Ask John: Why Are There So Many Recap Movies?

Question:
Whether I like it or not, I can see the financial reasons for making the long list of anime movies which are, in essence, just a clip show from the series, but why do they do so well? Surely even if the creative teams can’t put a stop to it or encourage an original production, the Japanese fan base should be up in arms over the lack of effort being put into their anime!

Answer:
I’ll concede that there sometimes seem to be a whole lot of anime movies and specials that are merely a condensed version of an earlier series. However, upon consideration of the specifics of all these recaps and special editions, I think that most or even all of them have a justified existence. At worst, I think, it’s really only the Gundam franchise that’s particularly guilty of milking itself dry.

Summarized version movies usually aren’t really targeted at the same audience that watched the earlier incarnation. The purpose of condensed version movies is to provide a new audience with an opportunity to get the gist of a particular story. Casual fans may not have been willing or able to watch a lengthy TV show. But those curious viewers may be willing to watch the story if it’s condensed into a single feature film. Watching 13, 26 or more half hour TV episodes is a much bigger commitment than watching a single movie. Of course, there’s no reason for producers to exclude veteran fans and their money. That’s the primary reason why summarized version movies frequently include a small amount of new footage, and why the recent Japanese TV broadcast of the Evangelion 1.0 motion picture included an exclusive new ending. The new footage entices former viewers to come back and re-watch the anime. But consider the exact circumstances surrounding many summarized version movies. Features like the Iczer-One, Rayearth, Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen, Yotoden, Gundam 0083, Gundam MS 08th Team, and Gunbuster movies are slightly altered theatrical re-releases of OVA series. These sort of releases make sense because viewers that may not have purchased all of the previous individual home video volumes may pay a one-time admission to see the anime on the big screen. An average anime fan may not have been interested in purchasing multiple OVAs retailing at 5,800 yen each. But that same fan may be more easily persuaded to pay 1,800 yen to watch a condensed version of the whole story. How effective single feature films are at summarizing longer OVA series is an entirely different matter of debate.

Condensed versions of TV shows serve varying purposes. The Vandread Taidouhen summary of the first TV series was originally broadcast as a TV special prior to the premiere of the show’s second season to catch-up viewers and prepare them for the second series. The Death Note Rewrite TV specials summarized the TV series, yet the original TV series was broadcast late at night and targeted at otaku viewers while the Rewrite specials were broadcast during prime-time for the benefit of mainstream viewers that hadn’t watch the full length TV show. The Mobile Suit Z Gundam movies were created and released nearly 20 years after the original TV series, so much of their primary audience wasn’t even alive when the original TV series aired. The Evangelion 1.0 and Gurren Lagann movies summarize part of their respective TV series but also serve as springboards for entirely new interpretations of their original TV series.

I do agree that condensed re-releases like the Turn A Gundam movies, Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny Special Editions, and the upcoming Gundam OO Special Editions do feel a bit redundant since they come relatively quickly on the heels of their original series and largely target the same audience. However, while anime fans are subjected to these seemingly unnecessary recaps, we also get feature films like Escaflowne, Eureka Seven, and Lyrical Nanoha that are entirely new and different versions of their original concepts. It’s certainly cheaper to add a small amount of new footage to a re-release of already existing animation than it is to create an entirely new sequel film. And the vast majority of anime series never prove popular or successful enough to get any sort of theatrical feature or feature length recap special. I sympathize with the frustration of seeing abbreviated re-releases instead of sequels or original productions, but understand that these condensed re-releases aren’t appearing at the expense of other films. Gundam Seed Special Editions aren’t released in place of new films. We would not have gotten a second Death Note TV series regardless of the Rewrite specials. It’s absolutely reasonable to criticize the narrative integrity of summarized re-releases, but attacking them for existing in place of new animation is misplaced anger.