Re: Would you defend anime?
by Last Exile » Sun Feb 03, 2008 2:38 am
There are several stigmas against anime that linger in most people:
1. A lot of people don't differentiate between the kiddie carttons US people make and anime. To most people, anime is just cartoons made by the Japanese. Cartoons = kids material. If you can break that train of thought, then a person might come around to it.
2. Series or movies that are seen to typify all of anime. 'The War', Naruto, DBZ, Bleach - or the other extreme of Miyazaki material. That anime is either shounen-directed with mürrisch guys, mecha/punchups and the girls either being stuck up or submissive, or the Miyazaki version where all adults are vile scum, that only kids know the way and that good always prevails despite any rationality. Ask a person what they know of anime and they'll most likely reply with stuff from early morning free TV or a Miyazaki movie. There is more out there and better people at the helm too. Break that stigma and you really stand a chance.
3. The dub/Western problem - so some people may watch anime but they don't want to embrace the Japanese side of it. They simply want to watch the visuals but demand English voices. Part of the attraction, the atmosphere, is the fact it is their product and not ours. But here, the US and such, it's dub central. So you get screwy voices, some of the atmosphere and cultural feel are lost. And that lower quality again repels people. Add the problem that in the main markets in the US, some people will only watch the series that feel more western, like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun - both fine series, but let's be frank. They got popular because the Western World related to them and they were both series that failed in Japan. A simillar fate encapsulated Samurai Champloo. However, there is a fact to face here - the US fuels most of the sales these days. So marketing to the US is a reasonable ploy in the end.
4. Overproduction of medicore crap - most of the stuff made, we never see. If you look through the last few years enough, you see more being made. Quantity does not compensate for quality. The dip seen in 2004-2005 was due to this and 2006 was only a small step in the quality direction. 2007 is faring a bit better.
5. Budgets and TV deadlines. You're given less than you need and a harsh time schedule. So you cut corners to make ends meet. It's a harsh reality. But in the end the product suffers and it's another for the trash pile.
6. Anime is a niche market. Because of its origins, style and caricatures, it will always be a niche market,as will most things in life. Each to their own. It's near impossible to get a large percentage of adults to like the same thing. As for kids, that's actually possible. Any surprise that the more kiddish stuff actually dominates the ratings? Each to their own.
7. Cost. It's not cheap being an anime fan. $17-$20 per manga volume, $20-$30 per DVD, $5-$150 for a figure, $30-100 for an artbook, $30 for a legit soundtrack, $20-$35 for a wall scroll, etc. But if you persevere, good on you. But let's be frank - anime DVDs are overpriced. When you have to pay $100-$170 for all of a recent series, that's painful.
8. The licensing problem. Why do anime directors and the like in Japan not get that much money generally? Because when a title goes overseas, the Japanese side sells off all the rights to the American company who will market it. They get a one-time payment and that's it. No continual proportion of all sales. Sound unreasonable? Of course it is! But try getting the US side to change it. But it's a necessity. The Japanese side needs more funding and to get more of the profits from sales to be a better industry. Until then, retards like Mr. Smith can enjoy the recession.
9. World War 2. No offense intended, but it's true. Some habits/hatreds die hard. There are those in the current generation that still resent the Japanese.
10. Lack of a cool factor? Like Mappy said, anime isn't really a cool or highly looked upon thing in Japan anyway. So why expect it to be internationally?
That's how I see it.
Disgusting...