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Old 2013-04-15, 02:47   Link #75
relentlessflame
 
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 41
Quote:
Originally Posted by Traece View Post
I agree, but I want to add that shows like that wouldn't have attained their status if they hadn't been of interest to the public. No romcom or harem would have been able to take such a massive following at the most timely entrance for the U.S. market.
Fair enough, but I guess I would just say that --even today -- there are enough shows produced every year that could make lightning strike twice if that were possible. There are still anime every year that feature "more serious and adult anime that's high quality, with more serious and adult themes, fascinating settings and characters", whether they're being "outnumbered" by harems, romcoms or whatever else. Because it's really the selection process that matters -- how the TV channels back in the day chose the shows that had what it took to get on TV. It didn't matter whether there were 500 anime that didn't qualify, because they could only air a small amount anyway.

I know that some companies continued trying for a while to get TV space for "mature anime", but (as alluded to before) they're competing for space with all the other content out there, and finding that there's little room for anime these days (a bit more recently than there was for a while, at least). At least the Net provides a platform... but again, they're up against everything on Hulu, Youtube, and all the other Platforms out there, and the revenue is minuscule.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Traece View Post
Probably we wont see anime penetrate into the mainstream market any time in the foreseeable future simply because there's nobody willing to put out high quality material with effective marketing and good advertising. Even then all you would be doing is fixing that social stigma, while popularity would trend and fall as with any other genre.
Well, to be clear, I think they would if they thought it was a good investment with a high likelihood of return (even over the long term). "Willingness" in business is all about vision, mandate, and ROI. This is why I've basically said before that, even you think you've solved the content question, the real issue is solving the business model problem.


Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf View Post
Now, if by mainstream we refer to anime that can reach a broader spectrum of adults, not just those with niche interests in the medium, I'd say, why not? Be it in Japan or in the West, I don't see why anime cannot address topics of interest to adult audiences. Stories that deal with real-life, day-to-day — or even existential — concerns. The question, really, is why aren't creators trying?
Well, you said yourself, there are already shows made with exactly these kinds of sensibilities today, and some of them have indeed been marketed "in the West". In fact, some Ghibli anime even had rather large-scale pushes by Disney to try to get them going. What exactly does it take to sell the stuff?

I like the theory of the negative feedback loop, and your optimism that universal themes can sell. But I think this isn't a "content problem" because the content is already there. There isn't a lack of good movies and TV shows, particularly when you dig through the catalogue a bit. Creating even more like-content isn't necessarily going to open more doors yet. First someone has to prove that they can make it work with what they have, then more will follow down the path.

(I know this does tie back to your point at the end about finding entrepreneurs who consider it worth the risk. But I still felt that somehow you were underselling the extent of the problem as I perceive it anyway. The media market is totally saturated with content as it is; cutting through, even with exceptional content, is hard.)
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Last edited by relentlessflame; 2013-04-15 at 02:58.
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