Anime News Discernment: Take "All Powerful" Lists & "Once In A Lifetime Success" Declarations With A Grain Of Salt
By Jonah Morgan
An issue that's really been nagging at me since before TIFF is a latest declaration of the American manga industry's "all powerful". The fact that overall outsiders to this industry can come along and think they can qualify and rank it's powerful and influential members is pretty amusing just on the face of it but the methods and procedures used to arrive at their conclusions is even more so. What it boils down to is an issue of perceived power and influence versus real power and influence. The only information you can ever gather through lists like these is perceived power. Opinion seeking may come very close to actual reflection but the big picture of true power will always remain hidden but to a very small few. There's only so much information you can gather through questionnaires, even if your sample is among the industry's elite. This is because you are dealing solely with the opinions of people regarding others working in the same segment. It's all perception. Having worked with some of the people on these lists in their own company environment, I know true power and influence in the American manga and anime industries is often unseen. There are lots of secrets here, lots of signatures on NDA's and as is Japanese business culture, not much grasping for individual recognition. Small ripples and waves in one area can lead to very big effects elsewhere, indeed, the true most powerful movers and shakers will never appear on lists like these and they may intentionally seek to never have their name associated with their own very significant actions.
Next point, whenever you see declarations proclaiming "once in a lifetime" successes just take a step back for a second and consider those words. How can anyone truly proclaim such a thing: "Once in a lifetime"? It may be a good selling point to attract readers to your article but the truth is the anime and manga industries in America are still at such an infantile stage at this point in time that to make such statements and attributions is rather premature.
