Ask John: Where Are the Respectable Anime Licenses?
Question:
I’m glad that Nozomi licensed Aria the Origination but cannot understand why companies license Kenichi or Raoh Gaiden instead of Denno Coil and Higurashi Kai. It’s hard to believe anticipated sales would explain such decisions, so is it about asking price?
Answer:
There are intertwined practical and philosophical factors that explain and affect contemporary anime licensing. The cost of licensing anime for American release has, as last and by necessity, come down from the unsustainable heights it was at several years ago, but that still doesn’t make licensing and distributing anime cheap. Domestic licensors are forced to weigh considerations including the cost of licensing and localizing particular series, inquire about whether certain series are even available for international licensing, determine whether the domestic distributor is interested in the title, and learn whether the Japanese licensor is willing to negotiate. Certain American licensors concentrate on certain types and genres of anime while avoiding others. Certain anime series just aren’t available for international licensing, possibly because the Japanese ownership of the title is convoluted or uncertain, or too difficult to negotiate, or simply because the Japanese owner doesn’t want to be troubled with particular properties.
Outside of practical business negotiations, considerations, and hurdles, the American consumer audience also affects the type and titles of anime that get brought to America. There is, frustratingly, a significant division between what American anime fans say they want and what they support. I frequently see ardent complaints about the amount of moé anime produced, and complaints that there’s not enough diversity in anime, and that the “good” titles never seem to reach America. But at the same time these statements run rampant, anime titles including Kemonozume, Kaiba, Nijuu Menso no Musume, Ristorante Paradiso, Denno Coil, and Ookami to Koshinryo get overlooked and almost entirely ignored. There’s a practical reason why Viz Media is fast-tracking Bleach and Naruto DVDs, yet isn’t scheduling a DVD release for Monster. American anime fans -at least, many of them – enjoy saying that they respect artistic, substantial anime, but what they most watch and purchase are anime that are flashy, atmospheric, action-oriented, and exotic but not foreign. ICv2’s ranking of the most popular anime titles in America this spring includes Afro Samurai, Naruto, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass, Fullmetal Alchemist, and even Yu Yu Hakusho. While these aren’t bad titles, Ouran High School Host Club is the only one among the top ten most popular commercially released anime in America that even approaches the tone and style of literate, interpretative, and thought provoking anime like Denno Coil. In fact, even Death Note, which was especially popular among Americans just a year ago, has already fallen out of America’s top ten.
In a sense, American anime fans get what we deserve rather than what we demand. I don’t want to create the impression that America’s anime distributors ignore the suggestions and requests of anime fans, but consumer spending will always be more influential than anonymous forum and blog posts. Money speaks louder than words. Domestic licensors base their acquisition decisions largely upon what market trends have proven to be viable commercial acquisitions. America’s best selling anime DVDs prove that shonen action titles like History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi and Fist of the North Star typically outsell challenging, provocative dramas. In present circumstances, America’s anime industry is faced with the option of either concentrating on action and fan service heavy titles that sell in respectable numbers if they’re cheap enough, or concentrating on licensing praiseworthy, artistic anime that won’t sell enough DVDs in America to sustain business operations regardless of how low their retail price may be. I do think that what remains of America’s anime licensing industry is doing the best it can to balance acqusitions between titles that generate enough revenue to keep the industry afloat and niche audience titles that distributors and fans want to see in America on principle.
The fact that anime titles including Spice & Wolf, Sky Crawlers, Oh! Edo Rocket, Victorian Romance Emma, and Tweeny Witches still get occasionally licensed and released in America testifies that American distributors do continue to dignify literate, creative, and unique anime. Viz has, at last, scheduled DVD releases for Nana and Honey & Clover. And there’s now rumor that a certain domestic distributor has acquired the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei anime. These licenses provide reason to hope that other similar challenging, acclaimed titles like Denno Coil, Higashi no Eden, RD Sennou Chousashitsu, Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo, Kara no Kyoukai, Fujin Monogatari, and Umineko no Naku Koro ni may eventually reach America. But in the meantime American licensors will continue to prioritize acquisitions and releases like World Destruction, Sengoku Basara, Yoku Wakaru Gendai Maho, and Fight Ippatsu! Jyuden-chan!! because despite the disdain of a small, outspoken number of online anime fans, action, goofy gags, ninjas, swordsmen, bouncing breasts, super powered heroes, and whatever is easily recognizable as “cool” remains more profitable in America than any other type of anime.
