One Year Out—Reflections on the Industry

It’s been a year since my last post on antiotaku, and while I still think it was wise to end the blog when I did, I had a sudden desire to offer some reflection on the past year in anime. Perhaps the recent passing of Halloween has implanted some desire to have this blog, zombie-like, rise from the grave. Primarily, I have that urge because, from the standpoint of an anime consumer, things have never been better.

I don’t want to make it sound like the industry as a whole is sound—there are plenty of questions about how anime studios will continue to fund their work and the viability of the world anime market in an era of fansubs. But, if you are someone like me, an American who watches a fair amount of anime in any given season, the last year (really year and half) have been remarkably positive. Here are just some of the reasons why: