Should anime get foreign funding?

[Waylaid]

Longer question:

Considering the current economical state in the anime scene, and their popularity outside Japan, should anime creators get some funding from foreign sources to produce their work?

I'm not implying that there should be any intervenion of sorts from big companies, like what should or shouldn't be show in their content, but there should be some sort help needed to revitalise the anime scene.

[Duke]

It's already being done by Bandai and Time Warner. I happen to think it's a good idea most of the time.

[GWOtaku]

Sure. That's what they're doing with IPGX, and Big O II was made basically because an American audience wanted to see it. Collusion of this kind seems to be a positive thing for all concerned.

[Weatherman]

Not to mention ADV and Geneon USa cofunding projects in Japan. At least half if not more so of the product coming out of Japan these days is a co-pro with some US company. Even smaller anime companies like Media Blasters are looking to get in to the co-pro business.

If foreign funding were pulled out the anime industry would colapse completely.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

why should they need to when they are getting oodles of cash from US licensers? :confused: unless this sort of assistance would lower/include licensing fees then it would be ok

[Hordesman]

Well, foreign funding as in licensing fees sometimes takes the form of increased budgets. Pokemon's budget went up its third season.

[Weatherman]

why should they need to when they are getting oodles of cash from US licensers? :confused: unless this sort of assistance would lower/include licensing fees then it would be ok
That's what we mean. US companies are foreigners to the Japanese. ;)

And it's not always licensing fees. With alot of new shows like Texnolyze, Kino's Journey, Big O II ect. ect. ect. they US companie are actually paying the Japanese animators to make the product. Usually it's not exclusively the US company, but they do play a large role in the funding of alot of shows these days by buying into the Production Committe.

[lostrune]

why should they need to when they are getting oodles of cash from US licensers? :confused:
License fees they can get once the show is made and if an American company picks it up. Funding is when they need money to start with. They can't charge license fees if the show is never made because of lack of funding. Thus, sometimes they need funding from the outside just to have a budget to make the show.

[Karl Olson]

That's what we mean. US companies are foreigners to the Japanese. ;)

And it's not always licensing fees. With alot of new shows like Texnolyze, Kino's Journey, Big O II ect. ect. ect. they US companie are actually paying the Japanese animators to make the product. Usually it's not exclusively the US company, but they do play a large role in the funding of alot of shows these days by buying into the Production Committe.

Exactly. There just wouldn't be as much anime out there today with out all the money ADV, Geneon and other distributors have been pouring directly into projects, we simply wouldn't have the current variety in anime, and what was out there would likely be poorly animated do to lack of proper funding, so the US Money is critical. NieA_7, Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze and Koi Kaze wouldn't exist without Geneon USA's money, if they did exist, they'd look terrible. GitS:SAC wouldn't look half as good if it wasn't for Bandai matching the Japanese investments in the project, doubling the budget on the show.

Foriegn investment in anime is what has kept Anime diverse and fresh over the past few years. It's assisted the boom in Satellite/UHF anime in Japan, as it's compensated for the lack of pre-existing funds in Japan, and allowed studios to do make some very, very experimental series, and not have them look like cardboard cut outs on a background. Basically, the industry needs this.

[Weatherman]

Exactly. There just wouldn't be as much anime out there today with out all the money ADV, Geneon and other distributors have been pouring directly into projects, we simply wouldn't have the current variety in anime, and what was out there would likely be poorly animated do to lack of proper funding, so the US Money is critical. NieA_7, Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze and Koi Kaze wouldn't exist without Geneon USA's money, if they did exist, they'd look terrible. GitS:SAC wouldn't look half as good if it wasn't for Bandai matching the Japanese investments in the project, doubling the budget on the show.

