But all is not well with the anime industry.

Recently, ActiveAnime.com interviewed GDH (Gonzo) International President, Arthur Smith, on anime piracy, which turned into a rant on why fansubs are hurting US anime dvd sales. In it, he says

Internet piracy is the single biggest global threat to the anime industry and fansubbing is at the heart of the piracy problem. Fansubbed versions of programs recorded in Japan make their way to every illegal outlet for video content, these illegal outlets damage the ability of Japanese producers to sell dvds and sell into Television in local markets and make it increasingly difficult for the studios to pay the animators, voice actors and actresses, writers, original creators, and everyone else who makes the anime that some fans enjoy responsibly and legally and that some fans pirate illegally.

The US market for dvds is down 30% in terms of dvds sold and more than that when looking at revenues since price per dvd is also coming down. We have a lot of evidence which leads us to believe that a large part of the decrease in volume is due to illegal file sharing.

Justin Sevakis wrote a thought provoking editorial on ANN in response. In it, he argues,

Clearly, the business model is failing. People realize this, but nobody’s actually doing anything about it. Rather than take decisive action, the industry keeps trying the same things it’s been doing for years, and when that inevitably doesn’t work, the fans who download are blamed. Which makes sense. After all, they’re getting the product but not paying for it. Most people would call that stealing.

Now, if this was something new, perhaps I’d have a little more sympathy when the rights holders cry victim. However, the fansub scene is approaching voting age at this point, and digitally transmitted fansubs started circulating about a decade ago. Every year they’ve gotten more and more widespread (with the historic popularity of Naruto pushing them into complete prominence). And to date, those rights holders have done very little to stop them. There is now an entire generation of anime fans who have never been forced to pay a single dime to get their anime fix.

He proposes that for the anime industry to get out of a rut, they need to rethink the cease and desist legal actions against fansubbers and offer a viable, legal, inexpensive alternative for fans to watch anime coming out in Japan in a speedier time frame than the year it takes ADV and Funimation to license, dub and air the titles on their tv channels.

Like Sevakis said, this isn’t a new debate. A few years ago, attorney Jordan Hatcher wrote a fantastic overview of the legalities of anime fansubs including a section on whether fansubs benefit the industry and why anime companies haven’t done much to curb fansubbing up until now. Recently, Subatomic Brain Freeze, Dave Merrill and JP Meyer (among others) have chimed in with additional commentary.

For me, I have to agree with a lot of what fans/bloggers are saying:

• Fansubs are decent quality, timely, easy to access and free. Unless there’s a similar, viable alternative, people will continue to download them. I’ve often wondered why Japanese studios don’t set up their own pay-per-view services that would allow anyone worldwide to view the aired episode with English subtitles when it aired on Japanese tv. If fansubbers can get episodes out in a day, why can’t Japanese studios that are already producing the content?
• The current run of strange moe-dominated anime is way too niche-oriented for my tastes. Over the last few years, I’ve found myself watching far less anime. While there have been some notable exceptions (Haruhi Suzumiya, Genshiken Season 2 and others), few anime draw me in anymore. Most feel “been there, done that” rather than offering a fresh, engaging story. I find that I’m now much more inclined to pick up a manga than an anime dvd or revisit a past series I never completed rather than check out the newest releases.
• Should anime be pay-per-view? I like what ADV is now doing with their $1.99/episode downloads. I like how Funimation offers anime on iTunes. That said, it’s still not good enough. The downloads are still laced with DRM, so for instance, you can’t actually download anything from iTunes, burn it to a dvd and play in your dvd player. They still take months-to-years to be released outside of Japan. And they still can be costly – the $1.99/episode is for a 320×240 size. To get higher quality, it’s $3.99. It would be really nice if companies would offer credit towards the purchase of the dvd if you’ve bought episodes, so if I sink $8 (or $16) watching 4 episodes and like the show enough to collect the dvds, I’d be thrilled to have that $8 (or a significant portion) go towards the purchase of that dvd. It’s not like the digital download is costing them much money, so why not offer a reward to early adopter fans who make the purchases.
• Without previews (ie aired tv episodes, pay-per-view, free downloadable episodes), it’s really difficult to know whether an anime is worth purchasing because most aren’t. When I look at the new dvd releases, very few scream “must own” to me. If I really want to watch something, I’m much more likely to add it to my Netflix queue, wait until the price drops on the used market, or one of the anime companies has a blowout sale than shell out retail price for the dvds.

