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Last Wednesday I took part in a small eruption of discussion on Twitter about "moé," one that primarily revolved around @janaiblog and @DarylSurat's heated argument. Moé, for those of you unaware, is typically defined as an anime and manga aesthetic that includes cute girls, slice-of-life settings, and/or submissive female characters. (Let's not even get into the obvious generalities of that statement, and the varying opinions among fans in regards to that definition.)
The most interesting point that was brought up, in my opinion, was the idea of looking at moé not through art/entertainment criticism – as many of its supporters and detractors have tried to do – but through an economic lens. In other words, we can throw away questions such as "does moé make a story better/worse?" and "is it a valuable form of character development?" Instead, we can tackle the "debate" (quoted because it's really more of a nebulous conversation than any sort of defined, concrete debate) by examining moé's effects on the Japanese animation industry.
Now, what I'm putting forward here isn't exactly new. Matt Alt wrote a great post roughly a year ago on his blog, detailing what's wrong with the anime industry. According to his assessment, the industry is "dying" due to an endless cycle. No one is really sure if this started with the chicken or the egg, but pretty much it goes like this: Animators are paid slave wages while their jobs are exported to Korea, so naturally the only people who want to work in animation in Japan are the hardcore fans who love anime more than anything else. These people are already hardcore fans, so they are most comfortable creating shows for fellow otaku. However, in aiming for the super-niche audience, anime studios produce moé series that only appeal to people who are already fans. Since they aren't creating enough new fans, the fanbase shrinks and the profits go down. And look at that! When profits go down, they pay their animators less, and the cycle continues.
That is the big problem here. Forget about moé being bad storytelling or anything like that – it shrinks the market! And it's not like I'm trying to bring down other people's favorite shows here. For example, the hit series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, a show that I enjoyed, is made by otaku for otaku, so it too is contributing to the problem. If you've ever tried to show Haruhi to a normal, sane human being, you have probably realized that all of the jokes it makes in reference to anime stereotypes don't work so well unless you're already a die-hard anime fan. News flash: not all Japanese people are fans of anime. In fact, some of them would probably react similarly to your own parents when seeing something as ridiculous as Haruhi.
You want proof? Take a look at the top grossing films in Japan from 2004 to 2008. See any moé on the list? No, but you do see a lot of Studio Ghibli films (Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo), shōnen series (Death Note, Detective Conan, Naruto, One Piece), and children's properties (Doraemon, Pokémon). In this Japanese DVD sales chart from the Anime News Network, only one moé show makes it into the top 30 DVDs sold in Japan (at #25), and there are only three moé shows on the entire list. Meanwhile, dozens of more mainstream anime properties like Pokémon, Bleach, Naruto, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and Space Battleship Yamato are scattered throughout the list. Despite this, more than half of the winter 2010 season is comprised of fan-pandering moé, and the remainder are mostly non-moé shows that are also aimed at niche audiences. There's a disconnect here between what's being produced and what's being consumed.
Just imagine if the money put into making those shows was instead put into making more series like the ones we see represented on the box office and DVD sales charts. What if that money was put into making more series like Fullmetal Alchemist, one of the biggest overseas anime success stories in history? I'm willing to bet that the struggling industry would be doing a lot less struggling.
(For the record, I don't live in Japan and don't pretend to have an intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of the Japanese animation industry. If you've got a more compelling argument for why moé is good for the industry – as well as the facts and the credibility to back it up – I'd love to hear it!)
15 comments:
That does indeed sound like a vicious cycle. What I would be interested in learning is how much ancillary merchandising figures into this equation (video games, figurines, hug pillows, etc). Is the money earned from these merchandising efforts really enough to warrant the cost of producing new shows and paying to have them air on Japanese TV? What kinds of returns are corporate sponsors seeing from these broadcasts? There must be some reason that these shows continue to proliferate.
Well, In Kyoto Animation's (Haruhi, Lucky Star, K-On!) case, I'd say that a fair amount of profit is being made from the character singles and other CDs that were stupid popular. Case in point, K-On's Mini Album debuting at number one on the Oricon Weekly CD sales chart. (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-07-27/k-on-album-is-1st-anime-character-cds-to-top-weekly-chart)
I highly doubt that a significant portion of a company's income from merchandise would come from figurines or hug pillows. (Are they even really endorsed by the companies? I was under the impression that most were fan made.)
