Ask John: How Will the ONA Format Affect the Anime Industry’s Future?

Question:
What kind of an effect do you think the advent of the ONA will have on the anime industry as a whole in the grand scheme of things?

Answer:
Making predictions about the future is always risky, so my perspective on the future today may be very different than a year from now because of changing circumstances. So in light of present circumstances and the foreseeable future of anime and the anime industry, I don’t envision anime made for internet release becoming significantly more prevalent or more influential. I don’t think that there’s enough demand for online premier anime to make that distribution method viable for the anime industry. That may seem difficult to reconcile with the popularity of underground online anime distribution, but the majority of anime available online, both officially and not, is not anime which was specifically made for internet distribution. I think that the internet has tremendous potential as a supplemental and secondary channel for anime distribution. And the internet is an ideal venue for amateur and promotional anime, but it’s not very suitable for debut, first run anime.

Japan’s anime industry has experimented with the “ONA” (Original Net Animation) format periodically since at least the 2001 release of Gonzo’s I Wish You Were Here and AIC’s Mahou Yuugi. Other noteworthy anime created for internet distribution include Azumanga Web Daioh, Psychic Academy Aura Bansho, Blame, King of Fighters: Another Day, Kimagure Robot, and Wings of Rean. Then there have also been strictly advertising anime made for online release like the Binchotan Aozora ni Wasure Mono music video and the Moetan II trailer. But most of the anime currently available through Japanese online distributors like GyaO, Animate.tv and Bandai Channel are former television anime now available for online viewing. Anime made for television broadcast is supported by corporate sponsors that pay for advertising time during the television broadcast. OVA and theatrical animation earn their profits from box office and home video sales. Anime made for internet release is often free because generating revenue from online distribution is difficult. If a studio has limited resources to produce an anime, producing the show for television broadcast, home video or theatrical release is easier to fund, and easier to profit from. That’s probably why major studio productions for online distribution are so rare. While many consumers will watch anime for free online or on television, and many consumers will gladly pay for a theatrical experience or purchase a physical DVD, there probably aren’t nearly as many consumers who will pay to watch a debut release video online. Consumers will pay small fees for online access to anime when they know from prior experience what they’re getting, but the number of viewers willing to pay significant fees for online access to brand new anime probably isn’t high enough to make original net debut’s profitable.

Internet distribution is theoretically a viable method of exposure for independent or amateur artists because it’s more accessible and less expensive than television broadcast or commercial release. Small amateur animation groups like Frapper Spirits, Imperial Boy, and M3 Animation Box have produced short anime for the web, but these projects are often done as hobbies rather than serious commercial efforts. Naturally animators who invest a lot of time, effort, and money into producing original animation may seek to profit from their work rather than distribute their work online for free. Independent animators of note including Makoto Shinkai, Jun Awazu, Kengo Takeuchi, and YAMATOWORKS have produced their animation works as short theatrical films rather than release their work on the web, probably because even a limited theatrical release carries more weight, and implies greater artistic and commercial strength and potential, than free internet distribution does.

I don’t think that the ONA format is a gimmick, nor do I expect it to disappear. But I also don’t anticipate that made-for-web anime will become significantly more common or more influential in the future. While I do believe that online distribution of anime is a viable commercial distribution method, I don’t think it’s financially viable enough to support a steady flow of original productions. Online distribution may be a useful tool for aspiring animators, but the success of independent animators like Makoto Shinkai and Jun Awazu proves that Japan offers many other more attractive opportunities for talented aspiring animators besides original internet animation production. Over the past five years, the ONA format has been an interesting footnote in Japan’s anime industry. It’s an interesting occasional anomaly, but the fact that major ONA productions like I Wish You Were Here and Maho Yuugi were also afterward broadcast on television, I think, verifies that strictly online release of new anime isn’t profitable, and doesn’t generate enough exposure to be profitable or influential. I expect more anime to be made for internet debut in the future, but I don’t foresee the ONA format becoming more influential or more common in the future than it is now.