So apparently there is great hope, everything will be fine! Oh wait, looks like it won't....
It looks like the Japanese have finally figured out, or at least acknowledged that the "anime bubble" has indeed burst. Of course what leaps to mind first is that with the worldwide economy in the toilet, most people can't buy fifty dollar R2 DVD's. Still the writing has been on the wall for years now, at least in the R1 market while the Japanese remained stagnant.
Most R1 fans don't realize how much a company like Geneon, Funimation, Bandai, or even ADV had to pay for one episode of a normal twenty-six episode series. That doesn't excuse them from having terrible business practices, but the license holders sure saw a lucrative opportunity. Soon companies like Kadokawa started to cut out the middle man and just subcontract their titles themselves. Cut to now with series like the new FMA being streamed worldwide within a day of its airing, and you'll see that we anime fans are still just a big dart board. Some lucky company is hoping they hit the financial bulls eye with whatever tactic stops the hemorrhaging of money.
The real problem with R1 anime has always been the price. It was and still is hard to convince people to buy a series for full price almost a year later. I used to buy a lot, but I've also had plenty of other friends who would purposely torrent or stream, simply to piss off "the man". Add in the fact that most anime fans are from the range of "tweens" to college students and you don't have much money if at all to go around. As a buyer with a limited income I know that I was always a picky bastard when it came to anime.
There was simply no way I would put down the 120$ or so for a series that I had never seen before. That's the real reason why the R1 market has become stagnant. So while you won't hear anyone talking about:
- Insane licensing costs
- Archaic media rights usage
- Deliberately shitty source material
You'll hear them blaming it all on people who download rips or download fansubs. While you'd be an idiot not to realize that they have contributed towards the "bubble burst", there are many more factors to look at. The key for the Japanese animation industry is what the very article mentions. They need to get back to the trite and true phrase of "quality over quantity". You almost have no R1 market for licenses anymore, you're streaming shows, why not take a little extra time and try to make everything a Toradora?
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