When the user circle of animation has moved from niche to mass, technological innovation is constantly releasing more production capacity, and a stage of competing for the quality of animation works has arrived. China's animation industry should also seriously consider how to get out of the initial stage of the rise of Guoman.
Author |Li Wei (Beijing).
In 2023, as animation works continue to expand their audience circle and gain recognition in the mass market, China's animation industry is releasing strong industrial value, and the total output value is expected to exceed 300 billion yuan.
In this context,The discussion around China's animation industry,It also deepens from the phenomenon of whether Guoman is rising to the deeper level of how Guoman can get out of the initial stage。 How to accumulate practical experience in the past ten years and bear fruit, and summarize a set of IP cultivation recipes that can support the sustainable development of China's animation industry, has been the key to successfully passing this stage of connecting the previous and the next. At present, some results are already beginning to be seen.
In the list of winners of the 2023 Golden Goose Honorary Animation Works, you can see popular New Year's works such as "Douluo Dalu I", "Breaking the Sky", and "Perfect World".There are also potential new works such as "Douluo Continent II Peerless Tang Gate", "Covering the Sky" and "Dragon Family";At the same time, works such as "Under One Man Season 5", "Dart Man", and "Painting the Bad People Season 6" have also won a high reputation for their wonderful story interpretation and unique genre settings.
From these works, we can try to summarize the basic formula for the cultivation of animation IP: first, a successful animation IP must be able to withstand the test of time, which must not only have a good story, strong creation, but also be able to establish a long-term bond with the audience;Secondly, the maximization of the value of an animation IP is inseparable from successful character building, and innovative and diversified character settings are the core of the charm of animation IPFinally, enduring anime IPs will have their own unique aesthetic genes, which are visual abstract presentations of the imprints of a certain era.
When the user circle of animation has moved from niche to mass, technological innovation is constantly releasing more production capacity, and a stage of competing for the quality of animation works has arrived. This basic formula for animation cultivation is the key to the rise of Guoman out of the primary stage, and it is also a roadmap for more animation IPs to achieve classics.
1.Classic IP, eternal value
The process of continuous development and growth of China's animation industry is also a process of continuous waves and sands. "Douluo Continent", which won the 2023 Golden Goose Honorary Animation and IP Star of the Year, continues to move users after 6 years of running. In the past six years, audiences of different ages, identities, and generations have been attracted by the same animation work, and have left the same imprint in their own memories, and finally the ** volume has exceeded 50 billion, achieving a classic IP of Guoman.
In addition, "Douluo Continent Peerless Tangmen", which was launched immediately after "Douluo Continent", and "Perfect World" and "Breaking the Sky Year", which have been broadcast, are also long-term updated years;The seasonally broadcast "Painting the Bad People of the Rivers and Lakes" and "Under One Man" have also been broadcast to the sixth and fifth seasons respectively. These works can be continuously updated, and they need to have a certain appeal and audience base, which is the most intuitive proof that the value of IP is recognized by the audience.
The basic condition that helps these animation IPs maintain the long-term recognition of the audience is the unremitting pursuit of good stories and good content. "Under One Man Season 5" continues the creative route of the series of deep cultivation of traditional Chinese culture, integrates traditional culture, chivalrous style, and family and country feelings into the creation of animation works, and unfolds the decisive battle story between Nadutong temporary workers and Biyou Village's twelve roots, and the development of the plot and the production of animation have received praise from a large number of fans.
Painting the Bad Guys Season 6 won the 2023 Golden Goose Honorary Best Anime Screenwriter of the Year Award. This season's work vividly shows the ups and downs of the temple dispute, the dangerous game of the master using the world as a chess, and the growth and transformation of the characters. At present, the score of "Painting the Bad People Season 6" on Douban has reached 96, it is the highest-rated animation work in the series, and it is also the highest-rated Guoman work on Douban in the first half of 2023.
The presentation of good stories and content is inseparable from the continuous innovation and craftsmanship of animation creators. Shen Leping continues to innovate in the subject matter, and after the success of "Qin Shi Mingyue", he successively served as the director of "Wu Geng Ji" with the theme of ancient mythology and "Douluo Continent" with the fantasy theme, and "Devouring the Starry Sky" is another sci-fi animation directed by him. Wang Xin has maintained a high creative enthusiasm for more than ten years, and has devoted almost all his energy to the front line of creation, looking for the best solution for the composition and production of each storyboard. During the production of "Dragon Family", Wang Xin tried the combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional pictures for the first time, and realized the effect of panning the camera.
What is certain is that every time-tested animation work will have a stronger IP value. Long-term stable and updated animation works, combined with offline activities, finally establish a deep bond with the audience. Anime works such as "Douluo Continent" and "Dart Man" have held offline viewing activities, and fans from all over the world have gathered with the main creative team to communicate around the front and back of the work, so that fans can get an unforgettable ** experience and establish a deeper understanding of the work.
