Ask John: Will Fangirls Support the CCS & Sailor Moon Re-releases?

Question:
With the return of 90’s mahou shoujo heavies Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura to the U.S., a pressing question looms in the air: can the target audience – anime fangirls – be trusted to fully support both series without flaking? I know some people are using the successful re-release of their respective manga to argue that the demand is still there for the anime. However, manga is, by its nature, cheaper than anime, and hence more appealing to consumers. And while I don’t doubt Viz’s statement that there were many rival companies who wanted Sailor Moon as much as they did, the fact that those competitors weren’t as aggressive and determined as Viz to seal the deal might suggest a legitimate apprehension on their part, reflecting this same concern: will the most vocal advocates for Sailor Moon actually walk the walk when it comes down to literally putting their money where their mouths are?

Sure, those fans can show off pictures of all their assorted SM merchandise on the internets all they want, but unless they buy the actual DVDs and Blu-Rays, it means nothing to Viz and Toei. So, will they get lazy and settle for their fansubs or bootlegs, or will they deliver? It might seem like an absurd question, but look how much goading it took for Creamy Mami to reach its sales goal at Anime Sols. If the SM fans are serious, they will have to likewise hustle on their show’s behalf to insure that the show is successful enough for Viz to justify continuing it to the end.

As for Card Captor Sakura, it probably initially benefited from the anime boom, but it’s not clear if it was still profitable for Geneon in singles format all the way to the end. Furthermore, while I think the NISA set for CCS is probably the best deal for any show of that length, there are clearly still fan rumblings about the price. Unlike Sailor Moon, though, I’m not sure strong word of mouth is enough to guarantee that Card Captor Sakura will at least break even for its licensor. In fact, NISA might be taking a hit just selling it at its current MSRP, just to make it more palatable to American consumers, when a company like Aniplex would probably price it even higher than $250.

But either way, it’s clear that both shows are financial risks for their respective companies. These licensors are betting on an audience which peaked around the time that Shojo Beat was first published. So, in summation, will the holdover fangirls also be fair-weather fans, or will they finally prove they’re the real deal by stepping up and directly supporting the series they claim to love?

Answer:
I don’t wish to seem dismissive, but I honestly think that the rationality behind this inquiry is irrelevant. Put in another perspective, I will affirm the question’s doubts that fangirls will come out in droves to support the forthcoming American re-releases of Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura because the “influential” female consumer demographic doesn’t exist any longer. During the height of the initial American anime market boom Viz tried to court the mainstream female “fangirl” demographic by publishing Shoujo Beat magazine. Tokyopop published Smile magazine. DIC and 4Kids tried to capture the elusive Powerpuff Girls and Bratz crowd with “Magical Doremi” and “Hollywood Mew Mew.” AD Vision licensed, but never released, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. Viz partially released Corrector Yui. However, since the 2010 resurrection of the domestic anime distribution industry, no domestic company has made any concerted effort to market to the “fangirl” demographic. Anime conventions are now attended by as many females as males, but typically today’s young convention attendees don’t buy home video discs. While anime was making inroads into mainstream awareness and consumer interest during the early and mid-2000s, since 2010 anime has largely receded back into a niche commodity market. Card Captor Sakura has been re-licensed by NISA, a domestic anime distributor that has never even aspired to mainstream distribution exposure. NISA exclusively sells its releases directly and via the insular anime community. At $250 for a limited edition bilingual Blu-ray set, NISA clearly isn’t even attempting to market its Card Captor Sakura re-release to average, spontaneous impulse-buy mainstream mall patrons.

AnimeSols’ (just barely) successful domestic release of the magical girl Creamy Mami television series was likewise exclusively advertised to and available within America’s hardcore otaku community. No effort was made to promote Creamy Mami to average American grocery store and mainstream bookstore chain consumers. Now 20-plus year-old magical girl anime are not being licensed in America and released with an eye for mainstream “fangirl” consumers. These shows are now being marketed strictly to young adult and nostalgic hardcore anime otaku, many, possibly even a majority of whom are male. After twenty years of an established American anime community and distribution industry, shoujo anime has shaken off its association with little girl viewers. Today, it’s hardcore American otaku, many of them male, who are watching Happiness Charge Precure and Aikatsu, crowd-funding Creamy Mami, buying Nozomi’s deluxe Revolutionary Girl Utena DVD sets, and anticipating the domestic Blu-ray debut of Card Captor Sakura. Shows including Lyrical Nanoha, Pretty Cure, and Madoka Magica, along with maturing experience and tastes in the American fan community, have largely turned shoujo in America into a niche genre for hardcore otaku instead of a potential gateway genre for mainstream American consumers.

Viz has not yet revealed its home video plans for Sailor Moon. Doubtlessly Viz will make some effort to ensure that the home video release of Sailor Moon is accessible to mainstream consumers. But I also fully anticipate that Viz will likewise make its home video release attractive to hardcore otaku consumers because these days it’s almost exclusively the hardcore otaku community that supports the domestic anime home video industry, not off-the-street average consumers. Doubtlessly a small, diligent core of American consumers will support the domestic re-releases of Card Captor Sakura and Sailor Moon on home video. Those are the same few thousand consumers that make releases of ultra-niche home video titles like Girls Und Panzer, Michiko to Hatchin, Upotte, Koe De Oshigoto, and Humanity Has Declined viable. Those are the 200+ ultra-hardcore collectors that pay an average of $50 each to see volumes of Creamy Mami reach subtitled American DVD. Casual fangirls that adore magical girls, frilly dresses, and shoujo manga certainly still exist, but particularly since 2008 they’ve been an irrelevant market demographic for American anime home video distributors. They probably won’t support the forthcoming home video releases of Card Captor Sakura and Sailor Moon, but NISA and Viz aren’t anticipating their financial support anyway.