Foriegn investment in anime is what has kept Anime diverse and fresh over the past few years. It's assisted the boom in Satellite/UHF anime in Japan, as it's compensated for the lack of pre-existing funds in Japan, and allowed studios to do make some very, very experimental series, and not have them look like cardboard cut outs on a background. Basically, the industry needs this.
*nods* And not just those companies. Dreamworks is jumping into it, Disney already owns the right to Ghibli, and for all we know may own them outright once Ghibli organizes a new deal, Time Warner's jumping in, Media Blasters is looking to get it, I'm sure CPM's got something in the works, Anime Nation could to and IDT via Manga already has GitS and other stuff in the pipeline.

US and other non-Japanese money is in the business to stay, and we've never been better for it. Not that it's really a new phenomenon though. Toei, TMS, Peirot and others all did extensive work for US companies in the 80's and 90's and even co-proed(co-produced) a number of shows.

[Ben]

If foreign funding were pulled out the anime industry would colapse completely.

Exactly. The anime industry is so huge, bloated even, right now that the loss of foreign funding would be a disaster beyond comprehension. Which is why the Japanese is hoping beyond hope that Americans and Europeans stay interested (and American animators are trying harder than ever to get their domestic audience back). We are probably living in the golden age of anime right now. I can't see, for practical reasons, anime being any more diverse and well-funded than it will be in the next few years.

[Gokou Ruri]

(and American animators are trying harder than ever to get their domestic audience back).
I sure hope you are joking; anime is still no where as big as American animation is. It probably never will, aside from a few series that get turned into a marketing giant (Pokemon and DBZ, for example) but anime as a whole will never reach the ratings and publicity that American toons have.

I can't even find any anime in the Nielsen ratings.

[Artimus Gigan]

Wasn't Finding Nemo like the higest grossing animated movie followed up by Shrek 2?

[Weatherman]

I sure hope you are joking; anime is still no where as big as American animation is. It probably never will, aside from a few series that get turned into a marketing giant (Pokemon and DBZ, for example) but anime as a whole will never reach the ratings and publicity that American toons have.

I can't even find any anime in the Nielsen ratings.
It shows up frequently in the cable ratings. Granted, aniem will probably never pull the numbers that even a failing sitcom will pull on a major network, but it is pulling in decent enough numbers to continue beign aired.


No, I think Shrek 2 is still the highest.

[Hordesman]

I can't imagine an anime being budgeted with US distribution initially.

Ok, the truth is that while stuff like Miyazaki and anime tv-based movies top the box office in Japan and sometimes outgross American product... it's far less money than the US market can deliver. As a result any animation created for non-US markets has lower production costs. No sensible producer is going to make a show beyond what can turn a profit in Japan unless there's clear demand from abroad or co-producing across continents. And America is the big money market. I have married friends who grew up watching Italian dubbed anime as kids but even that isn't the US windfall.

It's even possible YGO switched to another animation studio and focused more on cards with American distribution in mind. I've heard that's why Brock went off Pokemon for an arc, due to negative early test marketing quickly overturned by its tv premiere. And the Beckett magazine interviewed a 4Kids producer who raved about Johto's better animation--- it's all about US money.

[Karl Olson]

I can't imagine an anime being budgeted with US distribution initially.

That's what IGPX is, and it's gonna have more money per episode than most anime (only GitS:SAC gets more cash per episode as far as TV series goes.) CN and WB are basically going right at the heart of it, and not even experimenting with sublicencing. They want their anime own out right for use in America intially, though I'm sure it'll get passed around to the various markets.

In fact, if this experiment works, I'd expect CN/WB to either create a Japanese branch, or buy out an existing studio or two before the decade is out.

[Gokou Ruri]

It's even possible YGO switched to another animation studio and focused more on cards with American distribution in mind


It's called YGO GX. They even incorperated the infamous Heart of the Cards in GX :p. It's pretty silly.