2.Personas are at the heart of the IP
The starting point for a good story and good content to be recognized by the audience is a charismatic character. Whether it is an animation work or a film and television drama, a good character creation is not just the icing on the cake, but more often it plays the role of the finishing touch. The successful shaping of the character traits in "Dali Temple Diary Season 2" paved the way for the subsequent story to unfold. The image of unyielding, uncompromising, and unbelieving resistance created in "Nezha's Demon Boy Descends to the World" directly points out the spiritual core of the work.
For an anime IP, charismatic characters are also the best connection point to establish a closer emotional bond with the audience. The audience can feel the spiritual core of the work from such a character, which can trigger a deeper resonance. The Huo Linger in "Perfect World" is lively, kind, eccentric, and still tenacious and unyielding after ups and downs, and the contradiction between the character's personality and experience not only makes the audience feel sadistic, but also lights up the arc of the character, becoming the most popular character of the year in 2023 Golden Goose Honorary Animation.
In addition to the content level, classic animation characters also provide a huge value space for the commercial operation of animation IP. The IP licensing of classic animation characters has always been an important part of the animation industry's revenue. According to a survey by License Global, Pokémon's revenue from licensed and peripheral products in 2022 was $11.6 billion, up 36 percent year-over-year5%。In China, co-branding of animation images has also become a regular marketing action favored by consumer brands.
Under One Man" has been linked with brands such as Deli and Wahaha AD calcium milk. "Douluo Dalu I" not only held an offline carnival on the birthday of the heroine Xiao Wu, but also launched the Douluo Dalu-Xiao Wu's Star Dou Dream series of blind boxes, as well as Xiao Wu's Star Dou Dream ** gift box in cooperation with Lukfook Jewelry. "Dart Man" joined hands with New Continent Honda's sports pedal RX125 split line to launch co-branded custom gift boxes, helmets, earphones, car stickers and other peripheral products.
These co-branding and collaborations are essentially using the IP of anime characters as a connection point to establish an emotional bond with users, so that the brand concept can resonate with users, superimpose a layer of spiritual attributes on top of the functional value of the product, and promote the growth of sales. Therefore, when more and more brands begin to recognize the connection value of animation character IP, the shaping of animation characters will become more and more important in the development process of animation IP.
For mature animation IPs, a good setting and a good story structure determine the lower limit of commercial value, and whether the characters are brilliant enough determines the upper limit of commercial value. Shaping characters is like cultivating artists, when the audience's aesthetics continue to improve, emotional needs continue to be subdivided, and the feelings of reality are constantly changing, the animation characters written by the creators are also catering to this change, constantly innovating, and becoming more diverse and rich, including Ye Fan, the emperor who is famous for his black belly in "Covering the Sky", and Zhang Chulan, who has a changeable personality in "Under One Man", and Chen Shi, an ordinary honest man in "Dali Temple Diary Season 2".
3.Animation IP must have aesthetic genes
From a more macro point of view, some animation IPs that can transcend cycles and endure for a long time often have their own unique understanding of aesthetic expression while having good stories and good characters. Abstracting the core elements from the changes of the times, social moods, and cultural trends, and integrating these elements into the creation of animation works, so that the visual style presented in the works can be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which can become the core carrier of IP value.
Several works that won the 2023 Golden Goose Honorary Best Art of the Year Award also have remarkable points in the shaping of aesthetic style. "Devouring the Starry Sky" chose a realistic 3D aesthetic style in the creation process, realizing the pore level processing of the characters' ** details and the high restoration of the scene, and integrating the oriental charm into the story of the science fiction theme. "Dali Temple Diary Season 2" continues the combination of Chinese painting style and cute style, and the shaping of the scene is dominated by the Chinese painting style, integrating elements such as ancient architecture, clothing, and utensils, and the portrayal of character images and expressions takes the cute route, presenting the charm of different characters.
"Dart Man" uses freehand, wild, and classical color matching aesthetics to build a hard-core martial arts world of yellow sand desert and sword light and sword shadow. Among them, the integration of first-class elements such as Matouqin, Humai, Suona, Guqin, and Guzheng has added a sense of desolate and tragic atmosphere to this world. In addition to the previously mentioned collaboration with the New Continent Honda RX125, Dartman's unique Chinese aesthetics and hard-core martial arts style have also attracted brands from different categories such as Luckin, Onitsuka Tiger, Black Jue Keyboard, and UNO to co-brand with it.
For China's animation industry, with an audience base, increased commercial returns, and continuous improvement in technology and production capacity, all that remains is to seek accumulation, look forward to a qualitative change, and cultivate more and more influential mature IPs. In this process, we need to maintain the courage to keep moving forward.