It’s always sad to hear when a company that makes the anime we love so much goes bankrupt, dashing the dreams of affected employees and causing disruption in the lives of the creators who make anime come alive for us. While it’s tough for any company to make it economically year-in and year-out, the current crisis has accelerated some trends that might have already been in place. Here’s a shortlist of six anime businesses going bankrupt as a result of the current COVID-19 crisis.
Anime Businesses Going Bankrupt Are Nothing New
Of course, anime-related companies go out of business all the time, unfortunately, unable to make it financially in a difficult industry, despite the famously low salaries of animators and other industry staff. Companies that have gone bankrupt in more normal times include Manglobe, creators of The World God Only Knows and Hayate the Combat Butler, Production IMS, who brought us Testament of Sister New Devil, and Studio Fantasia, creators of my beloved Agent Aika.
Why do anime studios go bankrupt? There are many reasons, but some include
- As a rule, animation studios are contractors hired by “anime production committees” — which are holding corporations with names like Madoka Quartet or The ‘A Place Further Than the Universe’ Production Committee that include different partners who have invested money into the project. This might include Kadokawa or Bandai Visual (the original rights holder), Lantis (the music right holder), TV stations like Tokyo MX, goods marketing specialists like Aniplex, and increasingly, foreign licensors like Funimation, Crunchyroll, and, er, Universal Studios. It’s rare that an anime studio has the spare capital to invest in these enterprises, and as a result, they share no profits from a hit anime. It’s possible that Makoto Shinkai only received his director’s fee of $200,000 from the hit film Your Name, which brought in $281 million.
- Anime can sometimes have a “long tail” with certain shows being loved by fans for years, but that doesn’t translate into ongoing revenue for anime studios. While income from international streaming companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Crunchyroll has helped, it isn’t enough for some studios. I notice that makers of ecchi anime, whose works are less likely to be licensed abroad, seem to go out of business at a faster rate.
So let’s look at six anime businesses going bankrupt in 2020 as a result of, or exacerbated by, the economic challenges of COVID-19.
Arms, Animators of Ikki Tousen and Queen’s Blade
Pretty much every ecchi anime you watched growing up was made by Studio Arms. The company was a powerhouse, creating beloved works like Ikki Tousen, Queen’s Blade, Valkyrie Drive Mermaid, and Elfin Lied, plus hentai classics like La Blue Girl back in the early 90s. Arms also created animation under the brands Triple X and Dandelion.
Unfortunately, the company fell into difficulty during the current crisis and filed for bankruptcy in July 2020. Let’s hope they can emerge in some form and survive.
Why Are You Going Bankrupt, Teacher!?
Another company has fallen on hard times: Tear Studio, creator of ecchi works like Why Are You Here, Teacher!? The fact that they supposedly disappeared without paying creators or employees makes us feel slightly less sympathetic to them.
Figure Makers Aquamarine and Easy Eight Go Bust (No Pun Intended)
Anime studios aren’t the only companies under pressure from COVID-19 and the related economic disruption. Figure makers Aquamarine and Easy Eight have also filed for bankruptcy, after years of making figures fans love to collect and display.
What will happen to any customers who have preorders of figures by these companies? We currently expect that announced and in-production figures will be produced and shipped to distributors normally. In the event that any figures are canceled, of course, J-List will issue full refunds to customers.
Sega Arcade in Akihabara
Akihabara is more than a place to pick up fun anime figures and artbooks or visit a maid cafe: it’s also the center of gaming culture in Japan. Sadly a beloved landmark arcade closed its doors for good last month, with the staff bowing low before the many fans who had gathered to say goodbye.
The Crisis Hits the Doujinshi Industry, Too
The problem with a crisis of this type is, for every famous company we all know about, there are smaller firms suffering economically that fly under our radar. When Comiket 95 was canceled back in May, a paper making company that created the paper for some of the doujinshi in your collection went bankrupt.
In addition to this sad event, doujinshi retailer Toranoana is closing many of its smaller shops around Japan, though its main shop in Akiba remains open.
Regional Anime Conventions?
One of the high points in the lives of many fans is the summer anime con season, and J-List was extremely sad to have both Anime Expo and the San Diego Comic-Con taken from us this year. While these two conventions are large and have a lot of industry support behind them, I wonder how some of the small and barely profitable regional anime conventions will fare.
One thing I think a lot about is the lack of “entrepreneurial spirit” in the anime world and the few new companies that are formed to create, license, and resell anime in general. J-List has been around for nearly 24 years, but how many companies have come after us? I can only think of Crunchyroll, founded in 2006.
The one area where there were tons of entrepreneurial energy was anime and related conventions. and I’ve generally observed that all conventions grow at a fast pace every year, as fans are pulled into the enjoyable atmosphere of being around like-minded fans, spending lots of money on Blu-rays and figures and T-shirts. Not only are big conventions like Anime Expo and Otakon extremely important, but hundreds of smaller regional shows, like Anime Weekend Atlanta or Sakura-Con in Seattle or Anime Central in Chicago. I hope these smaller conventions can get back on their feet in future years as things recover.
Read our posts about J-List’s long history at Anime Expo and the San Diego Comic-Con.
J-List Will Be Here For You!
One thing’s for sure: J-List plans to be here for our customers for years. We’re fortunate enough to have the best customers in the world, and we plan to continue being your Friend in Japan™ for a long time in the future.
Thanks for reading this post about five anime business going bankrupt due to the challenges presented by COVID-19. Did we miss any other companies that are suffering Tell us below, or on Twitter!
Remember, our wonderful J-List Box snack boxes are back, and you can order the new one for September 2020 now. We’ve got tons of great snacks included for you, including the Georgie Max canned coffee featured in the Oregairu anime. Read a review of the new J-List Box here!
