With all of the bad news I hear, most of which brought to me mercifully by the media, who apparently never got the memo that read “Ignorance is bliss,” it’s pretty hard for bad news to phase me. Americans lose jobs; big surprise there. Tensions in the Middle East; just background noise. Conservative political accused of have homosexual relations; well, duh.

On September 26^th, I was scanning through the industry news at Animenation. I like to keep current with the happening of the anime industry, if for no other reason than I never find the time to watch actual anime anymore, but I figure I can take a few minutes out of the day to keep an eye on the loop. I never expected to find the kind of news that made me read the offending paragraph twice and go “What the hell?

 Sadly, there it was: Pioneer LDC, one of the biggest anime distribution companies in America, was no more. I was some of the worst news I had ever read.

Many of you mainstream mundies are probably shaking your heads, wondering why I would make such a dramatic show over the internal affairs of some animation company. Most anime nerds would wonder why I’m not pointing out potentially more emotional news, like the deaths of beloved anime creators (don’t be surprised if this happens when the animation budget is cut for the likes of Go Nagi, Kenichi Sonoda, Kosuke Fujishima, or Hayao Miyazaki). Those same nerds could even point out the slight inaccuracy of this statement.

To you all, I say shut up.

First off, I’ll give you a little background on Pioneer LDC, better known now as Geneon, though this name, and call me an elitist fan boy if you will, never settled well with me simply because of the changes it brought with it. Pioneer LDC, a branch of the Pioneer Corporation that manufactures entertainment electronics, produced anime in Japan, and brought many of its products over to America in 1993, back in the days when the industry was just starting to gain some steam. These classics include Tenchi Muyo!¸ Armitage III, and El Hazard.

As the industry grew, so did Pioneer, which eventually dropped its familiar gold logo in the late nineties (which, big surprise, I associate with doom), The company rose to become one of the biggest anime distribution companies in America. The anime division was eventually bought out by Dentsu, who changed the name to Geneon, a move which was purposed to give the company a modern, contemporized image.

Geneon seemed to be doing well in the niche market it had stakes in for many years, coming out with hit after hit to satisfy its customers. Then, on August 24^th, Geneon suddenly announced that it would be distributing its products via former rival company ADV Films. On September 21^st, it was announced that the deal was off, and on September 26^th 2007, Geneon announced that it would be pulling out of the American anime industry.

This news took some time to settle in, and I immediately set out looking for more information, but could find none. I then wrote into Animenation’s esteemed Ask John column, and was eventually given this response. It just reminded me of something I already knew.

The anime industry in America is currently in trouble, with low profits claiming the lives of more than one distribution company, but never one as big as Pioneer. Thoughts of a drastic reduction in anime titles (a large percentage of my collection, I would estimate, is from this company) and an industry-wide crash rumbled in my mind, but above all that, one single thought resonated through my head, one which was more nostalgic than practical, but one which was most important to me: Pioneer LCD is gone.

This dealt a blow to my nostalgia. Pioneer produced the first anime I ever watched (Tenchi Muyo!), and for years, I watched their releases with an expectation. When that golden symbol and upbeat music started to fade onto screen, I knew I was about to have a good time. Seriously, I’ll forever associate that symbol with the copied tape I was given, with the sound degradation intact, and expect to see the spiraling galaxy come into view and the chords of the Tenchi Muyo! theme rise into an inspiring crescendo. Yes, I am branded for life.

Now let me state before I get even more dramatic (yes, it’s possible at this point) the company itself is still around, and is not closing completely. The Japanese branch, which produces the actual anime, will function presumably as normal. The American branch, however, will close, meaning we won’t be getting any official DVDs direct from the company.

It’s still possible that other American anime distribution companies could purchase distribution rights to Pioneer anime, even from the back catalog, but this is not very comforting, since it will cost more money to bring shows over to American this way, which means fewer titles and even fewer quality titles with low market potential. On November 6^th, all productions will cease, and if there’s a series that’s currently running, it may never see official completion.