I think one reason moe seems to be dominant as of now is Japan's current economic condition. While it would be nice to see more diverse shows, many producers just don't have the money for that kind of stuff right now. So, they go with what they know is safe (relatively cheap to produce) and is selling, and that's moe. This point was actually brought about on the latest ANNCast ("FUNi People") during the Q&A. Now, I'm no expert on economics, so I could certainly be wrong, but I just saw that as a possibility.
However, right now, I don't think it's much to worry about. Yes, even I will admit that plenty of what I consider to be "moe shows" are utter crap, but I still find a good 5-6 new shows to pick up (and support financially) each season, including plenty of non-moe titles. I don't see it as something that's hurting the industry, but rather as a passing phase. It's the current fad and right now it's at its peak (again, also just speculation).
Which leads me to another question: What exactly defines a show as "moe"? There's certainly a ton of discrepancy on the issue. Clannad, for example, is a very emotional drama series, vastly different from Lucky Star, and yet both are considered to be "moe shows." Seems like putting apples & oranges in the same bushel to me. It just doesn't seem right to place them under the same category. On the flipside, both shows contain "cute girls" which is what seems to be the dominant factor in what defines a "moe show." But if that's the case, hasn't moe been around for quite some time? Wouldn't Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura be considered "moe" by that definition (there are probably better examples, but I can only go with what I know)? There's just so much confusion over the word that sometimes I wonder if it's even worth discussing.
You bring up some good points. I also don't have any extensive knowledge of Japan's anime industry, but as someone who's been a fan for ten years and has watched a variety of anime (lots of moe, shonen, and other titles), I can offer my own thoughts behind the declining variety of anime.
I think a lot of it has to do with the switch from cel animation to digital animation in the early 2000s (I wrote a post about this actually). Thanks to digital animation, it's now easier than ever for companies to create anime. So way more titles are being made every year than in the 90s or earlier, and it's become a quantity over quality game; since male otaku are the primary target audience for non-mainstreamed anime in Japan, wish-fulfilling moe/harem shows are the ones being produced most frequently since that's what the target audience wants. The astounding amount of figures or other merchandise of female characters in Japan attests to this. There are many exceptions of course, but speaking generally, Americans watch anime for different reasons than Japanese male otaku do, hence the reason why action/fantasy shows like FMA, Inuyasha, and Death Note become highly successful when mainstreamed in America while moe/character-driven shows like K-ON!, Lucky Star, and Hayate no Gotoku! are the big hits in Japan but not so much in America. Since anime is still being made firstly for a Japanese audience, usually companies will focus on the kinds of shows this audience wants before they consider what fans overseas want.
I too wish there would be a better balance of anime genres being made nowadays. There's nothing wrong with making wish-fulfilling moe/harem shows, since that's what the primary target audience wants, but things are going overboard with such shows now. I'm still optimistic though because gems like Kemono no Souja Erin, Michiko to Hatchin, Aoi Bungaku, Eden of the East, and other recent non-fan-pandering anime are still being made. It will indeed be sad if the industry shrinks to a dangerous level. But I'm hoping things will get better, or at least gems will still be made amongst all the mediocrity.
@ janaiblog
It's convenient to talk about moe as a genre, but I think for Japanese fans it's more of a feeling they get for certain characters or more of a character trait than a type of show. Therefore Lucky Star, a comedy, and Clannad, a drama, contain characters with looks and personalities that fans consider moe, so they're often called moe shows even though they're very different. Even characters from completely non-moe shows, like Hinata (Naruto) could have moe-like traits. So yeah, it's easy for fans to use the word "moe" to describe an entire show but more accurately it's a feeling or character archetype.
And by the way, I think Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura) was one of the first moe characters. I've never heard Sailor Moon having anything to do with moe but maybe for some people it does produce that feeling.
