Gonzo/GDH Trying to Beat Fansubbers at Their Own Game

The anime industry is, in a word, the shitter. There are tons of fans, but few people buying anime DVDs?the others are watching fansubs. It’s killing the anime industry both in America (R.I.P., Geneon) and Japan. The Japanese industry, like the American music industry, has been trying to ignore the problem, mainly by closing its eyes real tight and singing so it can’t hear, to about the same success. The American companies are aware of the problem, but don’t want to spend their dwindling funds suing kids.

Okay, that’s the 411 for those not following the scene. Now GDH?better known to anime fans as the anime studio Gonzo, and probably the most internationally minded, forward-thinking company in the business?is actually trying to do something about it. The company is going to make two new anime series available on YouTube, Crunchyroll.com and BOST at the same time the shows air in Japan. Both series?The Tower of Druaga (pictured) and BLASSREITER?will be free, streaming, and in Japanese with English subtitles; more interestingly, no U.S. companies seem to be involved. I assume GDH will be getting some kind of ad revenue for letting these site air the shows, which will be a marked improvement over the zero dollars they get with fansubs.

This is huge, mostly because now that one Japanese company has taken the plunge, and the rest of the scaredy-cat Japanese anime industry could (and should) follow. It’s also huge because as of today, the American anime industry isn’t particularly needed. Sure, there will always be some fans who prefer DVDs over watching shows on their computer?I’m one of them?but clearly, there’s not too many of them, certainly not enough to justify all the companies currently existing. Sorry ’bout your luck.

All my anime posts are really long, and I’m sorry. I’m very much that guy.