Geneon and ADV are nearly bankrupt, "in the red," as it were. Toonami no longer exists. There hasn't been a new anime series airing on tv since Code Geass ended. DVD sales are down, partially because of the economy, partially because of other reasons. And to top it off, my local Best Buy no longer carries anime. (Target dropped its anime section years ago.)
Of course, knowing the otakus, a lot of them are now saying that anime, as a market, is going to die. These people say that Ponyo on a Cliff will be anime's last hurrah in America, and that after it comes out in theatres and on DVD, that anime will go back to being completely underground.
How did it get this way?
Well, part of it was this; remember when I talked about The First Otakulypse? That started back in the late 1990s. The Nineties is considered the age of Animation Renaissance in America. At that time, people, okay, more people than now, took cartoons seriously, and as such, more people were open-minded to the idea of foreign cartoons. Nowadays, because many people have shifted back to the attitude of "cartoons are for kids," (or they can be for adults, but only if they're comedies,) you don't see as many people trying out new cartoons, including new Japanese cartoons.
Another part of it has to do with the following: when the shows that brought about The First Otakulypse first came out, it was the first time many Americans had seen a Japanese cartoon. "Oh! Something new! Something fresh!" Many people were watching anime simply because it was anime. Can you name an American cartoon that's anything like Evangelion? Didn't think so. However, over time, many people saw past the gimmick of watching an Asian animation, and began to lose interest. "So? Just because it's Japanese doesn't automatically mean it's going to be good." And, much like what happened to the video game market just prior to the release of the Wii, anime began to be seen as something only 'hardcore' types would watch. Presently, very, very few people still watch anime, and most of them are either hardcore otakus, and/or people who respect animated film.
And speaking of otaku, earlier this decade, American anime companies would license just about every anime show/movie/"OVA" under the sun. Reason? The otaku fanbase would eat it up, and buy it on sight simply because it was an anime. However, as pertaining to the last paragraph, some otaku became less 'hardcore' over the years, and would begin buying less and less anime. Also, during this time, companies would license any anime, even if it was of poor quality, (poor quality anime is one reason I avoided anime during my late teens years) or even if it would not make sense to an American viewer. Take for example Paranoia Agent. I've tried to watch this series, but I couldn't get into it. It wasn't a bad show. My problem was this: to understand PA, you have to either be Japanese, or understand Japanese culture of the last 30 or so years to understand. And when I say culture, I don't mean Japanese pop culture, I mean actual Japanese culture. (knowledge of manga tropes doesn't get you far in Nippon, trust me.) Unfortunately, most Occidental people do not meet those two requirements, so anime like PA were completely alien to them. This is one reason why ADV and Geneon nearly died; because they just licensed shit left-and-right, assuming that the otakus would buy it up.
Do I believe that anime is going to die, to only be viewed on fansubs for the rest of my life? No. However, if anime companies keep making mistakes, it could seriously happen.
We'll start off with the good: letting viewers watch streamed anime, including anime in Japanese that hasn't been dubbed in English yet. This is good. Streamed anime is paid by (annoying yet necessary) online advertisements. ADV, Bandai, and Funimation are already doing this. This is good. It can also entice viewers into buying a show or movie or OVA on DVD. You can watch the streamed version, but you can also say, "Hey! Wanna watch this product without commercials? And with better picture and sound? And (if applicable) in English and/or Japanese with subtitles? Order now!" And by streaming shows that are still Japanese-only, this counteracts fansubs as well. And it also helps that unlike during The First Otakulypse, most people are now aware that the majority of fansubs aren't very faithful translations.
However, this is not enough. If anime is to be saved as a marektable good, something else must happen. Tighten your anal sphincters, otakus, because what I'm about to say will offend you. To save anime, you must . . .
. . . make it more accessible to people who don't normally watch Japanese animation. In other words, you must do what Nintendo did with the release of the DS and Wii: stop listening to the fanboys and start marketing to the larger untapped audiences. Why Nintendo? Consider this quote by Shigeru Miyamoto. He was talking about games, but it could just as easily apply to anime:
"What's happening with video games is the same thing that happens with anything new and interesting. At the beginning, everybody wants to see what it is. They gather around and check it out. But gradually, people start to lose interest . . .The people who don't lose interest become more and more involved . . . And the medium starts to be influenced by only those people. It becomes something exclusive to the people who've stuck with it for a long time. And when the people who were interested in it at first look back at it, it's no longer the thing that interested them." But unlike the game industry, the R1 anime industry has yet to catch on to this.
Naruto, Bleach, and Miyazaki's movies aren't enough. If anime is to be saved, we need more products that appeal to "normal people." Now, as to go about that, well, that's out of my hands. That's up to the companies. What they need is to stick with shows that are decent quality, (i.e. nothing like Pilot Candidate for Christ's sake.) and something that can be understood by someone who doesn't know anything about Japanese culture. Of current programs, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a good start. Like the first FMA anime, it can be understood by someone who knows nothing about Japan or Japanese culture. Also, it's a quality product, again, like the first FMA anime.
Now, as to make these shows more marketable, companies need to advertise differently. The first FMA anime was popular, to an extent. I say, "to an extent" because I don't know anyone in person who's even heard of FMA, even though it can appeal to the masses. What could be standing in the way of the success of the second FMA series, if it were to be dubbed in English and released here in video and/or televised format? Here's a few obstacles:
-There are still a lot of Americans who assume that cartoons can only be enjoyed by kids, and/or cartoons can only be comedies. This is a big one. Japanese culture doesn't have this attitude, but American culture does.
-Anime is still viewed as an exotic medium, something that is only watched by 'hardcore' animation fans, Japanophiles, or perverse nerds.
In short, if you're an anime company, you need to say through your ads the following: there's nothing weird about liking Japanese cartoons. It's okay for cartoons to be action, drama, horror, mystery, or any combination of genres. Liking anime in itself doesn't make you a nerd. (And liking anime is nothing to brag about either.) Being above the age of twelve doesn't mean you can't enjoy anime. (Well actually, that one can apply to all animation, not just anime.)
Even though the market is in a huge slump at the moment, we've made a lot of progress. Censorship rarely happens in anime now. There's more anime available in America now than ever before. English dubs now are usually decent, if not great. Streaming anime wards off fansubs, and gives people with internet access a chance to try before they buy. And, as a bonus, few people nowadays assume that all Japanese animation is "porn," which is actually a good thing. I mean, if manga and Japanese-made videogames can still sell well, even in a recession, why can't Japanese animation?
I mean, think about it, what would happen if the R1 anime market did die? Do you want Crispin Freeman to only work on videogames and American cartoons for the rest of his career? No. Of course not.
