Ask John: How do US Anime Companies Decide Which Shows to License?

Question:
How do US anime companies decide what anime to liscense and why are many US anime companies licensing old anime such as Aura Battler Dunbine?

Answer:
I’m sure that every domestic anime distribution company has a subtly different method of choosing the titles it acquires and distributes. An AD Vision representative has stated that AD Vision holds regular staff viewing sessions along with acquiring particular favorite series of staff members. AN Entertainment, for example, begins with staff recommendations then proceeds to viewings. In a related note, companies like Super Techno Arts and Bandai Entertainment only license titles distributed in Japan by their parent companies; and distributors like AnimEigo focus their attention on older, niche market classic titles and Urban Vision focuses mainly on mature audience titles.

Other factors taken into consideration include expense and profitability. It’s often bemoaned among fans that titles like Kodomo no Omocha and Memories have not been acquired for American release. According to confirmed word from TOKYOPOP, and common rumor, these titles are just too expensive to be profitable in America. Kodomo no Omocha, with its need for labor intensive translation and distinct Japanese cultural references may not have tremendous mainstream American market potential relative to its licensing cost and royalties. Memories, an esoteric art film, likewise has very limited market potential in America. No smart business wants to license a title that’s not going to be able to pay for itself. Only a few business moves of this nature can put a distributor out of business.

Generally series’ values are dependant on their value in Japan. Shows like Detective Conan and Ojamajo Doremi are unlikely to come to America without guaranteed American TV exposure because these shows are just so expensive to license. Because shows like Detective Conan and Doremi are so massively popular in Japan, they are inherently more valuable and more expensive, even though they may have very little market potential in America. “Otaku oriented” shows that are in great demand in America are actually not nearly as successful in Japan as mainstream hits. While a show like Chobits or Trigun or Cowboy Bebop may be very popular in America, these shows in Japan draw, at best, only a quarter of the number of viewers that family oriented programs like Detective Conan, One Piece, Inuyasha, Ojamajo Doremi and Crayon Shin-chan have tuning in every week. We’re beginning to see more classic and vintage titles like Aura Battler Dunbine, Sailormoon, Giant Gorg, SPT Layzner, Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada licensed in America for two reasons: they’re less expensive to license than current hit shows, and there simply aren’t nearly as many good contemporary shows left that haven’t already been licensed for American release. With certain American distribution companies buying up distribution rights to shows that they won’t release until as long a 3 years later, the pool of contemporary anime titles with reliable American market potential is getting smaller all the time, forcing companies to consider older, but still certainly worthy, titles to acquire.

As the market for anime in America is growing and becoming more savvy, older, veteran anime fans are also getting older, getting better paying jobs and more disposable income, and finding themselves increasingly interested in watching more of the anime they remember from the 1970s and 1980s. The revival of titles including Mobile Suit Gundam (original series), Lupin the Third (second TV series), Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman), and Robotech have proven that American fans are interested in, and willing to and buy, older anime titles. There are still excellent, more recent anime series that have not been licensed for American release, but many of these titles, like Yawara, Kodomo no Omocha, Flame of Recca, Detective Conan, Di-Gi-Charat, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Wedding Peach and many others, are either tied up in licensing disputes preventing their American release, or are simply considered not profitable enough relative to their licensing and production costs.

Finally, one more factor contributing to which titles do and don’t get licensed for American release is their availability in Japan. Not every anime title is actually available for American license. Anime titles like Macross 7 and Di-Gi-Charat have been so heavily sub-contracted and sub-licensed in Japan that it’s nearly impossible to determine who, or which company or companies actually have the legal rights to sell their international distribution rights. So even if an American company wanted to license the Di-Gi-Charat animation for American release, the show simply isn’t available for license. Similarly, according to rumor, the often requested Flame of Recca TV series is tied up in international negotiations between its Japanese licensor and a certain American distribution company, negotiations that will seemingly never get resolved clearly enough to allow an American release of the show.