Why can't anime studios create animes for foreigns audiences?


For example, to originally script dialogues in English and set the story in a
country of any and the characters are non-Japanese.

If anime became world-renowned, why can't animation studios bother to create
animes that target foreign audiences rather than its own Japanese audiences?

For example, the video game _Resident Evil_ is produced by Capcom, a Japanese
video game developer, but the game was created for American audiences because
originally the English acting was recorded. Also, _Afro Samurai_ which was
animated by Gonzo was an anime that originally recorded English voice acting,
so I would presume that anime was catered to American audiences.

So I find it strange why Japanese animation studios can't even produce animes
to target non-Japanese audiences.




I'd say that it's not that they can't, but rather that there simply **isn't
much incentive** for them to do so. It just doesn't make much business or
financial sense to target a foreign audience, not when a Japanese audience is
much closer, more familiar, and less costly to target.

To target foreign audiences, I would imagine that an animation studio would
need to expend a lot of additional time and effort on things like dealing with
overseas licensors, TV networks, distributors, as well as having to handle
language barriers and translations (since I'd imagine that most people working
in a Japanese animation studio wouldn't be fluent in English). Even for
typical anime, studios tend to avoid [hiring native speakers of foreign
languages](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/41721/why-dont-anime-
studios-hire-native-english-speakers) if they need a voice for a character
with a foreign language, because it's generally much cheaper to hire someone
born in Japan. So, if even one foreign voice actor is too costly, then the
entire production being in a foreign language would be out of the question.

Okay, but what if we just let the studio produce everything in Japanese, a
language that the staff are all familiar with, and then let another company
handle the translations for the foreign audience? Well, if the original
language is in Japanese, they might as well just target it to Japan in the
first place! The localization is probably best left to companies in the target
country who natively know the language anyway (or else we might get something
like the Engrish in the Psycho Pass Movie). Also, as [Memor-X points
out](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/43289/why-cant-anime-studios-
create-animes-for-foreigns-audiences#comment58051_43289), Japanese studios for
the most part have little control over which English actors are used and how
the English localization and distribution are done.

**That's not to say that anime targeted at foreign audiences have never
happened.** The barrier is just higher. As you and [Memor-X
mention](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/43289/why-cant-anime-
studios-create-animes-for-foreigns-audiences#comment58044_43289), [Afro
Samurai](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2005-05-03/samuel-l-
jackson-gets-animated-for-spike-tv-with-afro-samurai) was a production that
happened thanks to Samuel L. Jackson's interest and contribution. [Gagantous
also points out](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/43289/why-cant-
anime-studios-create-animes-for-foreigns-audiences#comment58034_43289) that
Netflix has financed a number of [original anime
series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_original_programs_distributed_by_Netflix#Anime)
that seem to be animated by Japanese studios, and like with other Netflix
original series, are released worldwide all at once.

So, as these examples have shown, Japanese animation studios _are_ capable of
creating anime for foreign audiences. It's just that in most non-exceptional
cases, they wouldn't have much reason to do so.

Note that if the incentive is there (e.g. either personal interest or with
investment from a foreign party, like with Samuel L. Jackson and _Samurai
Afro_ ), it _is_ doable. After all, if there's a foreign producer already in
the loop, then the entrance barrier is much lower.

While Japanese anime studios haven't really created any foreign-targeted anime
on their own, **they _have_ however been _involved_ in a number of foreign
animation productions.** So in a way, I suppose you could say that Japanese
animation studios _have_ (co-)created a number of _anime_ (for
[some](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/6198/can-an-animated-show-
created-outside-japan-be-called-anime)
[definition](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/69/what-differentiates-
anime-from-regular-cartoons) of anime) for foreign audiences. For example:

  * [Batman: The Animated Series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Animated_Series#Animation) was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, but animated by various overseas animation studios, including the Japanese studios Spectrum Animation, Sunrise, Studio Junio, and TMS Entertainment (as well as various other studios from South Korea, Hong Kong, Spain, and Canada).
  * [The Animatrix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Animatrix), a compilation of nine animated short films based on _The Matrix_ trilogy, was produced by the Wachowskis, but a large number of the films were animated by Studio 4°C and Madhouse from Japan.
  * [Transformers Animated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_Animated) (I watched this series growing up!) was produced by Cartoon Network Studios, but animated by the Japanese studios MOOK DLE, The Answer Studio, and Studio 4°C.
  * [Legend of Korra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra) had some parts of it animated by Studio Pierrot from Japan (as well as Studio Mir from Korea).
  * [Miraculous Ladybug](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculous:_Tales_of_Ladybug_%26_Cat_Noir#Production) is produced by French studios Zagtoon and Method Animation, in collaboration with De Agostini Editore from Italy, Toei Animation from Japan, and SAMG Animation from South Korea. Actually, it was originally going to be a 2D anime-style series (see [this trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlwV3scCgAM) for a taste of what could have been), but for design reasons, they switched to 3D CGI animation later on.
  * Also, [Toei Animation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toei_Animation#Commission_work) has actually been commissioned to provide animation for lots of American studios in the past.

As a final side note, I'd like to add that there _is_ precedent in other media
where the producers mainly target domestic audiences over local audiences when
there's money to be had. For example, [Hollywood and
China](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/02/warcraft-film-china-
blockbuster-hollywood-investment).

