“This is a great time to be an anime fan.” Mitchel Berger,,,,, crunchyrollHe is the executive vice president of global trade and drama at this year’s Annecy Festival. Berger’s confidence reflects his front-row seats in the development of anime over the past decade, from his position as a professional hobby to his current mainstream entertainment force.
His appearance was a landmark year in the 40th anniversary edition of the Japanese Mifa (Marché International Du Film D’Animation), which was held in conjunction with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. This year’s show has 16 Japanese projects in all categories, as well as five Tokyo Animation Stadium Grand Prix winners, one of the strongest Japanese shows in festival history. However, watching Berger’s 40-minute speech unfold, people couldn’t help feeling crunchyroll The task is fundamentally misunderstood.
Annecy is mainly a celebration of animation art and craftsmanship. It is one of the busiest creators conventions in the world. This is a celebration of people who create or desire to create. This is a recruitment market for animation graduates from Europe and beyond. This is where many of the world’s leading colleges and schools recruit new students. Here, well-known artists can meet, compare notes, brainstorm, and guide the next generation of creators. Annecy is an animated cavalry that is creative and storytelling, which is great. But the undeniable buzz of the festival has masked a very serious crisis in the animation industry.
Since then NetflixKey subscribers fell by 970,000 in July 2022, marking an effective end to the streaming war as the platform shifts its focus from growth to profitability. By the second quarter of 2024, the animation production in the United States has been Falled Compared to the 2022 level, the Animation Association estimates that one-third of the Tag animation workforce has been fired 40% in the past year. Large studios have implemented massive cuts, Netflix Pixar Warner Bros. Discover Nearly 1,000 employees have been ruled in multiple departments. The global scope of this contraction goes beyond the layoffs of North America, European animation and video game production companies.
Despite the challenges facing the animation production industry, a highlight of the animation industry is Japan, and crunchyroll Thursday morning on a hot Thursday morning, attended all of this at 9 a.m.
By 2030 (excluding Japan and China), there will be 17 million subscribers in more than 200 countries and 1.5 billion anime fans are expected to be crunchyroll There is no doubt that it has transformed from a messy startup to a global entertainment royal swordsman. Berger’s speech bursts with statistics from their recent national research team Polland guarantees will attract the attention of mainstream media and entertainment media. If you’re already an anime fan and are part of the “Z gen” companions, then knowing that most of your companions are more enthusiastic than watching sports or watching sports, or being fanatical on Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce.
It’s great to see how deep anime has been infiltrated into global consciousness, especially among today’s teenagers, where 60% of young people aged 13-17 are identified as anime fans. Berger is present to remind the audience crunchyroll Located in the heart of this vast ecosystem, it would be great if the gathered audiences chose their next streaming subscription here, but here’s the problem: It’s more of an investor speech than a contribution to Annecy’s mission to promote international animation collaboration and artistic excellence. Berger showed from Anne Shirleyand Metal Rougethese are all in the series of competitions and are also highly anticipated trailers festivalpresentations read more like marketing display cabinets than industry insights or creative exchanges that Mifa aims to promote.
The most convincing moment was Hayate’s announcement, production and development of joint ventures Aniplex and crunchyrolland The Ghost of Tsushima As their first project. This is an illustration of choice crunchyrollThe current moment is fascinating. The game developed in the West is inspired by Japanese culture and makes it complete with anime production. There is no doubt that one of their biggest wins so far is soloa kind of animation made by anime A-1 Picture and Aniplexand only crunchyroll Entered more than 200 countries. It is the perfect show for the platform and most of its subscriber base. Anime now crunchyroll‘ Most viewed The historical series of the platform, it is based on Korean online novels, the novel becomes a Webtoonand then the Japanese comic series.
This reverse cultural flow should be the perfect launcher for discussions about international joint production, cultural integration storytelling or how European creators can visit crunchyrollplatform. Instead, Berger doubled down on the “real anime experience” messaging, lacking huge strategic opportunities as the rest of the world’s animation communities spin on adult genre animation and “neighboring anime” content. If there are indeed 1.5 billion anime fans by 2030, it seems likely that a large percentage will be open, and you can also watch complementary dramas and movies produced outside of Japan. Cross-border audience Arcane or Invincible With the large audience of anime in general, it will continue to grow according to forecasts.
