Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Isn't More Anime Made For Americans?
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Zumie
 Posts: 51 |
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We already have anime made in the US, or series which closely resemble it, like Avatar and Korra, The Boondocks (as much as some people would like to deny) and even Afro Samurai which is pretty high quality for an anime.
The thing is, the US, like Japan tends to send a lot of their animation to be done in Korea. As sad as that sounds in some ways, but regardless in a sense it really shouldn't make much of a difference as far as that goes. What really makes a difference now is that the US has, for the most part, given up on traditional 2D animation as a mainstream media. A lot of companies now just make 3D animation. So forget the stylization, if it's not in CGI a lot of companies may not even touch it. That said- I also find a lot of the time american anime wants to add it's own little 'twist' to the style to make it their own, or make it more unique. In the end, all it does it make it less stylistic in terms of anime and then they wonder what went wrong, why it failed to bring it more viewers. They'll go through a lot of different reasons, marketing, audience, timing, but they'll even touch the actual art of stylization of the product which is key when it comes to making an 'american' anime. That said however, are plenty of ways people can get japanese animators to make an anime made just for the US, it just actually takes real time and dedication along with patience and tenacity. If you get enough connections, talk to the right people and have a good understanding of the language, there's good chance you may succeed. However! If you go one step further, offer them a great work life balance, good pay, health insurance etc, and not screw them over they Will succeed. Hell- you might end up beating every other anime company there considering how they treat their animators and workers as expendable in all senses of the word. Who knows, by doing so someone may actually do what a lot of anime fans believe should be done, bring change for the better to the industry at it's core. The only problem is, you just have to learn not to be greedy and look to the future, not the present. Something a lot of US companies nowadays just refuse to do. |
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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2-D animation is still very much alive in North America. It's just almost entirely on TV now, which happens to be the same medium anime is focused on.
Why shouldn't we? My father raised me to question everything, and that is what I do. Without questioning, there can be no progress.
I would like to include Valiant if only they weren't all tossed around by companies and wealthy individuals buying the company and neglecting its IPs. With A-list comic book characters, they're really at the whims of their readers. You can't have any kind of drastic change that sticks because people are going to whine and moan. You can't kill off or retire a character without bringing them back later or introducing a new person to fill that role. And you certainly can't just outright end an A-list character's series, especially one that gets a lot of kid appeal like Batman or Spider-Man, because the public appetite for these stories is bottomless. (With kids, it's because a new crop will come in continuously, and so no matter how old the series is, it will be new and exciting to someone.) They never end because the demand never ends. And this goes not just for superheroes either. Look at Archie. The series goes through the same ups and downs as Superman or Iron Man. Hence, I think that comparing long-running comic books to anime is like comparing apples and oranges. Most anime series seems to be made for one particular audience to watch from beginning to end, whereas long-running comic book series are meant for readers to jump into or out from at any time they'd like. |
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The Mad Manga Massacre
Posts: 1168 |
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Figured it was worth mentioning but there are several Japanese foreign co-productions in the works and ongoing. There's obvious ones like Sonic Boom but there's also Mischievous Ladybug, Vampire Hunter D, the unnamed Fox ADHD pdouction I.G. show, the French Astro Boy Reboot, and I believe there's also a yatterman (Battle of the Planets?) thing as well in a couple of years.
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yaki-udon
Posts: 83 |
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I wonder if there are American anime fans who hate Japan. My grandfather hates America, but he is a big fan of Major League Baseball and James Dean.
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Depends on what facet of Japan you mean. If you mean Japanese government, there are plenty. If you mean Japanese food, there are plenty too. The thing is that, from what I can gather, most western anime fans skew pretty young and probably aren't as well-informed of Japan as a country besides its otaku output as your grandfather is with the United States.
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9887 Location: Virginia |
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The last group of people in the US to have strong feelings about Japan was the WWII generation. Even among them it was mostly limited to those who fought there or lost loved ones in the fighting. They are mostly dead now and have had little or no exposure to anime. For most in the US, Japan is just another country.
While I wouldn't rule out a lone nut case or two. I really doubt that there is anyone here who hates Japan and actually likes anime. |
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CandisWhite
Posts: 282 |
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Not in-store, perhaps, but you can easily order them. That catalogue's not exactly top secret: My shop keeps it at the front desk. I pre-order everything; They pull out the catalogue, "This book? Those covers? 'Kay". It's no different than shopping at a book store; There's only so much room in-store and so a ton of titles are only available by ordering them at the store's computer or online. I've heard this before about comics, specifically on Jem forums, and my response is a big "Huh????". 5 minutes of inquiry, and pre-ordering a copy to make sure you get one, and everyone's problems are solved. |
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Mikeski
Posts: 608 Location: Minneapolis, MN |
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On the original subject, our Answerman has it right. Think about the demographics.
