Getting past "The Anime Industry Is Doomed"

[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2237/3542187655_b5bece02c5_m.jpg Okay. We get it. We all know the anime industry isn't doing so well. Here's just one example. The sales of Japanese animation DVDs for general audiences was...91.2% of the sales in the same period last year. This is the latest annual drop in the segment; sales in the first half of 2008 had been 88.1% of the sales in the first half of 2007. So what?

How can the industry get better? We want a healthy industry, so we can continue getting anime.

(In case you're thinking you'll always be able to get torrents or streams of fansubs:  if the Japanese decide to clamp down on that because they're losing money, that stuff will dry up.  Fansubs are tolerated because anime makes money in America, and the Japanese don't want to disturb the money-making machine.)

How does any market survive? Money.

But even money-rich markets collapse (housing market, anyone?). The money needs to flow into the right pockets. Which means that the creators need to get paid.

How do the creators get paid?

You may not like hearing this. But it's true:  DVD sales.

To explain, I'll need to shift my explanation a bit.

''Imagine you're a Japanese guy, working in the anime industry. How will you get hired onto your next project? What will your potential employer look at to determine whether to hire you? Your hair style? The size of your shoes? No.''

''That's right: your previous work. What shows did you work on? How well did they do?''

Take your favorite director. He's going to need to pitch a show, and get investors to pay big sums of money to fund a show. Why will they give him money if his shows don't make any?

DVD sales are where it's at. That's the key. If the show sells a lot of DVDs, the creators get the thumbs-up.

What about merchandise?, you may be asking. I buy lots of pins and artbooks! Well, unfortunately, merchandise tends to pass through a lot of third parties. Someone has to actually make the pins/publish the books/sculpt the figurines. They take their cut. Moreover, merchandise deals tend to be separate from actual show deals (this is why George Lucas is so well-off; he took a pay cut on his directing fees for the first Star Wars film and instead got paid in ticket sales and merchandising). So, while merch sometimes helps the creators and artists, it often doesn't, and when it does, the effect is muted. They don't get much of a cut.

We need to buy DVDs. We need to support these shows.

Cause it's getting darned cheap. Amazon's Anime section has incredibly low prices. Cowboy Bebop Remix volume 1: US $3 new. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa: $7 new. Heck, the second Bleach movie--released a week ago as of this writing--is only $20. That's a third off when the disc's only a week old.

(Don't want to support Amazon?  It's $22.44 at RightStuf.com.)

'''Buy the DVDs. Buy the DVDs.'''

Am I getting through? ;-)