Ask John: Why was Jubei Ninpucho a Box Office Failure in Japan?

Question:
Why was Jubei Ninpucho (Ninja Scroll) a box office failure in Japan? It just seems hard to believe. I mean, unless I’m mistaken, Ninja Scroll is popular here in the U.S. Even people I know that don’t watch anime enjoy Ninja Scroll. Also, didn’t it win a best animated feature award at the Yubari International Animated Film Festival? Plus I’ve also been under the impression that Yoshiaki Kawajiri (the director) is a respected film maker in Japan, so the fact that Jubei Ninpucho was a failure doesn’t really make sense to me.

Answer:
From an American perspective, it does seem difficult to believe that Jubei Ninpucho was a commercial failure back in 1993. And the film did indeed win film festival awards. But critical acclaim and international popularity does not guarantee mainstream Japanese box office success. The reception of Jubei Ninpucho in Japan, relative to the rest of the world, is an exceptional example of how Japanese reception to particular anime is not always the same as Western reaction. Perhaps because Americans have grown up with family friendly animation and children’s cartoons, mature, dramatic and violent anime is immensely popular among American viewers because of its unusual and interesting novelty.

In Japan, dark, morbid and violent anime is the realm of only die-hard otaku, generally not mainstream viewers. The immense popularity of anime series including Crayon Shin-chan, Doraemon, Chibi Maruko-chan, Detective Conan, Anpanman, One Piece, and Pokemon attest to the fact that it’s bright colored, light-hearted and family friendly anime that are most popular among Japanese viewers. Families watch these anime together, and businessmen and students relax with these simple and straightforward diversions after a long, hard day of work or study. Titles like Berserk and Hellsing and even Cowboy Bebop may earn TV viewer ratings in the 1% up to perhaps 4% range while mainstream family oriented programs like Inuyasha and Detective Conan and Pokemon earn ratings in the 12% up to over 20% range. Based on simple statistics, far more Japanese viewers prefer to watch relatively non-challenging, all ages friendly anime than dark, serious and violent anime.

Programs made for die-hard anime fans, anime like Jubei Ninpucho and Hellsing and Berserk, and even otaku-oriented titles like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun and Tenchi Muyo, exist for a number of reasons. They’re profitable; animators enjoy working on them; a select portion of the Japanese market like to watch them; and they serve to reinforce the diversity and artistic credibility of the anime art form. to explain these points in order, anime designed for hard-core fans is profitable because its merchandising and home video is eagerly supported by die-hard fans. Obviously animators like to work on occasional mature audience productions, otherwise such productions wouldn’t still be created. A select market of Japanese fans want mature animation, as easily interpreted by their continued support of such shows. And the production of mature audience anime is necessary to prevent the industry itself from becoming one-dimensional or losing all of its creativity and artistic integrity in favor of producing only mainstream commercial product. Moving back to a specific example once more, Jubei Ninpucho may not have been a theatrical block-buster, but its critical success and international home video sales have certainly rendered the film profitable and brought increased international recognition to the art form of Japanese animation, ultimately making the movie successful.

In summation, an important requirement for being a knowledgeable anime fan is the recognition that cultural standards in Japan are different than those of America. So what’s popular in America may not necessarily be popular in Japan, and vice versa. For instance, while an anime series like Pocket Monster is still as popular in Japan as it ever was, the franchise is now a passé fad among American viewers. In simple terms, American standards and expectations don’t always apply to Japan, just as Japanese opinions don’t always reflect American attitudes. Although it’s difficult for Americans to even fathom the Jubei Ninpucho movie not being successful, reports indicate that, in fact, the movie was not well received by the Japanese mainstream upon its release.