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The beginning of the end???

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YaoiBoy:
Well folks,

I'm sure most of you have seen the news about Geneon's DVD sales. If not, check it out here:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-09-26/geneon-usa-to-cancel-dvd-sales-distribution-by-friday

This is a sad day for anime fans, but this is probably just the beginning. :'( Anime sales have been falling drastically. Some of you may have noticed the anime sections of your local retailers shrinking.

Let's face it guys. The anime industry AS A WHOLE has just gotten too big to support itself. American companies have been licensing almost EVERY new show. Many of these shows are just not very good. We need to send a message to the licensees that they need to be more discriminating about what they buy. Fans won't just buy anything anymore. This business of pre-licensing needs to stop as well. In those cases, the company can get stuck with a show that is horrible!

But there is a catch...

Producing anime has gotten VERY expensive. So expensive that many Japanese producers can no longer afford to finance it on their own. In fact, they are looking to the West to help pay for these shows. However, there are so many producers now that they are canceling each other's profits. There is more product than the market can consume.

The solution, in my opinion, is a market correction. Things are going to get UGLY. Many anime producers and American licensees will fail.

But...

When the dust settles, only the good stuff will remain. The "anime junk" will no longer be made. I encourage everyone to help the companies learn what the "good stuff" is by buying the stuff you really like. And TELL them WHY you didn't buy the crap (but be constructive about it).

Anime will become a niche market again, and that may be a VERY GOOD thing.

Peace,
YaoiBoy

suzaku_nomiko:
Hmm
Something to think about....

Sindobook:
If you have been talking with the pig lately over Skype, this issue has come up repeatedly.  But listen to the pig, listen to what he has to say.  The pig is wise and all-knowing, have faith in the pig and know that this too shall pass, better days are ahead.  Just like the old saying that goes, "The misfortune of one pig is the gain of another."  Let us not forget the old story of the horse and the farmer's son.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=the+horse+and+the+farmer%27s+son

Ultimately, there is no need to worrey.  We passed the point of no return 4 years ago.  Today we have the internet and bittorrent, neither of which are going away.  Fansubbers will always be there to pick up the slack when commercial companies fall short.  Rest assured that if something is even remotely worth subbing, someone out there, somewhere, will sub it. 

Have to agree about the quality part though.  It is not that the market has outgrown itself.  The fans are always capable of supporting a much larger market, had a quality product been maintained or quality gone up to justify additional value.  Instead, the shows we have today are fundementally no different than the shows of 6-10 years ago, save for slight increases in animation quality. 

Up-front licensing costs need to go down.  $1 million up front plus royalties to license an anime that hasn't even been produced in full (or a single episode aired) is ridiculous.  At least when fansubbers sub a show that turns out to suck, no one loses anything.  If a company throws away $1M and then another 1-2 million in dubbing and production fees, it can take the combined profit from many quality releases to recoup that loss.  You are certainly right that too many licensors rolled the dice and ended up with a piece of **** on these 'pre-license' deals. 

Tsubasa:
The anime industry in Japan is getting bigger by the day but at the same time it is dying too. They can't make anime without Koreans helping them these days.

- Tsubasa

synapticflow:
Sorry to jump in on an old thread, but as a musician I know one true factor.  The fact that so many people steal instead of buy is what hurts industries like anime and of course... music.

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