The Death of Anime
Anime on DVD has a short but interesting article regarding the changes the industry is going through, wrapping up with a plea from the president of Bang Zoom! Entertainment (they make English language versions for folks).
I've been out of the loop for a while now, but have watched as the industry seems to crumble around itself. I've been saddened to see AniEigo no longer making anime (instead focusing on live action samurai films), Geneon completely disappear, ADV become something barely recognizable, etc. etc. It is a concern.
I feared back in the early 2000s that something bad was coming. Thanks to "Pokemon" and "Dragonball Z," anime was mainstream (at least for a short period of time) and companies were snatching up anime and manga licenses left and right. That is, in fact, the whole reason I got out of touch with what's out; I couldn't keep up with the onslaught of releases. And I figured, even back then, that if someone like me (who spent a LOT of money on the hobby) couldn't maintain the pace the anime companies were setting, how would everyone else? A slow down seemed inevitable. Of course, I had no idea it would put the industry on life support.
I couldn't buy anime today if I wanted to. Like the article says, "it's the economy, stupid" pretty much sums it up. Plus I still have boxes of box sets untouched. Just about the only thing I would consider buying at the moment would be "Lucky Star" and "Excel Saga," because I have heard those shows are awesome.
Can the industry survive? Can they find a way to still profit despite BitTorrents? Or if they stop bringing titles over here, will wee see a resurgence of the old fansub scene? Will we see the once mighty industry cut down to only two or three companies, or will this somehow help the little guy like AniEigo compete again? Or is the small anime distro a dinosaur? So many questions...