The only other time I can think of what you're saying is in Pokemon. After the beginning episodes aired in America, 4-Kids and Nintendo asked the Japanese producers to tone it down a bit so it would be more acceptable for American audiences (hense why we had death threats and Kasumi/Misty slapping Satoshi/Ash a lot in the first 40 or so episodes; or 'dying her hair' as the dub said)

[Ben]

I sure hope you are joking; anime is still no where as big as American animation is. It probably never will, aside from a few series that get turned into a marketing giant (Pokemon and DBZ, for example) but anime as a whole will never reach the ratings and publicity that American toons have.

I can't even find any anime in the Nielsen ratings.

Anime may not be beating Monday night football, but American animators have been losing their jobs to Japan since the 80s, starting with the production side and now increasingly on the creative side as well. Nearly half of Saturday mornings is now Japanese. Mega-hits like Power Rangers, Pokemon, Digimon, and Yugioh have taken the place of what used to be American franchise dollars. You're fooling yourself if you think that people in the American animation industry aren't worried about this.

[Duke]

Mega-hits like Power Rangers
Power Rangers is still very, very American-influenced. The story is written by American writers, filmed using American (though recently more New Zealand) actors, and stunts by an American. All the Japanese do is provide the suits, the Zords, and about 20% of the footage per episode (give or take).

[Artimus Gigan]

Anime may not be beating Monday night football, but American animators have been losing their jobs to Japan since the 80s, starting with the production side and now increasingly on the creative side as well. Nearly half of Saturday mornings is now Japanese. Mega-hits like Power Rangers, Pokemon, Digimon, and Yugioh have taken the place of what used to be American franchise dollars. You're fooling yourself if you think that people in the American animation industry aren't worried about this.I think that's basicly due to the fact that the American Animation Industry was essentialy monopolised by Disney most of the time. Now Disney is in trouble and is just releasing sub par movies, DVD sequels of low quality, and really crappy TV series. However there is Pixar who did open up a conventional animation sector and their CGI branch has been churning out the hit movies. However they've been mostly sticking to family friendly themes for everything. I mean they could easily do hard science fiction or fantasy if they wanted to. They certainly have the resources to do somthing like a Ghost in the Shell or an Akira, also the creative minds there are top notch.

Would be interesting to actualy see gore and cuss words in a Pixar film....

[Gokou Ruri]

Anime may not be beating Monday night football, but American animators have been losing their jobs to Japan since the 80s, starting with the production side and now increasingly on the creative side as well. Nearly half of Saturday mornings is now Japanese. Mega-hits like Power Rangers, Pokemon, Digimon, and Yugioh have taken the place of what used to be American franchise dollars. You're fooling yourself if you think that people in the American animation industry aren't worried about this.And yet Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents, and various other Nick/CN toons kick their butts in the ratings :D Not to mention Static Shock and X-Men Evolution when they were still airing new episodes.

They're more worried in the sense that they only have 92% of the public watching them than the whole 100%. The anime fanbase in America is small in terms of size. It's growing, but it's still a really nich market.

EDIT: Right now we have Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, Sonic X, F-Zero, One Piece, and Kirby hitting for the Japanese Saturday morning side. On the American side, we have W.I.T.C.H, Hyper Team Monkey Force Go, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Spongebob Squarepants, Spider-man, Fairly Odd Parents, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, Winx Club and lots of other. It's not at all close to half.

[Ben]

This Saturday Jetix sports 2 hours of anime (Digimon, Shinzo, Beyblade), 1/2 hour other foreign content (Power Rangers SPD [Sorry Duke, but I don't count New Zealand as part of the US]), and 2 1/2 hours of American content. 4Kids has 3 hours of anime (Mew Mew, Shaman King, an hour each of Sonic X, and F-Zero) and one hour of Winx Club, which still doesn't really count as American product. Kids' WB has by far the most American content (2 1/2 hours) but still sports an hour and a half of anime (Yugioh, Pokemon).

That's 6 1/2 hours of anime compared to 5 hours of American cartoons. Even if I had been generous and included SPD and Winx as "American" shows, that would only bring it up to 50-50.

