Ask John: Do Anime Series Have Many Spin-offs?

Question:
I was wondering do anime series have very many spin offs like most American shows do to keep a franchise going?

Answer:
Depends on the series, but generally no. The anime industry is a commercial business and therefore does respond to market demand and response. But the anime industry, in some respects, isn’t exactly like the American comic book and animation industries which strive to franchise a success for as long as possible. It may be said that the Japanese industry places equal importance on market viability and artistic integrity while the American industry typically prioritizes market potential over intangible values.

One of the best contemporary examples of extensive franchising in the anime industry is Tenchi Muyo. The title started out as an ambitious but small six episode OAV series. Its popularity eventually blossomed into four full length TV series, four OAV series, a music video collection, a stand alone OAV, and three motion pictures, not to mention several video games and sundry merchandise. Another excellent example of exhaustive anime franchising is the Mobile Suit Gundam title which was a commercial failure in 1979 but, over time, has become one of anime’s most recognized and most profitable franchises. From an original 1979 TV series, Gundam has spawned so many animation, video game, manga and toy spin-offs that it’s virtually impossible to count them all.

Additional examples of commercial anime spin-offs include Dragonball GT and portions of Rurouni Kenshin. When the Dragonball Z TV animation ended in 1996, creator Akira Toriyama wanted to lay the series to rest. However, Toei Animation executives eager to continue milking the Dragonball cash cow developed the Dragonball GT series. Likewise, Sony is blamed for extending the Rurouni Kenshin TV series with the “Christian Arc” storyline developed just to extend the TV animation episode count. And Sony is credited with developing the second Rurouni Kenshin OAV series.

But on the other hand, it’s quite common for Japanese anime producers to voluntarily conclude series while they’re still viable commercial properties. One of the best examples of this occurrence is Cowboy Bebop. At the height of its international popularity, director Shinichiro Watanabe decided to conclude Cowboy Bebop and not produce any more animation, in spite of strong demand from fans. The story Watanabe had wanted to tell had been told, so for him, extending the Cowboy Bebop animation any further would simply dilute his original artistic vision. Toei’s popular Sailormoon franchise is another excellent example. Towards the end of the series fifth TV season its viewer ratings had declined to roughly half what they had been a few years earlier. But even at its lowest point, Sailormoon’s viewer ratings were still many times higher than those of numerous other contemporary anime series. To quote Def Leopard (and Kurgen the immortal), “It’s better to burn out than fade away.”

There are anime titles like Macross and SoulTaker and Dirty Pair and Tenshi no Shippo and Onegai Teacher and many others that generate distantly related sequels and even virtually unrecognizably different spin-offs either in response to strong Japanese fan demand or in an attempt to draw additional revenue from an established franchise. But for every anime title that is revived or rehashed to earn a couple more bucks, there is a commercially successful and/or critically acclaimed series that isn’t franchised to death. Serial Experiments Lain and Berserk, for example, were both highly successful titles in Japan, yet neither has ever spawned a second animated series or is likely to. For whatever reason, the production companies behind these series were confident enough in the titles to animate them in the first place, then satisfied enough with the results to leave them end on a high note, at the height of their success.