Ask John: Is Noitamina Turning Mainstream?

Question:
What is your take on the recent noitaminA shift, real or perceived, toward otaku-centric programming? If it’s real, do you think the shift is permanent?

Answer:
The Fuji TV network launched its Noitamina programming project in 2005. “Noitamina” is “Animation” spelled backwards, representing the network’s intention to overturn anime conventions. The primary plan for the Noitamina effort was to create and broadcast late night anime for non-anime fans. Mainstream young adult Japanese women were a particular focal demographic. Early Noitamina series specifically concentrated on attracting female viewers with shoujo/josei series including Honey & Clover, Paradise Kiss, and Nodame Cantabile that were drawn and animated with distinctive visual styles that varied from conventional otaku-oriented anime. Noitamina programming continued to concentrate on attracting an eclectic audience with series including Ayakashi, Hataraki Man, Hakaba Kitaro, Kuchu Buranko, Yojouhan Shinwai Taikei, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Saraiya Goyou, and Kuragehime that narratively and stylistically appealed to female viewers, adult viewers, and viewers attracted by esoteric art rather than conventional commercial anime.

However, although the Noitamina effort was successful and did expand its timeslot, few individual Noitamina series have become highly successful. The goal of creating anime for non-anime fans is challenging, if not outright counter-intuitive. Out of 27 Noitamina titles broadcast so far, only five have been successful enough to get any sort of sequel or spin-off production. And among the usually acclaimed although not highly successful Noitamina series, Fractale was heavily criticized and ridiculed. Particularly within the past year the Fuji network’s Noitamina productions appear to have begun to lean closer to the tastes and conventions of typical otaku-oriented anime than the esoteric styles of “art cinema.” Shows including No. 6, Un-Go, and Guilty Crown feel like they have little in common with the atypical narratives and styles of early Noitamina series like Hakaba Kitaro, Hataraki Man, Paradise Kiss, and Mononoke. The upcoming Black Rock Shooter television series has generated surprise because it seems to abjectly oppose the original goals of the Noitamina franchise. Considering that Black Rock Shooter is an extension of an OVA released in otaku-centric magazines, and a franchise based on a concept originated deeply within the mainstream anime otaku community, Black Rock Shooter seems the antithesis of unconventional, non-otaku-oriented anime. Fuji TV network executives may be realizing that after six years of minimal success, the best way to create successful anime is to create and broadcast anime that anime fans want to watch instead of creating and broadcasting anime designed to marginalize and exclude conventional anime fans.

The Noitamina programming block’s goal is noble. Many of the Noitamina programs have been among the most creative and affecting anime of recent years. However, creating and broadcasting anime is a business, not an artistic endevour. The Noitamina series has long compromised with commercial necessity. Programs including 2006’s Jyu Oh Sei, 2007’s Moyashimon, 2008’s Toshokan Senso, and 2010’s Shiki have felt only tenuously tied to the Noitamina goal of unique anime for highbrow viewers, instead seeming more like concessions or typical otaku productions that snuck into the Noitamina timeslot. (During the same time, anime series including Kurozuka, Ristorante Paradiso, Moryou no Hako, and Aoi Hana have felt like Noitamina series but weren’t.) So 2011 and early 2012’s Notiamina productions that feel distantly connected to the Noitamina goal really aren’t out of character for the seven year-old project. With no additional Noitamina series announced beyond the January 2012 Black Rock Shooter, observers have no data on which to construct future predictions. So I can only rely on my gut instinct to say that I doubt that the Noitamina series will entirely abandon its original philosophy. Although most Noitamina series fail to generate big profits, they do frequently garner high praise and award recognition, which are another type of intangible profit. I do think that the Fuji TV network realizes that unlike seemingly failed mirror efforts including the Noise block and the Anime no Chikara project, Noitamina has been successful. So while the network may try to vary the formula a bit, particularly to generate a few more financially successful titles, I don’t think that the Noitamina series will discard its philosophy of featuring high quality unconventional anime that skew toward non-anime fans as much or more than typical otaku.