UlasanAnime.com – The mid to late 2000s saw a significant boom in anison, the music genre associated with anime. The question now is whether this trend has cooled down since 2010. This inquiry is prompted by several recent developments, including the cancellation of the 8th Animax Anison Grand Prix this year. Furthermore, the exceptional sales of the Love Live! Season 2 opening theme and the phenomenon of various anison artists being “dropped” by different entities add layers to this intriguing discussion.
Thankfully, a comprehensive analysis of this topic has already been published, alleviating the need to replicate that effort.
From a personal perspective, the way anison artists earn a living is akin to any other musical artist, varying based on their position within the industry’s ecosystem. As an enthusiast of live performances, I value artists who deliver compelling shows. However, many anison artists who rose to prominence during the boom period exhibited live performance abilities not significantly different from the seiyuu idols who are now increasingly taking their place. There are, of course, those who are notably more talented, often because performing is their primary focus. These include artists like Angela and LiSA, sometimes referred to as “super robot singers” due to the perceived gap in live vocal abilities among some seiyuu, and singer-songwriters. This latter category encompasses bands like Angela, as well as artists such as Nano.ripe, Ali Project, Yousei Teitoku, and the occasional ZAQ.
It’s challenging to draw a definitive line between seiyuu who have evolved into more general artists and those who are primarily “idols” that also happen to be seiyuu, such as StylipS or Sphere. While I enjoy performances from all these groups, the experience of attending a Nana Mizuki concert differs from experiencing an IM@S (THE IDOLM@STER) show. It is generally more difficult for an artist like Maaya Sakamoto to cultivate the same intensely devoted, high-spending fanbase that a newly debuting artist like Azusa Tadakoro might attract. This distinction highlights varying levels of fan engagement and expectation within the industry.
However, there is no cause for significant concern. The anison market and culture appear to operate similarly to other music genres. It is likely experiencing natural cycles of contraction and expansion, which is precisely what we are witnessing. This might explain why JAM Project, when touring globally, conveys a message of wanting to expand the anison fan base. The implicit goal is to create a larger market that can support a wider array of artists.
Considering these observations, what are the implications for events like the I’VE SOUND 15th Anniversary celebration?
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Perhaps it would be beneficial for artists like meg rock to increase their engagement on English-language social media platforms.
