How Netflix Is Disrupting, Empowering Japan's Anime Industry

Eldy · Oct 28, 2017

The Hollywood Reporter said:
But the business model has not been a lucrative one for the production houses, which are typically left in the red after the initial domestic television run. Any profits for the studios come from sales of merchandise, DVDs and soundtracks. Those products are usually advertised via commercials paid for by the studios that run during broadcasts of the series.

I was under the impression that a big part of the problem for studios trying to stay solvent is that they don't receive royalties from sales of merchandise, DVDs, etc because they don't own the rights to the shows they work on, being essentially contractors hired by production committees, which are for the most part controlled by TV networks and major conglomerates. The Keiichi Hara quote towards the end of the article seems to point towards this but the first half of the article sorta ignores it.

Ushay · Oct 28, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Please don't reboot old classics, it doesn't make sense and they will only get ruined in the end. They will remove stuff, change the narrative and mold it so its more western to reach the American market... (which for some reason always is "soooo" important).

They will absolutely do that, otherwise it has little audience outside of Japan and maybe Europe. There is already one that wants reboots of old series... .

I actually agree, was just throwing around ideas. Ultimately I'd much prefer new stories in shape of Castlevania or something with manga roots like Knights of Sidonia.

HStallion · Oct 28, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Please don't reboot old classics, it doesn't make sense and they will only get ruined in the end. They will remove stuff, change the narrative and mold it so its more western to reach the American market... (which for some reason always is "soooo" important).

Trigun could actually use a new adaptation as the original only covered a fraction of the manga. Not too mention Trigun would make sense as it was far more popular and well received in the West than in Japan.

Deleted member 2793 · Oct 28, 2017

Not happy with this (this money isn't even going to the hard working staffs), if I wanted to watch western cartoons I would just watch western cartoons.

HStallion · Oct 28, 2017

Heartskips said:
Not happy with this (this money isn't even going to the hard working staffs), if I wanted to watch western cartoons I would just watch western cartoons.

Good thing they're making anime then.

Zetran · Oct 28, 2017

I always believed that Anime industry could grow WW. Many ideas out there that can't come to fruition simply because the money isn't there, the audience far too niche. Hopefully this could open the path.

z1ggy · Oct 28, 2017

More Blame! is very welcomed. The movie was pretty good. 16 years since i first read the manga and nothing came close to its setting and atmosphere.

Deleted member 2793 · Oct 28, 2017

HStallion said:
Good thing they're making anime then.

You know what I'm implying. Anyway, people that follow the industry know this article is really exaggerated and is ignoring how animators were posting on Twitter how this money will only go to committees trying to pander big western companies.

Vilix · Oct 28, 2017

HStallion said:
Trigun could actually use a new adaptation as the original only covered a fraction of the manga. Not too mention Trigun would make sense as it was far more popular and well received in the West than in Japan.

I loved Trigun. Great story and one of the best opening themes I've heard.

Chamaeleonx · Oct 29, 2017

Heartskips said:
You know what I'm implying. Anyway, people that follow the industry know this article is really exaggerated and is ignoring how animators were posting on Twitter how this money will only go to committees trying to pander big western companies.

I also would be against a strong western focus. Anime is Anime because it is different from western cartoons. People always hate Moeblobs and other styles but if I look at western cartoons they look worse too me personally.

In the end, if the worst happens we might even loose studios due to the western approach not working and the money simply vanishes somewhere at the top while those actually making content loose everything.

HStallion · Oct 29, 2017

Heartskips said:
You know what I'm implying. Anyway, people that follow the industry know this article is really exaggerated and is ignoring how animators were posting on Twitter how this money will only go to committees trying to pander big western companies.

I'm not talking about this move saving the anime industry or improving the lives of those who make anime though I'd love if that partially happened as they're working themselves to death in a lot of cases to make these shows but when you're getting someone like Yuasa to make a Devilman anime you're not expecting a Western show what-so-ever.

petran79 · Oct 29, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
I also would be against a strong western focus. Anime is Anime because it is different from western cartoons. People always hate Moeblobs and other styles but if I look at western cartoons they look worse too me personally.

In the end, if the worst happens we might even loose studios due to the western approach not working and the money simply vanishes somewhere at the top while those actually making content loose everything.

Anime became popular in the 80s because it was produced with export in mind. Eg adding Eurobeat music in Kimagure Orange Road. Add also the outsourcing of American TV animation to Japanese and other Asian studios or co-productions between European and Japanese producers (Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Maya the Bee, Dogtanian, Willy Fog, even Misha the Bearcub).