Where do you stand in this debate? Are you more likely to download anime, rent (via RentAnime.com or Netflix), or buy the dvds? How much do you spend on anime/manga purchases each month? Would you be willing to pay to watch individual episodes if they came out around the same time that the Japanese episodes aired?

Anime and manga get coverage in an article called Manga Mania in the WSJ. The article gives a brief history of manga andmentions that the US market for anime is now at $4.35 billion and manga sales in North America have doubled since 2002 to $200 million in 2006. That sums up pretty much all the positives Bianca Bosker offers in her article, where she argues anime and manga are “ill-suited for Japan’s public relations campaign.”

Of course, she calls out the “highly sexualized nature of the form” because according to big media, all anime and manga is sexual in nature.

I’m not sure why it’s so difficult for people to grasp that anime and manga are forms of media rather than genres – just as “books”, “movies”, and “magazines” are forms of media. In each form of media, there are genres and categories like action, sci-fi, romance, comedy, horror, and yes – even “adult oriented”.

Surprise – not all drawn artwork or animation targets children, just as not all movies target children. No one would point out Jenna Jameson’s newest porno as representative of Hollywood movies as a whole, yet mainstream media loves pointing out the seediest, adult oriented anime/manga as representative of the medium. And I can’t imagine that anyone would claim that because porn flicks exist, the US would say Hollywood is ill-suited for a US public relations campaign.

Bosker continues her ridiculous argument that anime/manga paint Japan in a great light and may be considered “government propaganda.” She appeals to a Chinese newspaper that accused manga of “trying to ‘retell history’ to cover up Japan’s war crimes and infect Chinese children with Japanese values”.

There’s so much irony here… First – appealing to China is ridiculous, given the country’s censorship policies. Second – it’s not like the US media doesn’t try to put a positive spin on the Bush Administration’s war policy and make us look good to foreigners. They haven’t been very successful, but really – the WSJ was recently purchased by the king of all conservative media, Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox News among other conservative media outlets. Third – sure, much of anime/manga paints Japan in a positive light, just as much of Hollywood and the US media paints American culture positively, but certainly others are harshly critical of Japan or at least try to be non-biased.

Finally, she mentions there’s a certain “weirdness factor.”

The nearest American counterpart to anime-inspired costume play may be Star Trek and Star Wars conventions, whose participants also dress up as their favorite characters. Those gatherings have entered the broader cultural consciousness more as a source of late-night television humor than as a viable goodwill export.

God forbid that fans get together to have a good time. Every industry has its conventions and social rules of conduct – and while yes, the sci-fi, fantasy and gaming communities are more likely to embrace dressing up as one’s favorite character, that’s hardly unusual. Adults dress up all the time every year at Halloween and various other theme-based social gatherings. What makes beach, toga or Halloween parties so different from conventions?

And for an article printed in the WSJ, you’d think they could at least spell “Detective Conan” correctly since it’s one of the few anime they cite. I wish mainstream journalists would do some research on the topics they write about – Bosker could have easily picked up Susan Napier’s book, Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle, which is an excellent introduction to anime in modern Japanese culture. Perhaps then, she wouldn’t have such a limited view of the medium.

Or, in slow mo and mirrored so you too can learn:

There’s even a group that did a “bootcamp” –

There must be hundreds more on YouTube.