[Karl Olson]

And yet Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents, and various other Nick/CN toons kick their butts in the ratings :D Not to mention Static Shock and X-Men Evolution when they were still airing new episodes.

They're more worried in the sense that they only have 92% of the public watching them than the whole 100%. The anime fanbase in America is small in terms of size. It's growing, but it's still a really nich market.

EDIT: Right now we have Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, Sonic X, F-Zero, One Piece, and Kirby hitting for the Japanese Saturday morning side. On the American side, we have W.I.T.C.H, Hyper Team Monkey Force Go, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Spongebob Squarepants, Spider-man, Fairly Odd Parents, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, Winx Club and lots of other. It's not at all close to half.

Outside of the Nick stuff, the American shows (and Winx is Italian btw,) don't beat the anime on in the same time slot. Example: Yugioh beat everything in it's time slot but Danny Phantom on 2/5/05 (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=1565), but Phantom is probably only pulling those ratings because it has Oddparents and Spongebob as a lead in. Further still, even that YuGiOh is a ratings spike for the Kids WB, gaining .7 points over what precedes it, while Phantom loses .5 of a point from what precedes it. Few American shows can stand up in the face of the top anime, but most fall before it.

If you wanna to compare shows of the same level, then yes, right now Spongebob and Oddparents, the top two rated US shows, beat out the big anime duo of Pokemon and Yugioh in the ratings, but the actual ratings split is closer to 60/40 between that level, not 92/8 as you said earlier. However, if Nick didn't see anime as a threat, or atleast a market that should be capitalized upon, they wouldn't have made Avatar, which reads like Trigun via Nadia and DragonBall. If CN/WB put much stock into the fact that anime doesn't often top their monthly ratings these days, they wouldn't be making IGPX with Production I.G. Heck, Disney's Hyper Team Monkey Force and Witch are born out of a desire to have their own anime. They all know that all it takes is another Pokemon or Dragonball Z, a couple of clunkers out of the US side of things, and the balance will shift to anime.

[Duke]

Sorry Duke, but I don't count New Zealand as part of the USThey film in New Zealand, but the creative staff is American and all post-production is done in America.

[Ben]

They film in New Zealand, but the creative staff is American and all post-production is done in America.

This is an argument for another thread, but "a little of Japan, a little of New Zealand and a little of America" doesn't equal "American content" in my mind. The Canadians would agree with me. ;)

[Duke]

This is an argument for another thread, but "a little of Japan, a little of New Zealand and a little of America" doesn't equal "American content" in my mind. The Canadians would agree with me. ;)
But...Canada is part of America...

[Ben]

But...Canada is part of America...

"South America stole our name."

-Randy Newman

[Hordesman]

They film in New Zealand, but the creative staff is American and all post-production is done in America.
Power Rangers is now filmed in New Zealand for the same reason animation itself is done outside the U.S. PR doesn't have the same moneymaking ability it had in the past but it's got a brand name which is an edge no matter how obscure it may be. If most people can vaguely recall something it often has a better chance with audiences than something brand new. New Zealand was brought into the picture to cut costs because it needed a lower budget to stay afloat. I think there'll always be a significant American presence in pre-production and post, though.

[Gokou Ruri]

This Saturday Jetix sports 2 hours of anime (Digimon, Shinzo, Beyblade), 1/2 hour other foreign content (Power Rangers SPD [Sorry Duke, but I don't count New Zealand as part of the US]), and 2 1/2 hours of American content. 4Kids has 3 hours of anime (Mew Mew, Shaman King, an hour each of Sonic X, and F-Zero) and one hour of Winx Club, which still doesn't really count as American product. Kids' WB has by far the most American content (2 1/2 hours) but still sports an hour and a half of anime (Yugioh, Pokemon)

That's 6 1/2 hours of anime compared to 5 hours of American cartoons. Even if I had been generous and included SPD and Winx as "American" shows, that would only bring it up to 50-50.You forgot all the Saturday toons on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Plus you are looking at quantitity over quality; like the same show airing back to back. You have to look at the shows themselves.