Heavy Metal (scifi magazine and movie) also influenced Japanese scifi anime.

I dont think things will reach that level of influencr with Netflix, since animation production worldwide changed a lot.

Pein · Oct 29, 2017

Kuro said:
The faster Otaku die, the better. No more pandering to their shitty underage fanservice bullshit.

best post I've read on Resetera so far, anime is clogged with that vile shit.

Chamaeleonx · Oct 29, 2017

petran79 said:
Anime became popular in the 80s because it was produced with export in mind. E.g adding Eurobeat music in Kimagure Orange Road. Add also the outsourcing of American TV animation to Japanese and other Asian studios or co-productions between European and Japanese producers (Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Maya the Bee, Dogtanian, Willy Fog, even Misha the Bearcub).

Heavy Metal (scifi magazine and movie) also influenced Japanese scifi anime.

I don't think things will reach that level of influence with Netflix, since animation production worldwide changed a lot.

Looking at Family Guy, The Simpson, Arnold, Ricky & Morty, etc. . I don't want Anime to go into this direction.. . =(

Kuro said:
The faster Otaku die, the better. No more pandering to their shitty underage fanservice bullshit.

Pein said:
best post I've read on Resetera so far, anime is clogged with that vile shit.

Don't understand sentences like this. You don't have to watch it, just like I don't have to watch "torture porn" like Saw. Is the same in video games, if you don't like Anime based games then don't play them.
If you want to get into the influence debate I am sure you are aware how this will hit movies, drawings, video games and a lot of other stuff as well, especially if its violence based.
Why does all stuff people don't like have to "die", etc. ?

Paltheos · Oct 29, 2017

HStallion said:
I'll sacrifice ResetEra for a faithful high budget Berserk anime, especially after the CGI travesty we just got.

Maybe I just lack imagination, but I can't see a feasible, high quality production of Miura's art in motion.
I think the '90s TV series had the right idea. Sacrifice visual quality in exchange for... everything else. The high quality and stylistic stills of specific story junctures and the fantastic soundtrack stand out the most to me but there's allot more to it than just that. That kind of production is all I've ever sought from Berserk since and all the efforts since then I've thought kinda missed the point and/or are just weaker.

Edit: Also want to add that I didn't see the new Golden Age movies, but more than the CGI (most people's complaints) the clean visual style didn't invite me at all. The old series used a variety of visual styles to help set the mood. The new ones look so clean, all the time. Again though, I didn't see the movies - I'm speaking only from my impressions of the trailers.

Big One · Oct 29, 2017

Anime is much much bigger than a lot of people give it credit for, so Netflix doing this isn't too surprising to me. The piracy of anime/manga product is massive.

Chamaeleonx · Oct 29, 2017

Big One said:
Anime is much much bigger than a lot of people give it credit for, so Netflix doing this isn't too surprising to me. The piracy of anime/manga product is massive.

On the one hand yes on the other no archive, no simulcast, bad subs and/or only one language, low quality of broadcast, etc. , all drive people to piracy. I remember a thread on the old site where some people found out that an Anime streaming site reduced the quality of their broadcast and thought nobody would notice. There was so much talk about how Anime fans are often the first to notice if the quality is poor, especially if they are truly invested.
For example, I like to binge watch, therefore I don't need streaming sites that only broadcast and don't archive anything that was broadcasted.

Hat22 · Oct 29, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Most people probably underestimate this factor. If the subtitles are bad then most will go for Fansubs, therefore you should be better then them. Also regional subtitles for Europe, because I know a lot of people that simply don't watch most Anime because they only have English subtitles. They also seem to underestimate how much fans care about quality in everything, especially if you have watched Anime for a long time. Seeing subtitles that simply sound wrong or don't entirely match the spoken content puts me slightly off. =/

I think raunchiness shouldn't matter outside of personal opinion and maybe pace and atmosphere.

Part of what makes anime great is the edginess and professional subbers for whatever reason feel the need to correct what they view as problematic.

Funimation goes a step further and just goes off the rails. That "xd gamergate" nonsense in Prison School really highlighted how much they really don't care about preserving the integrity of the work they've been entrusted with.

Kuro said:
The faster Otaku die, the better. No more pandering to their shitty underage fanservice bullshit.

They're literally the only thing keeping the industry going.

Dooble · Oct 29, 2017

petran79 said:
Anime became popular in the 80s because it was produced with export in mind. Eg adding Eurobeat music in Kimagure Orange Road. Add also the outsourcing of American TV animation to Japanese and other Asian studios or co-productions between European and Japanese producers (Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Maya the Bee, Dogtanian, Willy Fog, even Misha the Bearcub).

