The State of the Anime World 2004

	The State of the Anime World 2004:

The Good Stuff:

Fans coming into the hobby right now can hit the ground running--if they can stand VHS. OK, so VHS is no longer in fashion. It doesn't look as good as DVD, no question. But look at the selection you can get at RightStuf for 99 cents right now! We're not talking just about no-name OVAs; we're talking about seriously popular titles like Rurouni Kenshin. They will eventually sell out, and there won't be more coming, since VHS is all but dead in terms of new production. But head to any Half Price Books and you'll find a healthy selection of used anime tapes at basement prices. Many folks have justified piracy based on anime being too expensive...but that answer is out the window. The exact title you want might cost money, but if you are looking to sample the whole of the anime world, it's cheaper than any other hobby I can think of. Until the flood of virtually free tapes ends, ride the wave, baby.

NetFlix is the poor otaku's dream. So much for having to afford a huge series on DVD! With its friendly service and reasonable $20 price point, NetFlix is the perfect way to get anime that might not be worth buying but that's worth seeing. With their growing commitment to stocking entire series and making them easy to place an entire run as a group into your "queue", it's a great solution to the money problems. Let's face it, you can rent six or more discs a month for the same cost it would take to buy just one. It's a good bargain that's much more reliable than the corner video store that carries maybe ten anime DVDs total. And if you do like a series enough to invest in the discs, by the time you've rented them all, the show will likely be at a lower price point. Once again, you win.

TV series are here to stay. There has been a sea of change in the thinking about television shows. Back when VHS was king, the thought was that movies and OVAs were the best way to go. Who would buy an entire television series, especially released two episodes a tape like Evangelion was? It took up too much space and cost too much money for anything but the very best shows. DVD has changed all of that. Now, the realization comes that a fan of a movie will only buy one disc, but a fan of a TV show might buy six discs spread out over the course of a year. Combine that with much lower production costs for DVDs, growing placement on TV, and the ability to pack in lots of bonus content, and what do you get? Instant job security for the distributors! It's still expensive to buy TV series, which is a concern for many of us. However, the patient can usually get significant savings on boxed sets and package deals. At any rate, the market for anime TV shows is now significantly greater than that for films, which is a relatively new development.

BitTorrent and its ilk are the future--if fans will stop sharing illegally. I'm strongly against Bit Torrent as a way to illegally trade licensed shows. The growing number of rips from US releases showing up on warez sites and Kazaa could cause an eventual crackdown that would stifle all file-sharing...which is a development I can only hope won't happen. That's because BitTorrent is inspired. As a tool for sharing files, I don't know of its equal. The anime community has really grown to love it and support it, and now it provides said community with material it would never see otherwise. The aforementioned Anne of Green Gables is as likely to get an official US release as Ben Stiller becoming president. But because of BitTorrent, I was able to get the entire series quickly and easily.

For a couple of years now, digisubs have replaced VHS tapes as the traders' medium of choice, and BitTorrent is the perfect distribution method. It also dispenses with the most suspect part of fansubbing--money trading hands for illegal tapes sent in return. Is file sharing like this legal? Under the exacting scrutiny of current copyright law, no. But the companies involved both in America and Japan have turned a blind eye to it, giving tacit acceptance to the sharing of unlicensed shows. It's much like bands like Phish giving fans permission to tape live shows as long as they don't profit from them. It is thus incredibly important for the anime community to combat piracy--the sharing of properties with US distributors--by discouraging it at every turn and reporting breaches to the companies who are affected. And as painful as it is, if you own a fansub of a show available in the US, unless you own a copy of the American release, you are obligated to destroy it. The more you support the growth of anime, the less expensive it will be for everyone.