Top Cow President Matt Hawkins

If you’ve ever wondered how to break into the comic industry, here are some tips from Top Cow (publisher of the Witchblade and Darkness comics) President Matt Hawkins from his Marketing 101 panel at Wizard World Philadelphia 2006.

Getting into Comics

When it comes to getting into the comic industry, Matt says there are basically two ways to break in:

1. Buy Your Way In – That is, self publish your comic. Most artists lose money by self publishing but they use their comic as a way to pitch themselves and get offers.
2. Network – Get a job at any of the companies in the industry doing anything and start meeting people. Go to conventions and talk to as many people as possible. The more people you know, the greater your chance of getting in.

   Matt also addressed randomly submitting your comic to various publishing companies. He advised against this because most publishing companies – Top Cow included – don’t want to get involved with the legalities of potential copyright infringement down the road so they don’t even look at random submissions to protect themselves from being sued.

What your Portfolio Should Include

1. Sequential Artwork of an Already Established Character – When evaluating artists, companies want to see 8 pages of sequential artwork, which they’ll evaluate for anatomy, detail, storytelling, etc. Most companies have scripts on their websites for aspiring artists to use. They want established characters because they already know what these characters look like and can compare your drawings to what’s currently being produced. When you submit your own characters, they have no benchmarks for evaluating your drawing abilities – for instance why your character’s head looks big. Is it because that’s how you draw your character or because you have problems with basic anatomy?
2. Specialization – Companies want to see your abilities in penciling, coloring, and inking. They can’t do that if you only submit a finished piece where they probably can’t see your penciling skills. If you want to do all three, have a separate portfolio for each. Start with a pencil scene, photocopy it, and on the photocopy, move on to coloring. Then, photocopy that, and on the photocopy, do your inking. That way you can show progression.
3. Your Best Work – Always submit your best work.

Keep a Positive Attitude

Be humble and friendly when talking to people. One of the biggest turnoffs in the business is when aspiring artists tell industry veterans that they’re better than established artists. Never say that you can draw Wolverine better than the guy currently doing it. And never talk bad about other artists or competitors – that only makes you look bad.

Comic Book Websites

www.newsarama.com
www.comicbookresources.com
www.comicon.com/pulse
www.comicscontinuum.com
www.brokenfrontier.com
www.tcj.com
www.csinsider.com

21 Ways To Marketing Your Comic Book

Already have a comic book? Here are 21 ways you can market it.

