Ask John: Who Has the Most Influence Over the Anime Industry?

Question:
Who is really in control when it comes to anime? Whose opinion/position is the most powerful? The individual creator/manga artist, the animation studio, the broadcast network, the sponsor, the distributor, the anime fan-base, or none of the above? It seems like there are large number of people “touching the elephant” and each is pretty passionate about the importance of their role/contribution.

Answer:
There are indeed many different parties involved in influencing anime. It would be conventional and easy for me to say that each of them exert a relatively equal influence on the creation and distribution of anime, albeit in different ways. And to an extent that simple answer is truthful. But a stock answer that sounds reasonable and balanced fails to insightfully and incisively address the true heart of the matter. At its fundamental base, the anime industry revolves around money and the groups that have the most impact on the creation of anime are those which have the most financial impact on anime, namely sponsors and distributors, and to a lesser degree, consumers.

Original creators are, of course, the foundation of the anime industry. But original creators almost always admit that their involvement in anime adaptations is very limited. And with the exception of the doujinshi community, original artists don’t publish or distribute their own works themselves. Creators create manga and anime, but they’re often not the people that ensure that their works are widely distributed.

Just like original creators, anime studios are necessary for anime to exist. But anime studios may not have as much decision making power in the creation of anime as American fans may assume. Anime production studios may determine what to animate and how an anime will look and sound, but most animation studios can’t support their own creations. Animation studios animate whatever they’re paid to animate. The operating expenses of animation studios are largely paid by production committees and corporate sponsors that foot the bill for anime production. A studio may eagerly want to animate a work, but the project is impossible if no one will sponsor it.

Television networks are often the medium between animators and consumers. Television studios transmit anime from creators to viewers. In that role, television networks have some power to influence what does and doesn’t appear in anime, and what does and doesn’t get animated. But television broadcast isn’t the only outlet for anime. And television broadcast itself doesn’t generate a lot of profit for animators.

Sponsors may be said to be ultimately the deciding influence in anime creation. Sponsors are investors, usually committees of representatives from home video and record companies, and corporate sponsors including publishers and mainstream businesses like McDonald’s and 7-11. The investors contribute the money that anime studios use to pay animators and cover costs and operating expenses. Sponsors invest in anime production in order to receive a percentage of the profit that the completed anime generates. Sponsors also invest in anime as a method of advertising themselves. If sponsors didn’t contribute the money necessary for anime production, anime wouldn’t get produced.

Japanese home video distributors often invest in anime production. They also usually have final and ultimate control over a completed anime. After an anime is finished, it becomes the property of the home video distributor, not the property of the studio that animated it or the creator that originally created it. It’s the home video distributor that has distribution, licensing, and marketing rights to the finished work. So it’s ultimately home video distributors that both invest in the creation of new anime, and control the availability of finished anime.

I don’t intend to sound trite and predictable, but it’s true that ultimately consumers have a tremendous influence in the creation and distribution of anime. Anime doesn’t get made if consumers won’t watch it. The tastes of consumers create relative values in the works of specific creators and the efforts of particular production studios. Sponsors will continue to invest money into anime production as long as consumers buy the finished anime. Distributors rely on consumers to watch and buy anime DVDs. The entire anime industry depends on consumers remaining interested in watching and buying new series.

This is all a circular rotation. Sponsors pay creators to create because consumers want the finished creations. As long as consumers want the finished creations, sponsors will continue to pay creators to satisfy consumers. Every part of the cycle contributes to the continuing revolution of the cycle, but I think it’s the people with the money – particularly the sponsors, distributors, and fans- who play a bigger role in the continuing cycle than creators, artists, and television networks. Original creators will create regardless, but without sponsors and distributors no one will see their work. Likewise anime studios wouldn’t operate without the financial support of sponsors and distributors. And television networks serve as the grease that oils the gears, but anime distribution can and does continue without television broadcast. But without investors contributing money- either sponsors and distributors that pay animators, or consumers that encourage sponsors and distributors to invest in anime – anime would not exist.