Tomohiko Ito, director of “Sword Art Online,” sees the anime industry facing a difficult phase because, in his opinion, original anime in particular are coming under increasing pressure. We summarize below.
Original anime at a disadvantage
In an interview with Daily Shincho, Tomohiko Ito explained that original anime could face major challenges in the coming years.
The director cited the main reason for this as the increasing concentration of many studios on projects that are already based on successful manga or light novels and are therefore considered economically more secure.
According to Ito, the industry has become increasingly oriented towards global markets in recent years. As a result, new projects often prefer works that appeal to as many viewers as possible, can be marketed internationally and pose only a low economic risk.
The director cited popular series such as “Demon Slayer” as an example, because productions of this type have shown that high-quality anime adaptations of existing models can achieve enormous success.
Creative risks remain important
However, Ito warns that this could reduce the motivation for innovative and unusual narrative approaches. Even with established franchises, people are increasingly relying on stories that already exist as manga or light novels instead of developing new content specifically for the respective anime.
He was also concerned that international market requirements – particularly from the USA – could increasingly play a role in new projects. This poses the risk that creative or unconventional ideas will be classified as unsafe at an early stage.
Despite the economic benefits of successful templates, the director emphasized that the anime industry must remain open to experimental ideas.
In his opinion, new talents could only develop and new successful brands emerge if authors, directors and screenwriters were regularly given the opportunity to implement their own concepts.
Ito is not alone in this assessment. In recent years, several directors, producers and animators have warned of increasing risk aversion and called for more space for original projects.
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Via Daily Shincho
© REKI KAWAHARA/PUBLISHED BY KADOKAWA CORPORATION ASCII MEDIA WORKS/SAO Project