Anime history was made yesterday morning. When Skip Beat! moved from Indiegogo to Kickstarter, I was concerned, but hopeful. The lower funding goal was more reasonable, Blu-ray became a stretch goal (a very wise logistical move), and Kickstarter’s overall reputation is far better than that of Indiegogo, which meant better publicity for the campaign in general.
It seems 1,645 other backers agreed. Skip Beat! has not only met its lower Kickstarter goal, it has met its original Indiegogo goal as well. I’m less than thrilled about some of the casting, but I give all dubs a chance, so we’ll see how things turn out. Now begins round two of the waiting game. But in this case, that’s a good thing. Make that a very good thing. Skip Beat!’s successful campaign is a huge win for the Shōjo genre; while it might still be considered a risky genre, I’d like to hope 1,646 people (not including PayPal backers) investing in that risk sends a message. Let’s not forget this is going to become Pied Piper’s second release as well. Pied Piper’s release history isn’t even in the double digits, yet alone countable on two hands. This campaign is a huge win for Pied Piper too.
It might not seem like it now, but I think the release of Skip Beat! in the US may be one of the most important releases in a while. Hope has been given to the Shōjo genre, crowdfunding anime, and very, very small licensing studios. To be honest, I haven’t finished watching Skip Beat! on Crunchyroll yet, but even if I end up not being a huge fan of it, I’m happy knowing the internet still has the power to shut down the nay sayers – and in this case, in quite a big way.
