Ask John: What’s John’s Opinion of the 2006 Expo Announcements?

Question:
What was your opinion of the announcements made at Expo this year? Aside from the licensing of Black Lagoon, Solty Rei, Pani Poni Dash!, Nerima Daikon Brothers (how many people have actually heard of these?) and Paradise Kiss, most other announcements seemed small and unimpressive (at least in my opinion). Even the announcements of those titles – though many people may think them nice – are nothing ground breaking. In your opinion were the number/quality of the announcements made this year on par with previous years, better than, or were they a little stale in comparison?

Answer:
My personal reaction to the licenses announced at the recent Anime Expo arguably carry no more weight than any other critic’s opinion. I’ll explicate my thoughts because it’s fun to do so, and because my perspective may shed some light on the state of the American anime industry. Since I’ve at least watched some of each of the titles announced, I may be in a somewhat more knowledgeable position to critique the titles and predict their impact on the American anime community. Since my specialty is anime, I’ll limit my discussion to just the anime licenses announced during the convention. I’ll exclude manga, novels, non-Japanese animation, and titles revealed as licensed long before the recent Anime Expo.

To put 2006 in context, there were 25 anime titles announced for American release at the 2003 Anime Expo, 35 announced at the 2004 convention, a mere 8 titles announced last year, and 14 announced this year. Popular and highly requested titles in America’s fan community including Monster, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, Ouran High School Host Club, Honey & Clover, and Nana were not announced. It should come as little surprise that domestic distributors AnimEigo, AN Entertainment, Central Park Media, Pathfinder, Synch Point, and Urban Vision announced no anime titles. It may be more revealing about the state of the industry that Media Blasters and Viz likewise announced no new anime acquisitions. On the whole, there seems to be little excitement about this year’s class of Expo announcements.

AD Vision finally announced domestic release plans for the 2005 Bio-Boosted Armor Guyver television series that it partially funded. I’m sure that America’s Guyver fans are thrilled, but considering that Viz has dropped its translation of the Guyver manga, and Manga Entertainment has dropped its license for the Guyver OAV series, there’s evidence that there’s not much consumer interest in the Guyver franchise in America. Paniponi Dash will likewise probably sell well to a very small percentage of America’s most hardcore anime fans, but the show is too cute and too directly addressed to the “otaku” community to appeal to average, casual consumers. After heavily re-writing dub scripts for Orphen and Ghost Stories, Nerima Daikon Brothers seems like a natural target. And if Ghost Stories needed the help of a controversial dub to boost sales, Nermia Daikon Brothers will need that and a miracle. All 13 episodes of the series filtered into America’s online fan community, but none of them were ever fansubbed. If America’s hardcore fan community wouldn’t even watch the show for free, I doubt many American consumers will be eager to buy it.

Bandai Entertainmnet’s announcements should come as little surprise to anyone, as they’re all extensions of current Bandai franchises. The Ghost in the Shell TV series compilation movies and the Z Gundam movie trilogy may seem like superfluous acquisitions as they’re primarily just condensed versions of anime already available in America, but they are relatively new properties which Bandai of Japan may want to push internationally. But since they are mostly footage that’s already available in America, I don’t expect them to make a big impact on America’s anime community. The acquisition of the Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Socitey OAV is a natural and expected continuation of the successful domestic release of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. The acquisition of the .hack//ROOTS series may also be an example of Bandai Japan wishing to continue marketing the .Hack franchise internationally, but the .Hack franchise’s 15 minutes ended in America year or two ago. I’m most stunned by the fact that Bandai Entertainment felt the need to formally announce a title (My Otome) that they don’t even have distribution rights to yet.

