The State of the Anime World 2004

	The State of the Anime World 2004:

The Bad Stuff:

With the glut of anime on the market and more coming out in droves, it will still be possible to have an overall knowledge of anime, but it will be impossible to see (let alone collect) everything available. Back when Streamline Pictures was the only anime distributor around, it was not only possible but also feasible to own every anime title on the US market. Today, there are more releases in a week than we saw in an entire year just a decade ago. Although the staff at an anime magazine might be able to watch most of what comes out, it would take the better part of a 40-hour week many times throughout the year to get through all the new releases. Even the amazing Chris Beveridge over at AnimeOnDVD.com, known at one time for purchasing every disc released, has started farming out discs to other reviewers to make sure all the latest titles get coverage. The good news is that fans of specific genres of anime will have even more to watch than ever before. The bad news is that those of us who attempt to follow everything in the anime world will have to be content with knowing that our hobby has gained massive popularity without seeing every last minute available.

With all the new releases, there's still an amazing amount of junk. My job as anime reviewer is certainly safe for the foreseeable future, which in some ways great and other ways disappointing. I would rather see less anime on the shelves but all of it high quality. This isn't going to happen, but it is my wish. There's always room for opinion and interpretation, of course, but with the tsunami of anime reaching the West, a good chunk of it is stunningly terrible by any standard. Part of this is due to the whole licensing game. Bad anime doesn't do well in Japan either; to make up for their losses, the Japanese filmmakers are willing to try and recoup their costs through making the shows available at attractive prices to distributors. Even truly awful anime like Ninja Resurrection can wind up making a significant profit for the US distributors, more so than some brilliant series that are hard to market. The one bright spot is that the stream of bad one-shot OVAs has slowed down, giving an old reviewer some comfort.

Fandom is irrelevant and dangerous. Long live fandom! Now there are some people who will scream and holler at this statement. It's true that fandom is alive and well and being paraded out at a cosplay contest somewhere in the country this (and every other) weekend. And what's more, fandom has done some incredible things in the past. It's gotten companies to realize that a DVD must be both subbed and dubbed, period. It's fought for the integrity of programs, making the slash-and-burn editing of the past virtually unheard of today. And without it over the last twenty years, you wouldn't have anime today.

That being said, fandom is doing a lot more harm than good now. Outcry from fandom over the placement of openings and closings on every episode of Kimagure Orange Road, an issue I find virtually meaningless, led AnimEigo to a costly decision that will keep it in the boutique niche for the time being, and perhaps permanently. Otaku subbers still insist on making available shows like the new Ghost in the Shell series even though they are a lock for US distribution. The embarrassing actions of a small minority of cosplayers often make for conventions that are frustrating rather than exhilarating, and poorly run and organized events tend to push away fans rather than drawing them in. Obsessive aficionados complain loudly to networks that edit insignificant adult content out of shows, even though those networks are doing a wonderful service for the cause. The list of abuses go on and on.

Now this isn't saying that fans don't have an important voice, or that certain issues aren't important. I think it's good to know, for example, that the current release of His and Her Circumstances is missing a couple of scenes found on the Japanese DVD, and that those scenes may be released later in a special edition. It's another thing entirely to boycott the series and the distribution company and illegally download fansubs because of it; that's just insanity. If the antics keep up, many companies will dismiss the fans as out of touch with reality and regress in their policies.

In other words, those of you who feel you have the right to berate, belittle, attack, and demean others in the anime community, stop it. Those of you who are over 13 who act like little children whenever you get around others and talk about anime, stop it. Those of you who are part of the problem, stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it.

Sorry to say it, but the "next wave" hasn't been found yet. The last huge phenomenon in anime was Neon Genesis Evangelion, and that cash cow has just about run out of milk. Its many and varied clones are running on empty, as well. (I'm not counting Dragonball Z since it appeals to a very different audience and is technically older than EVA. And though Rurouni Kenshin is much loved, it's still not the same.) It's not every day that a show comes out and becomes a sudden classic like Gundam, Macross, or EVA. Although there's plenty of good material coming out of Japan, much of it is dross. If you're a fan who's never watched any shows from the 1980s, you are missing what most long-time devotees consider the golden age of anime. Don't wait for the next gorgeous show to come out and knock you sideways. There's tons of good stuff waiting for you to discover it. We're working at The Anime Review on some new aids to help you find the reviews of the shows we consider top-notch. Branch out a little and discover the old landmarks.