Is The Anime Industry In Crisis?

So it finally happened! Geneon called it quits in November of 2007, citing declining sales as the primary reason for shutting down its operations. And ADV, the largest of the North American anime distributors, has adopted some cost-cutting measures like ceasing publication of Newtype USA (they plan to start publishing their own anime/pop culture magazine at a reduced price) and severely curtailing mailouts of promotional items to anime clubs.

But do these actions suggest that the anime industry in North America is in trouble? Before I can answer that, perhaps it would be best to give an overview of the availability of anime here over the past 45 years.

Americans' first exposure to anime came in 1963 when NBC first broadcast an English-dubbed version of the Japanese animated show Tetsuwan Atom but rechristened Astro Boy. This show was soon to be followed by the likes of Gigantor, Speed Racer, and Battle of the Planets. Most Americans didn't even know the Japanese origins of these shows or didn't even care.

Japanese animation presented in America was few and far between during the 60s and 70s. The next wave of anime broadcasted on American television wouldn't come about until the mid-80s when Robotech and Voltron hit TV screens on weekday afternoons. But by this time, comic book and science fiction conventions started showing more Japanese animation in their video screening rooms, along with other eclectic fare from here in the States as well as from other parts of the world. Also at this time, some of the vendors in the dealer's rooms of said conventions were selling homemade videotapes (VCR were becoming more commonplace around this time) of raw Japanese animation ("raw" meaning no subtitles of any kind, including English). I suppose these were made by fanatics who taped from the original Japanese broadcast and shipped them over to the States. But seeing I was more into comic books at the time, I really had no interest, especially if I could not understand the language, not to mention price tags of no less than 30 dollars a tape. My family didn't have a VCR back then anyway.

As computer technology improved, it was soon possible for these raw anime videotapes to include overlays of English subtitles. Translators would be needed, of course, and the quality of translations was always a subject of heated debate among the growing numbers of anime fandom in North America. It was the rising of the first "fansubs", that is, videotapes of Japanese anime translated into English and subtitled using a overlay program.

But there were fans who desired to turn their passion into a legitimate business. The fansubs were satisfying to a point, but the legality of the practice (international copyrights, "pirating", etc.) came into question and continues to this day in an age where downloads of fansubs are readily available. Animeigo and Streamline Pictures were among the first to package and distribute anime for an American audience. The latter also featured English-dubbed versions of their anime releases (Dirty Pair in particular). But the price of making anime available in such a format and to a wider audience didn't come cheap; I remember Animeigo's old clamshell case releases of Bubblegum Crisis being advertised in 1991 for around 40 dollars per 40 minute episode. As many people who whine about the high cost of anime releases today, anime fans have it a lot better today. Think about it! Today all anime is released on DVD instead of VHS like the old-schoolers had to settle for. Both subtitled and dubbed versions are on the same DVD for the most part; during the days of VHS this technology wasn' t possible, so a fan had to commit to either subtitled or, if one was available, dubbed. There are more episodes of an anime TV show included on one DVD disc, anywhere from three and I've seen some DVDs include as many as eight episodes. I've already stated that the early days of legit anime releases included only one episode. Gradually more episodes were included on a VHS tape until the rise and eventual domination of the DVD format forced the amime industry here to abandon VHS altogether. And as far as price goes, the most I see an anime release being advertised for these days is $29.95 S.R.P.. Many are going for less than that now and fans are getting more for their money. The number of titles being released has increased substantially as well.

So with all that has been said, what is the problem now? Well, the last sentence in the previous paragraph could be the problem. I believe we've reached a saturation point as far as the number of releases a month go. The fan can only afford to purchase so much, even with the availability of online retailers and their discounts. It was a representative from ADV that once stated that, in the early days of the company, 10 different releases a year was the norm, but at their peak, it was common to do 10 releases a month! Growth is usually a good thing, but if there is too much product out there and not enough consumption, then, Houston, we've got a problem! Then again, the reason why anime fans aren't spending those dollars is because some are finding cheaper alternatives to getting anime, namely fansubs. Now fansubs have been the usual proverbial thorn in the side of many a legtimate distributor, but that thorn has become more painful as computer technology not allows for fansubs to be downloaded. Fansubs used to be restricted to small anime clubs and distributors setting up shop in the garage or basement. VHS tapes was the only way to go in those days, and the quality wasn't always the best in either picture quality or translation. Most would only deal with anime titles that have not been licensed by a North American company and if a title was licensed, the fansubbers would pull said title from their distributing list. But now fansubs are available for download anytime 24/7, some within days of a show's debut in Japan. Can the authorities shut down these operations? Sure, but the FBI primarily focuses on those who pirate Disney films and those from major Hollywood studios. Anime is considered "small fish" for them to bother with.

Fansubs certainly play a role in the crisis afflicting the anime industry. But the mounting increase in anime product over the past decade has contributed as well. Yes, anime is less expensive, probably the cheapest it has ever been. Nevertheless, the anime fan who does not support fansubs still has choices to make whenever he or she hits the anime aisle at Best Buy or goes online to rightstuf.com . There are a number of titles I'd love to have in my collection, but I know that my bank account won't be able to provide me with every release I want. So, like many others like me, I have to prioritize whenever I have to make a choice.

I don't believe the current crisis spells doom for the anime industry and fandom. It will survive, albeit without as many players and with a business strategy that focuses on moderation. Some are already starting to do just that.