As a fan, this seems like a fine way of screwing over the loyal followers of Pioneer’s releases, yet it’s too early to know what will eventually happen. On a more logical level, Japanese animation is (get ready) animation for Japanese people, and therefore not generally tailored to American audiences, so we should count our blessings, not our unhatched chickens. Also, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite, because the current state of affairs is partly my fault. Don’t get your torches and pitchforks ready for a stroll to my house, anime nerds, because you’re to blame for this too.

As I said, the anime industry is in trouble right now, and the fault lies on all fronts. The fans, and the providers of the industry’s daily bread, have turned their backs on those who give us our hobby without even knowing it. Every time you download a fan subtitled recording of an anime broadcast or buy a pirated DVD from some Hong Kong criminal (thanks for that one, eBay), you’re giving the anime industry you think you love a big middle finger.

Of course, there are exceptions. One could easily argue, and I agree with this, that the anime industry wouldn’t exist without an underground network of fans who distribute copyrighted material for free, or at low cost, to other fans. This has been going on since the early eighties, and it built up the industry to what it is today (and I’m not trying to make a joke about it being a wreck or a pandering sell-out). I’ll admit to throwing friends a number of copied videos during our infancy of anime fandom. The reason I’m not throwing myself on the fire for this is because we went on to purchase legal versions of these shows after our interests were peaked, and we’ve all gone on to contribute thousands of dollars each to the industry.

This is the only way fan subbing really does what it’s really supposed to do: support the industry. The problem is, many people don’t see a point in paying for something they can see for free. I know many people who proudly claim to download entire series of currently-licensed anime in fansub form. I don't give these people any respect or acknowledgement. On the rare occasions I do watch fansubs, I usually watch one or two episodes, and if I like it, I’ll wait out the official release to buy it. I barely have time for legal anime, and I don’t want to waste my series virginity on an illegal version. There are exceptions, but they’re rare, and I have hundreds of different official titles sitting on my shelf, with dozens of those still unwatched, to keep me busy.

I can’t stand most bootleg DVDs for many reasons. My main reason for hating them is many sellers try to pass them off as official product. This is a huge problem on eBay, where you have to subject sellers to everything up to dental torture before you can be convinced they’re selling the real deal. Sometimes it's hard to tell you're being ripped off. Most of these bootlegs are semi-professional looking DVDs provided by Asian pirates (with poor translations and video quality included), and sometimes these DVDs even have the offical English dubbing included (these are pirates of titles released in America already). A large number of these box sets are sold by Americans, and even a few of these are homebrewed by nerds from the good ol’ US of A.

I spotted one complete moron who had an entire auction set up offering dozens of DVDs at low prices (well, not really), many of which weren’t even in America yet. I called him out on this, and received a nasty e-mail. So either this moron didn’t understand the concept of copyright law, or he was snapping at anything that approached him before the noose went over his neck. Check out a sample of his listing for his item, as well as his response to my questioning (I don't have a copy of my original e-mail, sadly, but just pretend I'm calling him a thief and telling him he's ruining the anime industry), and an open letter to this idiot I wrote for the occasion. I also notified each anime company he was stealing from, but only one replied, and it was Sony, who has more resources to fight people like this. As if this writing, the seller is still active on eBay, but isn't selling anything. Oh well...

It’s rare, but I do come across these pirates at second-hand stores occasionally. If I think they’ll listen, I’ll point out that they have illegal merchandise on their hands. They usually don’t do anything about it, but at least they act concerned. The one exception was Buybacks.

Buybacks is a Ohio-based business formerly known as CD Warehouse. While I wouldn’t call the business shady, customers definitely aren’t their first priority, since I usually have some issue with them on the few times I go there, and usually I at least don’t feel good for giving them business. There was one incident that made me lose the little respect I had for the company, and I frankly wouldn’t be sad if the company closed for this, but I doubt it would happen.

I was browsing the shelves when I found two pirated anime box sets. It was pretty easy to tell, since the boxes weren’t the right kind (the official releases used individual cases; these used a cardboard folding box) and the distribution company’s logo was missing. I brought this to a store clerk’s attention, and he seemed surprised (I believe he really didn’t know). He scanned the barcode, and it came up as the right product (it was copied from the real thing), and this to him was enough to justify selling it. “But it’s pirated, it’s not legal.” I pleaded. “Well, it has the right barcode, so…”

That was it. No investigation, no courtesy of listening to the customer, just willing participation of an illegal act. I’ll probably find myself going there again, but probably not for much longer if I see this kind of thing again. Perhaps they’d listen to the police?

