I just wanted to respond to the letter...
From the desk of the President of Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Eric P. Sherman:
Who the fuck is "Bang Zoom!"? Ah, they specialize in
dubbing. So I already don't care!
If people don’t resist the urge to get their fix illegally, the entire industry is about to fizzle out. It won’t be a big dramatic change at this point. Last year we saw Bandai fire 90% of their staff on one Monday in January, and two years ago we saw Geneon (neé Pioneer) shut their doors and auction off their wares to the highest bidder. CPM died a slow, painful death. And ADV fell hard and fast, the way mighty giants will.
Yup, fansubs are killing off the American market. It's easy to see why when it takes forever for licensed titles to make it out here and they are available as fansubs almost immediately after airing in Japan.
But from here on, it won’t be so exciting. Japan is already suffering and struggling to bring out quality titles. They can’t rely on everything being picked up by US distributors anymore. And little by little, it just won’t be here anymore.[/b]
And this isn't a HUGE part of the problem? Hey, maybe if they stopped making shitty shows and releasing nothing but moe moe uguuuuuu~, things might pick up a bit!
You can’t find much anime at Best Buy now. In fact, where can you find it for sale? Think about that.
Best Buy, the local comic book store, online on places like Amazon...basically the same places that have always sold this stuff. Oh, and Best Buy's prices are way too high. Only an idiot would buy a new release there. I have seen
new sets come out for $80 at Best Buy that are $40 on Amazon.There are fewer new titles coming out, and less and less stuff will be in English, because it’s just not worth the cost of dubbing it.
So don't dub it. If you're not able to get a television deal, who fucking cares? Release it subbed...wouldn't you be saving money and be able to release stuff faster this way?
Oh, right-- your company doesn't bring stuff out, all you do is voice work. No wonder "u mad."
Anime is going to die.
No, I think you mean "overpriced American anime releases are going to stop being released, and nobody is going to care because they are downloading/streaming everything anyway!"
Unless YOU change. Right now. Stop stealing. If you have committed theft, robbery, shop-lifting, or just “downloading some stuff through torrent reactor,” then just stop doing it — now. You probably wouldn’t go into a supermarket and put a package of swiss cheese under your shirt and walk out without paying. Nor would you walk into Best Buy and try to walk out with Guitar Hero, bypassing the cash register. Why? Is it because you might get caught? Or are there other issues, such as standards of morality, that dictate how you live your life.
So I'm "stealing" if I watch One Piece online, which Funimation allows? Am I "stealing" if I watch a show that was aired for free on Japanese television via the internet? Eric P. Sherman has never borrowed a VHS tape from somebody or a DVD-R of some show he missed?
The net, for all it’s charms, is also a dark and dangerous place. When you’re navigating it, you need to ask yourself this question: Is this right, just because it is so easy? You need to understand that quality entertainment costs a lot to create. And if there is no one paying for this content, it just won’t be made anymore. If no one bought tickets to a Lady Ga Ga show, she would not do the tour. That’s just how it works. For some reason, people don’t mind stealing their anime. I’m here to tell you flat out: This is wrong. You are doing something bad. And you need to stop it.
You'd have something here if 95% of everything being streamed/offered for download were all DVDs/blu-rays, but they're not. They're television episodes. Get with the times and change. Offer these episodes in high quality at competitive prices online. Bring out related merchandise for them. Fanboys can't steal animu figures, posters, model kits, otaku food, and titty mousepads. Release TV series on DVD/blu-ray at lower prices. $40 works for me, not $80.
I’m sure that some of you reading this will laugh, close this window, and go download some more torrents. Why not? Who’s going to know? Who’s going to catch you?
Yeah, pretty much!
I think this bears repetition, so I’ll say it again: Not getting caught does not make what you are doing right. And I am pretty sure it doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. What you are doing is not only illegal, it is actually hurting many people. From the artists and creators, to the voice actors in the studios — all working to put food on their tables for their families. You can’t see them, and you can’t see the immediate results of your actions. But believe me, you are hurting people.
You know what I think is hurting people? The laughably-low wages that people in the anime industry make in Japan. You can make more money FLIPPING BURGERS AT MCDONALD'S than drawing animation, for fuck's sake.
If what I’m saying resonates with you, then consider this a wake up call. A call to immediate and profound action. It’s very easy to do. You should support anime if you love it, by paying for it.
Oh, I do. I do buy the shows/movies I like. Or rather, I would if there were any recent shows/movies that I thought were worth buying! The ones I like, BTW?
THEY AREN'T AVAILABLE FOR ME TO BUY.Do the right thing. Plain and simple. Because if you don’t, I can guarantee you that this time next year, Bang Zoom won’t be bringing you anymore English language versions of it.
Nobody cares.
To all of those who support anime: a heartfelt thank you from all of us at the studio.
http://goanimetv.com/?p=668
An addendum from me: Viz recently fired 55 of its staff and closed its New York office. It seems the view from the hill is that anime is definitely on its way out (to no one's tears?).
If anime is on the way out, it goes further than just nerds downloading shows off the internet. There are a lot of other factors that need to be looked at. Japan's anime industry is in dire need of a wake-up call.