The most revealing fact from this year’s Anime Expo is that the biggest announcement of the con is third release of an 18 year old title coming from a Japanese distributor; not from one of America’s home grown distributors. Aim for the Top! Gunbuster was first released on American home video by US Renditions. Then it was re-released by Manga Entertainment. Now it will be re-released by Bandai Visual. Considering that the Honneamise label is designed to showcase Bandai Visual’s classic titles, the only surprise that Gunbuster will be an Honneamise release is the fact that it was not Bandai Visual’s first American release. The stature of the Gunbuster release announcement clearly illustrates that America’s anime industry didn’t make any tremendously impactful announcements at the convention. I’m sure that Bandai Visual wishes to push Wings of Rean in America because it’s a brand new title in Japan; however, Bandai’s eagerness to market this latest title may have clouded adequate market research. Wings of Rean is a new anime interpretation of Aura Battler Dunbine. I’ve seen brand new Dunbine DVDs for sale in America for as little as a penny. When it’s difficult to virtually give away Dunbine anime in America, I see little hope for a new Dunbine anime selling well.

FUNimation’s only surprise of the convention was the acquisition of Glass Fleet, a show commonly called a combination of Rose of Versailles with Legend of the Galactic Heroes. (The acquisition of Solty Rei and Witchblade were already common public knowledge prior to the convention.) The acquisition of another Gonzo production will doubtlessly further cement FUNimation and Gonzo’s partnership, but I don’t anticipate the show doing much for FUNimation’s bottom line. Neither Rose of Versailles nor Legend of the Galactic Heroes has legs in America, so I don’t expect to see much American interest in Glass no Kantai. In fact, the reactions to the show that I’ve encountered from America’s fan community have been almost entirely negative.

While it’s not a masterpiece, Black Lagoon may perform well for Geneon because it’s a respectably good production, and it may have a lot of appeal to mainstream American consumers. Likewise, Paradise Kiss was specifically designed to appeal to non-hardcore anime fans, which may help it gain footing in America’s consumer market. The Disgaea anime is disappointingly mediocre, but it may still sell well based on its appeal to both anime and video game consumers, and the strength of its character designs and promotional art. None of Geneon’s three licenses seem like guaranteed hits, but none of them seem like bombs, either.

Finally, I find it ironic that only a day after AD Vision taunted fans with the non-committal promise to maybe someday distribute the second half of the SuperGALS! Kotobuki Ran anime series, Right Stuf International announced acquisition of it. I never expected to one day see a small distributor like Right Stuf scoop the one time powerhouse of America’s anime industry. I’m pleased to see GALS episodes 26-52 finally licensed, but it’s clear that Right Stuf doesn’t anticipate the series being a strong seller since their plan is to release the series subtitled only in limited distribution. (Even though I haven’t finished watching the first half of the series, I’m always eager to support any subtitled only domestic anime release. I’ve already reserved my copy.) The release of SuperGALS “season two” is certainly a coup for American shoujo fans, but it’s unlikely to have any noticeable impact on the entirety of America’s anime community.

The domestic licensing of any anime title is a positive step for the anime industry and America’s anime community. Every new anime brought to America offers consumers another choice, an additional opportunity to discover or experience anime. But Anime Expo has become America’s premier event for announcing title acquisitions, and the number and status of the titles announced at Expo generally reflect the annual health of America’s anime industry. The fact that more titles were announced this year than last may imply that America’s anime industry has pulled through its leanest period in memory. Or the fact that Expo announcements have declined by more than half in only two years may reveal the infirmity of America’s anime industry. I think the fact that 2006 has been a record year for anime releases in Japan, yet very few of those titles are being brought to America, and the ones that are seem to be among the less desired ones, reveals that America’s anime industry isn’t in a healthy and strong position to import anime. That weakness may be caused by decreasing support for America’s anime industry from the consumer market, rising costs demanded by the Japanese side of the industry, or probably a combination of both factors. But that’s the subject of a different discussion. To summarize the 2006 Anime Expo anime announcements, I think this year’s catalog is mediocre and unsurprising, and unlikely to make any major impact on America’s fan community or the status of Japanese animation in America.