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While I used to stear away from “mainstream” anime at one point in my career, I’ve come to realize that the reason these titles are so popular is because they’re simlpy that good. Sure, sitting through an entire Naruto box set just to witness an event that any other anime would take maybe three episodes to resolve isn’t always a treat, but these shows have a special appeal and deserve their place.
That said, many fans disregard anime that’s outside their usual spectrum. I friend of mine I’m slowly converting into the lower levels of anime insanity said he doesn’t care to buy random anime because he might not like it. this has rarely been an issue for me personally because I’ll buy anything I see. I’ve found so many hidden gems this way. Sure, you’ll pop up with medicore or terrible stuff (a skewed victory sometimes), but that’s part of the appeal. I look forward to snagging a copy of Monster and Bleach just about as equally.
Aside: I’ve noticed a bit of Death Note dropping off myself. At Ohayocon, you couldn’t turn around without bumping into DN merchandise. After running GarasuNoShiCon (Glass City Con) in may, I noticed a lot less, but it’s still out there. It’ll probably be regulated to Cowboy Bebop and Trigun status before long, and like those titles, it’ll never go away completely.
Denno Coil is the best Anime series of 2008, perhaps of the new twenty-first century decade. Stunning superb animation that never lowers its quality; a terrific & very original plot; good seiyus; more than adequate music. It is moving & amusing and occasionally heart-wrenching.
This is an adult series for children, which is what WE should be producing for our children, to stimulate their imaginations & make them realise what the meaning of loyalty & affection and responsibility are. And the acceptable limits of anger & conflict in the context of growing up.
Instead we get Naruto. I rest my case. I’m from the UK by the way. So there. At least we have Optimum ….
Thank you John, I often wonder who you are, I look out for your “Ask John” via RSS.
We haven’t gotten more Higurashi or Denno Coil, because people can’t tell them apart from moe, which isn’t tolerated as much here as it is in Japan.
“I frequently see ardent complaints about the amount of moe and produced, and complaints that there’s not enough diversity in anime, and that the “good†titles never seem to reach America. But at the same time these statements run rampant, anime titles including Kemonozume, Kaiba, Nijuu Menso no Musume, Ristorante Paradiso, Denno Coil, and Ookami to Koshinryo get overlooked and almost entirely ignored.”
They’re ignored, because most people don’t know about them, because they’re horribly marketed here. You brought up Spice and Wolf, right? Well Kadokawa is one of the few early Japanese companies willing to jump on the Youtube bandwagon. Bandai Visual U.S.A’s ex-CEO stubbornly held on to the old model of overcharging its shows which no one would buy at Best Buy anyway, because they hadn’t heard of them. Toei did the same thing, only on the cheap, as evidenced by the company’s crap subtitles. Meanwhile, the video room for Tokyo Metro Explorers at AX had a decent number of viewers, even though Air Master had just ended, and even though anyone who wanted to see it already paid the ransom for the DVD and BD. And in spite of being leaked online, the recent L.A. screening for Mindgame attracted a large paying audience. [Hell, a screening of that POS Dead Leaves got a decent turn-out, and that animation blows!] That’s some potentially good WOM right there, but no one can own these titles, due to screw-ups on the dvds by their parent companies.
Now, you can make fun of Macek all you want, but the reason there’s a demand for most of his library is because he managed to create a following for said titles by letting you know of them somehow. Companies don’t do that anymore for the niche stuff, which is why Discotek had to bow out of the anime biz for a while. So fans might want to check out some of the shows you described, but they might not be aware of them.
