Hey guys Justin here welcome to another edition of the Otaku Mind. I apologize for the late post I originally meant to post this earlier in the week but it got sidelined to handle some other issues going on in my life. Anyway this I’m going to be responding to the recent of Hideaki Anno. Now for those of you who don’t know about two weeks ago Hideaki Anno, the creator of Evangelion did an interview with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Where in that interview Anno said that the anime industry as we know it will end in the next 5 to 20 years. He says that the anime industry has reached its peak and that the only thing left for it is its untimely death. Wow this is some pretty unsettling news and to hear it actually come from the guy who created one of the most influential animes of all time it’s pretty scary. So is Anno right, is the anime industry doom to die like so many other things before it? Well let’s take a deeper look into this statement.
Article here: http://kotaku.com/evangelion-creator-predicts-the-death-of-anime-1706738732
What does Anno mean by the death of the anime industry
Now when Anno says the death of the anime industry he doesn’t mean that anime is gonna just up and disappear on us. That would be crazy. He just means that Japan won’t be the leader in animation as it has been because of its lack of interesting films and shows. Anno goes into how other Asian countries are getting richer and making their own animation and how their animation is slowly but surely surpassing the Japanese animation because they’re more passionate about their work.
Does this hold up
Yes. Asian countries are getting richer and exploring animation more. It also doesn’t help that animators in Japan have a low income. Yeah you would think animators would be getting paid more but in truth they all have pretty low income. Another contributing factor is that the animes we see today really don’t stun us as much as they did in the past. In the past we had pretty amazing animes that were groundbreaking. Animes like Cowboy Bebop, FMA, Death Note, Trigun, and many more all stunned us when we first saw them. But today’s anime really doesn’t have that much hype as the anime in the past. A reason for this is mostly because viewers have gotten smarter. In the past nobody really explored the Japanese culture but as time went on and anime continued to grow we actually took the initiative to explore and study the Japanese culture and become more familiar in what we would like and want to see. When I was young and first watched Naruto I thought it was the best anime out there. But as I got older and started to look more into the series I began to see just how bad the anime was and all the mistakes it made. But then again anime has always been subjective. Believe it or not for every anime I’ve reviewed and liked I’ve met someone who doesn’t like it and vice versa. That means I’ve met people out there who actually like Ikkitousen. Does that mean these people have bad taste? No. It just means they’re crazy and should seek help immediately. Kidding. I’m kidding. It just means that they found something that they liked about this anime. Something that I probably couldn’t see or find. Now I’m not gonna say that anime today is bad. Yes, it’s true that there are more duds than gems out there but that’s what makes the gems all the more precious. For example we actually got some very good animes this past season that I consider gems. Animes like Kekkai Sensen, Arslen Senki, Food Wars, Death Parade, Plastic Memories, Assassination Classroom, and DanMachi have all been great animes in my book and are what I consider to be gems.
How can Japan stay on top
Now Anno’s main concern about the death of the anime industry is Japan losing its dominance however I believe that even if this death were to happen Japan can still stay on top if they take the following measure. Give us more creative and invented anime. You’re already on the right track with animes like Kekkai Sensen and Arslen Senki which so far have been my two favorite animes this year. Give us more animes like these two animes. Give fanservice animes more plot and character arcs. I have nothing against fanservice but you can’t just create an anime and have it be nothing but fanservice. Instead give us fanservice animes like To Love Ru, Highschool DxD and Shin Maou no Testament. Fanservice animes with plots, stories, and characters who go through arcs and development. Keep on studying and practicing with CGI. I’ve noticed it’s been appearing in animes a lot as of lately and while I prefer 2-D drawings I’m not against CGI as long as it’s used correctly and you don’t go overboard with it. Finally, take good manga and light novels and adapt them into good anime series. If Japan can do all of these things than there’s no doubt in my mind they’ll stay on top.
Do I think anime has reached its peak
No. I don’t think anime has reached its peak yet. I just think we’re going through a drought of gems and duds. We still have some good ground breaking anime out there like Attack on Titan, Kill La Kill, and many more but they’re just harder to point out and find. Not all animes are duds or gems. Sometimes we get a few anime in-between that use an idea that’s already been done before and do something new that makes the idea better, more enjoyable, or goes beyond our expectations. I didn’t think DanMachi was going to be one of my favorite animes this season. I honestly thought it was gonna be your typical harem anime mixed with RPG elements. Instead it’s a great story mixed with likable characters and awesome fight scenes.
Do I think Japan will lose dominance if the death of anime were to happen
No. I still think Japan will keep their dominance they’ll just have to work harder to keep it. Japan still has creative and inventive artist and directors out there that make good stories that we all enjoy. As long as they stay creative and inventive they’ll maintain their dominance in the animation industry for years to come.
Do I think the death of the anime industry will come
Not really. When you really get down to it this is just one man’s opinion on the subject. We’re just looking at his viewpoint instead of the viewpoint of others. I would love to hear what other creators, VAs, directors, and animators think about the anime industry as of right now. A lot of people said years ago that the movie industry was gonna bomb but look at it now it’s stronger than ever. Everybody out there is trying to be like Marvel and we are seeing bigger movies than ever before. Our generation has no idea how lucky they are movie wise. We are so lucky. We got to see two trilogies of The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and are going to see two trilogies of Star Wars. If you would of told me as a kid I was going to live to see two trilogies of Star Wars I would of laughed at you. The future is always uncertain but the one thing I do know is that as long as anime has a fanbase and there are people out there who have passion for it anime will never die and instead inspire more countries to be like it.
Well those are thoughts. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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