Anime is dying, ㅋㅋ..

[blankd]

Chat about Eva

You forgot the Freud-babble.

[DumplingMadness]

The discussion about Eva and Gainax made me think of FLCL and how much it sticks out to me as an anime. Might be because I haven't seen hundreds of series, but I've seen enough shonen to make me appreciate an interesting story told in a mere six episodes.

I'm also a big fan of the double meanings in nearly everything. I can watch those same six episodes today and still notice new things, be it visual or otherwise.

As for anime dying, doesn't the rapid-fire succession of new series counter that? I've never seen so many new shows come out in such a short amount of time, overlooking the obvious decline in originality.

[linkdragon0]

Chu-bra!! Is a new series and... I've never seen a series like it (though there could be.)

Also, FLCL was meant to be a vent for all the people working on EVA so naturally you'll get creative and amazing things. I loved it. It's literally an in your face coming of age/puberty story. With guitars for weapons. It doesn't get much better than that.

Edit: and a kickass soundtrack.

[Jake]

Also, FLCL was meant to be a vent for all the people working on EVA so naturally you'll get creative and amazing things.

Citation? It was produced five years after Eva and has a different director...


Still, it did have an awesome soundtrack, and it's relevant to modern-day society. Those eyebrows...

[DumplingMadness]

That man could easily compete with Amarao as far as eyebrows go. They'd have eyebrow fights, fashion eyebrow swords, and-

I'm getting off topic. |D;

I concur. It has some of the best music around, though surprisingly enough, the Pillows didn't grow much in popularity from their exposure in the show.

[Enigma]

Hokuto no Ken, all about battle, but still great 90's classic.

EDIT: Somebody call me when parts 1 (well it had a movie...but no Speedwagon.) ,2,4,5,6, and 7 of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure get an anime, then I'll be convinced to read less manga and watch more anime. ESPECIALLY PART 2 ANIME.

[J. Datie]

Hokuto no Ken, all about battle, but still great 90's classic.

Actually, that was from the 80's. Still a lot of fighting heavy stuff from the 90's, though. Also not something I'd associate with modern anime. That'd be more, like, cute girls doing... nothing. Possibly while wearing nothing.

And 20 months? I think that might be a record.

[dramspringfeald]

It's kind of their own fault. Lets look at the "list" of things they've been up to.
"Bleaching the anime" certain Uber-Christian groups such as Funimation and 4kids have been rewriting, editing and removing whole episodes from the series "because they were not part of their demographic."
"Remixing the Anime" Rearranging the whole series and releasing the episodes out of order ON THEIR OWN DVDS
"Pulling the Anime" grabbing the rights of a series then locking it up FOREVER because it conflicted with their "demographic"
"Overcharging the nerds" because they were the only source of the media.
"Delayed release" releasing an Anime in the states 2 years after it's been aired then repackaging it to sell to the Europeans another 1 to 2 years after us.


each as a Simple fix and it's simply to just "not do it" because we have no problem using the net to get what we want.

[Ramidel]

The section of anime that's dying in the gutter is the shonen fighter. A lot of the people who were fans of DBZ and Naruto when they first came out are now thoroughly disenchanted with them, and they aren't drawing as many new teenage boys as they used to.

That said, when you look at the 00s, you see the moe and fanservice...and you see anime that use moe and fanservice to draw in viewers and keep the executives happy, and with the obligatory loli panty shots out of the way, go on to write an engaging story. So you get Negima (a shonen fighter blended with a harem comedy), Nanoha (a seinen magical girl series), Haruhi Suzumiya ("genre? What the hell is that?")...Yeah, so there's moe fanservice splashed everywhere you look. It's not damaging to the stories that anime is still telling. I admit that it does kind of limit the stories that can be told. It would be hard to pull off something like Lodoss War nowadays, because Lodoss War is a single, unmixed genre played completely straight, without much gratuitous fanservice and without a hell of a lot of merchandising potential. There's definitely a loss in that, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a return to some of the fantasy classics after moe plays itself out.

And, of course, we mecha fans will always have anime made to cater to us. Gundam and Macross will be around forever (even if Macross will never legally make it across the Atlantic again), and other companies will be happy to experiment with the genre.

[sake-bento]

each as a Simple fix and it's simply to just "not do it" because we have no problem using the net to get what we want.

If it were simple enough to just "not do it," the companies definitely would. It's obvious that any company would want to release a product as soon as possible. Things are often delayed because Japanese companies don't like reverse importation. The standard price of anime in Japan is $50 for two episodes, so Japanese fans like to buy the cheaper anime from Region 1 ($50 for 12 episodes). Therefore, Japanese companies delay Region 1 releases to avoid this. Also, sometimes Japanese companies don't actually send the video or sound files to the dubbing company. I know we've been sitting on A Certain Magical Index for years, but because of the Geneon-Universal merger, all business transactions are on hold, so they haven't actually sent the video files necessary.

It's silly to say piracy is killing the industry, but it's not like the American companies are sitting around trying to come up with new ways to ruin anime.

[DaFool]

That said, when you look at the 00s, you see the moe and fanservice...and you see anime that use moe and fanservice to draw in viewers and keep the executives happy, and with the obligatory loli panty shots out of the way, go on to write an engaging story.

