2013-10-27, 03:16 | Link #124 | |
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I tend to be wary when I see a series that's obviously trying to sell itself to foreign (=American) audiences, because in my experience they tend to be trying way too hard. |
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2013-10-27, 03:20 | Link #125 | |
Seishu's Ace
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2013-10-27, 03:27 | Link #126 |
Homo Ludens
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
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That "ouroborous of pandering" has existed for decades now in some form or another.
Fact is that making commercial products that try to be "creative" and "diverse" has always been less economically feasible than joining the ""ouroborous of pandering", regardless of medium, genre, or country-of-origin. |
2013-10-27, 03:40 | Link #127 | |
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Frankly, at this rate things will go as they go, and the situation will eventually resolve itself in one way or another. The underlying problem in Japan is multifaceted and my suggestion is that the industry should collectively sit down and take a long, hard look at the situation, conduct a thorough market research to get to know their audience better, including potential audiences, and decide to change their attitude toward many things, including marketing and pricing. But this is unlikely to ever happen, so... In the meanwhle, anime is business and businesses in general try to be profitable. As Kaisos Erranon said, this has been going on for ages, it's just the exact nature of the pandering that is changing. Last edited by kuromitsu; 2013-10-27 at 03:51. |
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2013-10-27, 04:51 | Link #128 | |
Seishu's Ace
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I don't buy the whole "this has been going on for decades" line, because it's kind of a throwaway dismissal that can be inserted in any situation regardless of merit. Yes, anime producers have always tried to make products that they think will sell. So have soap manufacturers, car makers, publishers, sushi chefs and anyone else who's ever been in a commercial enterprise. That doesn't change the fact that the commercial reality of the anime business has changed dramatically, and the buying habits on an unprecedentedly narrow niche audience now control what gets produced to a far greater extent than ever before. As for BONES specifically the solution I refer to, as I think you know, is not just to produce anime specifically with an American audience in mind - which I think we can all agree isn't sustainable financially - but to take an approach aimed at appealing to a broad audience rather than jump into the clown car with everyone else trying to sell to the same sliver of potential consumers.
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2013-10-27, 04:53 | Link #129 | |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
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But we're getting off-topic here and I think there's already one or more threads to discuss this topic in the general anime forum.
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2013-10-27, 05:52 | Link #130 | |||
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Really, this is any entertainment ever. Something sells -> people make more of it -> at one point something else emerges as the new trend -> people will make more of that. But there will always be people who go against the tide, or ride it in a way that is creative and interesting. Quote:
(Besides we've seen this before and it pretty much devolved into "same old, same old" after a while, because the broad audience usually wants something comfortable. You're stuck with either adapting a currently popular manga/novel/whatever where you already have a built-in audience, or take a gamble with an original story. Where this gets personal for me is actually Bones' Ayakashi ayashi. It was an original story built on an intriguing premise with an older main character, and it could've been awesome, had it not been cancelled because apparently the "broad audience" just wanted more Gundam Seed and Fullmetal Alchemist.) |
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2013-10-27, 06:07 | Link #131 |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The land of tempura
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But isn't that the best case scenario? Studios keep doing "what works" but mix it up with a couple of long shots along the middle. For me that sounds like a great approach that balances keeping food on the table and still trying out new and interesting stuff that may catch on and become popular. Did I get it wrong? I have to admit that I'm not too familiar with what Bones is up to these days since the disappointment with the Eureka Seven "sequel".
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2013-10-27, 06:20 | Link #132 |
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Nope. Barring a few excepts, no director intends for their work to be watched subtitled in a foreign language; they intend for it to be watch by someone who understands what is being said. If you're watching it subbed, you're not part of the original intended audience.
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2013-10-27, 06:21 | Link #133 |
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Sure, but what I was trying to point out is how this reflects on their expectations for the series. It seems that in case of Space Dandy they're counting mostly on the American audience (we'll see how that works out), they're not so sure about Captain Earth (which will either become a sensation or fade away without much of an echo), but Noragami which seems the most conventional of the three and is an adaptation will probably do well enough.
