Ask John: Why Aren’t Anime Sequels Made to Meet American Demand?

Question:
If American viewers are so interested in older anime, why don’t they just make second parts to the series that Americans want to see? I would like to see Trigun 2 and Cowboy Bebop 2. I think a lot of people in America would also.

Answer:
It’s necessary to keep in mind that for Japanese animators, anime is creative art. It’s not just a job. Typically anime creators don’t want to spend their time making anime that the Japanese fans they’re familiar with aren’t interested in watching. It’s difficult for Japanese animators to find motivation to produce anime that basically only people on the other side of the world are going to watch and appreciate.

Furthermore, producing anime is very expensive. Generally American anime distribution companies just can’t afford to pay the entire production costs of an anime series, and Japanese sponsors aren’t interested in investing in the production of a series that won’t have much profit potential in Japan.