By TheBigN
With all of the troubles that the global economy has been going through recently, is there going to be a considerable impact on the anime industry as a whole? On the American side of things, does it make it harder for companies that seem to have troubles like ADV? How would the anime industry in other areas be affected, if at all? Can it really get bad? Does anyone know? Does anyone really know what time it is? Does anyone really care (…ABOUT TIIIME)?
I guess this is what happens when things are a little off-kilter.
TheBigN
nomadotto
dm00
Well even Japan is heading into a recession, so the anime industry will be getting cautious too I reckon. Overseas anime market will take a bigger hit because the overseas market is skewered towards a younger age (LOLZ@kids still in school who won’t be getting pocket money from broke parents), whereas domestically in Japan the otaku market has been proven to be much less affected by economic conditions. Indeed, it was once said that otaku spending (not just anime mind you, but everything “geeky” like electronics and games) was what made up the majority of the consumer spending in Japan (the other big spender being young women). So aiming for short term gains/returns in light of worsening conditions, otaku-targeting products that has the domestic market in mind first and foremost will no doubt be the central focus for turning in quick bucks. The other is that you would find less work targeting the Western market as profit in those areas takes a massive dip, and more positioning towards the other Asian market as economic conditions are better there, as well as being more culturally compatible.
So brace for more moe/VN adaptations and less action/gore I guess?
Of course there’s going to be a considerable impact. With all that’s going on, people will be less and less inclined to spend money on luxury items such as DVDs and books. Also, because of the rising costs, prices are going up - people tell me that manga is already more expensive in Japan than it used to be even two years ago.
I don’t know about the US but I know that the reason I haven’t bought anything recently from Japan or the US is that at the moment my currency is worth crap and it doesn’t show any signs of getting better.
The Beeb’s business reporter was suggesting last night that Japan might weather this particular business better than the Anglo-Saxon economies. Not sure how reliable that is.
As far as the UK industry goes, ADV here is already dead (distributing thro’ a proxy now, I believe) but my knowledge doesn’t really extend far beyond that . . .
But isn’t the entertainment industry historically known to be recession-proof? I think the diehard people who buy (anime) DVDs would continue to buy them, regardless. Besides, aren’t all of the US companies now trying to be more conscious of the average anime buyer’s budget, with all their thinpaks and multi-DVD bundles.
(Sorry, just playing devil’s advocate, as usual.)
Not really, cheap season box sets are there for mostly two reasons:
1.) they are trying to make their products attractive even to mainstream consumers, those that are used to buying a whole TV season for $20
2.) anime consumers in the U.S. had been spoiled by cheapening DVD prices; this is part of natural progression
The problem I see is that the American anime industry can’t significantly benefit from die-hard fans in times of economic strain because their prices aren’t set high enough. So yeah, now that consumers are feeling insecure about the economy, I believe that the upcoming depression might strike additional blows to core anime industry powerhouses such as FUNimation.
All I can say is, if McCain gets into office, GG, economy.
What the impact will be is up to us to speculate. But we all have to derive our predictions based on the same roots and that is the fact that it is going to be harder for companies to borrow money from banks.
So what is going to happen? I dunno lol. There are too many factors out there so I am just going to observe a bit longer before making a claim.
Flavor Flav ALWAYS knows what time it is.
houkoholic: The moe/VN adaptations are the ones that get the most income?
kuromitsu: This is the angle that I’m paying attention to: as anime is more of a hobby than a necessity, what changes in spending will occur?
IKnight: Given what others have commented, the BBC might be right there. Though proof would be helpful. :3
Anna: Well, how much of the usual revenue comes from the hardcore fans?
Miha: It will be interesting to see how FUNimation handles things, since that might be a sign as to how well the US anime industry can cope with this.
Panther: Trends suggest that Obama would get in, and the economy factors in to this. We’ll see what happens in the future as well.
Sojourner: This is why I do the asking and not the answering. Because I don’t know jack when all is concerned.
TreeFrog: With a clock that large, I would be surprised if he did. I wonder if he’s beaten people with it.
Oh. I have one answer. Parents are going to slap their kids for ordering that overpriced R1 DVD set through Amazon.
It shouldn’t be that bad, with all the world leaders, financial leaders, central banks etc taking action, though in the United States anime will definitely take a severe blow. However in other countries e.g. Australia, Japan etc the anime industry should be still fine…aside from drops in profits as people tighten their belts.
In the current climate, I have a really hard time justifying any purchase, especially otaku stuff. I’ve narrowed it down to a robot-only diet: I just bought Super Robot Wars Z and I intend for it to last me a few months, at the very least. And then I splurged on an Ideon figure, because if the end of the universe is really coming, there’s no home decoration more appropriate.