Evangelion Creator: "Anime Industry Declining"

[WolfOD64]

Hopefully the new VHD series will revive Gothic, atmospheric anime

According to the animators, they're trying to achieve an art style that can't even be classified as "anime", to attract a wider audience to itself. All I know is both the original author of the novels, as well as Yoshiaki Kawajiri are attached to direct...and Kawajiri gave us some of the best animated works in the history of the medium, including Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Oh, and Taliesin Jaffe, the dub director for a little project you might have heard of called Hellsing Ultimate is working on it as well.

Vampire Hunter D: Resurrection will sprint beyond the mundane mediocrity of modern anime, and I'm counting every milisecond in anticipation.

 

[V]

Language. If you can't say it on TV you can't say it here.

Anyway.

I think you're misunderstanding me. I didn't say that in anime they treat their audiences like they were neutered, I said a lot of these protagonists act like they either aren't allowed to look and like or they act like they have no interest. I've seen one, maybe two where are drooling all fumbling all over themselves just to get a peek but most other shows I've seen, the mainstream, the men are either too shy too look and if anyone even gets suspected of it they can get treated with violence, an overreaction even for comedic purposes, I always thought, and if not then they don't seem interested, like their libido has been surgically removed. If you think about it in a different light why is it that the men never make the move, they always both leave it to the women to act and lead, like they were afraid of women. There is nothing wrong with a guy chatting up a pretty girl or asking his crush out on a date but when is that last time you saw anything along those lines?

The exception to that is, of course, shoujo and josei but josie doesn't often get animated and there aren't a lot of action shoujo that I find that appealing or that I've even become that much of a mainstream hit.

Cultural/expectations. Japan making anime for itself to consume, aiming often at a small market of loyal/expecting fans at that. I'd no more expect anime to cater to non-Japanese expectations than I'd expect Western audiences to drop their allergy to anything but a "space marine" guy as the generic hero type in their movies and games.

Sure, it annoys me too but I don't think it's going to change until Japan gets bored of it. Fortunately, Japan does get bored of certain novelties, and moves on.

 

[berto]

Cultural/expectations. Japan making anime for itself to consume, aiming often at a small market of loyal/expecting fans at that. I'd no more expect anime to cater to non-Japanese expectations than I'd expect Western audiences to drop their allergy to anything but a "space marine" guy as the generic hero type in their movies and games.

Sure, it annoys me too but I don't think it's going to change until Japan gets bored of it. Fortunately, Japan does get bored of certain novelties, and moves on.

All fair points, but at the same time I expect more because I've seen better from those bastards. Japan has made some of the best allegories I have ever seen in my life, imaginative, clever, bold, unique, and not just in anime, so I want to see more of the great I know they can produce.

At the same time I remember a discussion about music and how people often say music is just not as good now as it was before but that's not true. There has alway been crap music, always, we just weed out all of the bad and the good stands as the representation of each era so the same is probably true about anime and manga.

 

[BLACKSWIPE]

All of these gifs are found on Tumblr. Just some food for thought.

 

[WolfOD64]

@BLACKSWIPE That is true. That is completely true.
I remember how much controversy shattered the anime industry when Miyazaki said that, but I can't help but agree with him. Most of the real legends of the industry have turned their back on it, with the exception of people like Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who're still holding onto hope that they can still make genuinely good and tasteful experiences in animation.

 

[ROCKMAN X]

All of these gifs are found on Tumblr. Just some food for thought.

LOL i don't think miyazaki ever said that.

 

[BLACKSWIPE]

@BLACKSWIPE That is true. That is completely true.
I remember how much controversy shattered the anime industry when Miyazaki said that, but I can't help but agree with him. Most of the real legends of the industry have turned their back on it, with the exception of people like Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who're still holding onto hope that they can still make genuinely good and tasteful experiences in animation.

I don't know man if the anime industry will ever grow out of the "sexual young girl" fad, considering how degenerate otakus only seem to grow in numbers each year. Who knows when anime will ever recover as a medium.

 

[BLACKSWIPE]

Well what can anyone do if it has a growing audience, after all anime isn't targeted towards children only as i'm sure sexual content isn't the only genre in the anime industry.

And just because someone finds a particular genre appealing doesn't make them any more of a degenerate then the next who has interests in a different anime category.

The appeal has shifted so why blame/belittle the audience for their lack of interest other genre & not those working in a particular genre who lost the audience's attention in the first place.

This may sound like a bit of a derogatory thing to say, but sexualizing children most definitely makes you a degenerate. Both the fans and those who pander to those sorts of people. Also, I don't get that last bit? We should blame people who make quality anime/manga for not holding the attention of those who sexualize children?

 

[Stylish Nero]

All of these gifs are found on Tumblr. Just some food for thought.

Eww




As for Miyazaki, he has a point but I'm not the type to criticize people who finds this type of stuff........entertaining. However, I put blame on the developers and head honchos in the Japanese animation industry who primarily panders to this audience (because most of Japan are losing interest in the medium outside some enthusiast and otakus).

