In part 1 (On Iyashikei), we discussed the social impact lockdown has had on conventions and convention culture.
In that article, I mentioned that some cons were criticized early on for cancelling “at the last minute.”
We’re in a subculture where people literally proclaim that a brand is their “waifu.” Miku Hatsune is listed on 1,563 users’ waifu lists, according to mywaifulist.moe, a relatively niche website. Miku is a mascot character, meant to promote a brand a sell a product.
A project called AnimeLog recently made the news. A joint venture between several major anime studios and production companies, AnimeLog is a YouTube channel for full episodes of anime. Companies like Toei Animation, Tezuka Productions, and Kodansha are on-board.
We say we should support the industry, but what does that mean?
The anime industry has a complex business model. Through it, we get anime, and we know there’s a studio involved somewhere, but there’s more that that.
If you ask certain anime thought leaders throughout the last decade and a half or so, moe has been “killing anime.” Indeed, according to some, plague of cute girls descended upon the medium in the mid-2000s, leaving the anime industry a barren wasteland.
Is moe killing anime? What’s the damage? How do we measure that?
