Every so often, the anime community goes through a period of collective gnashing of teeth over the state of the industry, often triggered by the comments of some insider or commentator describing how the industry has one foot in the grave and [insert target du jour] is entirely to blame. Eventually, the ruckus dies down and everyone goes back to doing things the way they’ve always done them, fans and industry alike, patiently waiting for the next crisis to come along and whip the community into a frenzy yet again.
Honestly, it’s getting old. I think we all generally accept the idea that things to need to change. There’s plenty of disagreement with regard to how and why, of course, but I think most serious fans and industry insiders recognize that there’s trouble on the horizon and wish to do something about it. Very little changes, though. The trouble draws nearer, the teeth gnashing repeats itself, and we’re left waiting for a “come to Jesus” moment that may never arrive.
In a lot of ways, the tempest currently building within in the anime community in response to these comments from GDH International President Arthur Smith is more of the same old story and routine. However, unlike before, industry insiders are opening up and speaking candidly about both the troubled state of the industry and what needs to be done to ensure its survival. In fact, ever since the collapse of Geneon Entertainment, the conversation between fans and the industry has become increasingly intimate. At first blush, this may seem like a positive development. However, I think it’s more an indication of how dire a situation the industry has found itself in that it’s laying itself bare in front of fans in a death bed appeal for mercy.
I’m not surprised, really. For some time now, I’ve worked to suppress the gut feeling that things were only going to get worse before they got better. Even more troubling is the knowledge that we’re all culpable in some way. Clueless distributors, selfish fans, deluded fansubbers: we’ve all been happily shooting ourselves in the foot for years now, and we’re finally on the verge of bleeding to death. But it’s because we’re all responsible that pointing fingers is a fool’s errand. It’s posturing, at best, for an industry representative to blame fansubbers for its pain and suffering without expressing a willingness to pursue legal and financial recourse in response. And for fansubbers to lay the responsibility for poor sales at the feet of the industry alone conveys ignorance in the fundamental role they themselves played in bringing about that situation. Nor can I and many other fans caught in the middle point fingers, for we’ve played both sides to our own benefit for years now.
So, what to do? I don’t know. I agree with the idea that change needs to first occur within Japan if the anime industry wishes to avoid wholesale collapse. It’s far too late to avoid a correction, I think; the damage has long been done, and only a correction can save the industry from collapsing entirely. Time is running out, however. And, unfortunately, that’s cause for great concern. Firsthand experience has taught me that reluctance to change is deeply ingrained in Japanese business culture, and statements emanating from the Japanese anime industry with regard to fansubbing and the American market clearly illustrate that they don’t yet realize how broken their international business model is. Or perhaps they do realize, and they’re not yet willing to admit to it. Either way, I have little reason to be optimistic.
Of course, a correction, even if ugly, doesn’t mean the end of anime as we know it. Studios will go under and people will lose their jobs, of course. That’s regrettable, no doubt, and the negative impact such an offloading of talent will have on the quality and diversity of anime we’ve come to enjoy in recent years will be keenly felt. However, the market for anime will continue to exist, as will the means of production. In the end, a correction may simply mean less anime. It’s up to every individual anime fan to decide if that’s a positive outcome or not.
It’s reasonable, I think, to see a correction as inevitable. In discussing the state of the industry with a friend far less sympathetic to its plight recently, I heard the argument that, “If they’re so bad off, why are they producing so much anime?” My response, of course, was that “they’re so bad off” precisely because they’ve been producing so much anime. The promise of funding from overseas led to an increase in the number of projects, and when that funding didn’t materialize as anticipated, the chickens came home to roost. A number of Japanese studios and distributors have mortgaged their futures on lofty expectations for the international market. In fact, I’d argue none moreso than the aforementioned GDH International. If I were Arthur Smith, I’d be sweating bullets right now, too.
When all is said and done, however, I’m just one of many anime fans who, despite seeing the trouble on the horizon, can’t do much to effect change. I can write a thousand words on the subject, as I have today, but the reality is: I don’t have the answer. Like most everyone reading, I’m just along for the ride, hairpin curves and all. However, I have an incredible passion for anime, so watching as a spectator as the industry races downhill toward the edge of a cliff is frustrating, to say the least.
Perhaps gnashing of teeth is all we can do, after all.
