Ask John: Which Anime Have Been Released in a Compromised State?

Question:
What anime productions have you personally seen or at least heard of that are “fully realized” in terms of content? In other words, what anime projects are out there that were not cut for time/marketing, or in some way diminished from what the [animation] staff wanted/envisioned? For example, by my reckoning, Legend of the Galactic Heroes was a property where there was no “ceiling” dictating the limits of the show whereas something like Final Fantasy Unlimited was severely hampered by other forces. Is there a rhyme or reason as to what properties get to express themselves fully? Is it something that will happen less and less in the future as market forces get harsher?

Answer:
The hopes or expectations for any particular anime relative to what was actually completed and released is something that only a show’s production staff knows for certain, and English speaking fans rarely hear that critique from Japanese animators. While it’s not entirely uncommon for anime series to feel unfinished or rushed, my guess is that very few anime productions have their completion significantly compromised. Producing an anime is a major investment that requires hundreds of people and millions of dollars. Such undertakings aren’t begun without careful and extensive advance planning. Berserk, for example, may feel like it has an incomplete conclusion, but I feel certain that Studio OLM decided that the show would be 25 episodes long before any of its animators ever began drawing episode 1.

In the 1980s and 1990s it seemed quite common for production of OAV series to be okayed without exact plans for a specific number of episodes. That may explain why series like Dragon Half, Heroic Legend of Arslan, Gunnm, Makai Tensho, Tenchi Muyo, and Dangaioh, just to name a few, have so few episodes or why their endings seem abrupt or unresolved. OAV series were produced as long as they were profitable, and when they weren’t successful or profitable, work on them came to a dead halt.

Anime series that were unexpectedly seriously compromised seem to be relatively infrequent. According to Gonzo Studios, the planned length of Final Fantasy Unlimited was suddenly halved because Squaresoft, suffering losses from the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie, couldn’t afford to continue subsidizing the cost of producing the anime. The 1999 motion picture Gundress was released to Japanese theaters unfinished, probably because its animators were unable to meet certain deadlines. The 2003 Hand Maid Mai series was planned for 3 episodes, but only one was ever released because its distribution company unexpectedly went out of business. More commonly anime productions may suffer small setbacks or compromises. Evangelion producer Toshimichi Otsuki recently confirmed that the Evangelion movie was split into two pictures because work wasn’t done on the film by its deadline. Anime TV series including Mahou Sensei Negima, Mezzo, and Heat Guy J were enhanced for their post-broadcast DVD release either because the production staff wasn’t able to complete the shows to their satisfaction before the episodes were broadcast on television, or just because they weren’t satisfied with the quality of the original episodes. In fact, most anime TV series have episodes or parts of episodes that exhibit a noticeable decline in quality, either due to budget limitations or quickly approaching deadlines.

In rare cases anime productions do seem to be able to overcome conventional limits by taking extended production schedules and using big budgets. The 7 episode Giant Robo anime series took over 5 years to be fully released. The Macross Zero and Sentou Yousei Yukikaze series both exhibit no compromises, but Macross Zero took almost two years to release 5 episodes. And Yukikaze took three years to release just 5 episodes.

Limited budgets, tight deadlines, and creative compromises are virtually synonymous with anime production. In fact, many of the unique characteristics of anime were developed specifically to overcome external limitations. It’s even arguable that too much freedom has a harmful impact on anime. Some of the most expensive anime films ever made, including Steamboy, Innocence, and Metropolis are often criticized for focusing too heavily on visual impact and ignoring story and character development. So it could be argued that some degree of pressure may actually improve anime production. Too much indulgence may allow for productions that loose sight of fundamental qualities in favor of the director and animator’s personal whims. The degree to which external compromises and hindrances affect particular anime has a lot to do with who is responsible for the anime. An influential and powerful animator like Hayao Miyazaki or Shoji Kawamori, or a profitable, private studio like Gonzo has more ability to determine its own schedule than a typical production that has to meet TV broadcast deadlines.

During the early spring of 2006 many fans worried that there were so many new TV series scheduled for premier in April that inevitably many of them would suffer compromises in quality. However, while there have been some terrible April premiers, such as Musashi and Soul Link, there have also been an unexpectedly high number of excellent new anime including Ouran High School Host Club, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, Inukami, and Black Lagoon. To quote the old clich.$B!&.(B “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I don’t know if the methods of anime production are likely to change significantly in the future, but if current pressures, deadlines, and compromises help create the anime that we all love, than perhaps minor compromises aren’t a bad thing.