COVER STORY • 3 SMEs and the Globalization of Japanese Anime By Kimura Makoto HE Miyazaki Hayao anime, nature of Japanese animation can be SMEs Provide Production Support T Spirited Away, won the Golden found in “its characters that capture the Bear Award at the Berlin International viewer’s heart, and the way it brings out While Japanese anime are predomi- Film Festival in 2002, as well as the their emotions.” He also notes that nant in the global market, their founda- Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film anime provide “a fascinating worldview, tion is actually supported by small and at the 2002 Academy Awards. Howl’s adventure, many characters that trans- medium-sized enterpises (SMEs). Moving Castle was also nominated for form and rich storytelling.” Japanese Studio Ghibli Inc., which produced an Academy Award in 2006. Toriyama anime’s competitiveness stems from the Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Akira’s Dragon Ball held the first place fact that 60% of anime are produced Castle, was actually a division of one of on the English version of the Lycos from manga (comic books). The the largest publishing firms in Japan, search engine from 2001 to 2005. manga boom in Japan began with the Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd., Anime are now seen on TV in over 70 inauguration of two weekly manga and was established in 2005 with invest- countries, and over 60% of TV anime magazines in 1959. Today, there are ment from Miyazaki Hayao and others, programs worldwide are made in 70,000 manga titles and 120 million with 140 employees. Its anime attract Japan. copies of comic books and manga mag- fans worldwide by remaining true to the The number of anime programs on azines are printed each year. hand-drawn method, in contrast to the US TV networks jumped from 13 in the It is clear that there has been rapid computer-graphic animation created in early 1990s to 37 in March 2006. The growth in the anime character business. Hollywood. size of the anime market in the United Popular series from manga magazines The popular anime Naruto has been States, including revenues from charac- are made into single comic book vol- airing on the Cartoon Network in the ter licensing, home videos and cinema umes, and once several comic book edi- United States since last September. screenings reached US$ 2,940 million in tions have been released, they are made Naruto is a mischievous misfit at a 2004, which exceeds the value of US into TV anime programs. There is also ninja* school who continues to grow imports of Japanese steel. Moreover, a high level of affinity between music while pursuing his dream of becoming a Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon made it into and anime, as is seen by the success of head ninja. The US copyrights belong the US’s top-five rated prime-time ani- Puffy (Japanese duo) in the United to VIZ Media while the production mated programs of 2005. States. Popular comics have several mil- company in Japan is Pierrot Co., Ltd., On the UK’s BBC4, seven Japanese lion fans, and this ensures high TV rat- with 53 employees in Mitaka, Tokyo. film directors were featured in a pro- ings. After being broadcast on TV, The famous anime film director Oshii gram about filmmaking in Japan last anime are transformed into feature worked for Pierrot in the 1980s. January. Of these, three were anime films, released on DVD, and merchan- Such anime production companies film directors: Oshii Mamoru (Ghost In dising of the anime characters is also car- can be categorized into three types: (1) The Shell, Avalon and Innocence), ried out. This has led to the formation original contractors involved in the Miyazaki Hayao (Spirited Away), of a “one-source/multi-use” business planning and production of anime, such Otomo Katsuhiro (Akira, and Steam model. Pokemon, which started as a as Toei Animation Co., Ltd., Shin-ei Boy). As of February 2006, there are 18 video game character, was developed Animation Co., Ltd., Pierrot Co., Ltd. Japanese anime on the German TV based on this model, and has now grown and Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd.; (2) channel RTL2, including Inuyasha, into a ¥1 trillion industry. gross or primary subcontractors, mid- Detective Conan and Crayon Shin-Chan. The size of the anime market in Japan sized productions that take on the gener- Even in China, where there are restric- is over ¥200 billion, and is ¥2 trillion al production from the original contrac- tions on foreign content, the animated when merchandising is included. In tors; and (3) secondary subcontractors, feature film Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, contrast, the global animation industry small and medium-sized specialty stu- which was released in Japan last January, is worth about ¥300 billion, and is esti- dios that perform specific processes. has been decided to make its debut at mated at ¥3 trillion with merchandising. Since the original contractors have only 1000 theaters in spring 2006. In other words, Japanese anime occupies a few dozen employees and very few full- The allure of Japanese anime lies in a over 60% of the global animation mar- time animators, they hire temporary quality that is different from Western ket in monetary value, roughly the same staff for each project. animation. The chief producer of market share as when calculated by TV There are about 440 anime production Pokemon, Shogakukan’s Kubo programming hours, as mentioned companies in Japan, and 80% of them Masakazu, has remarked that the special above. are concentrated in Tokyo, specifically in *Note : Ninja were secret agents who practiced martial arts during the Samurai Period. 