Granted I do enjoy watching overly cutesy animu characters get slaughtered in very gory ways (I only just watch Another just to see that). I'm not the type to adore extreme case of violence in other mediums like film and video games. I just enjoy watching cute stuff stop being cute and those types of anime characters (you know those LuckyStar motherf......) kinda hurts my eyes when I have to look at them and kill my ears when I have to hear them.

 

[BLACKSWIPE]

Eww




As for Miyazaki, he has a point but I'm not the type to criticize people who finds this type of stuff........entertaining. However, I put blame on the developers and head honchos in the Japanese animation industry who primarily panders to this audience (because most of Japan are losing interest in the medium outside some enthusiast and otakus).

Granted I do enjoy watching overly cutesy animu characters get slaughtered in very gory ways (I only just watch Another just to see that). I'm not the type to adore extreme case of violence in other mediums like film and video games. I just enjoy watching cute stuff stop being cute and those types of anime characters (you know those LuckyStar motherf......) kinda hurts my eyes when I have to look at them and kill my ears when I have to hear them.

Watching cutesy things being cutesy is completely different, than- a cutesy character obviously intended to look like a child, who's so very conveniently fallen over to expose her panties. I had a good laugh back in 2007 over Lucky Star, no harm there. Weren't the girls in LS like, 17-18?

 

[Stylish Nero]

Watching cutesy things being cutesy is completely different, than- a cutesy character obviously intended to look like a child, who's so very conveniently fallen over to expose her panties. I had a good laugh back in 2007 over Lucky Star, no harm there. Weren't the girls in LS like, 17-18?

Still don't care I hated looking at it regardless of age of the characters.

 

[BLACKSWIPE]

Still don't care I hated looking at it regardless of age of the characters.

Agreed. I can't handle the overly cutesy stuff myself, especially the voices. Oh god, the voices.

 

[ROCKMAN X]

(because most of Japan are losing interest in the medium outside some enthusiast and otakus).

Seriously why is this even a problem? they just need to make high quality Anime! or better yet why not switch to CGI? anything&everything should be done to promote creativity&productivity instead of stagnation&creative bankruptcy.

 

[Stylish Nero]

Seriously why is this even a problem? they just need to make high quality Anime! or better yet why not switch to CGI? anything&everything should be done to promote creativity&productivity instead of stagnation&creative bankruptcy.

One factor is the fact less and less children are being born and with a declining youth population (the main audience usually for anime even in Japan) and the fact due to some cultural issues more men in Japan are becoming basement dwelling body pillow loving otakus giving rise to a larger otaku fanbase and those that don't become otakus usually aren't interested in anime. You'll be surprised by how much Japanese people DON'T watch anime only like less than 25% of the population watches it on a regular basis. Even in Japan it is viewed as a childish medium like in the US. Furthermore of that 25% that watches it about half to one third of them are hardcore otakus.

Plus high budget costs for anime and yet a small audience for it in Japan makes more animation development studio want to takes less risks and try to appeal to the largest demographic they can find (otaku or non otaku).

Basically anime can't be sustained as a creative, high budget medium anymore in a country like Japan. It happened before in the 80s-90s after various anime movie bombs like Akira that had massive budgets and quality art and animation they soon had to scope it down a bit to scale that it can work with in Japan and later develop new cheaper and flashier ways to present anime television series on a lower budget and rely more well know properties like licensed manga (usually), video games, light novels, and more.

The only way anime (at this moment) can survive as a quality medium is if focus of targeted demographics shifts away from Japan and to international markets like what Hollywood has now become.

 

[BLACKSWIPE]

One factor is the fact less and less children are being born and with a declining youth population (the main audience usually for anime even in Japan) and the fact due to some cultural issues more men in Japan are becoming basement dwelling body pillow loving otakus giving rise to a larger otaku fanbase and those that don't become otakus usually aren't interested in anime. You'll be surprised by how much Japanese people DON'T watch anime only like less than 25% of the population watches it on a regular basis. Even in Japan it is viewed as a childish medium like in the US. Furthermore of that 25% that watches it about half to one third of them are hardcore otakus.

Plus high budget costs for anime and yet a small audience for it in Japan makes more animation development studio want to takes less risks and try to appeal to the largest demographic they can find (otaku or non otaku).

Basically anime can't be sustained as a creative, high budget medium anymore in a country like Japan. It happened before in the 80s-90s after various anime movie bombs like Akira that had massive budgets and quality art and animation they soon had to scope it down a bit to scale that it can work with in Japan and later develop new cheaper and flashier ways to present anime television series on a lower budget and rely more well know properties like licensed manga (usually), video games, light novels, and more.

The only way anime (at this moment) can survive as a quality medium is if focus of targeted demographics shifts away from Japan and to international markets like what Hollywood has now become.

Interestingly enough Manga is consumed like hotcakes there. There's actual profit to be made in serializing manga talent, rather than pumping out an animated rom-com then charging a billion yen for the bluray/dvd.