State of the Western Anime Industry

[Rogo]

First off watch this video

I agree with a lot of his points here and, like him, I urge everyone to heed his advice. Many of you may have noticed that I turn down a lot of review requests based on the fact it's not here in the UK and this is because - yes I could (and honestly have) download the show to watch - but I want to support the industry how I can.

As such I personally rent/buy the shows I review and for my seasonal straight-from-japan blogs, I mostly use Crunchyroll and other services to see these episodes.

Yes, I have a Crunchyroll subscription, shut up.

I used to dl a lot but I changed my tune after one of my favourite shows, Higurashi fell into issue. The original licence holders - Geneon - folded and luckily Funimation solved it, but my hopes were kind of dashed for me seeing it get a UK release. Funi has since put the show out of print so even getting an import looks bleak now.

This could EASILY happen to a show that anyone else loves and honestly, doesn't that make you sad? That's why I choose to watch stuff legally (when I can, the system isn't perfect for the UK) and you can bet that if I lived in the states I'd be a paid member of every legal streaming site there is.

So, I assume most of you already do all this, but anyone else here buy DVDs and use legal streaming? If not, what's your reasons?

[approvedjunk]

I use Netflix when I can to watch shows that I can. Though I am one of the people who prefers to watch shows with subtitles instead of dubbing. I have watch a few dubs and feel that when things get translated over, some of the emotion is lost in the voices. I have heard this in a few shows that I have watched and it almost broke my heart to hear. Unfortunately I do have to say that with my current pay and location, I do not have all around access to buy anime or manga. Add to that the fact that many series I enjoy are ones that have slipped through the cracks, like X'amd, and will probably never be shown outside of where I had already found it. Many of the book stores around town do not carry them and to find them in the video section? Ha! I would be luckier to find the Holy Grail than to see my favorite series sitting on the shelves. Though I do have an Amazon account and could buy my DVDs and manga via online, I actually do not trust them to get my order correct.

Take for example the fact that from Target I had tried to buy one of the Bleach games for my DS, me being the curious and fan person that I am. So I put my order through and a few weeks later a package arrives. I open it only to see that they have sent me a racing game, yes that is right a RACING GAME, not for the DS but for the WII! I stared at it dumbfounded before trying to figure out how to send it back for a refund. Needless to say I lost it and it went past the date of return.

Though when on the off chance I do find a series (mainly the mangas) I thoroughly enjoy I do make a point to try and grab the whole series, because I do wish to see it continue. I have done this for a few series (that being D. Gray Man, D.N. Angel, and Ao no Exorcist for mangas and the first few seasons of Bleach). But like I said, I would have better luck finding the Holy Grail than to see these series on the shelves of stores.

I also remember finding FLCL on the shelves of Wal-mart once. I was overjoyed and disheartened because one, it was only $20 for a series that I enjoyed and was overly quirky, (I consider it my pick me up anime) but I did not have the money at the time to spend on it and also my sister was along, who would have sent me odd looks the entire time. So when I went back by myself later on with money to spend, I could not find the blasted thing! All copies had been taken already! I wanted to scream in frustration and ask why they did not hold more copies of this awesome show.

Unfortunately though I do have to admit I am one who reads and watches shows illegally, but only because I did not realize that these other sites existed and for the reasons above. I think that if the industries want people to watch these shows legally, then when people type into their search bar 'watch anime online' they need to make the slight effort to be on top of the lists. This would, in my opinion, refrain people from going to illegal sites and help promote the actual distributors of these shows.

.....Also, never let 4kids get a hold of a series meant for an older audience and recreate it for a much to younger generation.

[Rogo]

I'm not gonna address what you said about dubs because... that's personal preference and bias and off topic. Basically though I think most dubs are better than given credit for.

As for your other complaints my main point to make is 'buy from Amazon' because it's cheaper and their delivery service is VERY reliable. As in I've had ONE problem with them out of... way too many orders to name and ultimately it wasn't their fault to begin with.

The thing with getting high on Google rankings is... iffy. It's not as easy as you think to get high on the Google rankings, and even I don't quite understand the process.

I'll admit there are several shows I watch on iffy streams because their not out in the UK, but I try and only do that with new stuff from Japan.