However, if Nick didn't see anime as a threat, or atleast a market that should be capitalized upon, they wouldn't have made Avatar, which reads like Trigun via Nadia and DragonBall. If CN/WB put much stock into the fact that anime doesn't often top their monthly ratings these days, they wouldn't be making IGPX with Production I.G. Heck, Disney's Hyper Team Monkey Force and Witch are born out of a desire to have their own animeW.I.T.C.H is based on an Itallian comic, so it's not anime influenced; and Winx was made to combat W.I.T.C.H. So were a few other series that haven't come to America... yet.

Hyper Team Monkey Force isn't anime either, it's very American in terms of the style, comedy, and feel of the show.

Avatar isn't really anything like those shows... unless you mean to say it has a kid as a main hero like Dragonball does, which Dragonball didn't start so it doesn't mean anything. If anything, Avatar is based off those old Chinese folk legends (since it has Chinese culture and writing in it) And last I checked, the Chinese and Japanese are different. :p

It's like saying Jackie Chan Adventures is an anime wannabe despite the fact the only time they involve the Japanese is during the Oni Mask series (and just because it has Japanese culture, doesn't mean it's anime inspired)

[Duke]

Hyper Team Monkey Force isn't anime either, it's very American in terms of the style, comedy, and feel of the show.
SRMTHFG has a lot of anime influences, the foremost of which is Android Kikaider (Chiro is almost an exact copy of Jiro from that series, sans guitar).

[Ben]

You forgot all the Saturday toons on Nickelodeon.

I deliberately left out cable, whose reach in terms of households is still dwarfed by that of the networks. But as Karl pointed out, cable is not the bastion of lucrative American animation you make it out to be either.


Plus you are looking at quantitity over quality; like the same show airing back to back. You have to look at the shows themselves.

Why should I? We're talking about money, and money doesn't care about the shows themselves. Money is the ultimate quantitative factor. The fact of the matter is that every Digimon rerun is a missed chance for American production companies, which could've made residuals off that time. If American shows all pulled in enough audience (or were cheap enough) to show twice they would be. Instead, though, networks chose to fill it up with product from Japan.


Avatar isn't really anything like those shows... unless you mean to say it has a kid as a main hero like Dragonball does, which Dragonball didn't start so it doesn't mean anything. If anything, Avatar is based off those old Chinese folk legends (since it has Chinese culture and writing in it) And last I checked, the Chinese and Japanese are different. :p

Dragon Ball is also based on an old Chinese legend, and you can't look at me seriously and say that the average 10 year-old is really going to be able to detect the difference between an animated retelling of a Japanese adaptation of a Chinese story and an American animated retelling of a Chinese story. Anime is what made Chinese characters and "Asian Flavor" cool, and Avatar is looking to cash in.


It's like saying Jackie Chan Adventures is an anime wannabe despite the fact the only time they involve the Japanese is during the Oni Mask series (and just because it has Japanese culture, doesn't mean it's anime inspired)

No, Jackie Chan is set in the US and has no stylistic similarities to anime or Asian-ish settings. Avatar will make constant reference to its Asian origins. The two examples are completely different.

[Mynd Hed]

But...Canada is part of America...

Canada: America's Hat.

[Pepperidge]

But...Canada is part of America... BAN HIM.

Anyway, I always felt that American funding supports the overinflation of the anime market. There are just too many shows being produced, most of which air in the wee hours of the morning in Japan, meaning they attract a limited audience in their home market. A limited audience that can only watch so many shows with limited action choreography and sexualized 11 year olds in one season. Personally, I'm hoping that the current Japanese industry DOES collapse so we can be rid of the abundance of studios producing all of this garbage and basically relying on American profits to survive.

