 2007 Satelight animator Yokou Koube publicly stated that Kissdum ~Engage Planet~ creator & director Yasuchika Nagaoka hadn’t written out a complete concept for the anime and wanted to cancel the production but couldn’t because investors had already committed Satelight to the production. Shortly later, Nagaoka abandoned the anime, resulting in Kissdum becoming one of the decade’s biggest anime fiascoes. In addition to adaptations of existing works providing the security of knowing that the story foundation is already done, adaptations have a pre-existing consumer audience. However, the advantage of an established audience also shackles anime development.

Otaku are a bipolar bunch that demand slavish faithfulness or total uniqueness. Anime including 2001′s Hellsing, 2003′s Fullmetal Alchemist, Bokurano, Dance in the Vampire Bund, and long-running shounen anime such as Bleach and Naruto that stray from their source narratives or include “filler” episodes or story arcs get criticized and rejected by viewers, resulting in viewers abandoning the shows or demanding remakes more faithful to their source. But when anime are too faithful to their source materials, like the 1997′s Berserk, 2004′s Tenjho Tenge, or 2006′s Shijo Saikyo no Deshi Kenichi, they’re criticized for lacking conclusive resolutions. Fans suggest that adaptations should be produced only after the source work is complete, so the anime adaptation may have a definitive ending. But the financial necessity of anime development demands that adaptations be made at the peak of a title’s popularity, which usually occurs during the beginning or middle of a title’s lifespan. Ideal adaptations that faithfully animate the source, complete with a satisfying, conclusive ending, just aren’t physically and financially practical to produce.

Manga and novels are largely the creation of one or a small number of creators, and print is cheap. Anime production involves dozens or hundreds of staffers and major financial expenditure. Manga and novels have the opportunity to be original and break new ground. Original anime production is much riskier because it’s far more costly. Riding the coattails of a hit title is much safer for producers and investors than attempting to break new ground in anime form. While otaku clamor for original anime, statistically otaku don’t actually support original anime near as frequently. For every Angel Beats, Madoka Magica, AnoHana, or Tiger & Bunny that becomes a big hit, there are many more original anime like Sora no Woto, Heroman, Senkou no Night Raid, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Star Driver, Dog Days, Sacred Seven, and Guilty Crown that either aren’t big hits or worse, accrue intense viewer criticism.

We, as anime fans, demand original anime. But when original anime do premiere, we frequently don’t watch them. We complain about adaptations then complain when adaptations aren’t faithful enough – either because they diverge from their inspirations or because they don’t manage to comprehensively adapt their source – failing to recognize that our demands are impractical and even unreasonable. Anime fans are so emotionally devoted to their hobby that they want every anime to be ideal and perfect, but real world circumstances and necessities result in very few anime productions actually having the opportunity to attain perfection. Rather than lament the anime we don’t get, we should celebrate and be grateful for the anime we do get, remembering that anime isn’t primarily made for us, nor does Japanese animation have any obligation to appease us American viewers. Japan continues to produce the anime that’s most profitable in Japan and most appealing to Japanese viewers. So until America can demonstrate a revenue market big enough to influence the Japanese production industry, our complaints and demands will remain the self-contradictory whining of a fringe market rather than the influential demands of the majority paying audience.

Answer:
I apologize in advance if my response is inadequate, but I’m not entirely certain that I understand what the question is asking. I presume that the inquiry is about other anime series that seem to merely serve as a teaser for the manga they’re based on. The cynic can say that every anime based on a manga is merely an advertisement for its source work. However, such a reductive argument overlooks disregards anime like Risky/Safety, Hellsing, Bokurano, Dance in the Vampire Bund, and Fullmetal Alchemist that diverge significantly from their source stories. Furthermore, the argument ignores the innate characteristics and qualities of the anime adaptation, summarizing the anime as merely an extraneous succession from the manga rather than an independent creative work in its own regard. But even with that refutation, some anime series do indeed seem to serve, intentionally or not, as introductions to their manga, breadcrumbs leading into the longer and more expansive manga stories.

The Berserk television series may be the best known example of an anime that only begins to delve into its source manga. The Berserk television series does little more than adapt the manga’s first story arc then show an initial glimpse of the second. The Tenjho Tenge anime series taunts viewers even more egregiously by introducing the series’ protagonists, shifting into a lengthy flashback that doesn’t include the protagonists, then returning to its present time to merely begin a story arc, ending the anime abruptly with its story in mid-flow. The Air Master television series doesn’t even introduce the series’ primary antagonist until its final episode. The High School of the Dead television series introduces its characters and setting, ending just as the characters prepare to set out on their journey of survival. Likewise, although primarily based on novels rather than manga, the Guin Saga anime series likewise only introduces the characters and character relationships, ending with the promise that the primary narrative is only just beginning.

The danger in categorizing these sort of anime which seem to end just as their narrative focus comes into sharp relief lies in dismissing or ignoring them. The fact that these type of anime seem more like introductions rather than comprehensive stories allows observers to easily forget that these anime frequently still have engaging characters, action, stories, and animation. The fact that these shows don’t have substantial, evident conclusions doesn’t make them insignificant anime unworthy of watching. Rather than feel gyped or duped, as though the anime is a bait and switch that merely encourage viewers to refer to the manga, otaku should appreciate these anime for what they are. These shows, despite their inconclusive endings, are still frequently absorbing and entertaining shows worth watching. The nature of the anime production industry and its fan expectations demand that certain anime get produced with inconclusive endings. Shows like Berserk, Tenjho Tenge, and High School of the Dead are popular enough to get produced in the first place but not successful enough to continue indefinitely. They have to be produced while audience interest is at a peak, yet they can’t diverge too far from the manga source without annoying and alienating the audience they’re primarily targeted at. So these shows, these introductions, do the only thing they can do; they animate what they can and encourage viewers that want to see more to refer to the original manga. When the nature of the production industry necessitates the options of an anime adaptation that only adapts the beginning of the manga or no anime adaptation at all, the former choice is preferable to the later.