Ask John: When Will the One Piece & Naruto Anime Come to America?

Question:
What’s delaying the release of Naruto and One Piece anime in the US?

Answer:
The Naruto and One Piece anime TV series are among the most highly demanded anime ever among North American fans, and domestic distributors know it. Given the immense success of both titles in Japan, their Japanese licensors also have a pretty good idea of exactly how big these two titles are and how much international hit potential they have. Based on the Japanese success of One Piece and Naruto, and their ongoing high episode counts, it’s not difficult to expect both titles to be multi-million dollar licenses. Smaller domestic translating companies like AnimEigo, AN Entertainment, Synch-Point and Urban Vision probably can’t afford an investment on the scale of either Naruto or One Piece. And no wealthier company will proceed with a multi-million dollar deal without first spending time carefully weighing every option and fiscal concern.

Furthermore, from a Japanese perspective, One Piece and Naruto are not just average anime titles. These massively successful, high profile titles are calling cards for their production studios and distributors. These are the types of shows that are used as collateral in future business negotiations because they provide name recognition and evidence of previous massive success. In the same way that Sunrise Studios reportedly held back the American release of the Gundam franchise for years, waiting for a distributor that could guarantee American mass market television exposure, it would be wise of a Japanese distributor to be selective in who it gives One Piece or Naruto distribution rights to. Fans may love to see a title like Naruto licensed by a highly fan oriented North American distributor, but such a licensing agreement would not be in the best interests of the Japanese licensor. From a copyright owner’s perspective, a massive, influential American television distributor like Sony or 4Kids Entertainment or the Cartoon Network would be the ideal licensor for Naruto and One Piece, not a niche market home video distributor like AD Vision or Viz or Geneon. Simply releasing a title like Naruto or One Piece in America through a primary home video distributor places limitations on the anime’s virtually unlimited commercial potential. Both Naruto and One Piece have the potential to be the next Pokemon scale phenomenon in America. The full commercial potential of these titles just wouldn’t be fulfilled by anything less than massive American over-exposure.

Japanese distributors are sure to recognize this fact, but major American distributors may not. Fox Television, for example, made a poor choice in trying to market Escaflowne as a Saturday morning feature title and suffered the consequences. Escaflowne was a commercial flop on American television. Then, a second time, Fox reportedly considered acquiring Detective Conan but reconsidered when they realized exactly how gruesome the show is. Likewise, Warner Bros. almost scored big with Cardcaptors, but again didn’t quite understand what they had, didn’t localize it effectively, and eventually canceled it due to poor market response. The phrase “once bitten twice shy” comes into play here. It may be that Japanese distributors are having a difficult time securing an interested American licensor of the caliber they want because major American television distributors may be hesitant. On the other hand, there may be a deluge of multiple competing offers from potential distributors of similar status. If this is the case, the Japanese distributors may be taking their time, carefully considering and weighing each offer and possibly even delaying the decision with hopes of seeing a higher bid arrive.

FUNimation has already confirmed that it is one of several distributors bidding on the One Piece distribution rights. Doubtlessly, negotiations for an English language release of Naruto are also in progress. These two titles are just too big, too high profile, and have too much potential not to receive an eventual American release. I think the question of the Naruto and One Piece anime coming to America is not a case of if, but rather when. But just based of the magnitude of these two titles, international distribution negotiations are bound to be more complex and time consuming than similar negotiations for smaller, less influential properties.