Mole

Haven't posted here a lot, but I swung by and this thread caught my eye so I figured I'd respond and play devil's advocate a bit. The first thing that came to my mind was a quote I've heard around, and I'm paraphrasing a bit to make it a bit more relevant to the pertaining subject, but it goes along the lines of "There are two constants throughout history. Things are always getting better, people always say they are getting worse." I butchered the quote a bit, but I believe it was Penn Jillette that said it.

Anime is in a state of regression in the U.S. from a business standpoint. This really isn't a matter in declining popularity or a lack of interest as a whole, others have pointed out where sales have been on the decline, convention attendance has been on the rise. Heck, Monster is getting a live action adaptation on HBO. This regression is mostly due to the current business model of anime. In the current age of technology, there are fan subs for shows the day they air in Japan that rival, or even exceed depending on your preferences and what scripts you are comparing, official subtitles. It's really just a simple matter of convenience. A lot of people who are into anime in the U.S. will have seen the show and won't be interested by the time the official distribution comes along with their dub a year later. Anime is already a niche market in the U.S. so this poses a problem as the majority of the target audience is not interested in your product as they potentially already own it in some capacity.

This effects the industry as a whole because it creates a divide in your audience. You have those who make up a good portion of anime's fan base who are watching them for free online and those who are your main consumers that don't buy as much as they aren't quite as in to anime as a whole as the former group. In a niche form of entertainment such as anime where most of your advertising relies on word of mouth, this disconnect is concerning. Aside from 1 or 2 wildly popular shows that come out each year that have people legitimately waiting for your dub, recent examples being Steins;Gate, Madoka and Sword Art Online, most shows you license will not be very successful. All companies like Funimation can do is pick up the most popular shows airing they can and hope they take off here. Shows like Cowboy Bebop, Big O and Trigun are very atypical in anime. These shows were not very well received in their initial run and were only as successful as they were thanks to western audiences. The Big O would never have had a second season if it weren't for it's run on Adult Swim.

It basically boils down to being a problem with the distribution structure. It's not even the fault of the licensing companies, but the Japanese distributors not adapting to the current market until recently. This is why we are currently seeing a rise in official streaming with Funimation and Crunchyroll. These services are aiming to answer the proposed problem by offering an alternative to anime audiences to watch shows that they are interested in that are currently airing in Japan, rival the price point of downloading, and still allow them to support the industry. Yes, the shift in focus plays a part in alienating some Americans, but I would say it ultimately is the fault of the distribution model. Shows like K-On and Lucky Star are popular, but they aren't the only shows that have been airing. There are alternatives.

It's not an issue of "Things were better back in my day", there have been tons of great shows that have come along since the 2000's that just weren't as popular as the other shows because of the aforementioned distribution model. To list some shows from just the last 3 years you have shows like Angel Beats!, Anohana, Durarara!!, Highschool of the Dead, Katanagatari, Madoka Magica, Mawaru Penguindrum, Mirai Nikki, Steins;Gate, Sword Art Online and The Tatami Galaxy. All of those shows, with the exception of HotD which was listed from it's sheer popularity stateside, have hardly any moments you could consider ecchi, if any at all, and were both fairly popular, some more so than others, and well received. Even the currently airing show Shingeki no Kyojin could arguably be listed with those others and it isn't even halfway over. It would be premature to do so, but having read the source material I'm fairly confident in the adaptation and it's current popularity is nothing to scoff at. Some of my favorite anime have aired in the last 3 years, some of which I didn't mention like Jinrui, and I grew up watching anime on Adult Swim and Toonami much like a lot of people.

I would also like to address the article posted earlier in the thread. That article is overwhelmingly biased and doesn't represent both sides fairly in the slightest. Why would you compare a show like Cowboy Bebop to K-On and believe that accurately represents both sides? Why not compare Cowboy Bebop to Baccano!, Durarara!! or Samurai Champloo? Why would you compare Clamp's character designs to Dragonball Z's? Clamp has been involved in anime since the 80's, it's not like their lanky, Jack Skellington designs is exclusive to the last 13 years. Why compare Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura to K-On? Why not compare Sailor Moon to Nanoha? Cardcaptor Sakura to Princess Tutu? I understand the article is her opinion and everything, and she's more than entitled to it, but it comes off as grossly misinformed.

I apologize for the long winded post, it ended up being much longer than I had initially anticipated I suppose.