Anime writer Dai Sato predicts the future of anime

[JWR]

Something to discuss - Anime writer Dia Sato (Cowboy Bebop. Ergo Proxy) believes anime will die out in the next 20 years

http://www.otaku2.com/articleView.php?item=679

[pixie_princess]

See, I've always enjoyed more of the "difficult type" style stories that he refferences. The series I love the most have not only great visuals but fanstastic and well-thought out stories behind them. Sure Moe is ok once and a while, but I'm more attracted to sciencefiction -drama, magic/adventure, and magical girls with plot (SM, CCS...). I like to be able to have intelllegent discussions with people about underlying meanings as well as all the (Christianity) religious refs in series which seem to stem from a fascination to that which is not the norm in Japan.

Every year there are always a few series that seem to be fluff pieces. While fluff can be nice and make you appreciate gems like Trigun and Evangelion, I'd really like there to be more of a balance instead of seeing shows that are only ment to spawn figure lines in order to generate sales. This topic was touched upon a couple of times during Acen this last year. I'm pretty sure it was during the VA panel for the new va for Syphiel from Slayers. I'll have to dig it up.

(only halfway through the article but I had to comment)

[cutiebunny]

When I read this article on ANN, I kept thinking - 'Wow, how vain can you get?'

It sounded like Sato thought that the only good shows were the ones that he worked on. Or, at least, that was my impression of the article.

Ask a lot of fans who have been through the 1990s and seen many anime from that decade, and many of them will tell you that, at least story-wise, the quality has diminished. And, I agree. While there have been some enjoyable anime during the 2000s, very few of them have tugged at me to re-watch.

I remember attending the Yamaga(worked on several anime like Evangelion) panel at Fanime this year and someone asked him whether or not he'd revisit some of his older projects in the future, especially those featuring Gundams. He mentioned that, at least right now, that this would be impossible because most of the fanbase is obsessed with anime and games about girl bands. But, eventually, they'll tire of this genre and move on to something else...

I think the same can be said about anime. I think that, eventually, the era of the K-ON!!s & Kira Kira games will pass, and something new will come along...hopefully, with a fabulous story line.

After all, when a large portion of your fanbase asks you to draw characters from an anime over 10 years old when you've worked on more recent stuff, that has to say something to these industry personnel.

[JWR]

I can somewhat agree with some of what he is talking about. I know I have seen quite a few examples of lax artwork and animation that has been a result of the subleting a lot of the work.

This thread shows a prime example http://www.anime-beta.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=27517

Sometimes the attention to detail can be lacking. How much of it can be traced to differnt segments being done at different studios I'm not sure.

As far as his complaint about the market being dominated by anime that is less serious and more plain escapism. I see that during the current economic downturn studios can't be blamed if the take less risks and go with that which has a better chance to sell.

Shows like Haruhi, K-on & Lucky Star have turned a profit. I feel once the economy improves we should see more deeper storied animes made again. Oh course despite the current "Moeblob" formular there still is quite a few "deeper" shows being done To Aru Kaguku no Railgun & To Aru Majutsu no Index are both getting second seasons in Japan. Summer Wars and other simular shows are other examples.

[Keropi]

Yeah, the "safe" anime helps pay for the "out-on-a-limb" type anime. It's too bad too many of them play it safe nowadays. But I guess it's like you said with the recession and less money coming in from licenses and all that.

I just wish they wouldn't keep adapting stories that are far from being finished. That's playing it safe too (adapting it while the novel/manga is still popular), but I really miss all those old anime that had real endings to them. A lot of anime coming out these days is dissatisfying because the best part of the story is left out or because they made up a mediocre ending to end the anime on.

Eve no Jikan was different and so was Cencoroll. I've got to watch Furusato Japan one of these days too.

My friend keeps digging up anime I never heard of that came out within the last ten years days. I ought to buy the R2 DVDs or tapes of those. It's mostly the movies that slip away somehow.

[sensei]

Listening to him describe it, Sato seems to be consciously fighting against trends in anime and trying to make strong, original stories. He seems to be making a sustained attack on kuuki-kei and sekai-kei stories, or stories where personal problems are equated with problems of the entire world, without the intervention of society or the state.

A very interesting argument, and more striking to me as it reminds me of the key issue in 19th century American fiction, one that has been discussed by critics as the "romance" vs. "novel" rivalry. Romance writers (in literary jargon, the term doesn't mean "love story") focus on literature as a form of psychological exploration, with fantastic themes used to put a face on deeply felt emotional urges. The French post-modernists understand this, with their emphasis on "the body" as a key player in literature and "abjection" (a close relative to Aristotle's "catharsis") as a major objective of the story-telling process.

In short, one important thead of literature assumes that the goal is for the individual reader to learn more about his or her personality, and the creation of a fictive world is a playing field for this act of self-discovery.

But another thread states that literature should, whatever else, engage with economic and political realities, and that it ought to position itself vis-a-vis "the state" in a self-aware agenda of social change. The American novelists, including Twain (some of his fiction is incisively political in purpose and intent), Upton Sinclair, and Sinclair Lewis, all saw themselves as propagandists rather than as entertainers. (Twain's "Autobiography," now being published after being sealed for 100 years, confirms his identity as a realist.)

It seems to me that Sato sides with the novelists: the goal of serious anime should be to identify and attack social realities that frustrate young Japanese (and, by extension, young people worldwide). Me ... as a Hawthorne scholar, I respect the more psychologically based style of romance storytelling, so I think individual-based series like "Cardcaptor Sakura" and "Rozen Maiden" will continue to have their place alongside the works of Kafka and J. K. Rowling (another person who equates personal problems with problems of the world).

But the argument was more sophisticated than I'd expected, and that in itself is a sign that anime will in time be seen as a matured genre worth reflecting on, not just watching for the pretty colors and images.

[Captain Haddock]

But the argument was more sophisticated than I'd expected, and that in itself is a sign that anime will in time be seen as a matured genre worth reflecting on, not just watching for the pretty colors and images.

I tend to agree with that statement Sensei and it is my hope that this is the trend that will unfurl. His statements though about 'selling out' and then giving Rap and Hip Hop as examples of genres that haven't sold out is remarkably confused. Rap is a cultural phenomena that embraces commercial success and wears it like a badge of honour, selling out is precisely the name of the game. Hip hop is a different case, but also has it's fair share of dross so cannot escape the sellout brush.

I think though it depends whether anime producers can balance risk and consolidation. This is one of the principle problems facing any industry working in a capitalist system. As businesses expand, eliminate competition and become ever larger bodies so to do they also tend to lose their will to take risk against ever larger competitors. Thus instead of trying new ideas they stick to whats been done or rehash old concepts.

This is not to say no good cultural content now comes out of these industries, it just means that every good release has to ride on the back of 20 lesser products. It is frustrating, I would like to see more of the likes of Mamorou Oshii, Otomo, Kon and Miyazaki producing animated wonders of our age with real love woven into them.