That was never really the case, especially back then. Especially stuff like Kimagure Orange Road that was exported to Latin America and Southern Europe, was bought for very cheap by TV stations, Japan unsuspectly kinda just threw those license to whoever could get it. It was with Pokemon and stuff like that were Japanese companies increased their licensing prices

Either way, this has pretty good stuff on how Anime going is through another boom phase: http://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data

Chamaeleonx · Oct 29, 2017

Hat22 said:
Part of what makes anime great is the edginess and professional subbers for whatever reason feel the need to correct what they view as problematic.

Funimation goes a step further and just goes off the rails. That "xd gamergate" nonsense in Prison School really highlighted how much they really don't care about preserving the integrity of the work they've been entrusted with.

They're literally the only thing keeping the industry going.

Sadly they can change quite a lot, same as when they dub it and some things simply get sweeped under the rug, like Dragon Maid and the Yuri thing we had a thread on before.

And yes, why people wish for some things to die just because they don't like it or it is different is mind boggling. In essence this fuels racism and other hate... . Even if people would not admit it and think its a wrong comparison to make, it is in essence, at the core, almost the same. Sorry if this offends somebody, I don't want to marginalize the very real problems.

Edit:
Poster above me. I can roughly see how it booms more, there is more streaming, more mainstream topics get discussed and more people probably watch Anime.

Dooble · Oct 29, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Poster above me. I can roughly see how it booms more, there is more streaming, more mainstream topics get discussed and more people probably watch Anime.

In 2016, roughly 500 contracts were made in English speaking countries.

Chamaeleonx · Oct 29, 2017

Dooble said:
In 2016, roughly 500 contracts were made in English speaking countries.

Do you think that more Light Novels and other sources increased the contracts?

Dooble · Oct 29, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Do you think that more Light Novels and other sources increased the contracts?

? It's anime licensing be it TV, streaming, Blu Ray or whatever

Chamaeleonx · Oct 29, 2017

Dooble said:
? It's anime licensing be it TV, streaming, Blu Ray or whatever

Oh okay, I was generally thinking that more properties were made into Anime then the years before. Because Light Novels and other sources might have picked up in numbers, resulting in more good or easy to use source material for studios that lents itself to good viewing.

petran79 · Oct 30, 2017

Dooble said:
That was never really the case, especially back then. Especially stuff like Kimagure Orange Road that was exported to Latin America and Southern Europe, was bought for very cheap by TV stations, Japan unsuspectly kinda just threw those license to whoever could get it. It was with Pokemon and stuff like that were Japanese companies increased their licensing prices

Either way, this has pretty good stuff on how Anime going is through another boom phase: http://aja.gr.jp/english/japan-anime-data

License pricing is a different issue. Back then the emergence and boom of privatised European TV stations and their competing with public TV, lead also in investing heavily in childrens programming.

But there were top-tier Japanese studios involved with exporting or co-producing animated series, most notably Nippon Animation and TMS. Most of their works were based on Western novels.

Htown · Oct 30, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Don't understand sentences like this. You don't have to watch it, just like I don't have to watch "torture porn" like Saw. Is the same in video games, if you don't like Anime based games then don't play them.
If you want to get into the influence debate I am sure you are aware how this will hit movies, drawings, video games and a lot of other stuff as well, especially if its violence based.
Why does all stuff people don't like have to "die", etc. ?

Stop using overly general language. We're not talking about "stuff people don't like." We're talking specifically about "shitty underage fanservice bullshit." "Shitty underage fanservice bullshit" needs to go away completely, especially since it's not limited to "shitty underage fanservice bullshit" shows. That shit shows up all over the place, it's the worst thing about the entire medium.

Nightbird · Oct 30, 2017

Htown said:
Stop using overly general language. We're not talking about "stuff people don't like." We're talking specifically about "shitty underage fanservice bullshit." "Shitty underage fanservice bullshit" needs to go away completely, especially since it's not limited to "shitty underage fanservice bullshit" shows. That shit shows up all over the place, it's the worst thing about the entire medium.

Exactly.

Someone mentioned above how that stuff kept the industry afloat. Which is why it is a problem now.

More and more people are getting into anime, it's why Netflix is investing so much in that genre. But with all the underage Bullshit existing and still being produced its easy to come across this and being turned off by that.

The industry doesn't have to rely on that shit anymore, so it's time to get rid of it.

