Ask John: Will Kamichu & Petopeto-san Get Licensed?

Question:
Do you think the anime series Kamichu will ever be liscensed? It being a moe series, I don’t know if it would have much of an American following.

Answer:
(The following response was composed on February 13th, roughly two weeks before Geneon announced plans to release the Kamichu! anime TV series in America. I’ve been asked to publish this article regardless, and I personally think that this response is still relevant to readers.)

I’ve recently received questions about the probability of Kamichu and Petopeto-san being licensed for American release. I hope you won’t mind if I address both titles with a single response. Kamichu and Petopeto-san were both among my favorite anime series of 2005. Kamichu is an award winning series directed by Koji Masunari, the director of another of my favorite anime series, Omishi Magical Theater Risky Safety. Petopeto-san is an adorable show created by YUG, an artist whose character designs I fell in love with since first seeing them in the 2004 Shuukan Watashi no Oniichan books. Neither Kamichu nor Petopeto-san seemed to be breakout hits within the Japanese fan community, although Kamichu continues to have a seemingly small but very respectful Japanese cult following. Considering that there’s a Yurie Hitotsubashi figure and no less than three different Petopeto-san figures or figure series new or soon to be released within Japan’s fan community, I’d say that there’s clearly still interest in both of these series among Japanese fans. But much to my disappointment, “moe” anime is generally not popular in America.

Kamichu is a beautiful show that evokes the heartfelt simplicity of awkward youth and the nostalgia of traditional Japanese Shinto spirituality. Not only does the show have exceptionally good animation quality, it features impressive visual depth and creativity. Anyone with a critical eye for anime can immediately tell by watching an episode of the show that an extraordinary amount of effort and care was put into its creation. Regrettably, although I often hear American fans complain about the redundancy and unoriginality of current anime, many of these same fans seem uninterested in watching a unique and exceptional anime like Kamichu. The Petopeto-san anime shares the tender and heartwarming, wholesome innocence of Kamichu, and the focus on respect for traditional Japanese folklore. But Petopeto-san has been virtually entirely ignored by America’s fan community, presumably because it’s deemed “too cute.”

In fact, Japan’s contemporary anime scene has many shoujo and “moe” anime, and “moe” seems to be the predominant interest among much of Japan’s otaku community. But there’s almost no interest in these shows among American viewers. Pretty Cure has been one of the biggest breakout hits in Japan in years, yet its American following is very small. The American fan following for programs like Sugar Sugar Rune, Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime, and Ichigo Marshmallow seems to be nearly non-existent. Shakugan no Shana seems to be popular within America’s fan community, but Shakugan no Shana is an atypical “moe” show because it’s a dark, supernatural thriller and not a bright and happy show. There’s notable interest in cute anime girls and cute anime on American fan run BBS websites like 4chan and Renchan, but that interest doesn’t seem to reflect the taste of the majority of American anime fans, and isn’t reflected in American consumer spending.

It’s particularly that final point which will probably prevent shows like Kamichu and Petopeto-san from being released in America. On average, cute anime doesn’t sell well in America. Risky Safety did not make a big impact in America. Popotan has sold poorly. Bottle Fairies has not been a big hit. The American release of Corrector Yui got canceled. Bandai has reportedly canceled its plans to release Di-Gi-Charat Nyo. St. Tail was nearly canceled. The American release of Tenshi ni Narumon is on indefinite hiatus. Ojamajo Doremi has not been a big hit on American television. The first half of Tokyo Mew Mew has not been a big success on American television and reportedly 4Kids may decide not to license the second half of the series. American consumers seem to be loathe to support “moe” anime, which influences American distributors to not license or release “moe” anime.

I’ve been a fan of these types of shows, and a vocal proponent of them, for many years. As I’ve mentioned, I think that Petopeto-san and especially Kamichu are brilliant shows, and Japanese art critics seem to agree with me in the case of Kamichu. But with rare exceptions, typical American consumers don’t like cute, sweet, soothing anime. They won’t pay to buy that type of anime on DVD, and in many cases won’t even watch it for free when it’s distributed through the online fan community. Neither Petopeto-san nor Kamichu have been fully fan translated. When there’s so little interest in an anime series in America that many fans won’t even watch them for free, there’s little hope of expecting a lot of consumers to buy official translated DVDs. Although I personally dearly want to see both of these shows brought to America just because I believe that they both deserve international recognition, simple reality suggests that Kamichu & Petopeto-san would probably loose money if they were officially released in America. There’s always a chance that a Japanese licensor will instigate an American distribution deal just to get more exposure for the shows. And there’s always a chance that an American licensor will invest in one or both of these shows as a matter of principle. But from a purely commercial perspective, the odds of either Kamichu or Petopeto-san getting an official American DVD release are probably near zero. (Thankfully both Kamichu and Ichigo Marshmallow have now been licensed for American release, but I can only assume that Geneon doesn’t expect either show to become a major financial success in America. Petopeto-san remains unlicensed for official American release.)