@Sean: That's a good point you have there. Still, I highly doubt that K-ON! (a) makes as much money as most shonen action shows, even with merchandise factored in, and (b) creates as many new fans as those same shonen series. Moé might win over a couple new fans, but Naruto is what catches kids' attentions at a young age and indoctrinates them into the anime culture. (As creepy and brainwash-y as that may sound...)
@janaiblog: A risk or two can help the anime industry out of the slump, even in a bad economy, but everybody knows that the Japanese studios are too conservative to even consider breaking out of the established molds — even if those molds point toward an inevitably smaller market for their product.
In this article, I specifically tried to get across the idea that I am indicting the overabundance of shows that pander to the existing fanbase, NOT moé shows in particular. As such, what we define as a moé show is actually irrelevant. Because, let's be honest, the new Cobra TV series is part of the shrinking market too, as it only appeals to hardcore otaku.
@Yumeka: Yet from the data that I presented in the article, it would seem like the same shows that are popular in America (Death Note, Inu Yasha, Naruto) are the ones that eat up the Japanese box office and DVD sales charts. Forming a view of the Japanese fanbase using only Internet discussion is just asking for an out-of-proportion estimate. Just as in any other fandom, the biggest fans make the loudest noise online, and inflate the apparent number of hardcores out there.
@Kent -
Well, I've no doubt that moe shows do move merchandise. The more difficult question to answer is, "Is it cost-effective to do moe, or would it be more cost-effective to do other types of shows?" Ultimately I think if there is economic incentive to do other things, studios will be happy to do other things.
@Vampt Vo -
This really calls to mind Tomino's NYAF speech about how cinema, as art, has to be about taking risks and trying new things.
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I'm starting to get sick of this argument. It reminds me of the reality TV debate we had a few years ago in the States. Studios found reality TV more profitable so that means that all scripted Television is doomed!
The heavy focus on Moe is going to pass like all fads pass.
The other idea that bugs me with this argument is the people on the other side like to push the idea that no show is being made without Moe. Not true. The best shows of 2009 still rely on their own merits and not on any audience pandering.
Also, as janaiblog and Yumeka have said, Moe is not a genre. It's a feeling or an obsession. The first time I heard the term was in the show Ouran High School Host Club. A show which has brought the most US female fans into the medium than any other has done in years. Yet it fits into what you consider to be negative aspects of "moe." It panders to its audience. It satires established tropes. But it also great characters and a fantastic story.
But your whole argument is based on the idea that money is being taken away from making a blockbuster show like Fullmetal Alchemist. That is an arrogant statement. I'm sure the studios would love to be able to produce hits out of thin air. But it doesn't quite work that way. They have brought back Fullmetal, and but tons of money towards production, and they are still grinding through Bleach, where they have taken away money from production. I'm sure if you presented the studios with a guaranteed hit they would snatch it up in a second.
@Vampt Vo: The industry is still taking risks though. As a result, we get shows like Kuchu Buranko - a very surreal type show with high production value. Although I agree it would be nice to see more of these type shows, right now isn't the best time to take risks because of the state of the economy. Risks can help, but they can also hurt.
I also think of the decline of Japanese video games when I think about this. JRPG's such as Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, etc. have seen a decrease in sales in the US because the Japanese are being conservative and want to stick with what's worked in the past. It seems the Japanese don't mind this nearly as much as western gamers. As a result, Japan continues to make arguably "generic" games while western fans are getting restless and resorting to other games like Fallout.
I think the main issue here is that there are cultural differences between the nations, and Japan just doesn't understand the rest of the world or maybe they're just too egocentric. Japan makes products for Japan first, and the rest of the world second. And yeah, that's a failure on their part because they're not catering to the entire market.
However, I remain optimistic in stating that while this may be a low point in anime productions, it doesn't mark the death of the industry. Japan has always been known to make content that's not very original, so this isn't really new, and I'm glad that you see that it isn't just moe doing this, it's overall pandering.
@ VamptVo
Anime like Naruto, Inuyasha, and Death Note are indeed popular in Japan because they're mainstreamed in popular shonen magazines. In Japan, these kinds of anime are marketed towards the Japanese public in general (family/kids entertainment mostly), which is why they're always successful. Mecha, moe, and more niche anime are marketed towards otaku. But I was just making a point that action/fantasy are generally the only kinds of anime that become successful in America outside the fanbase.