1. Create a good product – If your comic stinks, no one will buy it.
2. Start promoting early – Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to promote your comic. If the first time distributors read about it is in Previews, you’re too late. Top Cow starts creating buzz about their titles 6-9 months before launch. Matt suggests that independents should start a year out – go to conventions, get reviews and testimonials, and build buzz about your comic well before the previews come out.
3. Buy an image – According to Matt, the best use of your marketing budget is to buy an image from an established artist like Brian Michael Bendis that you can use on the cover of your comic and in any promotional materials. While this may run you $1000-1500, you get an image from someone already known in the industry and that you can use repeatedly. An ad in a magazine only gets a short run in a limited capacity. The image you buy, however, can be used on the cover of your comic and in all your promotional materials. Most artists come to at least a few conventions each year. Go to the ones they’ll be at and start getting to know them. In many cases, they started where you are now and don’t mind helping aspiring comic book writers.
4. Know your audience – If you’re not targeting 16-34 males, a monthly comic sold in comic book stores may not be the best method of distribution since they probably aren’t going into those stores. If you have a hook – your story is about a current political topic – promote that. Or consider selling as a graphic novel in book stores. Matt advises against trying to sell your comics on the newsstand. Marvel and DC can do it because they get ad money but the vast majority of their print run is returned.
5. Price your comic reasonably – Few people will pay more than $3 for a monthly comic unless you have some type of added bonus like a limited edition promo. Also keep in mind that if you sell your comic through Diamond, you make 40% – at a $3 book, you get $1.18.
6. Consider a 24 page comic – Marvel and DC publish 32 pages because they need the ad space. The average number of sequential art pages in comic books is 22. Consider making yours 21 pages and use the back inside cover as a “behind the scenes” where you offer a glossary, photos of you at conventions, prose about your project, comic reviews or other stuff.
7. Find distribution methods – Obviously, there’s Diamond. You might also consider selling your comic yourself. Set up a Yahoo store or sell it through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Also, get to know the people that work in your local comic book stores. In general, the more they like you, the more they’ll promote your product. Check out www.the-master-list.com for comic book stores in your area.
8. Start regionally – get to know the fan base in your area. Go to conventions and meet and interact with fans. The NY/LA markets make up 15%. East Coasters should start in the NY area. West Coasters should start in LA. Pick the best locations around you and attend as many events as possible.
9. Launch in the first quarter – The big companies push all their good titles out for Christmas and for summer, so there is usually a lag between January – March.
10. Start a website – Anyone can get up and running with a cheap website pretty quickly these days. If you don’t want to spend the money for a professionally designed website, set up a MySpace account or start a blog through Blogger.com or Typepad.com. On your page, make sure to include the image you purchased, a preview of the comic, character information, an events calendar, and possibly a personal or character blogs.
11. Build a mailing list – Start collecting emails and send weekly or monthly updates. If you’re comic will be in stores Wednesday, send a reminder Tuesday.
12. Get advanced reviews – send your comic to local newspapers and websites. That said, if you get a bad review, don’t try to defend yourself. There will always be someone who doesn’t like your work. Arguing with your critics will only make you look bad. (For an extreme example, look how fans reacted to Anne Rice’s public criticisms of her book, Blood Canticle, on Amazon.com.)
13. Get testimonials – Meet and get to know those in the industry through conventions. Go up and talk to people. Buy two of their books. Then ask if they wouldn’t mind reviewing yours. Give them your contact info and email. Then follow up with them later.
14. Get the word out – The more people talk about your comic, the more you will sell. Start posting online, get involved in forum discussions and post comments on comic blogs. Don’t be fake – if you post positive reviews about your own stuff anonymously, you’ll probably be called on it.
15. Write interesting ad copy – The first line of any marketing copy must grab attention and make readers want to keep reading.
16. Freebies – Give out freebies such as bookmarks or mini-posters about the size of comic book spreads. Hold a contest and give something interesting away.
17. Print flyers – Postcards only cost a couple of hundred dollars to print up these days. Print up a few 4×6 postcards and hand them out everywhere. Ask if you can leave them in comic stores and on convention tables.
18. Display in Artists Alley – Most conventions have space for artists in their exhibit hall. Get space. Buy a few easels. Blow up that image you had created and display it prominently on an easel. Consider multimedia such as displaying images on your laptop, PSP or iPod Video. Never lay your books flat – always display them upright so they catch people’s attention as they walk by. And be sure to talk to people.
19. Do store signings – The best time to do store signings is Wednesday from 5-7 when the new releases have just come out and people are getting off work. Don’t expect people to come in at 9AM on a Saturday because you’re signing.
20. Create merchandise – Can you or someone you know hand-make a few statues or toys of characters in your comics? You don’t need to mass produce them, but having figurines attracts attention and gives a perception that you’re bigger than you are. Professional sculptures can cost upwards of $3000-7000 but if you can do something unique cheaply, that can be a great talking point. You can also print up merchandise like t-shirts, mousepads, mugs, and other stuff through CafePress.com. Put the image you bought on them and post links to your products on your website. CafePress charges a small monthly fee (or $60 annually) for your store and there’s no other upfront costs for products. They produce them as people buy them.
21. Keep marketing after the launch – When the comic launches, your promotional work is still far from over. Keep marketing to your fan base about how the comic is doing, events you’ll be attending, additional reviews and any other news.