Hat22 · Oct 30, 2017

Nightbird said:
The industry doesn't have to rely on that shit anymore, so it's time to get rid of it.

Pretty much everybody that likes anime either likes or tolerates that stuff so it may very well continue.

Chamaeleonx · Nov 1, 2017

Htown said:
Stop using overly general language. We're not talking about "stuff people don't like." We're talking specifically about "shitty underage fanservice bullshit." "Shitty underage fanservice bullshit" needs to go away completely, especially since it's not limited to "shitty underage fanservice bullshit" shows. That shit shows up all over the place, it's the worst thing about the entire medium.

Then I want the gory violence in other mediums to die because I find it disgusting. I hope you will adhere to my request too. Everything in art should be clean, pure and perfect. =)

Fanservice keeps a lot afloat because men generally buy more based on sexual energy.

I still don't understand what your problem is, if you don't like it don't watch it. Art is supposed to be free from all restrain the same way you can't police thought. As long as no real person gets hurt why would you ban/police it? This isn't minority report.

Nightbird said:
Exactly.

Someone mentioned above how that stuff kept the industry afloat. Which is why it is a problem now.

More and more people are getting into anime, it's why Netflix is investing so much in that genre. But with all the underage Bullshit existing and still being produced its easy to come across this and being turned off by that.

The industry doesn't have to rely on that shit anymore, so it's time to get rid of it.

The industry can grow while keeping the fanservice around. There is fanservice for male and female costumers, why remove all that because you want something "Pure" and "untouched" due to your "values". If you are turned off just this easy then most people wouldn't watch porn due to the main page being categories which shows all kind of stuff you might not be interested in.

I hate this "celebrate violence, ban erotic stuff". It simply is stupid. Such an outdated view on the world.

In the end, Art is not real, goes for books, manga, movies, anime and games.

But I am not sure we can properly discuss this on this forum. =/

ArchedThunder · Nov 1, 2017

Jacob said:
I was under the impression that a big part of the problem for studios trying to stay solvent is that they don't receive royalties from sales of merchandise, DVDs, etc because they don't own the rights to the shows they work on, being essentially contractors hired by production committees, which are for the most part controlled by TV networks and major conglomerates. The Keiichi Hara quote towards the end of the article seems to point towards this but the first half of the article sorta ignores it.

They take a small cut from merch sales.

Htown · Nov 1, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
The industry can grow while keeping the fanservice around. There is fanservice for male and female costumers, why remove all that because you want something "Pure" and "untouched" due to your "values". If you are turned off just this easy then most people wouldn't watch porn due to the main page being categories which shows all kind of stuff you might not be interested in.

I hate this "celebrate violence, ban erotic stuff". It simply is stupid. Such an outdated view on the world.

Erotic stuff is fine. Erotic stuff featuring underage kids is not. You keep trying to generalize this to some "people don't want anything sexual in anime because lol puritans" or some shit. If you're intentionally refusing to understand why there's an obvious difference here, then I'm not going to bother trying to explain it to you.

Deleted member 8852 · Nov 1, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
The industry can grow while keeping the fanservice around. There is fanservice for male and female costumers, why remove all that because you want something "Pure" and "untouched" due to your "values". If you are turned off just this easy then most people wouldn't watch porn due to the main page being categories which shows all kind of stuff you might not be interested in.

I hate this "celebrate violence, ban erotic stuff". It simply is stupid. Such an outdated view on the world.

In the end, Art is not real, goes for books, manga, movies, anime and games.

But I am not sure we can properly discuss this on this forum. =/

Come on chief, I know you know that's not what they are talking about when they say they want to get rid of "underage fanservice".

Nightbird · Nov 1, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Then I want the gory violence in other mediums to die because I find it disgusting. I hope you will adhere to my request too. Everything in art should be clean, pure and perfect. =)

Fanservice keeps a lot afloat because men generally buy more based on sexual energy.

I still don't understand what your problem is, if you don't like it don't watch it. Art is supposed to be free from all restrain the same way you can't police thought. As long as no real person gets hurt why would you ban/police it? This isn't minority report.

The industry can grow while keeping the fanservice around. There is fanservice for male and female costumers, why remove all that because you want something "Pure" and "untouched" due to your "values". If you are turned off just this easy then most people wouldn't watch porn due to the main page being categories which shows all kind of stuff you might not be interested in.

I hate this "celebrate violence, ban erotic stuff". It simply is stupid. Such an outdated view on the world.

In the end, Art is not real, goes for books, manga, movies, anime and games.