However, it works fairly well when the production is actually made for a mainstream audience and aired in primetime so it can be truly successful in both markets. We need more Kaleido Stars and Eureka 7s and less DICEs and... whatever the hell crappy porn game based harem show Geneon is funding now.

[Ben]

BAN HIM.

Why? Canada is part of America, along with Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Panama, and a whole bunch of other places. The United States is the country.

I think this calls for a change in sig...

[Weatherman]

BAN HIM.

Anyway, I always felt that American funding supports the overinflation of the anime market. There are just too many shows being produced, most of which air in the wee hours of the morning in Japan, meaning they attract a limited audience in their home market. A limited audience that can only watch so many shows with limited action choreography and sexualized 11 year olds in one season. Personally, I'm hoping that the current Japanese industry DOES collapse so we can be rid of the abundance of studios producing all of this garbage and basically relying on American profits to survive.

However, it works fairly well when the production is actually made for a mainstream audience and aired in primetime so it can be truly successful in both markets. We need more Kaleido Stars and Eureka 7s and less DICEs and... whatever the hell crappy porn game based harem show Geneon is funding now.
Umm, most of the American money is going to the best of the best productions. Most of those really creepy lolicon shows are done mostly with Japanese money. I just don't see too many A,erican companies looking to wotk with MOE and their ilk any time soon.

And for every Ikki Tossen GeneonUSA funds, they fund a Texhnolyze as well.

[Hordesman]

I deliberately left out cable, whose reach in terms of households is still dwarfed by that of the networks. But as Karl pointed out, cable is not the bastion of lucrative American animation you make it out to be either.
Cable is a good testing ground for merchandise-driven shows, though. A family with cable access means disposable income that can lead to regular toy sales. (Same goes for straight-to-video Strawberry Shortcake) Most every merchandised show plays on both cable and the networks.

[William C. Maune]

Cable is a good testing ground for merchandise-driven shows, though. A family with cable access means disposable income that can lead to regular toy sales. (Same goes for straight-to-video Strawberry Shortcake) Most every merchandised show plays on both cable and the networks.

However, cable is a hard comparison for another reason. The example earlier in the thread dealt with Saturday mornings. The major networks put their kids stuff here because other slots are committed to other things. Cable however, being a much newer broadcasting tool, isn't tied to programming structure in the same way as the networks. What may be comparable to a broadcast network's Saturday morning block may not air on Saturday mornings on cable.

[Gokou Ruri]

SRMTHFG has a lot of anime influences, the foremost of which is Android Kikaider (Chiro is almost an exact copy of Jiro from that series, sans guitar).
I was mainly refering to the art, animation, and comedy aspects of the show, not homages.. Homages can be played across cultures and have the show still keep their own style (God knows how many DBZ, Pokemon, and Godzilla homages we see in Kids Next Door, ReBoot, or Drawn Together). Sure it has some, but it's like calling Megas XLR an "anime rip off" because it has a Harlock or Sailor Moon parody when it still keeps the American form of art, animation, and style.

That's why Teen Titans is the only real "anime rip off" out there right now because it copies the Japanese anime style of art, facial expressions, and comedy while mixing it with American brands.



Dragon Ball is also based on an old Chinese legend, and you can't look at me seriously and say that the average 10 year-old is really going to be able to detect the difference between an animated retelling of a Japanese adaptation of a Chinese story and an American animated retelling of a Chinese story. Anime is what made Chinese characters and "Asian Flavor" cool, and Avatar is looking to cash in.


That's not really fair to say that it should be lumped in the 'anime rip off' catagory because some kids won't know the difference.

[Artimus Gigan]

How the hell is TT a rip off? A rip-off implies that it takes directly from the popular source with only minor changes. There is no anime like Teen Titans, the animation style isn't even a rip-off, it takes half from japan and half from america(just not the canadian parts) and blends it...