Is it easier for a Japanese anime production crew to make something that appeals to X percent of the USA, or to make something that appeals to about "half of X" percent of Japan? Their population is roughly half of ours. They can make "anime" with widespread appeal, but it's stuff like Sazae-San, not Madoka. When a huge-selling anime series is putting out numbers in the mid-10,000s, they're obviously not targeting Japan as a whole; they're targeting their usual niche customers. If you want a huge audience, you can't have niche appeal, pretty much by definition. If they're not willing or able to sell to a significant Japanese audience, they have no chance of selling to a significant American one, even if there are twice as many of us. |
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MrBonk
Posts: 192 |
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I was super surprised to see something like Heroman on this list. How was that show made for 'murica when it has never even come out here? It's a brilliant show too. Which is a shame.
And the Trigun Movie wasn't successful? First i've heard of that. |
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Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
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This old Answerman article explains why Heroman never made to American TV. For the record, I find it disheartening that Heroman never had a chance to be seen by American viewership myself. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13583 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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As it has been already mentioned, I'd say that beyond trying to cater to the foreign demographic, a big reason that we don't have specifically American-geared anime comes from a business standpoint. Are they really willing to invest so much money to a show that might not be a big hit in either the USA or Japan?
I think having an American-geared anime can work well if they dubbed and/or subbed it onto streaming sites as part of the business plan. That is, I think it would be less of a gamble to do a simuldub stream vs. the risk of using a simuldub on Toonami/Adult Swim. With the TV airing, they risk losing a lot of money just from the broadcast airing fees. By this, they might end up stopping the dub and have unfinished product. With streaming, they can also get a lot of US viewers who don't have cable. |
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Ali07
 Posts: 3333 Location: Victoria, Australia |
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If only that bold part were completely true. It's why DC rebooted, and probably why Marvel are giving that a shot...so people have a jumping on point.
Sounds to me like someone has a good comic store. When I was buying from a LCS (stopped due to them moving too far for me to justify the trip), I never saw a previews catalog. For people new to comics, you'd have to hope that they either know about Previews...or have walked into an LCS with helpful staff. Sadly, I'm unsure which of those two would be the harder to come by... As for catering to an audience, which is the original topic, I'd like to know what that feels like (in a production with good acting, script/scenario, and budget). As an Australian, not really catered to. And, I must mention, beyond the news, I don't watch anything produced by the Australian TV/movie industry. 
The last thing I watched, and enjoyed, was Tomorrow When the War Began...and I don't think that movie will be getting a sequel. 
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Jonny Mendes
 Posts: 997 Location: Europe |
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If more Anime was made for Americans or Western audience it just go from been Japanese animation to become like American Cartoons.
I love Looney Toons and watched Superman and Batman when i was younger. Even enjoyed some Cartoon Network animation. But i never want to anime become westernized animation. Is the Japanese view and sensibility that make Anime what is it. Is the Japanese sense of humor, the way that they portrait romance and drama, the crazy impossible action scenes, the slice of life, the fantasy worlds that they create, and yes, the over the top fanservice, battle/harems and some controversy that they bring to animation that make anime what it is. If anime become more westernized, it will just turn their back to the people that bring money to the industry. Who else than the Japanese people are going to spend the absurd amount of money that they do for BDs, merchandizing, mangas and LN that is what keeps the industry afloat. Japanese want anime that appeal to them, and over and over again anime that make to appeal to the western audience just don't work in Japan. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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We're not HAPPY about Japan's current attempt to avoid their own problem and demonize all anime fans as horny Internet-addicted work-dodging NEETs, but in a way that makes us feel our fandom is helping protect anime from the Japanese. In America, you can watch any danged cartoon you want, and people will respect you for it...So we watch the good ones. There's a concept that is never going to translate across the Pacific. 
We just feel too frustrated that because of the whole burn-the-NEET mindset, we can't do anything about the flood of core underground fanservice shows and My-Crazy-NEET comedies. (I'm sure Wooser is a lot funnier over there.) It's not our problem and it's not our joke, and whosever problem it is, should stop acting snotty and start fixing it pretty darn soon if we both want the product to improve. |
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Paiprince
 Posts: 593 |
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Mostly this. Maybe if the general mainstream of both audiences are more open of anything outside their comfort zones, anime and any other avante-garde media can strike gold. And no. Anime does NOT need to be "Westernized." There are aspects of anime the West can't and are unwilling to embrace as a whole. The concept of "moe" for example is something Japan for the most part perfected. Only MLP comes to mind that even comes close without the ape effect faux anime cartoons have suffered. Certain archetypes would never flourish as it is noe because Westerners would see it as sexist or emasculating.The West's (America) clashing views of sexuality and its obsession with the politically correct will never appreciate harems, idols or "cute girls doing cute things ." I dare anyone to create a mahou shoujo comic series and it won't even jump off the ground. All this would probably sound like good things to a few peeps, but the majority of anime fans do not want to lose any of these. Even back in the 60's when anime was mainly children tales' adaptation, it still manages to stand out through it's local style and aesthetic. Losing Japan's animation identity will only bring it more harm than good at the end of this Western white washing. The people who even assume it would get slightly better by becoming HBO dramas with anime art painted all over are living in their own fantasy world. Last edited by Paiprince on Sun Aug 09, 2015 2:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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