Anime industry in Australia
The anime industry has grown significantly in the last few years, especially outside of Japan. It has spread rapidly across the world, with a major increase in the licensing of various series, movies. Japanese content and cultural exports are increasingly popular around the World. Japanese animation, or anime, has exploded on the Australian popular culture scene in recent years. The anime is not a “kids stuff”, it has many genres typically found in any mass media form and Visual characteristics. Such genres include action, adventure, children’s stories, comedy, drama, and erotica. This report is looking at the role of Australian media companies in sustaining fan culture, Australian investment in global media and popular culture, and the state of South Australia’s Anime industry.
The current state of Australia Anime industry:
Anime and manga has become commercially profitable in western countries, of course in Australia. From Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) 2005 annual report, although there is not exactly data on the ratio of Japanese anime in global market, but around 60 percent of the anime shown worldwide is made in Japan. Japan now has top share of global market. Japanese anime industry is a mix of pop culture, which includes film, video games and toy. In 2007, the anime industry in Japan generates 20 billion JPY in revenue, and for the US market, the anime products also got a revenue of 4.35 million USD , anime is increasingly being produced with a global audience in mind. With an obvious increase of licensing publishers and titles in response to the high demands on anime and manga. The English version manga, known as graphic novels, are now available not only from specialty stores but also in the regular bookstores, such as Dymocks and Borders.
For Australia anime industry, Madman Entertainment is one of the most successful DVD and merchandise distribution companies in Australia, which control 96% of the anime market in Australia. Madman Entertainment was founded in 1996, as an anime-only distribution company. Until 2006, Madman has released such phenomenally successful DVD anime titles as Dragon Ball Z, Spirited Away, Naruto, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, Ghost in the Shell and many more, with almost 1500 anime products in the catalogue. Madman currently employs more than 100 staff across all departments and turns over approximately $AU50 million in sales annually. Madman’s core business is distribution Japanese Anime; this is the major source of income of Madman. Madman is not just a distribution company, it plays a very important role in the sustenance of fan culture and Australian investment in global culture, and a healthy anime fan culture in Australia.
Madman is primarily focused on distribution rather than the creation of new content. But in terms of packaging, branding and marketing—as well as ancillary product (like the otakuwear clothing line)—Madman can very much be thought of as a content provider. Madman also increasingly offering a complete cultural package of not just DVD titles, but clothing, accessories, caps and website forums. Creativity for Madman takes the form of product acquisition, product management and marketing—producing unique packaging, selecting material that appeals to Australian audiences and creating a cultural package whereby each individual item—the DVD, the clothing and the website—references the others in interesting ways. Madman therefore becomes a point of convergence between fan and commercial cultures, and by negotiating this balance, helps to sustain both communities.
Madman Entertainment certainly contributes towards sustaining a cultural dialogue in Australia, hooking Australian audiences into the larger global popular cultural network. Through projects like the Retro Collection, for example, they localize overseas content and archive it as part of Australia popular culture . Madman can be thought of as ‘cultural custodians for anime and eighties animation in Australia’ and an increasingly important example of how new knowledge economies might flourish in the future. Madman produces packaging and content for a local Australian market and generates a sense of community for Australian fans and consumers; Madman also plays a very important role in sustaining Australia’s connection to the globally networked trade in popular culture.
Madman Screening Room, online streaming latest anime everyday.
Fandom and Conventions
With the influence of Japanese pop culture, more and more Anime conventions began to appear in Australia the early 1990s, it allow people of diverse background and experience to form bonds around a common interest, it let people know that they are not alone in their likes and their passions. Anime fandom helps to provide a space for community where people can come and be accepted for who they are.
Anime is not only an “exotic oriental perversion”, but as a valuable part of entertainment.
In Australia, we now have four major anime conventions.
Animania
Supanova
Manifest
AVCon
AVCon is the major anime convention in Adelaide. It was mainly hold in The University of Adelaide during past few years. For year 2009, AVCon will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre (AVCon, 2009). The change in venue is caused by the ever expanding popularity of AVCon. It also shows the trend of Adelaide’s anime industry. As a global media and culture even, AVCon mainly offer complete immersion into the world of Japanese popular culture over a full weekend, include Coplay show, game tournaments, competitions and anime market (AVCon, 2009). AVCon also offer a large marketing opportunity, it provides many marketing opportunities for businesses in related industries, such as video gaming and local anime fan club, AVCon give local anime fan club the change to sell and introduce their product to the public.
In the past few years, most of these conventions are hold locally, however, in 2009, Animania and Supanova has become a national event. Supanova will be hold in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne this year , and Animania will be hold in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
about 4 months ago
这是你的论文么。。。