I agree that anime is a specifically Japanese cultural product. I didn’t used to think this way. Nonetheless. It is disappointing to me, as someone who showed that you can, as a non-Japanese team with a non-Japanese IP make an anime series entirely in Japan with 99% Japanese crew and staff, that the worlds most important distribution platform for anime defines itself by the barriers it places in front of storytellers rather than the bridges it builds for them to connect with other storytellers and a diverse global audience. But! Hey! You know? They make video blogs about how to cosplay with Afro hair, so I guess that’s one way to show the audience you see them.
On The Verge's Decoder podcast last week, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said, "The way we think about anime, we believe it is something that is conceived and / or created in Japan." This is probably confirmation that the "100% Japan" policy has become very much official.
You make a good point that RWBY and Radiant aren't direct adaptations of foreign IPs. This nuance is probably lost to most viewers, but important in the business context. I was reading a recent interview with the head of French publisher Ki-oon's Japan branch office, and she also sees manga as a pathway to getting foreign IPs adapted into anime.
I agree that anime is a specifically Japanese cultural product. I didn’t used to think this way. Nonetheless. It is disappointing to me, as someone who showed that you can, as a non-Japanese team with a non-Japanese IP make an anime series entirely in Japan with 99% Japanese crew and staff, that the worlds most important distribution platform for anime defines itself by the barriers it places in front of storytellers rather than the bridges it builds for them to connect with other storytellers and a diverse global audience. But! Hey! You know? They make video blogs about how to cosplay with Afro hair, so I guess that’s one way to show the audience you see them.
On The Verge's Decoder podcast last week, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini said, "The way we think about anime, we believe it is something that is conceived and / or created in Japan." This is probably confirmation that the "100% Japan" policy has become very much official.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/26/24081180/crunchyroll-president-purini-anime-funimation-shutdown-sony-merger-decoder-interview
You make a good point that RWBY and Radiant aren't direct adaptations of foreign IPs. This nuance is probably lost to most viewers, but important in the business context. I was reading a recent interview with the head of French publisher Ki-oon's Japan branch office, and she also sees manga as a pathway to getting foreign IPs adapted into anime.
https://teller.jp/borderless/49/