Kyoto Animation: Studio discussion, speculation, and whatnot.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Warm Mist

Also, in bad news for the studio it seems like Kazuya Sakamoto no longer works at Kyoani. It's rare seeing a veteran from the Inuyasha times leave Kyoani, but Yoneda also left not so long ago so... I wonder if there's some sort of circumstance, or if those are just personal decisions.
Alas, this leaves a spot for a new episode director. I'm curious as to who will be promoted.

We can't say that this is necessarily all bad news. Sakamoto was unlikely to be a full director in the near future and so he left likely to pursue that. Not everyone wants to be a kantoku and so you hope to build staff based on that. Oota's a new director and could fill in the spots he left behind. No cause to worry at the moment.

[Warm Mist]

Oh sure, I meant bad news for Kyoani more than him, I'm sure he has a good reason for leaving, but the studio won't be able to count with his skills anymore. I found him to be a bit inconsistent but he could do some good stuff.
What you say is true though, they do have a lot of directors so maybe they won't need anyone just yet.

[whitecloud]

By the way regarding the swimming CM do you guys know that crunchy roll make a petition so it would be made into anime...what a dedication...are most of their staf fujoshi or into BL?

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

By the way regarding the swimming CM do you guys know that crunchy roll make a petition so it would be made into anime...what a dedication...are most of their staf fujoshi or into BL?

CR does seem to have a sizable female fanbase. And that's a good thing. The world needs more female anime fans.

[Nikkan]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

By the way regarding the swimming CM do you guys know that crunchy roll make a petition so it would be made into anime...what a dedication...are most of their staf fujoshi or into BL?

I don't understand why the staff would be fujoshi? I don't see how that is related to anything at all actually. The CM showed no implication of romance between any of the characters

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

By the way regarding the swimming CM do you guys know that crunchy roll make a petition so it would be made into anime...what a dedication...are most of their staf fujoshi or into BL?

In all seriousness, they're just self-promoting themselves off of something they have no legal rights to do. Gifkastel (who I never heard of before today) wrote it better than I ever could. It'd be one thing if Crunchyroll was tapping into the Japanese fanbase to help push for a show from the ground up or had connections past the TV Tokyo portion of their company, but that's not it. This is a pure marketing scheme designed for US fans (as seen by the change.org petition) that they have no legal right to do. They're using an illegal upload of the CM in the first place to promote it.

The petition isn't going to do anything at all. "Oh hey, you got xxxxx signatures, how many of them are going to pay for something we make?" is the important question. As much as we say KyoAni animates things they want to do (and even then we point out the issues of production committees and producers agreeing on themes/material), they're a business first and foremost. Why would they animate anything for a market which hasn't given the JP market enough funding to make anything in the past 3 years? Ask yourself how many people who signed the petition are willing to pay $70 each for 6-7 volumes, because that's a huge part of how committees make back their funding. NA anime fans have 1. dropped in number, and 2. cried out when something costs more than $50 for 11-13 episodes. I don't think this is going anywhere besides publicity for CR and CR mainly.

The cherry on top: the shows that can be termed original lately (Chuunibyou/Tamako Market) were made with TBS holding international rights, which went to Sentai/The Anime Network with no streams on Crunchy. If the anime gets made, they won't be able to steam it at all.

[Kakkou]

Originally Posted by ultimatemegax

In all seriousness, they're just self-promoting themselves off of something they have no legal rights to do. Gifkastel (who I never heard of before today) wrote it better than I ever could. It'd be one thing if Crunchyroll was tapping into the Japanese fanbase to help push for a show from the ground up or had connections past the TV Tokyo portion of their company, but that's not it. This is a pure marketing scheme designed for US fans (as seen by the change.org petition) that they have no legal right to do. They're using an illegal upload of the CM in the first place to promote it.

The petition isn't going to do anything at all. "Oh hey, you got xxxxx signatures, how many of them are going to pay for something we make?" is the important question. As much as we say KyoAni animates things they want to do (and even then we point out the issues of production committees and producers agreeing on themes/material), they're a business first and foremost. Why would they animate anything for a market which hasn't given the JP market enough funding to make anything in the past 3 years? Ask yourself how many people who signed the petition are willing to pay $70 each for 6-7 volumes, because that's a huge part of how committees make back their funding. NA anime fans have 1. dropped in number, and 2. cried out when something costs more than $50 for 11-13 episodes. I don't think this is going anywhere besides publicity for CR and CR mainly.

The cherry on top: the shows that can be termed original lately (Chuunibyou/Tamako Market) were made with TBS holding international rights, which went to Sentai/The Anime Network with no streams on Crunchy. If the anime gets made, they won't be able to steam it at all.

This. This, this, this so much. I did kind of expect a(n ultimately useless but amusing) fan petition to pop-up somewhere but to think it was from CR of all people. The cosplay thing was lulz worthy but this just made me frown . It almost makes me wish an anime of it doesn't ever happen but I personally want my swimming bishie sakuga fest too so I haven't actually gotten to that point.

[TJR]

Originally Posted by Nikkan

The CM showed no implication of romance between any of the characters

Well, the idea behind fujoshi fandom is that it's all about the imagination (after all, the phenomenon sprang up as fan fiction). You put a bunch of gorgeous guys (who may be completely heterosexual within the context of the story) in a show/book/manga, and the fans dream of what might happen if they were to become romantic partners.

