Ask John: What Can Fans Look Forward to in 2008?

Question:
What can we look forward to in 2008?

Answer:
Speaking only for myself, what I anticipate most about each new year is its unknown possibilities. Previous years serve as an excellent illustration. Over the past two years, anime titles including Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, Piano no Mori, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, Lucky Star, and Code Geass have exploded in popularity, and have proven themselves to be excellent anime despite having relatively little advance advertising and anticipation. These titles have been much different from similarly excellent anime like Denno Coil, which was eagerly awaited for over a year and a half before its premier.

Despite omnipresent fears of impending doom for the anime industry, 2008 may see an increase in anime production over 2007. While there were just over 150 new anime television series released last year, there are already more than 70 announced TV anime productions for 2008, and that number is certain to drastically increase as the year progresses. No one knows yet which titles will be hits and which will be misses. However, there are titles that American fans can especially look forward to.

Anime series that have been popular among American fans, including Code Geass, Gunslinger Girl, Jigoku Shoujo, Macross, Minamike, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and Zero no Tsukaima will have sequels this year. The highly anticipated second Suzumiya Haruhi anime series may also premier this year.

American viewers that love violent, grim, dark, and adult oriented anime will be able to look forward to productions including Golgo 13, Mnemosyune, Blassreiter, and PERSONA -trinity soul-. Viewers with a taste for more philosophical and dramatic adult oriented anime can anticipate series including Himitsu ~Top Secret~ and Production IG and Masamune Shirow’s Real Drive.

In fact, judging by the absence of obvious especially “cute” anime so far announced for 2008 release, the “moe” trend that American fans so revile may actually begin to expire this year, only to be replaced by the bishonen and boy love genre, which promises to be a prevelant trend in 2008 with productions including a third Kyou Kara Maoh series, Bus Gamer, Junjo Romantica, Monochrome Factor, Neo Angelique Abyss, and Vampire Kishi, just to name a few.

For many years the accepted assumption within the anime fan community is that manga creator Hiroaki Samura was opposed to the idea of having his acclaimed Mugen no Jyuuin (“Blade of the Immortal”) manga series adapted into animation. However, Samura’s attitude may have changed as there is now a rumor in Japan of both an anime and a live action adaptation of the dramatic samurai action story.

At least one new Evangelion movie – the first to introduce entirely new story developments and characters – should hit Japanese theaters this year. Four years after their last major theatrical productions, Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii will both premier new feature films this year. Hayao Miyazaki’s Gake no Ue no Ponyo (“Ponyo on a Cliff”) is especially noteworthy for being entirely animated by hand, a virtually unheard of production method in the present age of digital animation. Mamoru Oshii will tackle a sci-fi love story with Sky Crawlers.

American fans can also look forward to this year’s domestic releases of probable major hits including Gurren Lagann, Code Geass, 5cm per Second, Lucky Star, and Kite Liberator; and possible 2008 domestic releases of highly anticipated titles such as Keroro Gunso, Ouran High School Host Club, and Honey & Clover.

American/Japanese co-productions The Animatrix and Afro Samurai have been among the most popular and successful anime titles ever released in America. Batman: Gotham Knight, a co-production between American writers and Japanese animation studios Studio 4°C, Production I.G, and Madhouse may match that success when it premiers this summer.

The technical side of domestic releases is more difficult to foresee. Despite the absence of an obvious successor to DVD, the DVD format seems to be in its retirement stage as the limitations of DVD technology are becoming more readily apparant, and consumer interest in DVDs is declining. Domestic distributors Bandai Visual, FUNimation, and Sony Pictures have taken hesitant steps into HD and Blu-ray media, but America’s anime industry has largely avoided committment because the majority of American consumers have not committed to either format yet. In the meantime, FUNimation has announced plans to premier the Aquarion television series on American DVD in two affordably priced DVD sets, and Viz will distribute the Busou Renkin television series in a similar fashion, in an attempt to make commercial anime DVD releases more attractive to value conscious consumers. More anime is available online legally now than ever before, but digital distribution still seems like a tentative and advertising oriented practice rather than a definite new commerical distribution method. 2008 may see the anime industry continue to develop and explore new methods of legitimately getting anime to consumers quickly and affordably, but support for such methods will undoubtedly depend upon positive consumer response.

In effect, much like last year, I think that anime fans can expect some setbacks, disappointment, and frustration in 2008. But 2008 also promises to be another fascinating year of growth and evolution for the anime industry and its fan community.