Ask John: How Can Someone Start an Anime Distribution Industry?

Question:
Hi! I’m an anime fan from Bulgaria and I have a question for you. How can be accomplished a wide anime and manga distribution in our country? I ask such “simple” question because I think I have the answer (money), but I don’t think it’s only for the money. There are anime and manga fans in every country and they deserve to have open and official access to every old and new manga and anime release. So, how can it be accomplished, for example, in our country?

Answer:
I’m no businessman, so I don’t have the detailed knowledge to share regarding exact steps one should take to enter the anime distribution and retail business, but I can provide some elementary advice. No anime industry anywhere suddenly becomes a market force overnight. If you want to see a significant anime distribution industry in your country, expect it to take years to develop and mature. The American anime industry is now 15 years old, but still accounts for less than 2% of the American home video market. So start small and don’t expect instant results.

Any individual anime fan with some motivation and determination can begin an anime retail company. You could begin a retail store by importing anime merchandise from overseas yourself then re-selling it online for a profit. As you continue to do that, your business and financial stability will increase, allowing you to expand into other areas. If your preference is on translation and distribution rather than retail, I’m sure you’ll find manga to be a less expensive introduction than animation. There are thousands of amateur artists in Japan whom, I’m sure, would love to see their work published overseas. Setting up distribution deals with private artists will be much cheaper and easier than establishing distribution agreements with multi-million dollar Japanese publishing companies.

If you can gather investment capitol and a translator fluent in Japanese, you may wish to attempt contacting Japanese distribution companies. Japan is increasingly aware of the international demand for anime and manga, so Japanese publishers are likely to be eager to work with distributors in countries with anime distribution markets ripe for development. Anime and manga are very expensive for Americans to license because Japanese producers know how profitable anime can be in America (or have misconceptions about how profitable anime is in America). But licensing fees to other countries may be significantly less. While a Japanese publisher may demand X amount for a title to be distributed in America, that publisher may request a much smaller amount for distribution rights in a smaller country or untested market. However, prepare yourself emotionally and professionally. Japanese companies will be understandably hesitant to enter into binding associations with a foreign company or investor if they aren’t assured of the foreigner’s reliability and professionalism. And Japanese companies employ business practices and policies that may seem unfamiliar or even infuriating. Business practices which are commonplace in Japan, such as delayed negotiations and multiple approvals, may possibly seem protracted and counter-productive to non-Japanese businessmen.

Ultimately, the only thing holding you back from building an anime industry in your country is you yourself and a community of anime fans that share your interests. Determination and willingness can provide all other necessary ingredients. Whether you begin small, as a personal business, or seek investors, business partners, and aim for nationwide distribution from the onset, just start small and build slowly. An anime industry outside of Japan is something that needs to hatch and mature; not something which springs forth fully grown.