I think these pirates do have there place. They’re a good way to preview anime that hasn’t come out yet for those who don’t have constant access to a computer or don’t like watching on a monitor, but of course you have to pay for it (usually about as much as the official box sets can be purchased for second hand if you’re patient). They’re also good for series that will never come out in America, or series that won’t come out faithfully translated. I could never have enjoyed Kinnikuman (Ultimate Muscle to you American heathens) or One Piece with the pandering hack-job 4Kids Entertainment provided us, and no one has picked up the original Devilman TV series because it’s beyond old and has no commercial value. Call it a sort of honor among thieves, but the moment an official release hits the shores, I pay out the money for an official copy.

But the anime industry still takes a hit even if legitimate DVDs are purchased. While this seems like an odd statement, anime fans and the anime industry are actually hurting themselves by making smart business decisions. This is where discounting comes in.

Anime companies typically sell DVDs for twenty to thirty dollars for a few episodes. More often than not, however, they will eventually release the entire series in one set at a heavily discounted price. These series sets usually cost around half of what the individual DVDs cost when they first came out, and sometimes entire sets will come out for thirty dollars are less (not the fairest business venture, considering these DVDs could have cost over two-hundred dollars when they first come out). While this isn’t exactly a new business concept, these box sets usually come out within a year of the whole series run, and sometimes almost at the same time. What incentive is there for buyers to pay excessively higher prices when they could get more bang for their buck if they wait? Or they could just steal the anime via piracy.

Another cause for the current debacle can be traced back to the early 2000s, when anime started to take hold in America. This gave distributors the idea that there was gold in them thar hills of anime fans, so they started buying licenses to every show they could get their hands on. They flooded the market with so many titles, the fans couldn’t keep up with them all, leaving vast quantities of poor selling shows.

The distribution companies learned to valuable lessons: anime fans are, as a whole, very picky about what they watch, and they only have so much disposable income to purchase anime with. They’ve since cut costs by being more selective of what they release and, in more drastic cases, don’t include an English dub track on their releases (this is mostly on releases with only hardcore fan appeal, and many of these fans would just watch in Japanese anyway). Prices, in many cases, seem to be going up again, but I think this isn’t the best solution anymore, because fans have learned anime can be purchased cheaply, and now they feel entitled.

I confess that I haven’t been a good anime fan. I’ve turned my focus away from the brick and mortar stores to other venues, like eBay, or specialty online anime retailers. Since I have piles of unwatched anime, getting the latest releases isn’t a priority for me, so I troll the internet and used goods stores, looking for deals. If possible, I buy in bulk, a strategy that has landed me releases that were going for twenty dollars or more for four dollars new. I’ve even purchased anime from three dollars new to a dollar used. It’s not always my first choice of title, but sometimes I’ve been able to find new favorites by wandering off the beaten path. This is not to mention the times when I’m browsing through anime at a store, find a new individual release, and say, “Eh, I’ll just wait for the box set.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t give the distribution companies the money they need. They must have since gone through all of the money I spent in my early years as a fan, when VHS tapes were twenty bucks a pop.

All of these factors lead to lower profits, and with that, fewer resources to release more titles. Today’s fan base assumes since Best Buy has an entire section dedicated to anime, the industry must be this big looming giant which can live solely on the support of the multitudes of fans who will pay for the merchandise, effectively exempting themselves from this responsibility, because other people will take care of it, so they should feel free to download the fansubs or snag a pirated copy on eBay. Well, guess what? You’re an idiot.

The anime industry is not big at all. It’s difficult to guess the number of anime fans in America, but the number of hardcore fans in America is probably only a couple thousand, and the number of casual fans is probably not even a million. This number is small compared to potential customers for domestic Hollywood releases. A mainstream film released on DVD has the benefit of a large national fan base and theater exposure. These DVDs could go on to sell millions of copies. Anime DVDs, by contrast, have to recover the expenses from DVD sales alone, and some DVDs will only sell a couple thousand, if not a couple hundred copies. And if anime fans aren’t buying, who is?

