For years
there was an urban myth that if a series didn't sell thousands of Blu-ray discs
in its first week of release, the franchise was automatically doomed to
oblivion. However, renowned light novel writer Nazuna Miki decided
to put his cards on the table to explain how digital streaming platforms have
changed the rules of the game in the anime industry, although he
also threw a direct dart at genres that fail commercially outside of Japan.
Miki
explained that in the past the profitability of a production depended almost
entirely on physical sales after it was broadcast on television. If the records
did not sell quickly, the revenues of the vast majority of titles froze. Today,
the picture is completely different: keeping a series in global streaming
catalogs for a couple of years is more than enough to recoup the initial
investment, generating constant long-term profits that justify producing
a second season.
To
illustrate this new reality, the author revealed a fact that surprised many in
the media: he knows first-hand several projects that received the green light
for a second season having sold just a hundred physical
copies. Sequels are no longer forced out of desperation or require astronomical
figures in a domestic format, but respond to a digital business model where the
international audience amortizes the costs over time.
However,
not everything is positive news for Japanese creators. The author bluntly
addressed the genres that simply do not manage to take off in the international
market, pointing directly to the stories of everyday cut or slice of
life. According to Miki, plots focused on school life and high school club
activities fail to generate empathy or connection with Western viewers because
the cultural dynamics of Japanese schools are completely alien to them.
The most
commented point came when talking about the Yuri genre. Miki
clarified that while girl-to-girl romance stories receive constant praise and a
great reputation in international communities, that positive reception doesn't
translate into real income. The writer gave as an example a work of lesbian romance
that broke historical sales records in its publishing house within Japan, but
when taken to the small screen it had practically no commercial impact outside
its borders.
Born in
Taiwan and based in Japan, Nazuna Miki is one of the most
prolific authors of light novels in the isekai genre,
selling more than 22 million copies throughout his career. Among his most
outstanding works that have been adapted to animation are titles such as My
Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 and Botsuraku Yotei
no Kizoku dakedo, Hima datta kara Mahou wo Kiwamete Mita, consolidating
himself as a voice with extensive knowledge about the internal economy of
entertainment in Asia.
Knowing
that streaming now allows new releases to be approved even with low record
sales
