Which Brings Us To Today…
It’s now March of 2009. It’s been a year since FUNimation Entertainment famously said “Don’t panic, there is no anime crisis!” It’s been over a year since meeting with the Head of Productions of The Ocean Group.
Geneon’s been long gone, ADV is still in the game but just barely, Fullmetal Alchemist is getting a new season, and anime conventions currently have larger attendance than ever before. Microsoft is laying off hundreds, the economy’s in brutal shape, and everyone’s worrying just a little more about food costs each day.
I, meanwhile, have gone back to my old job at The Real Canadian Superstore to make ends meet while still looking for my “intermediate to dream job”. I’ve still yet to write any ADR scripts for anime any time, and I don’t see that as happening any time soon. I haven’t e-mailed Diana in a long while, and haven’t spoken with her since Anime Evolution last August. I always knew it was a long shot and had actually given up a job opportunity or two for the shot. But I had to try. When am I ever going to have the chance to so brazenly leap out on a limb ever again?
I’m more than willing to believe that the current issue with the anime industry can be tied in with the broader global economic issues in the world. Still, I’ve also heard straight from the source that anime isn’t exactly a major money-maker, and can believe that while piracy and the like is a problem for all mediums, the anime industry just isn’t as strong as the big Hollywood groups to just shrug that off. Whether the stakes are so high that the entire industry will crash or not I couldn’t say. I can say, however, that they were definitely high enough that I didn’t make it in.
From what I can tell, Ocean Productions is still hanging in there. I’m still extremely proud to know that a good chunk of North American anime gets done in my city, and I can only wish them the best in the times ahead. If the Death Note dub was any indication, today’s anime dubs are looking and sounding better than ever. Interest in the medium is also higher than ever, and anime even dares to be quite mainstream at times. It’ll be hard, but we’ll continue to support our funny little big-eyed fandom.
I just won’t be writing any scripts for it any time soon.
Food for your thoughts.