But I am not sure we can properly discuss this on this forum. =/

I got banned for a month on the previous board because I argued the very same thing as you are right now.

I am not against erotica. But there's a massive difference between sexualizing a mature woman and sexualizing a girl that looks like she can barely write her own name (even if the series claims she's 500+ years old)

But I think you knew that already

chrisPjelly · Nov 1, 2017

Netflix deserves this Toblerone

ErichWK · Nov 1, 2017

Good. Most anime lately has been awful gross, boring garbage. Give me more shit like Little Witch Academia, plz.

Fart Master · Nov 1, 2017

End moe Netflix

Bandage · Nov 1, 2017

Lopez said:
End moe Netflix

We need moer moe

Fart Master · Nov 1, 2017

Bandage said:
We need moer moe

No mas please

CoolestSpot · Nov 1, 2017

Chamaeleonx said:
Looking at Family Guy, The Simpson, Arnold, Ricky & Morty, etc. . I don't want Anime to go into this direction.. . =(

Don't understand sentences like this. You don't have to watch it, just like I don't have to watch "torture porn" like Saw. Is the same in video games, if you don't like Anime based games then don't play them.
If you want to get into the influence debate I am sure you are aware how this will hit movies, drawings, video games and a lot of other stuff as well, especially if its violence based.
Why does all stuff people don't like have to "die", etc. ?

Because the work is morally questionable and profiting off encouraging disgusting aspects of culture?

Moe is trash, and while you can argue artist freedom, many studios have admitted being forced to shoerun it in or deny other projects for "Moe", because the industry now has a huge revenue built off profiting off a sexually frusasted and obsessed fanbase willingly to shill out in ridiclous manner compared to a wider auidence.

It's a market requiring surrival based off sexualizing minors, and not even in a way exploring the themes of doing so in an artful way on the matter like "Lolita" (the novel) which may get a pass.

SteveWinwood · Nov 1, 2017

please get neon genesis on there so i dont have to break out my dvds all the time and can recommend it to people easier and ruin their life as well

Extra Sauce · Nov 1, 2017

HStallion said:
I'll sacrifice ResetEra for a faithful high budget Berserk anime, especially after the CGI travesty we just got.

I wish classic 70s/80s/90s anime was properly remastered instead of remade.

Amiibola · Nov 1, 2017

Hoping to see them revive Saint Seiya for good

It would be hilarious to see them manage to do it after so many failed attemps from Toei

CoolestSpot · Nov 1, 2017

Wait. Can we just some sequels series ala Tiger Mask W or what have you?

Kinnikuman come back ~

Deleted member 279 · Nov 1, 2017

I used to watch tons of anime like 10 years ago and recently got back into the medium... I'm actually enjoying it much more now that I'm older.

This news is great, and I'm happy to see that we'll possibly be seeing another anime golden age

Geist · Nov 1, 2017

Anything that shakes up the travesty that is the animation industry is a plus in my opinion. Maybe Netflix can get revive the non-comedy adult western animation genre as well.

HStallion said:
I'll sacrifice ResetEra for a faithful high budget Berserk anime, especially after the CGI travesty we just got.

Begging Netflix has worked for other shows, just saying. ;-)

Pbae said:
Are we getting more Blame! movies?!

B/c I could really use some more Blame! movies.

Yeeeeees, The first one wasn't perfect, but a Blame movie anthology would be perfect.

Luap · Nov 1, 2017

nando said:
I used to watch tons of anime like 10 years ago and recently got back into the medium... I'm actually enjoying it much more now that I'm older.

This news is great, and I'm happy to see that we'll possibly be seeing another anime golden age

Same. I watched anime nearly every day from childhood through high school (Toonami <3). I stopped regularly watching it in college, but made a few exceptions during and since, like Gurren Lagann and One Punch Man.

Now in my late 20s I'm getting back into it, and branching out to non-action shows. So far I've really enjoyed Yuri on Ice, Your Lie in April, Nodame Cantabile, and am currently watching Silver Spoon on Netflix, which is also great.

ProZD has a few really good anime recommendation videos that I recommend (lol):

5 of My Favorite Anime That Started Before 2000

5 More Anime I Love

WoollyTitan · Nov 1, 2017

All I know is Netflix is currently streaming some of my favorite anime that are being utterly cockblocked by Aniplex's dipshit home video price gouging. So anything that brings more anime to Netflix, original content or not, is good with me.

By the way, speaking of those 30 upcoming titles, how do you guys feel about Children of the Whales?

How Netflix Is Disrupting, Empowering Japan's Anime Industry

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