by Although it is still not calm, the 2021 animation industry is making progress on the premise of the Corona disaster. Recently, the 20-year global Japanese animation market announced by the Association of Japanese Animations was negative for the first time in 11 years, but 21 years may have been a brighter year.
However, while some fields and companies feel bright, there are still many places in a difficult situation. That’s because the domestic and overseas anime industry is in “turbulence.” The change began in the 10s, but the Corona wreck accelerated it. Whether the turbulence was a tailwind or a headwind looks different depending on where you stand.
Differences in various business sentiments are also born from here.
Against the background of such an industry situation, I tried to summarize what happened in the animation industry in 21 in the best ten formats. I want to look back at the end of the year.
2021 Anime Business 10 Big News
- 1. The world’s Japanese anime market is harmful for the first time in 11 years
- The effects of the new corona infection continue
- 3. Sony Group Acquires US Anime Distribution Crunchyroll
Four. With the release of “Shin Evangelion Theatrical Version,” the box office revenue exceeded 10 billion yen, and the series large group yen.
Five. Tighter pre-screening for anime distributed in China - Announced business reorganization and consolidation of 5 Bandai Namco Group companies, including Sunrise Bandai Amco Arts
- “Disney +” begins distribution of Japanese animation and advances to world-exclusive titles
- Japan and the United States agree on the global expansion of “Macross” and “Robotech.”
- “Theatrical version” Devil’s Blade “Infinite Train Edition” No. 1 on the US weekend box office
Ten. A series of newcomer training programs at animation studios
I want to mention “the negative impact of the Japanese animation world market for the first time in 11 years” in the first place in the news and “the effect of the new corona infection” in the second place. According to the Association of Japanese Animations, the global market for Japanese animation in 20 years was 2,426.1 billion yen, a decrease of 3.5% from the previous year. Although the numbers themselves are from last year, it has shown that anime, which has been regarded as a growing industry, is also inevitable from the Corona disaster. Given that market shrinkage is familiar to many industries in Corona, the big news is the reversal of overseas and domestic market size in the process. The overseas market was 1,234.9 billion yen, which exceeded the domestic market of 1,186.7 billion yen for the first time. The overseas market grew by 3.2%, while the domestic market decreased by 9.7% year on year.
At the same time as reaffirming the steady growth of the overseas market in recent years, the dependence of the animation industry on overseas has increased to an unprecedented level. This is the core of the “animation business drastic change” that has continued from the latter half of the 10s to the present.
The representative of companies that grow by riding the tide of drastic changes in the Sony Group’s animation business centered on Aniplex. Through acquisitions and investments in Japan and overseas, the Sony Group is building a vast business centered on animation, including planning, production, production, sales, distribution, product development, and games. This is symbolized by the “Acquisition of Crunchyroll, the world’s largest Japanese animation distribution platform,” completed in August. The Sony Group has become able to establish an overwhelming advantage in the overseas business of Japanese animation.
Business restructuring in response to drastic changes in the business environment can also be seen in KADOKAWA and the BANDAI NAMCO Group. In particular, the “Business Reorganization of Five Group Companies such as Sunrise Bandai Amco Arts” announced by Namco Bandai in October was bold.
Not only did we consolidate the approximately 1000 production staff scattered in western Tokyo into the new base in Ogikubo, but we also dismantled Bandai Visual and Lantis’ Bandai Namco Arts, which had just been integrated three years ago. Visual integrates business. Although the names of the two companies, born in April 2010 after dismantling the five companies, have not been announced, the new video company has a comprehensive animation company comparable to Aniplex that integrates planning, production, investment, production, sales, distribution, and licensing. Be born.
It’s an expanding overseas business, but it’s not all good. This is because the increased dependence on foreign countries will significantly impact the business when an unforeseen situation occurs overseas. The “stricter pre-screening of anime distributed in China,” which began in the spring of 2009, has made the risk manifest.
