Yoshiyuki Tomino is one of the main creators behind the original Mobile Suit Gundam and in a new interview he is concerned that anime could end up like Disney and just make “empty blockbusters”.
Talking with Japanese newspaper Toyo Keizai, Tomino went into a lot of details about how he feels that anime is facing a new boom in terms of investment.
However, this could lead to an approach similar to Disney’s and would see the medium just create “empty blockbusters without any personality”.
While the interview is in Japanese, the excellent fullfrontal.moe has offered some helpful English highlights (shown below).
One additional point of note is that Tomino is noticing that despite the boom in investment in anime, due to the onset of streaming, it seems that prosperity is not trickling down to animation studios.
This is also precisely my concern with things like Netflix doing an anime remake of One Piece. Obviously, this remake will make Netflix an exorbitant amount of money, but it’s clear that prior streaming productions are not financially benefiting the anime studios that made them.
The anime studio structure in Japan also has had a rough ride in recent years and while the outdated production committee setup is being left behind, there are no financial protections in place to protect the creative heart of the industry.
If anime is to genuinely thrive and survive long term, the studios and the animators that make anime possible need to share in the success of what they make. Paying starvation wages is no longer acceptable in the face of a very obvious financial boom that’s currently underway.
Anyway, if you are at all curious about Tomino’s other anime works, such as my personal favorite Aura Battler Dunbine, then feel free to check out my own interview with him from a few years back.
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