Ask John: How do Anime Fans Petition in Japan?

Question:
In a article posted on your website not too long ago, it was reported that Japanese viewers did not like the ending for Hunter X Hunter, so the studio agreed to animate 8 more OVAs to appease the viewers. The most recent event to happen before this, to my knowledge, was with Eva. They didn’t like the ending so Gainax crumbled and decided to create the movie to give them the better ending they wanted. My question is, how are the Japanese viewers able to get anime studios to take notice of their discontent so quickly? Do they protest in front of the studio shouting rhetoric over a bullhorn and carrying signs or is it more subtle like letter/web petitions and phone calls to the broadcast company?

Answer:
Public opinion and responses to anime in Japan are determined largely the same way such opinions make the public rounds in America. There were no petitions necessary in America to make it clear that no one likes Jar Jar Binks or Star Trek Voyager, or that no one really believed Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley actually loved each other, but the consensus opinion still made the rounds through word of mouth. In Japan, a society overflowing with cellular telephones and talk/variety television programs, word of mouth, gossip and public opinion are much more powerful, common and noticeable than organized polls or other sorts of rallies. Especially in the anime industry and Japanese fandom, which sponsors virtually constant conventions, anime celebrity public appearances, and professional public press conferences and events, fans with an opinion have ample opportunity to share their opinions with other fans and even professional anime creators. And because the professional industry maintains such close connections to fandom in Japan through actively seeking hard-core genre fan support from debut events and promotional give-aways, and professional artists such as Kenichi Sonoda, Nobuteru Yuuki and Johji Manabe maintaining their connection to the fan manga “doujinshi” circuit, it’s only natural that negative fan responses to particular anime will reach the ears of professionals and creators very quickly through either word of mouth or fan letters or e-mail. And although Japanese fans aren’t so obtrusive as to petition in picket lines, it’s not unheard of for fans to simply march down to the front door of the local anime studio and share an opinion in person. After all, many of the major anime studios including Production IG, Gainax and Studio Ghibli are located in Tokyo and don’t take any measures at all to hide their headquarters locations. In fact, at least Gainax and Production IG have maps to their offices right on their websites.