Bringing Animation To The Mainstream

AXIS STUDIOS is currently animating the titular character in Syfy and Netflix’s Happy!, which also stars the actor Christopher Meloni of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fame. This show has also brought animation – which is often considered niche – to a wider, more mainstream audience.

In August, Richard spoke about exactly this as part of a panel at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

He explained, “The rise of streaming services has meant that TV shows that would never have been made for terrestrial television because they were considered too niche, are now being seen on our TV screens.

“These online services can now join all the niche audiences around the world together and make one solid audience for more unique shows.

“A great example on Netflix is Japanese anime which is quite a niche form of animation skewed towards slightly older audiences, as some of it is quite dark and violent.

“This has traditionally been very niche, but Netflix has got a continually growing roster of Japanese anime – and is even investing in producing Japanese anime specifically for its platform – because there are enough viewers around the world, including in Japan, obviously, that want to watch it. This is the start of a shift.

“People who play video games essentially control, interact and watch animation of all genres on a day-in-day-out basis so they are comfortable watching non-live-action content.

“It is not as big an audience as those who watch live action movies and TV shows – not yet anyway.

“It is still niche, and that’s why streaming platforms can make it work.”