Japanese animation is experiencing an unprecedented rise. Worldwide box office revenues for full-length anime films such as "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train" and "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc" are already comparable to those of Hollywood blockbusters, and sometimes even significantly exceed them. At the same time, according to Netflix, about half of the service's subscribers regularly watch anime.
Against this background, director Tomohiko Ito, known for his work on "Death Note", "Sword Art Online" and other projects, expressed concern about the so-called globalization of anime. In an interview with Daily Shincho, he noted that attempts to adapt Japanese works to Western audiences often lead to a loss of their essence.
"I think the Japanese idea of what the world might like often doesn't match what they actually like abroad."
According to him, excessive attention to American political correctness and cultural standards can harm the uniqueness of Japanese animation.
"In America, political correctness is dominant. There, they may believe that Japan is almost the only country that continues to produce works with half-naked girls in battle scenes. In North America, such content would be considered strange."
A similar position was previously expressed by other representatives of the industry. Among them is Hideaki Anno, the creator of "Evangelion", who is convinced that priority should always remain with the Japanese audience:
"My position is simple: first, it should be a work that is well received and resonates in Japan, but if it also interests a foreign audience, I will be grateful for that."
Ito also believes that in recent years anime has become a kind of replacement for Hollywood films - including against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and the strikes of the American Guild of Writers. However, in his opinion, the popularity of anime arose precisely because of the unique author's approach of Japanese creators, and an attempt to make it "understandable to everyone" is fraught with the loss of identity.
Against this background, the recent announcement of a partnership between Netflix and Studio MAPPA is particularly indicative, involving the joint creation of anime "with a global perspective" and exclusive streaming of future projects. In the fan community, concerns are already being raised that cooperation with a large Western platform may affect the creative independence of the studio.