Anime @ Work : Anime scriptwriter Yamanobe Kazuki's Anime and Historical Drama Update - No.15

Today's installment is about online games and animation. In recent years, there has been an increasing tendency for online games to be adapted for original animation. Ragnarok Online spawned Ragnarok The Animation, and Fortress spawned Unending War Chronicles Fortress (Mugen Senki Potorisu). At present Korea is televising the highly-acclaimed Maple Story, and also plans to broadcast The Tower of Druaga in the coming year.
One unique feature of animation productions is that original online game companies are found mainly in Korea. And as one might expect, these companies produce the most popular online games and draw vast numbers of subscribers.
Adapting an online game for animation has a number of merits: it raises the recognition level among people unfamiliar with the game, and is also an effective form of propaganda for drawing in more online game users. Users already familiar with the game may be pulled in as part of the viewing audience or through the purchase of DVD's.
Typically, many of these works are financed through joint ventures between Japan and Korea. Korea presently holds a larger share of the online gaming market, and offers a better environment for strong financial backing.
There is no question that the position occupied by original works of Japanese comics, traditionally the financial muscle of the publishing world, has declined.
In the future, I believe that a major portion of Japan's present animation market will shift to Korean business capital and production systems based on original works of Korean animation. It is interesting to observe the Korean perspective in these original works of online games, and the manner in which Korea's national character is reflected as the country's Internet-based companies expand.
Since I have not done many articles on historical works recently, that will definitely be the focus of my next article.


Profile of Yamanobe Kazuki
Scriptwriter
Member of the Writer's Guild of Japan
Representative Director of the scenario production company, Edgeworks

Official site of Edgeworks http://www.edge-works.co.jp