Ask John: Does Japan Have More or Less Anime Online Than America?

Question:
How much online content are anime fans in Japan able to enjoy? I know that here, the Anime Network is showing episodes of shows like Gurren Lagan online.

Answer:
The officially authorized distribution of anime online in Japan is quite far ahead of its state in North America. American outlets including The Anime Network Online and Toonami Jetstream offer free sample episodes of a small number of titles. Commercial internet distributors such as Direct2Drive and Amazon’s Unbox service provide low cost access to a larger, but still limited variety of anime. It’s worth noting that Viz Media sold the Death Note anime series in digital format before releasing the series on American DVD. And FUNimation released Black Blood Brothers for online sale prior to its American DVD release, but the Neko Ramen television series is the only anime title available via official American internet distribution which is not available on American television broadcast or DVD.

While American consumers have access to a relatively small variety of anime via official internet distribution, Japanese viewers have access to a sizeable catalog of anime, and numerous internet exclusives. The Bandai Channel website offers much of Bandai Entertainment’s contemporary anime catalog online for minimal fees. Japanese multimedia sites including Biglobe and Gyao offer hundreds of free anime episodes and samples online including full episodes of series such as Kousoku Denshin Albegas – which is not available on commercial DVD – obscure, vintage anime including Sarutobi Ecchan, Chiisana Viking Vicke, Moretsu Ataru, and Fuusen Shoujo Temple-chan, and current anime episodes of shows including Shakugan no Shana II, Porfy no Nagai Tabi, Shigofumi, and Wolf & Spice shortly after their weekly television broadcast. Gonzo has even announced plans to make episodes of its upcoming Tower of Druaga anime television series available free online to Japanese viewers simultaneously with the episodes’ television broadcast.

Japanese web users have also had access to anime created specifically for web broadcast including Sin in the Rain, i wish you were here, Ikuze Gen-san, Puchi Eva, and Flag. The upcoming Candy Boy, Penguin Musume, and Chocolate Underground anime series are also planned for online distribution.

While legitimate digital distribution isn’t insignificant in North America, the amount and variety of anime available legally online to American fans is a small fraction of the amount available online to Japanese fans. While Japan’s anime distribution industry clearly recognizes the potential of online anime distribution and has definitely exploited that potential in Japan, those same distributors remain hesitant to allow web distribution internationally to expand beyond very limited and tentative exploration.