The government has come to judge all works in advance from the program screening that the distribution company has done from time to time. In the judging, the whole story that the work is completed is required. Until now, in Japan, the system was such that the next episode and subsequent episodes were being produced in parallel with the broadcast, but when it comes to distribution on the same day with China, it is necessary to change the schedule. As a general rule, distribution companies in the United States are already demanding complete delivery of all episodes, so the production system in Japan is changing due to overseas influences.
As a result of the examination in China, the number of works that cannot be delivered increases. For this reason, incorporating sales from China into the business from the beginning becomes a risk, and the boom of several years ago has changed. The attitude toward Chinese business is increasing.
In contrast, in the United States, Netflix has further increased the handling of Japanese animation. At the same time, in 2009, Walt Disney, the largest entertainment company in North America, “started distribution of Japanese animation on Disney + and announced the world exclusive distribution title.” In the future, HBO max, Apple TV +, Paramount +, peacock, etc., may move to acquire Japanese animation, and works and studios with high brand power are likely to compete. As a result, business is becoming more dependent on the United States.
In the same 21st year, the fact that “Japanese and American companies agreed on the global expansion of” Macross “and” Robotech “made me feel the change of the times. The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, which started in 1982, was a contract in favor of a US company signed in the mid-1980s, so it was not possible to expand the series overseas. Under this agreement, each of them will cooperate in the global development of “Robotech” born in the United States based on the “Macross” series and “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross.” It took nearly 40 years to resolve a kind of unequal treaty.
It’s been 21 years since there were many hits, but the most notable is “Shin Evengerion Theatrical Version.” The final work of the large-scale series that started in 1995, “The release of” Shin Evangelion Theatrical Version “finally exceeded 10 billion yen in revenue.” The epoch-making work itself and the business success of increasing the box office revenue for each work in the new movie version from 2007 is noteworthy. The revenue of “Shin Evangelion Theatrical Version” is more than five times that of “: Introduction” in 2007, and more than 10 billion yen for theatrical animation is also made by Hayao Miyazaki, Makoto Shinkai, and “Theatrical Version” Devil’s Blade. There is only “Infinite Train Edition.”
The “Kimetsu no Yaiba “Infinite Train Edition” was a hit overseas in 2009, following Japan. In April, “In the US release,” Kimetsu no Yaiba “Infinite Train Edition” won first place in the ranking at the weekend box office. “This is the first in 21 years since” Pokemon Mutu’s Counterattack. “
The anime industry has had a lot of positive news, but this boom is also causing a crisis. The shortage of human resources is becoming more severe due to expanding production needs. However, as the sense of crisis spreads, there is an increasing momentum among anime-related people to work on human resource development.
The number of cases of “strengthening new employee training programs at animation studios” is increasing. WIT STUDIO’s “WIT Animator School,” MAPPA “New Animator Training Joint Project,” Studio Ponoc “Animator Training Program (PPAP),” Sunrise “Art School,” etc. can be mentioned just by being reported. Kyoto Animation and P.A.WORKS, which have a long-established reputation for human resource development, have actively worked on them. Even in studios other than those announced publicly, the movement to spend time and effort training new employees is spreading.
However, there are limits to the efforts of animation studios. Many animation studios are small and medium-sized enterprises with weak management strength, and there are not many major or influential studios that can take time to train new employees. The current development is left to the studio, and there is a distance from such movements for large-scale production and investment companies that are inseparable from the anime business. The movement that Netflix, a distribution platform, has set up a unique scholarship system to support the training of newcomers in the studio has attracted attention. The production side is also actively involved in human resource development. It will be the key to whether such movements will spread to other production companies in the future.
Furthermore, the ideal way of an educational institution is also questioned. There is also an opinion that the basics of professional skills and knowledge should be acquired in the major courses of vocational schools and universities and sent out to society. The link between companies and educational institutions in animation education programs is also likely to emerge as a future issue.
