Ask John: Why Don’t Hentai Anime Have Endings?

Question:
Why don’t the Japanese hentai anime production companies conclude the plots of the anime they release? For example, Sex Ward ends on a cliffhanger. Why don’t the companies plan a real ending when they start a series?

Answer:
I don’t know enough about the inner workings of Japan’s adult anime production industry to explain with certainty why so many erotic anime series end with cliffhangers or unresolved conclusions. However, I have three suppositions that may provide answer. While all commercial anime is made to generate profit, erotic anime is especially produced for the purpose of earning a return on investment. A lot of adult anime looks cheap because it’s produced quickly on a small budget then sold at a premium price on the home video market. Part of the high Japanese price of adult anime DVDs is attributable to their smaller sales numbers. With less exposure and a small potential consumer audience, hentai DVDs have to generate more revenue per sale to compensate for a smaller number of sales compared to mainstream anime releases that have a bigger audience. Part of the high Japanese price of adult anime DVDs is attributable to the fact that distributors know that they’re marketing an exclusive product to an adult audience that’s willing and able to pay more for adult exclusive erotic anime. Commissioning the production of quick and cheap short erotic anime series then reaping the profits from expensive DVD sales serves as a profitable tactic for traditional home video distributors. However, this tactic frustrates consumers and does little to benefit the anime studios hired to produce the actual animation. Adult anime producer Pixy has actively tried to oppose this traditional structure by producing high quality erotic anime then selling its DVDs at half the typical cost of new H anime DVDs. No other Japanese ero-anime producers have followed suit (albeit the new Chichi no Ya studio has carved a niche for itself by producing short new H anime OVAs that retail at lower than average Japanese retail prices). The point of this is the fact that the actual studios which animate contemporary adult anime may have little say in the length and content of productions. Production studios may not be able to plan a conclusive ending if the ultimate length of the series is determined by how much money a sponsor-distributor decides to invest.

The length of OVA series has always been subject to last minute change. The non-rigid release schedule afforded by the OVA format allows series to be concluded suddenly or extended depending upon consumer response. A series originally planned for three episodes may stop at two if sales are poor. A series originally planned for two episodes may extend to three or more if consumer demand is strong. Popular series like Bible Black, Yakin Byouto, Discipline, Hatsu Inu, and Mizugi Kanojo seem to get more OVAs than average while ordinary or under performing titles only get one or two episodes. Inconclusive endings or cliffhangers keep options open; they allow for the possibility of ending without notice or spontaneously extending a series.

The source material for many adult anime series should also be taken into consideration. Many contemporary adult anime productions are adaptations of PC games that have multiple possible endings. Selecting one game ending for the anime adaptation excludes all others. Providing multiple endings in the anime adaptation requires additional animation and opposes the principle of creating ero-anime cheaply and quickly. The ideal solution is, once again, to simply avoid committing to an ending at all. Refusing to adapt any of the possible endings from the original game avoids upsetting fans of the original game, encourages anime viewers to refer to the original game to continue the story, and sustains the possibility that the anime series may continue.