By now you get the point: the industry is on egg shells, and the death of Pioneer should be a wake up call. We just lost one of the oldest and largest companies in the industry. If this doesn’t indicate a few weak links, this chain could break into pieces unless the problem is addressed.

So what can we, as fans, do to help the industry out? First and foremost, don’t download fansubs or purchase illegal pirates of anime DVDs that are available official in the US. Most fansub communities are respectful of this and take down videos that get licensed, but those files remain on someone’s computer somewhere, and as long as people are willing to get a little ego boost over having the goods someone wants, even if that boost is all they get out of the deal, this problem will remain. I would be hesitant to purchase bootlegs of series even if the shows haven’t come out in the US, because this will only encourage the pirates, but sometimes you just want to see a series. Or, in the case of anything 4Kids has released, sometimes you just want to see a series as God intended it.

Learn to identify a pirate from the real thing. Look at the box as a telling sign. Inspect it for a company logo of a known distribution company, look of the Region code (American DVDs are Region 1, and some DVDs are Region 1 and 4, which is Japan, but rarely will you find an All Regions DVD that isn't a pirate), and check the print quality of the box (if you can barely read the text, it's probably a pirate. If the description of the contents is written in another language, it's most likely a fake. Also, most official DVD releases don't use cardboard, folding cases (though some do), so familiarize yourself with what kind of format is actually used for the release if you can.

The discs themselves are also a dead giveaway. Check with the American licenser to see how many discs come with a box set (if there is one). Usually, pirated box sets come with fewer discs. Look for episode count; if a series runs more than twenty-six episodes, official box sets usually span thirteen or twenty-six episodes. Any more should be looked upon with suspicion. If a DVD only comes with either an English or a Japanese soundtrack, it might be a fake, as most come with both (there are exceptions). If the DVD comes with optional Chinese subtitles, it's a fake.

Sure, it might be a lot more work, but learning to spot a pirate can help save the anime industry, and you'll get a better quality DVD production by purchasing official releases.


Of course, deleting fansubs when the content is licensed or abstaining from buying pirated DVDs isn’t the only thing you’ll have to do. To support the industry, you’ll have to pay up. The best way to go about this is to buy individual DVDs as they come out; this produces maximum profit for the distributors and finances the production of future volumes (most anime series are released whole, but a few have been cancellation mid-way through). If nothing else, buy the box sets at least.

If you’re interested in Pioneer’s catalog, get moving, because production stops on November 6^th, and while all of their products won’t disappear into a cloud of mist on that day, supplies will be limited, unless another distribution company picks up the license.

If you want some suggestions, I’ll give you a small selection of recommendations: anything Tenchi Muyo! related, with the possible exception of Tenchi in Tokyo, Armitage III, El-Hazard (OVA and TV), Akira, Hellsing, Chobits, Dokkoida?!, Bastard!!, Fushgi Yuugi, and Someday’s Dreamers. I’m sure I’m going to get a flurry of complaints for leaving any particular title out, but give me a break. I’ve got hundreds of titles stored in my brain, and it’s a bit much to ask me to remember which ones were put out by a certain company and are any good. At least not for a freebie article.

While it seems like I’ve predicted nothing but doom for the anime industry, the truth of the matter is it’s not going away any time soon. As long as there is a demand, someone well be there to fulfill it. But unless you want your anime at the mercy of companies like 4Kids Entertainment for extreme dumbing down or a chimera anime pieced together from the parts of others like Robotech (I don’t care if it’s a beloved series, it’s a hack job of three different series), get out there and support your anime industry!

Or, if you’re too lazy, just send me the money and I’ll support it for you.

Special thanks to Wikipedia and Anime News Network for providing information for this article.

Update: Shortly after this article was written, a rumor started to circulate stating that Geneon may one day resume US operations, essentially making half of this article moot. Because we a responsible and will not let our pride get in the way of portraying an accurate picture of world events, we’ve decided that Zasada has worked too hard on this piece to just take it down, so live with it.