Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of Mobile Suit Mobile, shared a rather sad opinion about the future of anime in general.
In an interview with Japanese outlet Toyokeizai, Tomino said that the anime boom has reached its peak, likely starting to decline in five or six years. He gives several reasons but begins by saying that he is satisfied with anime’s improvement in social status. Now he can go to the tax office without being ridiculed for his work – a privilege he didn’t always have. According to the author, the anime’s decline is both natural and a fault of current developments; while changing times and cultures mean things are both in and out of fashion, creativity is dwindling because anime production is so soft. Tomino highlights air-conditioned rooms and the shift to a less time-consuming digital animation style as examples of how the environment has taken creators away from the essence of their work, and added that this is also part of the reason why Disney’s creativity has declined.
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“The most important thing a production producer must do is create opportunities for the artist to make the most of his or her race,” Tomino said. “It’s not as simple as spending money to provide a floor in a high-rise building as a workplace. I think it’s audacious that office workers who don’t know the practicalities of production can manage creative work.” Tomino emphasized throughout the interview that making the most of every condition is paramount. He praised Hayao Miyazaki’s works as classics, many of which use hand-drawn animation and more traditional production environments, and called on creators to see the world.
“Don’t be afraid to see that,” he continued. “For example, in the case of agriculture, climate, topography and geology. Then there are the habits of the land. It is important to be conscious of how to maintain it given its complex characteristics. If you just look at the numbers on the ballot, it’s not good.” This is similar to Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s comments about Miyazaki earlier this year, calling him a dying man because he was one of the few creators who ventured out into the world, bringing different cultures into his films.
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The decline Tomino speaks of can partly be countered by social media, which has connected many cultures across the globe. At least in the world of manga, Witch Hat Atelier creator Kamome Shirahama recently shared how interactions with international fans motivated her to better portray different races and cultures. .
Any financial decline is unlikely, with the anime industry recently announced to have reached a record high of around 3 trillion yen. Netflix’s statistics on anime, TV and movies show that it is becoming an increasingly popular and viable medium, with hundreds of millions of hours watched by users. In 2023, this is perhaps best demonstrated by the live-action adaptation of One Piece, which set world records and beat out major global series like Stranger Things and Wednesday.
Source: Toyokeizai