[lostrune]

Disney already owns the right to Ghibli, and for all we know may own them outright once Ghibli organizes a new deal,
Nope. Miyazaki has no respect for Disney Corp as a company. No way he'd ally Ghibli to Disney. He only agreed to the Tokuma-Disney deal because his friend's Tokuma needed the money, and Disney guaranteed no cuts. Other than that, he had nothing to say about Disney Corp in the press conference.




Hyper Team Monkey Force isn't anime either, it's very American in terms of the style, comedy, and feel of the show.
Actually, Monkey Force is American, but the character reactions and comedic timing is very Japanese-influenced. That's because its storyboarding is even done in Japan. That's right - even its storyboarding is shipped abroad now too.




W.I.T.C.H is based on an Itallian comic, so it's not anime influenced;
Well, not anime per se, but manga. Manga is even bigger in Europe than the US. Though they admit the influence, some do appreciate Barbucci and Canepa's style over too much manga influence on W.I.T.C.H.. An excerpt from Prince Kido's post (http://forum.aceboard.net/p-931-3468-61945-1.htm) in a French forum translated here (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?p=1626895#post1626895):



I will do my best, as best that I can to awnser the questions of Bloubilou & Co.
Currently Working at studio SIP animation On the future Jetix/Hasbro series A.T.O.M., I find myself 2 floors from the production of W.I.T.C.H. Upon wich are working a few of my old colleagues from Tarzan, Passiflores, Bécassine, l'Odyssée, du CFT Gobelins...etc ( The World of Animation is a small one!!!).

Having a style close to Disnye's and certain Mangas, and being a fan of Barbucci and Canepa and by extention of Witch, evrybody saw ma as working on the Character designs (Since that's my speciality) However the ex-studio Saban and now SIP animation did not think of me in the immediate, quel dommage! But 1 year ago the studio remembers a work that I did and contacts me to work on the production of the secondary characters! Being a little fearful of the animated adaption of this Adorable Comic Book, but needing none the less to work, I go to the meeting so they can show me the Graphic Bible as well as a sort of a semi-prototype of a pilot episode.

To my great surprise the proto-pilot is wonderful and respects the look and ambiance of Witch, Then I discover the graphic Bible, Line art of all the principal characters, and it is So the drama(lol).
In spite of the undeniable technical graphic quality, The Characters have been very "Mangafied" in order to give the series an animation that's more in Vogue, and to try to enlarge the target audience to include adults or at the very least teenagers. I do not hide my dissapointment, and unfortunatly for me at that time....

In the end, I'm not a big fan of the final version, with certain exceptions of Ideas and settings, But the Witch girls are way too Mangafied for my taste. It's a shame, the charm has vanished, snif!



Anyways, here's a Japanese article I've cited before about funding in anime:



"Japanese animation in danger." (http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=kuchikomi&id=294)

It is reported that some 60% of the world's TV cartoons are Japanese productions, including such popular series as "Pokemon" and "Dragonball."

Shuhei Kishimoto, a consulting fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, however, expresses serious misgivings about the future of this industry in "Japanese Animation Will Decline If Nothing Is Changed" (Chuo Koron).

Kishimoto exposes the exploitation of the creators of program contents, who work as subcontractors, by the television and movie companies handling the distribution of the finished products.

In order for this content business to develop into a strategic industry, he believes, fair competition must be ensured through application of the Antimonopoly Law, and an environment in which animation producers can raise capital on their own must be brought into being.

According to Kishimoto, the production companies — mostly small businesses — are not told how much the program sponsors are spending for commercials. In the case of a 30-minute animated program for terrestrial TV broadcast, they will be provided only with a budgeted amount in the 8 million yen to 12 million yen range, which is not enough to cover the production cost. They rely on royalties from the sale of related goods and proceeds from overseas distribution to break even.

There are some favorable signs on the horizon, though. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is to set up an office to look into fair trade in the media content industry in April, and major commercial banks are considering taking intellectual property into account when extending loans.

