Ask John: What’s Bandai Trying to do with Kurokami?

Question:
What’s Bandai trying to do with Kurokami? It would appear to me that the reason for Bandai to dub and broadcast a new show within 24-hours of its Japanese air date is to combat piracy and the need to fansub a brand new anime show. But if the only way that US fans can view the show is on a network that is only available in a few markets, doesn’t that defeat the whole point of doing this?

Answer:
You could ask Bandai directly what their goals and expectations are for the forthcoming American distribution of the Kurokami television series, but I don’t anticipate you’ve get an especially revealing answer. After all, businesses have to guard their secrets and maintain a corporate image. I can only provide speculation, and my best guess is that Bandai has two overlapping but slightly conflicting principles at work as a result of different viewpoints from Bandai Entertainment USA and Bandai of Japan. The later wants prompt American exposure for the program, but seemingly isn’t taking into consideration the practical difficulties associated with that goal.

I concur with the assumption that one motivation for the simultaneous international broadcast of the Kurokami anime is a desire to curb international video piracy. There’s much less need or reason for the American fansub community to unofficially translate and distribute the Kurokami anime when an officially authorized translation is available first, at no cost. A second reason may lie in Bandai of Japan’s desire to enhance the international profile of this upcoming work. The Kurokami anime is a Bandai Visual co-production. Bandai Visual has a noted history of prioritizing the international promotion of current titles. When the Wings of Rean and Kikoushi Enma anime series were being heavily promoted in Japan, Bandai Visual released them on American DVD, despite both titles having minimal American market potential. When Bandai Visual of Japan was marketing its Japanese DVD release of the Kissdum -Engage Planet- television series, the show was announced for American release. When the Sola, Shigofumi, and True Tears television series were current in Japan, Bandai Visual announced plans to release the series in America. Bandai of Japan seems to frequently aim to expand its Japanese promotional efforts to a global scale, and it may do so for good reason. It’s easier to expand the scope of an ongoing marketing campaign than manage additional, international marketing campaigns for separate titles. And international distribution may enhance an anime property’s charm among Japanese consumers. Anime titles including the Hellsing OVA series and Afro Samurai are promoted in Japan as best selling titles in America, presumably because success in America piques the interest of Japanese otaku. The ability to inform Japanese otaku that the Kurokami anime is simultaneously available in Japan and America may pique the curiosity of Japanese viewers and set the show apart from other competing programs.

However, while Bandai of Japan may be eager to secure timely international exposure for the Kurokami anime, that sort of exposure isn’t typically something that can be arranged in America on short notice. America’s Bandai Entertainment has affiliations with the Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi Channel, and ImaginAsian TV networks, among others, but most major American TV networks can’t just suddenly make extensive changes to their broadcast schedules at the last minute. Squeezing in one episode may be one thing, but making space for an entire new weekly series at the last minute – especially an untested and even unseen new program – just isn’t done. The iaTV network is a relatively small, private network with more flexibility than larger, more established broadcasters. iaTV is obviously willing to adjust its schedule and accept the risk and responsibility of broadcasting a series that may or may not be suitable for national American television broadcast (after all, we don’t know yet if the Kurokami anime will contain intense violence, graphic nudity, or other content that networks like Sci-Fi and Cartoon Network would refuse to air). I suspect that America’s Bandai Entertainment was suddenly surprised to be granted an opportunity (and ordered a mandate) to get this upcoming show onto American TV broadcast, so Bandai arranged a broadcast on the iaTV network because ImaginAsian was the only American television network that Bandai had a working relationship with that was able to arrange a broadcast on such short notice. It’s regrettably true that the American TV broadcast of Kurokami will be rather limited because of the iaTV network’s limited nationwide availability, but on short notice, a limited American TV broadcast is still preferable to no TV broadcast.