I'm not basing my views on Internet discussion alone. I've been to Akihabara and have seen the kinds of people, products, and promotions going on there. I found it interesting that there are no products for mainstreamed anime (Naruto, Pokemon, Ghibli films) in stores like Animate and Gamers - only products for otaku shows like Haruhi, Lucky Star, Code Geass, Evangelion, etc. People who like Nartuo, One Piece, Ghibli, etc, in Japan are not usually anime fans while those who like the kinds of shows you see promoted in Akiba usually are. The anime market in Japan seems to be split between the mainstreamed/family titles and the niche/otaku titles.
One more thing I forgot to mention, about the fact that there are no moe movies in Japan's top grossing from 2004 to 2008. The number of moe movies that are made in any given year pales in comparison to the number of movies for mainstreamed properties like Pokemon, Ghibli, One Piece, etc,. So of course there won't be any moe movies in that list because I don't even think any were made in those years.
And that Japanese DVD sales chart only represents one week. Go back a month or so prior to that and you'll see some moe/otaku titles (Haruhi, Bakemonogatari, Aria, K-ON!). But mostly the sales seem to be a mix of niche and mainstreamed anime and foreign animation, with niche not significantly more or less than the others.
@Gundampilotspaz: That reality TV angle is an interesting comparison! Yes, moé is most certainly a fad, just as super robots were. And like all fads, it will pass, but in this case, the industry could sustain major financial damage before it goes away.
As I have mentioned before, I'm not making qualitative judgments of shows, only talking about audiences and demographics. If everybody in Japan loved moé and they all went out and bought moé DVDs and merchandise, that would be great for the anime industry, much as I dislike the genre/characteristic/whatever-you-want-to-call-it.
I used FMA as an extreme example, but these studios certainly have a limited amount of money, and that money IS being spent on shows aimed at otaku. It stands to reason that if fewer moé shows were made, more money could be freed up in the budget for mainstream shows. Not too crazy an idea, is it?
@janaiblog: But in this case, the industry is being even more insular than JRPG developers. Studios are creating shows not just aimed locally at Japan, but aimed specifically at Japanese otaku. Average Japanese people don't buy the stuff, and neither do (most) American otaku. They are shrinking their local market and outright ignoring their foreign market.
@Yumeka: I chose one week in particular so as not to fill a paragraph with boring links to Anime News Network posts, but most of the charts from other weeks tell a similar story. The most common items on the charts are foreign animation, shonen series, and sci-fi anime (Gundam, Yamato). Moé is certainly on there, but not in great enough numbers to justify the amount of moé being produced by TV studios!
Now how about some of those boring links? (Literally just a random selection of semi-recent DVD rankings)
5/11-17/09
9/7-13/09
12/7-13/09
12/28/09-01/10/10
@ VamptVo
I agree with you that moe does sell, just not enough to warrant so many moe/harem shows being produced. But it's like Gundampilotspaz; in the bad economy, studios are simply making shows that they know will sell. I too would like to see more innovative titles but apparently nobody wants to take the risk. Perhaps once the moe fad passes and the economy recovers, they will. We just have to wait and see.
I'm still a little confused about that top grossing film article you linked. Did any movies you would consider moe even come out in those years? If I'm not mistaken, typically the only animated films in Japan are based on major franchises like Pokemon and One Piece, foreign films like Pixar, or a few stand-alone films like Ghibli or 5cm/sec. Just about all other anime TV shows, moe or otherwise, won't get films made, so obviously they won't be among the top grossing. So to help your argument, that link wasn't necessary; you could have just stated the fact that moe shows aren't accessible enough to the Japanese public to justify films of them being made in the first place. Is that what you were trying to get at?
I don't mind moe in reasonable quantities (I hate it, but I don't care enough about it to see it completely dissolve), but to reach the height of the early 00s, the industry needs to make the market more diverse.
The same thing happened in the other decades where series started to ride on the coattails of Gundam, Macross, Evangelion, Mazinger Z, etc. However, they were forgotten because of their inferior quality, and now with overvalued crap like K-ON being very popular, I fear for the worst if you catch my drift.
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