Problem is those shows are inaccessible to those who weren't anime fans to begin with. You can keep the boobs, but for goodness sake have some honest blood n guts like in the case of Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell, which made many anime convert during its time, including myself.

That said, I've been thinking about which anime to drop since I don't have the time to keep up with everything, it's kinda ironic that High School DxD is the only sure one still in my to-watch list (How old am I again?)

I won't miss the shonen shows since they go on forever and now we have girls tearing each others panties out (much more GAR in my opinion). Mecha that isn't Gundam I still like, such as Broken Blade (one of the best OVAs in recent memory). Medieval stuff like Lodoss War? Yeah there wasn't a REAL FANTASY story in recent memory (no, Zero no Tsukaima doesn't count... but, hey... http://vndb.org/v9408 when there's a need, it will be filled eventually).

It's silly to say piracy is killing the industry, but it's not like the American companies are sitting around trying to come up with new ways to ruin anime.

Recent light with regards to the ADV vs Sojitz fiasco actually make more more sympathetic to the American companies (you know, owned by Americans, not by a mother Japanese conglomerate).

People can moan against John Ledford and Peter Payne, but I actually respect them -- it's the shenanigans made by their Japanese partners and their lack of transparent business practices that would make me want to pin the blame on the Japanese themselves.

[Nekochi]

There's plenty of good stuff that's been released since the 90's. What about Kino no Tabi? Mushishi? Haibane Renmei? R.O.D. the TV? Anything by Makoto Shinkai? There's lots of stuff out there that will still make you think, but you have to be willing to look for it. Most people don't really like to think, so of course the really good shows aren't going to be the popular ones.

[destiny_921]

The last anime I watched was.....either Eyeshield 21 or Lelouch of the Rebellion. I totally loved Eyeshield 21, mostly because of the cast of characters (Hiruma's awesome, I say) and Lelouch of the Rebellion because it was a really nice twist on your usual protagonist (to me) :3

Is anime dying?

Frankly speaking, I don't mind the occasional bad art, but the voice-acting... *twitch* At least pick people who can speak well and not butcher the language. At best - pick ones who can speak well, fit the characters and not butcher the language. If both aren't possible, then at least give proper translations.

Plot-line wise, if it's an ordinary cliche but peppered with a well-written cast of characters then I won't mind so much. But if it's a cliche or a bunch of them thrown together or something among those lines, and you put your everyday "been there, done that" kind of cast - no thank you. I'll go and write my own stories thank you very much.

And yes, piracy does hurt in some way.

But to my main answer, in some way? Yes. Others? No.

[Destiny]

Well, I'm not interested in actual Animes at all, I also don't "pirate" anything, but I still find those news funny.

1)
Sorry, I don't want to insult anyone, but american dubbing is one of the worst I have ever heard.
Looking at animes through out the centuries (I know dubbed animes from 1980 and animes from now) and they all sound horrible. Often is even the music totally changed.
"Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics" is one of the best examples. The music there... A sad scene, the princess is jailed, cursed with ugliness, her prince doesn't recognize her anymore... and the music is so happy and nice that I facepalmed hard.
Also the voice acting is often bad (maybe because not many people actually invest money in anime purchase and - due to that - the voice actors are just bad speakers for a little change)

2)
"Anime will die"
Maybe you should change the title to make it obvious that you are talking about the import of Anime to other countries. Because it still flourishes in Japan and it will for a while at least.
You get many clicks, ok. But you are tricking people more or less with that kind of title.

3)
I would guess, that not pirating the issue is.
Hollywood, Music industry, Gaming industry. They all survive despite pirating. But I doubt that so many people are getting animes on a illegal way.
I am mod in a anime board (classic section) and I noticed that the only animes that are "pirated" are animes with japanese dub, that get a sub
from fans. If people really would love english dubbed animes, then the pirating wouldn't be interesting at all.
And if the pirating of those animes is the gravestone for the anime comanies, then I would guess that most people are not interested in paying for a DVD with a dub. That they would rather like a DVD with the japanese dub and a good english subtitle.

4)
What I will personally think...
I think, the real problem is the price.
At least here in germany.
A simple DVD with 4 episodes costs AT LEAST 30€.
As comparison, a DVD with any normal movie of the same lengh is normally purchased for about 20€.
If I would seriously want to get a anime with german dub, then I would indeed rather go the illegal way then getting a DVD without extras or anything other then those few episodes for 40€.
So many movies can get translated from english to german and only cost that few. And those episodes should cost the double?
Sorry, I can't understand that.

[DaFool]

...and the first set of new episodes for the new year consist of mostly 2:30~3:30 minute shorts (a good 30 seconds taken up by the opening/ending theme song). Adaptation of more Flash animation techniques has been noticed (the best Flash anime in recent memory being Therma Romae last year). Or maybe 4koma are just more prevalent now, who knows.

Hit series though like the Bakamonogatari, those written by Gen Urobuchi soldier on. Impressively, there has been a surge of anime movies lately as well, especially based on perennial properties.

On the ero side, a typical H episode has shortened from 30 minutes per OVA ep into 15 minutes, although it could be that they're based more on doujin work and thus don't need the full treatment. Many harem series have become "Blu-Ray" sellers where a steamed ecchi ep can be aired, I guess that's what's making money now.

So there we go. I think we're seeing, just like with the games industry, the utter destruction of the middle tier, leaving the heavy hitters on on one end and the 'indies' on the other.