I don't think that most fans realize the sad state of the domestic Japanese industry. One of my favorite jokes in Excel Saga is when Pedro's son tells of how he wants to go to Japan to become an animator. He believes that they have to be the most respected people in their entire country.
This would go over the heads of most people. Unless you are a famous animator, you would not be able to support yourself being an animator in Japan. The conditions are such that some live with their parents so that they can make ends meet. Why do they still do it? Because they love what they are doing. But the next generation is not being brought up and eventually there will be a drop off in tallent.
There is a lot of anime being produced in Korea right now. Why? Because it is much cheaper to employ people there. Watch through the credits of your favorite shows and see how much was really "Made in Japan".
Here are a few articles talking about this.
http://www.geocities.jp/japanliving/anime.html
http://advertising.telegraph.co.uk/arts ... right.html
Shuhei Kishimoto, a consulting fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, however, expresses serious misgivings about the future of this industry in "Japanese Animation Will Decline If Nothing Is Changed".
According to Kishimoto, the production companies -- mostly small businesses -- are not told how much the program sponsors are spending for commercials. In the case of a 30-minute animated program for terrestrial TV broadcast, they will be provided only with a budgeted amount in the 8 million yen to 12 million yen range, which is not enough to cover the production cost. They rely on royalties from the sale of related goods and proceeds from overseas distribution to break even.
If it can't be expressed in numbers or figures, it is an opinion - Robert Heinlein
Like anime? Cosplay? Crossovers? AMVs? You need to go to....
