Ask John: What’s With Old Anime Resurfacing?

Question:
I notice quite a number of older anime titles that have been resurfaced with new story lines and an updated look, for example Bubble Gum Crisis, Sol Bianca, G-Force, and even Ah! My Goddess to some extent. Why has this trend popped up in Japan?

Answer:
The tendency to remake or revive previous successes has been a part of the anime industry at least since the early 1990s, following the decline of the “golden period” of anime and the 1980s heyday of OAV productions. Updated versions and remakes of older series including Dirty Pair Flash, 8th Man After, Crusher Police Dominion, Giant Robo, the new Cashan, Hurricane Polymer and Gatchaman, and Tekkaman Blade characterized the late 1980s and early 1990s. The later 1990s through the present have seen the Sol Bianca OAV series and new TV series revivals of Dr. Slump, Bubblegum Crisis, Kinnikuman, Kikaider, Mazinger Z, Cyborg 009, Captain Tsubasa and upcoming revivals of Harmeggedon, Babel II, Slayers and Tenchi Muyo.

The most easy way to explain these revivals is as a matter of profitability. Especially lately with the slump in the Japanese economy no doubt having an effect on the anime industry, the number of OAVs, especially, being released to the Japanese market seems to be smaller than it’s ever been before. (However, current OAV releases like Puni Puni Poemi, Happy Lesson, and Alien 9 suggest that the fewer number of current OAV releases are achieving higher individual quality.) If the anime industry is truly working under tight financial reigns, it’s natural to expect that studios will rely partially on productions with an established market and built-in name recognition. New, original productions have the potential to become breakthrough hits, but revivals and new productions starring classic characters virtually guarantee a certain degree of success and profit.