Ask John: Why Hasn’t Haré+Guu Become a Major Hit?

Question:
Why do you think that the Haré+Guu anime hasn’t been met with as much popularity as a lot of us fans expected?

Answer:
AnimeNation’s spin-off licensing company AN Entertainment has licensed and distributed three anime series in North America, Risky Safety, Miami Guns, and Haré+Guu. All three are enjoyable, quality shows that we’re very proud of, yet none of them have been especially successful. Haré+Guu is AN Entertainment’s biggest and highest profile acquisition, and regrettably it may be the company’s last because despite the cult celebrity of the series and wide acclaim for its domestic release, Guu hasn’t generated substantial revenue. If we knew exactly why Haré+Guu hasn’t been a spectacular success in America, we would have already tried to reverse that status. Instead, I can only guess at a number of contributing factors which have combined to prevent Guu from reaching great success.

AN Entertainment began negotiating for distribution rights to the Haré+Guu anime in 2003. Hold-ups, delays, and conflicts between the series’ Japanese producers and distributors slowed the licensing process, forcing us to wait for over a year before finally being able to complete a licensing contract. During that time period, the popularity of the series in the American fan community diminished a bit as other, newer series took the spotlight. Guu is still tremendously popular. There doesn’t seem to be an anime or video game forum on the internet that isn’t home to at least one person using a Guu icon. But doubtlessly the series would have had more steam in America had it been released at the peak of its popularity in the American fan community instead of being delayed by well over a year. Unfortunately, that’s a circumstance which AN Entertainment had no control over.

AN Entertainment is one of America’s smaller distributors. We don’t have a large catalog that generates constant revenue, and don’t have a large, supportive parent company. AN Entertainment also doesn’t have the massive advertising budget necessary to keep Guu constantly in the public eye. Experience and observation suggest that many of America’s anime consumers buy the series they’ve heard of. AN Entertainment has always tried to succeed on the philosophy that quality shows and fan friendly localization will earn the support of American consumers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Flashy, heavily promoted titles, regardless of their quality, sell better than those with little or no promotion. These days, overexposure seems to be just the right amount of exposure necessary to ensure success.

Exposure makes a tremendous difference to an anime title’s commercial potential. We submitted Haré+Guu to the Cartoon Network for possible broadcast, but Adult Swim refused the show with the explanation that it didn’t match the network’s target audience (a response that still has us scratching our heads). Hopefully the series’ current broadcast on the FUNimation Channel will generate some increased interest and awareness.

In addition to purchasing shows they’ve seen or heard of, many American consumers prefer to buy only complete anime series sets. Countless times at conventions, in e-mail, and on online forums we’ve encountered consumers interested only in buying complete anime series sets. Consumers have every right to spend their money as they choose, but the old mantra to support the anime industry seems to have lost its immediacy among contemporary fans despite it still being just as necessary. Unfinished American releases including I’m Gonna Be An Angel, Corrector Yui, Fortune Quest, Strange Dawn, and Soar High Isami all attest to the fact that series aren’t fully released on domestic DVD if consumers don’t support them. In many cases, distributors rely upon the proceeds of individual DVD volume sales to fund continued production. After licensing and releasing three series but not earning any significant revenue from them, AN Entertainment may not have enough investment capital left to acquire new titles.

In summation, Haré+Guu is unquestionably a cult hit show with worldwide popularity. It’s also an acclaimed show – an award winner in Japan, and independently chosen as Anime Insider Magazine’s best anime comedy of 2006, and one of Anime on DVD’s dozen best DVD releases of 2006. But despite the show’s popularity and quality, a majority of American consumers seem to be ignoring it. The show’s overt look, which may resemble a children’s show in the eyes of some observers, may have some impact on slow sales, but I resolutely believe that more prominent reasons are the show’s lack of exposure outside the hardcore fan community, and consumer hesitancy to support anime that doesn’t have the impetus of trendy appeal or name recognition. The relative obscurity of not only Haré+Guu, but also other outstanding titles like Kamichu (from Risky Safety director Koji Masunari) and Zipang, seems to prove that quality is not the primary motivating factor for American anime consumers. American consumers seem to prefer buying what they’ve heard of or watched, and DVD sets that are available complete and cheap. Unfortunately, at the present time Haré+Guu doesn’t fall into either of those categories.