Seriously the amount of legally free anime out there for people in the USA alone makes the need for illegal streams baffling to me. Yeah, okay, SOME shows are missing and that sucks but seriously, go look at Hulu's anime section some time. It's staggering.

I'm not gonna sit here and say 'no illegal streams/downloading, naughty!' because we're all guilty of it - but I am saying that there are plenty of legal options these days.

Also go look up how 4kids is doing these days - they've got no chance in hell of picking up anything for older audiences. Also - outside of that One Piece fiasco - I don't see why they would - they're a kids TV company.

[approvedjunk]

The point that I was trying to make with dubs and subs is the fact that I would watch more of the anime on services like Netflix, but since I enjoy the subs, I do not like to use those services to watch them dubbed. Hence why I would prefer watching them illegally with subs over using these services to watch them dubbed. And Hulu I had never really heard of until the Super Bowl this year tbh.

Also the fact that I do not have much excess money, what with all my bills, to spend on buying these. And when I do, sadly buying manga and anime is not high on my list. It usually gets forgotten. Though I will make a point to look on Amazon from now on to try and find my series.

And with getting up on search rankings, they could and I know this may be a little big of me to say, but they could pay a little and be placed up on top in the paid advertisements. And like I said, the biggest problem with this is the fact that many of these legal sites are unknown and not known for having anime, but rather having the next big series that is popular.

[Rogo]

You may really wanna look up Hulu - as it provides a lot of subtitled stuff as well as dubbed - hell I think nearly every show on there is in both.

Also Funi's YouTube account does the same thing.

Crunchyroll also provides subs over dubs most of the time.

I'm not familiar enough with Netflix to comment in all honesty.

As for paying to get up the rankings? I think that's kind of... unlikely due to lack of money on their parts. I don't know the ins and outs of that to comment.

I'm not trying to get all high and mighty - I'm just making you aware that shows are available legally. Even without paying most of time.

There's a world of free, legal anime out there in the States ^_^

[Feathers]

I LOVE Netflix. I am contributing to the industry for much less money than I would if I had to actually buy all these anime. And I really don't give a preference for dub or sub. Really, I don't notice a different until someone points it out to me(and even then I'm still lost). Devil won't watch subs(unless it's a REALLY good anime) because the fansubbers always make it impossible to understand the plot and what-not. If we do watch subbed, we watch Funimation's subs because they're accurate(*speaks a bit of Japanese*) and allow us to understand the plot. Funimation subs rule!!

My sis and I also buy manga at our local bookstores. For now, we're starting out by buying the first book of every series we love and then we'll expand. Manga costs a lot(20 bucks a manga), but I find it's cheaper at anime conventions(brought 2 manga for ten bucks at a recent one I went to. o.o). And even if I can't find it at anime conventions, I just save up and buy it. Yay!

My mom also does her contributions too. She buys a lot of the merchandise like keychains, plushies, etc. So even though we're a family of 6 and have crappy jobs with a house that's about to fall apart, even WE manage to contribute. :D

I really was happy to see this video featured on the forums. I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this is important. :3

[Rogo]

Well I kinda got introduced to anime via the more sketchy side and most of the people I knew who watched anime were hardcore downloaders (though they also bought a lot as well) and as such, I followed suit, so these days I guess I'm kinda trying to pay my penance.

Also buying DVDs is awesome.

I love watching my pile and anime grow bit by bit ^_^

[Feathers]

Yush! Your room fills with all your awesome anime and manga you absolutely love. And you feel kind of proud showing off just how much you have.

I have to wonder though, would buying merchandise like posters, plushies, keychains, etc be considered contributing? Because if so, we've contributed more than I originally thought. My room is full of all kinds of stuff like that. o.o Now actual manga and anime DVDs we're sort of lacking in that since we have Netflix.

[Rogo]

It counts because the copyright holders get money for everything that has their material on it.

That's why say - Soul Eater - was guaranteed a US release because it could make a hell of a lot of money off merchandising. Hot Topic leaps instantly to mind but other shows are picked up for the same reason.

[Feathers]

Ah, I see what you mean. Well in that case, yay! I don't have to feel guilty for being a bad fan. LOL

[Rogo]

Basically if you want to support the industry buy stuff or use legal streams ^_^