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2013-10-27, 07:02 | Link #134 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
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BTW, for those from Singapore Junichi Suwabe and Yurin will be guests at AFA 2013 to promote Space Dandy
Details here: http://www.animax-asia.com/afasg/spacedandy |
2013-10-27, 07:03 | Link #135 | |
Seishu's Ace
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As to the question of BONES and their marketing strategy, Space Dandy and how it applies to the industry as a whole - I've yet to see anyone offer a viable alternative other than to argue that the industry model as it stands isn't a problem to begin with. The fact is that anime in TV form has found a way to survive using a model that's largely analogous to the porn industry in the US before the omnipresence of the internet. You can debate whether that's sustainable, but even if you believe it is, it would nice to think there are people who aren't satisfied with what that does to the industry creatively and would look for another way.
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2013-10-27, 08:14 | Link #137 | |
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And in the meanwhile it's not like every anime is the same drivel, every season still has series that aren't the usual "clown car." Even if they don't always do well they're still there. |
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2013-10-27, 09:15 | Link #138 | ||
Seishu's Ace
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I agree, certainly, that there are no easy solutions, but I applaud BONES for at least trying a different model. I don't see some kind of soul-searching meeting of the minds in the industry happening, so the only thing that's going to change this situation is when the current economic model no longer works, as far as I'm concerned. For better or worse, I think that's going to happen and maybe soon. Effectively, the anime industry as it currently stands (apart from the weekend-morning and dinnertime kids and family shows) is almost exclusively producing work for the 30-40K people who buy the Monogotari discs and - separately - to the 15-20K people who buy KuroBas discs. It's like a wild population of an endangered species that's too small to sustain genetic vigour - it's doomed. That tiny group can't sustain the industry forever, but by targeting them exclusively the industry is alienating everyone outside that tiny group. Once in a great while a show like Shingeki comes along that reaches large amounts of people outside those isolated population groups, almost by accident. It can only help, but it doesn't happen often enough to make a real difference.
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Last edited by CrowKenobi; 2013-10-27 at 10:06. Reason: Please use the "edit" button to add content to your post instead of double posting. |
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2013-10-28, 09:01 | Link #140 |
Robo Rampage
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Aboa Qu
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The issue is that finding a solution within Japan without relying on a greater foreign audience is suicide. If you look at the growth and development of the anime industry, by targeting to a growing japanese populace and a growing japanese economy, the industry grew. But, the current japanese population is shrinking, growing poorer, and growing older. Suddenly there aren't enough children to market these too. I'm sure you know all of this already, but the point I am trying to make is that by not turning towards the largest possible market (US, India, China) there is no solution besides stagnation and targeting an increasingly smaller set of demographics, much like the current fate of the american comic book industry.
You will also find that the industry is much smaller now. In 2011 I read a report that he anime industry had lost 1/9th of it's total value, and was continuing to decrease. It's business model relies almost entirely on DVD sales from a domestic audience. Yet, back in 2005 or so anime was in a peak period. Its is because for a brief period it managed to penetrate US markets, reaching a vastly larger consumer base. They know there is money abraod. They know there isn't money at home. Some companies may be content with a smaller piece of the pie, but Bones has always been a rather ambitious studio. And they are banking on Space Dandy to be a worldwide hit. Slightly presumptuous? For sure. In the current environment without the Toonami era, and with the anime fad having died out it will be tough to sell anything over here. For it to work it needs to be both a visible enough splash AND it needs to be good enough to warrant attention. But, Bones is smart enough to realize that if they don't want to make increasingly small and unpopular shows, they need to do it. Now it's our responsibility as the people they are targeting to follow through and help move the hype train to america, and get passive anime viewers informed of the series. Space Dandy is too big to fail.
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comedy, retro sci-fi |
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