But there are many issues still to be addressed, such as the absence of provisions for intellectual property in the Trust Business Law, which is holding back the creation of fund-raising schemes. (Foreign Press Center)

[Weatherman]

Nope. Miyazaki has no respect for Disney Corp as a company. No way he'd ally Ghibli to Disney. He only agreed to the Tokuma-Disney deal because his friend's Tokuma needed the money, and Disney guaranteed no cuts. Other than that, he had nothing to say about Disney Corp in the press conference.

Anyways, here's a Japanese article I've cited before about funding in anime:
Ahh, I see. So who would he chose to distribute Ghibli films in the US? Somehow I don't see him doign a deal with Fox given the shabby treatment Fox gave Totoro way back when, and the only other real option is Dreamworks. I guess he could go with Dreamworks, but Disney just seems a better fit for the Ghibli products. If not a merger, then maybe just an outright distribution deal or something like that.

Or maybe he'll just sell it to John Lasetter.



Nice article. I know Japanese animators don't get paid worth jack for what they do. I make as much in my temping position right now as they do.

[lostrune]

Nope. Miyazaki has no respect for Disney Corp as a company. No way he'd ally Ghibli to Disney. He only agreed to the Tokuma-Disney deal because his friend's Tokuma needed the money, and Disney guaranteed no cuts. Other than that, he had nothing to say about Disney Corp in the press conference.
Ahh, I see. So who would he chose to distribute Ghibli films in the US?
If Miyazaki had his way, no one. He couldn't care less about the US. :p




Nice article. I know Japanese animators don't get paid worth jack for what they do. I make as much in my temping position right now as they do.
Though now even in Japan, their own productions are getting too expensive for their meager budgets. That's why they're outsourcing the grunt work more and more to cheaper Asian countries. Kinda like America's "run-away production" decades ago.

[Weatherman]

Tweening's been outsourced to Korea since the beginings of the medium. It's just been of late that even more of it's been sent over, sometimes ever whole shows. I think DR Movie is looking to get into the production side at some point. As for the budgets, well, that to me is more a function of trying to squeeze blood from a stone in an effort to bost their profit margins again, but that's just my opinion.


I don't think Miyazaki dooesn't care about the US market seeing as John Lasetter is one of his best friends, but you are right in that he probably doesn't care if his stuff really gets a big push or not. He's very much focused on the Japanese market.

[Conan-san]

A tad late, I meen, Dogatain and the muskahounds, anyone? (UK-Japan)

[Dark Fact]

If Miyazaki had his way, no one. He couldn't care less about the US.

Is this because he just flat out doesn't care about the US or is it because he holds a massive grudge against Carl Macek after getting pulled a fast one?

If the anime industry were to collapse, it could mean the end of commercial anime productions for years to come but not the end of the anime practice. Influential manga artists could always find a way. :)

[lostrune]

I don't think Miyazaki dooesn't care about the US market seeing as John Lasetter is one of his best friends, but you are right in that he probably doesn't care if his stuff really gets a big push or not. He's very much focused on the Japanese market.
Yep, Miyazaki pretty much only cares about Japan. Just because he has friends elsewhere doesn't mean he'll care about his friends' markets. Though now that he knows Lasseter and some good people are taking care of his films abroad, he probably doesn't mind receiving the extra money from abroad.



Is this because he just flat out doesn't care about the US or is it because he holds a massive grudge against Carl Macek after getting pulled a fast one?
If you're talking about the Nausicaa-hack Warriors fo the Wind, that was done by New World Video, not Unca Carl.

[Weatherman]

Yeah, Carl's babys are Robotech and Lady Death.


Miyazaki will sign a deal with someone, even if the studio manages to remain independant. I just see him more or less piggybacking on whatever deal Pixar signs with whomever they sign with.

[Dark Fact]

I thought Streamline pictures owned the Ghibli franchise during the 80's!