Manga artists challenge 'harmful books' labels
Plus: Avex forms anime and video production holding company; Hotel workers strike during Anime Expo; Toei Animation taps Latin American market; and more
This is your weekly Animenomics briefing, covering the business of anime and manga. Today is Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
In case you missed it: Anime Expo happened this week in Los Angeles, and there is no shortage of anime and manga announcements, previews, and premieres.
Manga artists seek revision of ‘harmful books’ label
As many as 100 manga artists specializing in boys’ love manga (also known as BL or gay manga) have lost income in the last two years because their works were designated as “harmful” or “unhealthy” by local governments in Japan.
Why it matters: Although local ordinances don’t necessarily prohibit the sale of such publications, a stigma is often attached to titles with the designation, says George Morikawa, author of the Hajime no Ippo boxing manga.
Morikawa sits on the board of the Japan Cartoonists Association and leads a newly-formed committee that seeks to protect manga culture and freedom of expression in manga.
Backgrounder: Several prefectural governments including Tokyo have ordinances—first introduced in the 1950s and 1960s—that restrict access to publications considered “harmful” or “unhealthy” to readers under the age of 18.
Booksellers are instructed to display designated publications separately from other materials and to prohibit their sale to juveniles, but they often choose to not stock the publications outright.
How the process works: In Tokyo, candidates for the designation are vetted first by a group of publishing industry representatives before being submitted to a council of parents, academics, and government officials and approved by the governor.
Documents reviewed by Animenomics show that all of the publications that have been designated as “harmful” and “unhealthy” by the Tokyo government in the past five years have been manga titles, the vast majority depicting sex between males and a few depicting incest.
What they’re saying: Morikawa stresses that he is not calling for the ordinances to be repealed and is more interested in a better system to restrict sales that does not introduce stigma to the works themselves.
“Our goal is to eliminate the reputational damage,” says Morikawa in an interview with The Mainichi newspaper, pointing to the use of the terms “harmful” and “unhealthy”.
One alternative system that he is proposing is an age verification process at the point of sale similar to what is used for alcohol and liquor sales today.
Yes, but: Morikawa admits that as the manga audience becomes global, there is a debate among artists whether they should conform to international social norms on issues such as violence and sexuality or maintain Japanese manga traditions.
Avex forms holding company for anime, video unit
Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex will undergo a major reorganization in August, creating two intermediate holding entities for the group’s anime and video production business and its larger, more established music business.
Why it matters: The elevation of Avex Pictures into a holding company indicates a renewed emphasis on anime and films as a source of growth by leadership, says Tadashi Sudo of Animation Business Journal.
Last year, Avex unveiled a strategic roadmap that highlighted investment in anime and video production as one of four key initiatives through 2027.
Catch up quick: Avex Pictures was established in 2014 and quickly found success producing and distributing anime titles like Mr. Osomatsu and Yuri on Ice.
Recent hits include a remake of Fruits Basket and the Annie Award nominee Pompo the Cinephile.
It also operates Flagship Line, an anime studio founded in cooperation with 3D CG animation studio Graphinica.
By the numbers: For the fiscal year ending March 2023, Avex Pictures saw its revenue grow 38.2 percent to ¥15.3 billion (US$105 million), though operating income fell 12 percent to ¥609 million (US$4.21 million).
What we’re watching: Avex’s new structure appears to take a page out of Sony’s book, not surprising given the background of its leadership.
Avex Pictures is led by Hideo Katsumata, a former Aniplex and A-1 Pictures executive who left the Sony group in 2012. The company’s new head of anime labels, Ryo Oyama, is also previously a producer with Aniplex.
Clippings: Hotel workers’ strike hits Anime Expo
A strike by Southern California hotel workers, the largest hotel strike in modern United States history, is impacting a number of hotels that were contracted as additional venues for Anime Expo. (Los Angeles Times)
Collaboration between WIT STUDIO and CloverWorks on Spy × Family allowed both studios to mitigate the impacts of an animator shortage by sharing resources and pushing for more reasonable production schedules. (Kotaku)
Publishers in the United States are starting up their own manga and webtoon publishing imprints to capitalize on both market segments that have grown triple digits since the COVID-19 pandemic. (Forbes)
Animate, Japan’s largest anime retailer, will open a physical store at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, Calif., this summer. It previously operated a store in Los Angeles between 2001 and 2003. (Anime News Network)
San Diego Comic-Con will host the world premiere of Sand Land, an anime film adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s manga. The film opens in Japanese theaters in August, but no international release plans have been announced. (ComicBook.com)
Shonen Jump+ artists benefit from overseas royalties
“Manga artists with larger overseas royalties are not uncommon on Shonen Jump+.”
— Yuta Momiyama, deputy editor-in-chief of Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ manga app
Context: In a pair of posts on Twitter, Momiyama revealed that about 30 percent of Shonen Jump+ manga titles published internationally generate more royalty fees from overseas readers than from Japanese readers. Cross-publications in Manga Plus, Shueisha’s manga app for overseas markets, have pushed the ratio of Shonen Jump+ titles with international reach to four out of every five titles.
Toei Animation opens untapped Latin American market
One year after kicking off its direct-to-consumer strategy in Latin America, Toei Animation is making big gains in the region through its Spanish-language social media channels and licensing partnerships.
Driving the story: Last month’s Licensing Expo in Las Vegas revealed that Toei Animation has 250 active licensing agreements in Latin America, 60 of which are brand new within the past 12 months.
Rewind: In 2018, local governments in multiple Latin American cities organized public screenings of a climactic episode in the Dragon Ball Super anime series that was attended by thousands.
At the time, Toei Animation warned against such screenings because Dragon Ball Super and other titles did not have official licensees in the region, forcing Crunchyroll to step in and broker some of those negotiations.
Today, Toei Animation directly licenses Dragon Ball and other intellectual properties to the Latin American market through its Los Angeles office.
By the numbers: Financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2023 show that Latin America’s share of overseas revenues nearly doubled from the prior year, to 6 percent of all sales outside Japan.
Toei Animation has signed anime broadcasting agreements with TV Azteca (Mexico), Rede Bandeirantes (Brazil), Warner Channel Latin America, and on-demand platforms like Netflix and other local providers.
Last year, One Piece Film: Red earned more than US$5 million across movie theaters in Latin America, while The First Slam Dunk is scheduled to make its regional premiere in Mexico later this month.
Merchandise licenses include properties popular in the region like Saint Seiya (also known as Knights of the Zodiac), Dragon Ball, One Piece, Sailor Moon, and Digimon.
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. Do you have a tip on how the anime or manga industry is developing in your country? Let us know by email or in the comments.
This is fascinating. It made me wonder where this world is headed for Artists ... thanks for sharing the news!