What’s this crunchyroll Not talking about it, but the urgent problem: There are less than 6,000 Japanese animators, and that number is expected to be reduce According to the Japanese Institute. With the demand for anime content exploded globally, mathematics simply wouldn’t work without international collaboration. Japanese manufacturers face obvious choices between AI automation and international partnerships. When talking to industry professionals at the festival, it is really worrying that despite the great value of global audiences in the authenticity of the media and the reputation of artisans, key stakeholders in the animation industry will simply “chase money” and ignore crafts. The audience will be satisfied with the explanation “Hey! That’s OK. We’re using Japanese AI”?
crunchyroll is part of a publicly listed company (Sony), and it does play an ambassador role for many of the largest Japanese entertainment companies, so I do feel sympathetic about the position they are in. Still, it feels like they will continue to resist obvious solutions to the Japanese capabilities issue.
In the ideal world crunchyroll It will abandon its brand myopia, which combines “animation” with “exclusive Japanese-made content” and truly embraces its status as a “think leader” and innovator. Of course, they know that anime is a medium and aesthetic approach to storytelling that can go beyond geographical boundaries? They see their anime identity as vulnerable, rather than as a bridge to expand the medium globally. if crunchyroll “Know anime,” why can’t they make the first truly successful international anime co-produced? They’re already doing it them.
This resistance becomes particularly problematic when you think about it crunchyrollLegal obligations under French law. As streaming platforms operating in France, they must reinvest 20% of their annual French revenue into local audio-visual production in accordance with the “CNC quota” requirements. This creates a fundamental conflict between their brand identity and legal compliance, a challenge that international co-production can gracefully resolve.
Rather than treating these quotas as heavy regulations, crunchyroll European content that can pioneer anime-influenced, fund Japanese European animation collaborations, or support works that adopt anime storytelling conventions while featuring European narratives. The potential audience is large, and among the 1.5 billion “animation curiosity” global audiences, hundreds of millions of people may like content about anime.
Imagine if Berger announced a European joint production fund using its Annecy platform, reveal plans for European animation content crunchyrollor discuss the mentoring plan that connects European animators to Japanese studios? Imagine the impact of showing successful European-Japanese animation collaborations or providing distribution channels for European animation content. Sony and crunchyroll Many initiatives have been announced to ease the burden of producing homes in Japan as well as some international training programs, so why don’t they bring any of them to Annecy?
Instead, we got promotional trailers (already available online) and box office forecasts. introduce festival – Behind the scenes with creators In Urana Discussing hidden “stool” throughout her comics is better suited for fan conferences than the world’s premier animated festival.
crunchyrollResistance to international joint production represents a strategic blind spot. They sit on a platform that could become a global connection to anime-style storytelling while clinging to artificially narrow definitions that limit creativity and business growth. Project success Devil’s City,,,,, Devil May Cry,,,,, Devoted,,,,, Blue-eyed warriorand Arcane (all NetflixAnime – Posting Western content products) and Amazon‘ Hazbin Hotel,,,,, Lorocand Invincible Prove that Western animation influenced by anime can achieve great success. Regional markets show obvious appetite Cultural integration content, crunchyroll It is possible to lead this evolution rather than being forced by competitors, and if their Japanese production partners move now, they can ensure this action.
Berger emphasizes the release of dramas (e.g. Demon killer: Infinity Castle The trilogy demonstrates a complex understanding of event programming. The MCU style building and cross-platform engagement strategy is indeed impressive, but this approach is out of touch with Annecy’s values of artistic exchange and creative innovation. The festival celebrates animation as an art form, not just getting monetized content on multiple platforms.
Maybe crunchyroll Should join in the celebration and bring some of Japan’s actual creative talents to Annecy to talk about their current work, or might they announce European animation scholarships and mentoring programs for young animators? There are many Japanese creators at the festival, and the largest number of representatives in the Japanese industry (243) participated in Mifa.
crunchyrollS Annecy’s speech demonstrated a company’s business success, but did not seem to be aware of its cultural responsibilities and strategic opportunities. While Berger’s confidence and the platform’s growth metrics are undeniably impressive, the missed opportunity has made a meaningful contribution to international animation collaborations, like a serious miscalculation.
As animation develops from subculture to mainstream phenomena, the industry needs leaders to know that global success requires more than a larger number – it requires real cultural bridge building and creative partnerships. crunchyroll There is a perfect stage to prove this understanding. Instead, they brought a victory circle that made the industry wonder what would happen.