“There’s a practical reason why Viz Media is fast-tracking Bleach and Naruto DVDs, yet isn’t scheduling a DVD release for Monster. American anime fans -at least, many of them – enjoy saying that they respect artistic, substantial anime, but what they most watch and purchase are anime that are flashy, atmospheric, action-oriented, and exotic but not foreign.”
I think Viz’s reluctance with Monster is due to the uncertainty of the LA film, since New Line(the production company) got absorbed into Time Warner. But Viz is partly at fault for being averse to doing a better job of promoting its non-shonen titles here. I mean, why is it able to do well with Arina Tanemura manga, but it has to cut back on the release of the Full Moon anime? And Right Stuf doesn’t even have FUNimation’s dough, but it’s able to get an audience for Aria, Maria, and Supergals season 2, while the latter company can’t even finish Kodocha. But Right Stuf does try to get the word out on these shows, while Viz didn’t even screen the Nana series and H+C at AX. I mean, if I were them, I’d just tack a “If you liked this, try Monster” ad on the dvds of Death Note-hell even give away a few eps. That’s what Animeigo did for Yawara, and that’s probably a tougher sell, since the manga isn’t being published. But Viz’s problem is the problem of a lot of major distributors, which is that they’re more interested in acquiring as many titles as possible, rather than developing an audience for them.
“ICv2’s ranking of the most popular anime titles in America this spring includes Afro Samurai, Naruto, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass, Fullmetal Alchemist, and even Yu Yu Hakusho. While these aren’t bad titles, Ouran High School Host Club is the only one among the top ten most popular commercially released anime in America that even approaches the tone and style of literate, interpretative, and thought provoking anime like Denno Coil. In fact, even Death Note, which was especially popular among Americans just a year ago, has already fallen out of America’s top ten.”
Actually, for Bebop to be popular a decade later’s pretty impressive, considering it caters to an older audience than the shonen shows. And for Ouran to do so well, in spite of having to swim through a sea of similar parody shows, indicates that it was marketed well. Clearly, if FUNi had done as well a job with Kodocha, it might not be on “hiatus”. So Denno Coil could hypothetically have a fighting chance if being profitable, if promoted in conjunction with, say, Hell Girl, and/or Elfen Lied.
“America’s best selling anime DVDs prove that shonen action titles like History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi and Fist of the North Star typically outsell challenging, provocative dramas.”
The irony of that comment is that HnK used to bomb just as badly as those dramas here. Hell, Keith over at Manga Entertainment gave me free dvds of the show! But the CR and FUNimation broadcasts, coupled with the special two-pack of the OVA with Neo Tokyo, have given the franchise a new lease on life in the U.S. And that’s what needed to sell something like Neo Tokyo, too: better marketing. After all, CPM and Raijin probably didn’t make much money off Baki, but FUNi managed to sell the tv show multiple times.
“And there’s now rumor that a certain domestic distributor has acquired the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei anime.”
Man, if it’s very close to the manga, it’s the one anime series which I can argue as being “too Japanese” for American audiences. I commend Del Rey for taking a chance on the source material, but it suffers way too much from a “You had to be there”-type writing. Sort of like Excel Saga, too, in fact. I know Genshiken and NHK have done alright, but those titles depend on rudimentary understanding of the fan culture, while Zetsubou goes into stuff you’d have to be a total Japanophile to appreciate!
Also, I have to add that Viz suffered the opposite problem with Shojo Beat. That mag was filled with manga which should theoretically cater to a wider audience than some of the anime we’ve been discussing; but the company chose not to give it the same type of distribution as Jump, which meant that less people were aware of it. I think Viz really blew it, though, with the release of the Twilight movie. It should have attempted to license the Vampire Knight anime, advertise it in front of the film, and use it as a gateway drug to attract more women to the mag and/or the SB line. But instead, the company twiddled its thumbs just trying to decide what to do with Nana.
I’ve already said what I wanted to say on the subject, so all I’ll say now is thanks for the thoughtful responses.