Crunchyroll made quite a stir recently — but not in the way they were hoping, I’m sure.
In case you missed it, Crunchyroll’s parent company, Ellation, is launching a new animation studio to create anime-influenced media. Their first title is High Guardian Spice, a fantasy featuring four girls at a training academy, and it will be featured under the Crunchyroll Originals label. High Guardian Spice also features an all-female writing team and a (and I quote) “diverse” staff.
In case you missed it, here’s the announcement video.
So, About The Trailer
First, let’s discuss this, and then later I’ll get into the reactions around the Internet. It is a terrible trailer. It’s really two types of announcements in one video, and 1:30 isn’t enough to cover both sides adequately.
On one hand, it is an announcement of Ellation Studios. It showcases some of the staff behind the scenes and their excitement to work there. But what they should have done is get people excited by letting them know the studio is in good hands. What have these people worked on before? An inclusive staff is nice, and it is noteworthy. But it doesn’t mean much if viewers don’t know what the team is capable of. Not to mention there’s no indication in this video that there is a studio in Japan as well, and it’s unknown what role that division will play.
The video also serves as a promotion video of High Guardian Spice. Unfortunately, it does a poor job of explaining exactly what the series is going to be about. No names are even given in the accompanying description; you have to look at articles elsewhere to learn the girls are named Rosemary, Sage, Thyme and Parsley and ties into the word “spice” in the title. We learn they are aiming to become Guardians, but what is a Guardian? What are their personalities, voices, the challenges they are going to face? Even if Ellation Studios isn’t ready to showcase the animation, there are ways to hook viewers in advance.
In short, trailer making is an art, and this one is too vague to capture anyone’s attention or answer anyone’s question.
Anyway, if the problem was just the subpar trailer, viewers would probably just post a bunch of ??? and LOL comments. But the whole Ellation Studios and even the idea of High Guardian Spice has many anime fans up-in-arms. Let’s look at some of their charges as to why.
Charge #1: “Crunchyroll is only for anime!”
Even if you abide by the definition that, in English, anime is only for animated media produced in Japan, there are grey areas. For example, is the original Transformers anime? After all, Toei Animation did the animation. Would you be upset if the series were to be available on Crunchyroll? Not to mention RWBY is available on Crunchyroll, and it’s an American production.
And, of course, there’s the fact they have manga and J-dramas.
Charge #2: “They’re taking money away from anime!”
Diversification is an inevitable — and arguably necessary — part of modern business. Of course, this presents a conundrum: sticking to just the familiar content (whether as a retail store or video provider) means that sales have narrow room for growth. Diversify too much, and they can lose their original fanbase who hate seeing “other” merchandise take up space, no matter if it’s virtual or physical.
But this is a time where you can furnish an entire living room at a supermarket and watch the company who pioneered cartoons and animation air live action shows and Japanese anime.
I can be a bit of an old-fashioned curmudgeon myself, but very few boycotts or Internet petitions will make companies reconsider their plans.
Also, by all indications, Crunchyroll themselves isn’t funding Ellation Studios. Yes, some of your money will probably go to High Guardian Spice indirectly, since profits from Crunchyroll go to Ellation in some form. Even if Crunchyroll is investing in Ellation Studios, this wouldn’t be unexpected. After all, they already financially back shows in Japan, and almost all the other video streaming sites (Amazon, Hulu, Netflix) are investing heavily in making their own original content and not just licensing other companies’ works.
Charge #3: “They’re forcing diversity on us!”
I’m not going to dive into the comments about the Ellation staff. I’m just not. Suffice to say, there is a vocal segment (and you may be one of them) who believe one or more of the following:
- The staff is not diverse when the majority of the people shown are white women.
- Having only female writers is biased against men.
- Bringing up diversity in the first place is egregious and proof of SJW pandering.
Part of these comments may be due the the poor trailer, and a longer video showcasing just the crew might have alleviated some of these accusations. Regardless, Ellation Studios and High Guardian Spice is hardly the first to have these complaints, and you can search for yourself for more information.
But I do want to point out it’s possible that the staff makeup for High Guardian Spice is different than other projects that are down the pipeline. Here’s a collage from their website advertising the (and I quote) “amazing co-workers”.
Charge #4: “The show looks bad!”
