Ask John: Why Hasn’t Nasu: Summer in Andalusia Been Licensed for American Release?

Question:
Why hasn’t Nasu: Summer in Andalusia been licensed yet? It’s played at various American conventions over the last few years. It’s short, straightforward, and it’s gotten praise. While I’d normally concede that there wouldn’t be a market for a film about biking through the Andalusian highlands, you have to acknowledge the market for an anime film about fighter pilots struggling to survive a weakened economy in post WWI Italy and the market for a manga about a maid living in 19th century England. But unlike Porco Rosso and Emma, Nasu has the advantage of being more contemporary.

In addition, considering the consistent output of their titles in the U.S., MadHouse doesn’t appear to charge a premium on the rights to their titles. So I can’t imagine cost being an issue. So what do you think would stop a company from picking up a title like Nasu?

Answer:
Since I don’t have “insider” knowledge, I can’t make any certain claims about why the 2003 short film Nasu: Summer in Andalusia hasn’t been officially released in America. However, I can make a conjecture based on my own experience in the anime distribution industry and my observations of America’s anime community. The Nasu movie has screened at American anime conventions and has won acclaim at international film festivals, but it’s still relatively unknown in America’s fan community. Furthermore, the film about a long distance bicycle race and its underdog winner isn’t a conventional anime that has mass market appeal. The strengths of Nasu are its realistic, believable characters, its subtle story and character development, and its impressive but subtle fluid animation and accurate visual detail. The film doesn’t contain any explosions, gunfights, nudity, giant robots, cute young girls, fights, supernatural elements, or virtually anything that makes it appealing to typical American anime fans. Nasu is clearly an animator’s pet project that’s rewarding for serious fans of the art of animation, but uninteresting for casual viewers.

I respect the principle of the use of Porco Rosso and Emma as examples, but neither of these examples are entirely valid. Despite being a film about WWI fighter pilots put out to pasture, Porco Rosso is a Hayao Miyazaki film, so it transcends its narrative with its charm. Despite being a slow paced Victorian drama, Emma does star an attractive young woman and its domestic romance makes it relatively easy for readers and viewers to immerse themselves in. Nasu does not have the built in advantage of being a Hayao Miyazaki film. Nasu does not have an attractive female protagonist and does not have an easily accessible romance story. Porco Rosso and Emma may be a tough sell compared to Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, but even Porco Rosso and Emma are more easily marketable in America than Nasu.

Although it is only 47 minutes long, Nasu may be a relatively expensive license because it’s a feature film with high quality animation, which is itself expensive to produce. But I’m sure that the film’s licensing fees, whatever they may be, are within the means of many of America’s distributors. Licensing cost is probably not the primary thing preventing an American release of this film. Even a reasonably priced license isn’t a wise business decision if it won’t recover its costs in sales revenue. Nasu is an excellent film, but it’s too short for American theatrical release, and it’s not flashy or attractive enough to appeal to a mass market American consumer audience. Nasu is, in practical terms, an anime art film even though it doesn’t have a eclectic appearance or style.

It wasn’t too long ago that I published an article speculating about the unlikelihood of the Keroro Gunso anime being licensed for domestic release, yet now apparently the show has been licensed. I don’t want to give myself or my articles undue credit, but I can’t discount the possibility that bringing attention to anime like Keroro Gunso, Zipang, and Kamichu, as I’ve done in the past, has generated interest in licensing these shows. So it’s possible that Nasu hasn’t been licensed for American release simply because potential American distributors aren’t aware of it. But I believe that the most plausible explanation for why the film remains unlicensed in America is because it’s a film that’s only likely to sell to a few hundred hardcore American fans that appreciate subtle and high quality animation with no fan service of any kind.