Overall, the dub wasn’t too bad, though they’re trying way too hard with the name ‘Naruto.’ I have to cringe every time I hear the Toonami plug emphasize the second syllable “ru” so that it’s like “Na-ruuu-toe” rather than all syllables getting equal weight like in the Japanese. I’m hoping they’ll quicken the pronunciation for upcoming episodes.

After having seen 150 episodes, I forgot just how poor quality the first few episodes are. I didn’t start watching until the mid-teens and I vaguely remember trying to maintain my initial interest. The animation is below average and the story is, well, a true ‘pilot’ episode. When else does the Hokage stare into a crystal ball to get up to speed on what’s going on? And damn, if Mizuki’s really a chuunin, he should have kicked the Naruto clones’ butts. Thankfully, we don’t see him again until episode 142 (and that filler arc really sucks, btw). I also don’t think we ever get to find out what other techniques were written on the scroll… Of course, Naruto only gets better!

The other thing I noticed was the lack of blood. There were very few open wounds and those that were only got a tiny pool of blood. Iruka didn’t cough up blood when wounded. And there were no nose bleeds for Sexy no Jutsu. They toned down the girlie stuff too with Naruto and Konohamaru.

Otherwise, I thought Maile Flanagan did a decent job of Naruto, who is just as obnoxious in the Japanese. It’s definitely a voice I can get used to. I was hoping to hear some of the other characters, particularly Sasuke and Kakashi, but no dice there. Shikamaru, Sakura, and Hinata only got a few words in, so I don’t have much of an opinion of them but Konohamaru and the Third are great. Ebisu cracked me up, though admittedly, I kept picturing Gunter from Kyo Kara Maoh.

Thumbs up for keeping some of the original Japanese including Hokage, Sensei, Jounin and Jutsu! I still miss ‘Kage Bunshin’ but ‘Shadow Clone Technique’ works for me far better for me than ‘Doppleganger,’ as in the manga.

And while they ditched the opening and closing themes, they kept most (if not all?) of the background music. The 30 sec opening and closing sequences have much of the original animation from several of the season openers/closers spliced together.

So far, my reaction is pretty positive. It’s definitely better than I expected.

Also, Viz has a new Naruto site up.

Hello i have been searching the answers for Wolfs Rain Drama cartoon so i have found your site and it looks very nice so i have decided to ask u for some information if u could take a few min and write me back i would really appreciate that.

Well Blue interest me who has created Blue?

Did Blues Creator created her by imagination OR does he knows a girl that looks like Blue.

This question might sound silly but: do u think is there a girl on this planet that looks like BLUE?? this might sound crazy but I like BLUE very much i have never seen before a nicer better looking girl than Blue from Wolfs Rain! not even in real life! i see so many nice pretty beautiful girls but Blue is just the best 4 me.

one more question is WR based on true story?? i have heard something about this some people are saying that WR is truly based on true story?

I’m not sure what you mean by who created Blue – she was born a wolf – I don’t remember offhand if the series mentioned her parents. I never got the impression wolves are “sired” like vampires and therefore have a “creator”.

I’m sure there is a girl in real life that looks like her, but no, I’ve never seen someone like her. With 6 billion people on earth, though, odds are that someone might – perhaps the character designer had a particular person in mind when he drew her?

Perhaps WR is based on a fable or myth, but I can’t imagine how people might say it’s based on a “true” story. It’s about the death and rebirth of the world – the apocalypse – or the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Yes, there are many religions that discuss what that might be like, but that certainly hasn’t happened yet (and I’m not holding my breath for it to happen any time soon.)

I’m guessing what they might be referring to is that wolves are extinct in Japan, hence nowadays, if someone in Japan saw one, they might have the same reaction – that wolves have powers, are somehow divine, or view the wolf in some other mythological context. Though to say WR is based on a “true” story simply because of that is pushing it (imho) and kind of misses the main theme running through WR.