It may very well be. But you have to remember that a number of people disliking something doesn’t mean it’s a bad investment for a company. Netflix’s Death Note was panned across the anime community, and it is getting a sequel. Liongate’s Power Rangers is also receiving a follow-up after doing poorly at the box office. Surely you’ve watched a series you’ve hated and can’t believe it got a second season (Diabolik Lovers for me).
If High Guardian Spice is bad, it will probably fail. But right now there is very little information to indicate whether Ellation Studios is bad at making shows or if they’re just bad at making trailers.
Charge #5: “They should be investing in their crappy webplayer!”
It is true that Adobe Flash is ending in a mere two years, and Crunchyroll needs to update their player sooner rather than later. Some fans already have found ways to do so, and if they can, Crunchyroll themselves should be able to revamp their player, especially since their site was attacked in late 2017.
But I highly doubt that if Ellation Studios wasn’t being launched, Crunchyroll would be dedicating their time and money to redo their player. We don’t know how long this plan was in the works, but much of the San Francisco software engineers were laid off in January 2017. And, if you believe some threads on Reddit here, here, here, and elsewhere, this outsourcing is one of the reasons why the website and apps don’t get the attention they deserve. Again, while this move likely saves them money, unfortunately, this is common. Incredibly frustrating and maddening, but all too common. I bet these layoffs would have happened even without High Guardian Spice.
Blame and criticize Crunchyroll for not keeping up with the times. Be upset they let go of some long-term workers for cheaper, non-US staff. But the animators hired for Ellation Studios don’t have anything to do with the fact Flash Player is being used or that some jobs are being done outside North America. If you want to go with the argument that Crunchyroll should be solely focused on its video players, then you can levy that same complaint to the store or news divisions, as they aren’t the primary focus for Crunchyroll either.
Charge #6: “They’re censoring feedback!”
Crunchyroll disabled likes and comments on the High Guardian Spice trailer. Some members complain that forum threads are being locked down, saying that Crunchyroll brought up political and social debates in the first place.
It’s hardly uncommon that companies temporarily (or permanently) lock a social media page due to a high amount of negativity. Is it wrong? Not necessarily. Is it right? Again, not necessarily. Yes, Ellation Studios and their works should be open to criticism. But there’s also no doubt that some things are a lightning rod for outrage and Internet brigading.
It’s possible that the voting was an accurate representation of what people think of the video. And in my opinion, yes, Crunchyroll should let fans express their views. They need either a social media manager or the staff to calmly address concerns. (Of course, fans should express their complaints better than, “HOW DARE YOU!!”) The more a company is seen as hiding, the louder the response will be. As of this writing, the official trailer has fallen to fifth place in YouTube’s search results for “High Guardian Spice”. The top four are all about this controversy. For Crunchyroll, that’s not good.
My Thoughts
The announcement of High Guardian Spice deserves some criticism. Details are vague, and more fanfare went into who was making it rather than what was being made. If they wanted to save a lot of the details for their Crunchyroll Expo, they should have just waited and revealed it then. This could have also given them an opportunity to answer questions in real time instead of reacting later.
However, I think it is also both just a victim of the latest Internet outrage and a scapegoat for Crunchyroll. Some people — trolls or otherwise — just thrive on making a new -gate controversy, especially when subjects like diversity are involved. In addition, Ellation Studios is seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back for some people. Crunchyroll certainly has made some major missteps during its tenure and let fans down. But no matter how Crunchyroll was going to expand and diversify, that next change was going to be seen as a step too far for those already peeved fans, and High Guardian Spice is the unlucky winner.
Many people have or are threatening to cancel their Crunchyroll Premium subscriptions if High Guardian Spice isn’t canned, but I highly doubt it’s going to happen. Cancelling could cost as much as finishing the series, and maybe Ellation Studios has full confidence their work will prove critics wrong.
A number of people believe this is the writing on the wall for Crunchyroll, that its days as king of anime is numbered or have already ended. For now, the pricing is unchanged, and it’s one show out of the current 20+ new titles each cour. Even if airing Ellation Studios’ works eventually changes Crunchyroll’s identity (which I doubt, as they were heralding reaching 1 million subscribers), why not continue to enjoy the ride until the end? It’s not like the Crunchyroll of today is unrecognizable from the Crunchyroll of two weeks ago. If subscribers weren’t already considering canceling then, don’t let the mere existence of this show be the deciding factor.