The CM is meant to pique the interest that audience.

[Ragecry]

This still seems so wrong. lol
And here I thought they would announce something big, instead of some swimming guys.

[Tempester]

It's precisely because KyoAni (and Animation Do by extension) does whatever they want to do that this swimming anime will likely never be a full-fledged series. Their CMs are just big dong-waving displays that demonstrate what they can do to potential producers like Aniplex, and this doesn't necessarily correspond with what they actually want to do. Only a production company with money will ever convince KyoAni to animate something that isn't an original in-house creation like Tamako Market. This Crunchyroll online petition is a sad joke that's going nowhere.

Also, wake me up when a KyoAni anime that isn't produced by TBS or Kadokawa is made, because those flashy CMs don't seem to be working yet.

[Nikkan]

Originally Posted by TJR

Well, the idea behind fujoshi fandom is that it's all about the imagination (after all, the phenomenon sprang up as fan fiction). You put a bunch of gorgeous guys (who may be completely heterosexual within the context of the story) in a show/book/manga, and the fans dream of what might happen if they were to become romantic partners.

The CM is meant to pique the interest that audience.

Well yes that I understand, I just don't see why the audience have to be interested in BL? You might not realize it, but most women like men, just like most men like women. I've don't remember K-ON, Lucky Star or Nichijou being blamed of being a yuri show when the CM launched because everybody understood the audience was men who (most of them) like watching cute girls, just like Swimming Boys have an audience of women who like watching handsome men.
It doesn't necessarily have to do anything with BL just because it's a female audience.

[brocko]

I don't think the main reason behind these CM's is at large meant to attract business partners/production committees at all. Their output probably isn't at a point where they could handle another party into the mix yet. The Kadokawa and TBS relationship seems to be pretty satisfying enough to them for now.

If anything, I'd say the CM's are more just for brand name purposes and getting themselves out there. Perhaps maybe also as a little creative outlet so that they don't get bored and can do something different every now and then.

[TJR]

Originally Posted by Nikkan

Well yes that I understand, I just don't see why the audience have to be interested in BL?

I don't believe that they do. However, the market for anime is limited, so products tend to be made with a narrow focus in mind, such as mecha, moe, fujoshi, etc. While people outside those fandoms can (and sometimes do) enjoy the shows, studios and investors know who they can bank on when planning products and promotion strategies. Producers hope that general audiences might buy into the products, but they speak directly to the core target.

Anyway, to answer your question about yuri, the customer base is too small for it to be a matter of generalization. Nevertheless, shows like K-ON! (which caught on with teenage girls as well as the core otaku fanbase) and Lucky Star are indeed criticized as fodder (i.e. moe crap) for losers who gush over young girls.

[Kimidori]

the CM vid get 1.5 million view in 3 days....

I feel that it gonna be a big hit if they make an anime of it.

[rulfo]

Somehow the rising views isn't really surprising me anymore but the attention it's getting from a certain audience is pissing me off.

I'm not even pissed because they like it, I'm pissed because they're twisting facts. After learning about that bogus crunchy petition, this thing is getting worse than expected.

Now I'm absolutely hell bent in wishing this doesn't show up so these clowns get a reality check.

Also whoever posted that vid still hasn't added any description about it even though a lot of info about it is available. I think having a decent one would lessen the idiots making shit up.

[Ragecry]

So, any news/development form whatever that failed petition has come to?
*crosses fingers* Hope it fails.

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Ragecry

So, any news/development form whatever that failed petition has come to?
*crosses fingers* Hope it fails.

We wouldn't know anything regarding it from KyoAni's side for a while. No reason to continually check for updates. News comes when it comes.

[Folenfant]

I think something either needs to come of this commercial or it needs to be put to rest within the community. There's something just unhealthy about all this obsession over a 30 second animation showcase that shows no sign of currently being anything other than a one shot and all the signs of being just that . There's no pitch, no visible marketing push behind it and now when you have 3rd parties looking to profit over the bizarre obsession with it it threatens to get ugly. I agree its time for a reality check on this matter now as opposed to any time later.

This is not a post meant to criticize fujoshi by the way so much as the incredibly weird to me obsession over this animation short.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Folenfant

I think something either needs to come of this commercial or it needs to be put to rest within the community. There's something just unhealthy about all this obsession over a 30 second animation showcase that shows no sign of currently being anything other than a one shot and all the signs of being just that . There's no pitch, no visible marketing push behind it and now when you have 3rd parties looking to profit over the bizarre obsession with it it threatens to get ugly. I agree its time for a reality check on this matter now as opposed to any time later.

This is not a post meant to criticize fujoshi by the way so much as the incredibly weird to me obsession over this animation short.

I agree.

KyoAni hasn't given any indication that this is any more than a commercial, so it's probably time for people to move on from it and accept that it is, in fact, just a commercial.

Even if this commercial was KyoAni's way of seeing what potential interest there would be in them doing a fujoshi-focused show, I would imagine they've gotten the message loud and clear by now.

[Archon_Wing]

A commercial is just a commercial.