The reason Avatar looks like an anime rip-off is because it was specifically designed by artists in the U.S. to look like one. I was there when it was in development, and it was picked up to ride the coattails of the anime boom that was hitting the U.S. at the time.

I agree with R. on the note about the drawing style being an ignorant thing.

Get informed about the industry before you throw in such comments, they don’t favor our impression of you, really.

I’m sure when Japan was coming up strong, a lot of Americans dismissed it as well. But what happened to all of those big American TV manufacturers?

As with employment issues facing most sectors, making it easier to immigrate, train, and work here could be part of the solution.

Also surprised the segment didn’t mention that Studio Ghibli will open a school in Toyota this spring named “Ghibli West”, where trainees will learn the Miyazaki way. Graduates will then have a chance to produce short films.

Besides, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers are generally aiming at slightly different markets.

Korea cannot continue to manufacture cars/electronics on the cheap while it’s GDP increases. They’ve only planned for the short-term, it’s not looking good for their long-term prospects. Their strength is the low retail price of their products, what will they do once they have lost this strength?

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/home-auto/buying-car/hyundai-bets-buybacks-boost-sales

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/aug2008/bw20080815_181311.htm (Particularly page 2)

and more recently

http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090102/744/tbs-s-korea-dec-car-sales-down-13-pct-wo.html

and

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28505412

Most car companies saw drops in 2008. Hyundai/Kia went up 5% in sales.

For all of 2008, Toyota lost its hold on top sales to GM.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090106/auto-sales-drop-recovery-unclear.htm

You mentioned cars, but as of June 2008 the top 4 cars were all Japanese – 2 from Toyota, 2 from Honda. They all surpassed the F-150 pick-up truck which marks the first time in 17 years that a pick-up wasn’t in the number one spot. Is this because the cars have changed a lot? No, consumers are looking for cars that have better gas mileage – i.e. a changing market. These same car companies are themselves in trouble because the car market has completely tanked.

Sony has made blunder after blunder in nearly every market that it has products in, and even with the Playstation 3, Sony is fighting to get out of third place.

This isn’t to say that companies like Samsung and LG don’t make good products, it’s just that the failing Japanese companies are not moving quickly enough to adapt to changes. Companies like Panasonic are still doing really well. Sony is probably in the biggest amount of trouble because they are losing money hand over fist and they have no clear plan for the future. They even won the HD-DVD/Blu-ray format battle and they’re struggling to get people to buy the Blu-ray.

China probably has the potential to make the most progress the fastest, but with all the articles I’ve read about Chinese factories suffering under the current economy, it will be interesting to see if they survive these times too.

Japan used to have a profitable ship-building industry, but Korea and China could do it more efficiently for cheaper.

Sharp used to be the top selling LCD screen maker in the world, but they lost out to Samsung and LG. They admitted defeat in a news conference back in 2003! (I remember this specifically because I was taking an economics class at Sophia Uni. in Tokyo at the time, and it was one of our current-event discussions)

Sony is still trying to reel in the market on hand phones, now aiming for the global market. But it’s not the smoothest road. They also gave up on the Walkman series after iPod, and to a lesser extent iRiver, destroyed the competition.

Japanese cars were for a few years coming out strong, making top sales positions in even the States, and now we see Honda threatening the Japanese government and Toyota shutting down factories for 11 days to try and manage their overstock.

The torch is being passed.

But then again… I do see how it would be a kind of issue that the animators is outsourced. Like you get the feeling it’s not authentically Japanese or something like that. and that the manga/anime industry in Japan is weakening and that soon we may not have original japanese anymore… kind of feelings?

I hope the animators in Japan gets better pay and treatments if they really are working extra hard but with little satisfaction, if this keep up pretty soon there won’t be as much of the Great Japanese anime/manga that I love.
I heard a similar story about seiyuu, or voice actors, like most of them don’t get pay well or that it can’t cut it so they work other jobs as well. only 20% work full-time and 80% work part-time as seiyuu and there’s also a school and training for it that takes years.

also since we’re talking about it… I feel disappointed that Japan in the last few years are losing out. Japan was the most technologically advanced, world leaders in technology, automobiles, electronics. I also admire them for their anime/manga and overall, the culture of Japan and it’s drive to be the best. but nowadays, it’s seem that it’s at a standstill while others are passing them by or catching up. It’s like they feel satisfied as being the top once and doesn’t care anymore. If only they have that same motivation that drives them like in the past. Nowadays, I hear that some japanese are really career-oriented, so much so that they are forgetting about spending time with family and even having children. on the side, there are japanese who jump from jobs to jobs, plays and party too much that they aren’t concerned about having a career.
Come on, they need to balance out work and play.

That’s the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard.

this may be unnoticeable for some japanese who finance the anime but the quality is evidently being reduced and most of them obviously being made by Korean Animators if not Chinese Animators.

I hope that Japanese don’t just think about how to cut budget when making an anime but also consider the quality of the anime. althou seem minimal, there’s a big difference between an anime made by Japanese from Korean or Chinese. Most people can see that so I strongly suggest that japanese anime must be made by real japanese animators.

Whilst in the short-term Korean electronic manufacturing companies have done well in areas such as the Middle East, and Asia, for the long term their prospects don’t look so good. Their main strength is the low price of their products, however, their short-term success will be their downfall as increased profits help to push up the GDP of the country and as a result increases salary demands for their workforce.

Kia Pro_Ceed:

http://www.autotraderpulse.co.uk/img/gallery/full/36WEJR3E.jpg

http://autoservice-fiolka.de/neuwagen/proceed/proceed.jpg

I’d never be caught dead in a Korean car; they have horrible styling that rips off European and Japanese marques, and don’t have a rich history of racing like Japanese and European brands do.

OTOH maybe the future of Japanese animation is going to be doujinshi style.

Like cargo ship-building, LCD technology, cell phone design, and portable music players, Korea will come out on top in automobiles too, especially if KORUS FTA goes through. Japan has lost its drive for innovation and is running on the fumes of its brand-name status.

While I can agree with ‘cheaper’, I cannot quite concur with ‘better’, especially in the car department.

Anime is the least of Japan’s problems, with Korea coming out strong in companies like Samsung and LG, which are gaining more and more of the market share in the U.S. Sony’s future is looking bleak. On top of that, Hyundai/Kia is looking to boost its global sales, while Honda is already huff-puffing over the strong-yen working against exports. Japan is now finding itself at the bottom of an uphill battle.

Pretty soon, the Japanese-brand-image is going to be shattered globally as consumers find that they can get better products from Korea for cheaper. (Watch some of the latest movies and see for yourself how much Korean product placement there is)

http://www.lgmobilephones.com/lifewithlgbytag.aspx?tid=-1&tag=%20The%20Day%20the%20Earth%20Stood%20Still

If the real issue is job creation, then people need to think more in terms of creating value, rather to obligation by default of race, gender or heredity.

Wonder if Disney or Warner-Bros still do their animation work in-house, or send it elsewhere to Asia ?