12 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • May / June 2006 COVER STORY • 3 Table 1 Main Anime Production Companies in Japan Representative Works Production Company Location (Tokyo) Number of Employees Capital (¥ million) Year Est. Naruto, Hikaru no Go Pierrot Mitaka 53 352 1979 Astro Boy, Black Jack, Jungle Emperor Leo Tezuka Productions Shinjuku 52 20 1968 Ghost in the Shell, Blood+, The Prince of Tennis Production I.G. Kokubunji 113 378 1987 Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cutie Honey GAINAX Koganei 60 20 1984 Fullmetal Alchemist Aniplex Chiyoda 50 2,280 1995 Inuyasha, Mobile Suit Gundam, Steamboy SUNRISE Inc. Suginami 170 39 1972 Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away STUDIO GHIBLI*1) Koganei 140 10 2005 Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh! TOEI ANIMATION Nerima 260*2) 2,867 1948 Source : Association of Japanese Animations, etc. Notes : 1) Division became independent from Tokuma Shoten 2) Core employees number 260, but on a consolidated basis the number of employees is 456, which is classified as a “large company” Suginami, Nerima, Musashino, Mitaka tribution rights. Due to this business ter products in Japan is specifically and Kokubunji cities. The companies model where producers do not obtain timed during anime broadcasts, this is are concentrated in this area because the their copyrights, profits from secondary not allowed in France. Even in the original contractors such as Toei uses such as DVD and overseas program United States, this kind of timed adver- Animation, Mushi Production Co. and sales are not necessarily returned to the tising, as well as advertising spots in TMS Entertainment Ltd., all set up stu- production companies. For this reason, adjacent program time slots, is subject to dios there for the launch of anime TV these companies are starting to adopt a broadcast ethics regulations. programs in Japan around 1960. Under self-financed business model in which While Japanese anime have gained a these original contractors, groups of small they procure their own financing, pro- good share of overseas TV broadcasting, and medium-sized subcontractors were duce content for which they obtain their they have been playing second fiddle to established to specialize in individual own copyrights, and eventually recoup US animation in terms of feature films. processes. This has created a vertical spe- production costs through sales in Japan The animated feature film with the cialization of labor enabling production and overseas. highest attendance during the period of to be achieved in a short period of time. MIPCOM is the largest international 1999 to 2003 was Finding Nemo, with Anime production is a labor-intensive broadcast content trade show held in 500 million people worldwide. By con- process. Not including voice actors, a Cannes, France every October, with trast, the Japanese animated feature film total of 130 to 190 people are needed to over 10,000 industry participants from with the highest attendance, Pokemon: make one TV series, and 240 to 300 93 countries and regions. Since 2003, The First Movie, was in eleventh place people to make one 40-minute feature the Japan External Trade Organization with a gross attendance of 150 million. film. For this reason, overseas outsourc- (JETRO) has been setting up a booth at The acclaimed Miyazaki anime, Howl’s ing of the coloring, animation processes the show to support the sales of TV Moving Castle, opened in just 700 to and digitalization have become major broadcast rights and DVD rights of 800 theaters in the United States in issues for the industry. Furthermore, Japanese anime production companies. 2004, while major films by Walt Disney the financial system for the market is not In 2005, 12 small and medium-sized Pictures or DreamWorks are screened in developed yet as in the West, and there Japanese anime companies took part in 2,000 to 3,000 theaters. is a lack of funds for international large- the show, including Pierrot, Tezuka It has been said that the popularity scale productions. In countries like Productions, and Milky Cartoon Co., and strength of Japanese anime lies in South Korea and China, the govern- Ltd., and carried out over 600 business the mix of media as is seen in Pokemon, ment promotes the development of cre- negotiations.