Go Tokyo Your Experience
In the field of anime, official merchandise often simply prints character illustrations on common items such as T-shirts, pillows, and mugs. This tradition often becomes a hot topic among Japanese netizens.
Many anime enthusiasts believe that instead of releasing these simple printed materials, they are more eager to obtain “items actually used by the characters in the show”. So, why do officials rarely launch such products?
Recently, this topic has once again sparked heated discussions. A netizen who used to work at an anime product cultural and creative company, using the pseudonym “35”, stepped forward to explain the difficulties involved. Let’s uncover the complex challenges contained in these behind the scenes stories together.
When analyzing the anime peripheral market, many fans expressed their expectations for the items in the drama. For example, a Japanese netizen nicknamed “Poo kun” once lamented that what he clearly wanted was a “mug used by the character in the drama,” but what he saw on the market were always “mugs with character illustrations printed on them. This phenomenon has sparked widespread resonance.
What he wants is clearly the mug actually used by the characters in the play
The anime official always likes to release “mugs with illustrations of the characters in the drama”
In these discussions, ’35’ shared insider information. He pointed out that the production process of anime products is not as simple as people imagine. Usually, anime officials provide a small number of character illustrations and work logos, and the copyright fees for these illustrations are already quite high. If you want to obtain new materials, both the cost and time cost will increase significantly.
35 “further explains that the development of anime products is often undertaken by cultural and creative companies, which are usually smaller in scale and must save costs and review time.
Therefore, they rely more on official provided materials rather than developing new products on their own. Due to the fact that peripheral products with character illustrations can at least guarantee basic sales in the market, they have become a preferred choice, while pursuing innovation faces greater risks.
When sharing these insider stories, “35” admitted that even though he had suggested commercializing the items actually used in the drama at the company, he felt powerless in the face of extremely strict copyright regulations. In addition, even if these products are launched, high costs and low profit margins may lead to financial losses for the company.
Overall, the key to the distribution of anime products lies in the delicate balance between copyright management, cost control, and market demand. It can be seen that it is indeed difficult for anime product companies to achieve these creative hopes when the copyright does not belong to them. Nevertheless, many companies are still willing to undertake this type of business, hoping to establish good relationships with copyright holders in order to obtain more popular work authorization and production opportunities in the future.
These interpretations have given us a deeper understanding of the difficulties in developing anime merchandise, while also showing respect for those who are committed to launching creative products under limited resources. Understanding the challenges behind these may enable us to be more rational and inclusive in choosing and supporting anime merchandise.