Death of Anime? Could It Be True?!
Interesting stuff happening in the world of anime this past week.
On a recent episode of the ANNCast, the CEO of Bang Zoom! Entertainment (a company that handles dubbing for games, anime, and more) essentially said that Bandai was one failed release away from stopping dubs altogether. This is after, of course, the same CEO said the anime industry in America was on death's door due to piracy. Bandai responded to the accusation by insisting everything was a-okay (but as someone pointed out in the forums, Banadai released only one DVD during the Christmas season).
Elsewhere, Viz has yet again cut staff (up to 40%) and Go Cami has let its URL go, with previous signs pointing to the company being in trouble.
This has been a bad few years for anime and manga in the US, and I'm starting to wonder if the Bang Zoom! guy was right. The industry seems to be tanking, yet anime is just as popular as ever and available (for free) in many ways.
EDIT: I should say that Bang Zoom! is mostly referring to the dubbing part of the industry. So dubs could gradually disappear with the way things are going. That's still a pretty big piece of anime, and will no doubt affect what sales they do get.