Limitations of Existing Offerings

Despite the anime industry’s global popularity and diverse ecosystem of content providers, today’s market solutions fail to address fundamental issues of transparency, fan engagement, and equitable value distribution. Existing models largely rely on traditional intermediaries, opaque contractual arrangements, and limited avenues for meaningful audience participation. Below are the key categories of current solutions and their inherent shortcomings:

Traditional Streaming Platforms (e.g., Crunchyroll, Netflix): Aggregated anime content via subscription models

• Opaque Licensing Deals: Viewers have no insight into how IP rights are negotiated and how their contributions benefit the creators they support.

• Passive Fan Experience: Fans consume content but have limited to no direct influence on their favorite medium.

• Regional Restrictions: Many shows are geo-blocked, delaying or denying access to international audiences.

Production Committees & Licensing Agencies: A traditional ecosystem where multiple stakeholders (publishers, studios, merchandisers, networks) share risks and rewards in bringing an anime from production to market

• Complexity & Inefficiency: Multi-party committees create misaligned incentives, slow negotiations, and a lack of transparency in value distribution.

• Entrenched Gatekeepers: Production committees tend to focus on landing large, lucrative deals, leaving small and mid-sized licensees overlooked. As a result, new players struggle to enter the market, and promising IPs miss out on reaching a broader global audience.

• Exclusionary to Fans: There’s no meaningful way for fans to participate early on as they are only viewed as end consumers to sell to.

Crowdfunding Platforms (e.g., Kickstarter, Campfire): One-time funding solutions for niche or independent anime projects

• Short-Term Engagement: Fan influence is limited to non-existent after the initial funding goals are met.

• Minimal Transparency: Backers often lack ongoing visibility into how funds are used or how decisions are made beyond project completion.

• Lack of Quality Selection: Does not provide fans with access to high quality animation available within the traditional Japanese anime industry as majority of projects are from indie creators.

NFT Projects: Digital merchandise and collectibles tied to anime brands, leveraging blockchain for ownership verification

• Lack of Utility: NFTs typically offer no governance rights or meaningful influence over IP direction.

• No Structural Improvements: They do not address core industry problems like complex licensing or biased profit distribution.

• Fragmented Ecosystem: NFTs exist in isolation, not integrated into a holistic production, licensing, and distribution framework.

Direct-to-Consumer Merchandising & Fan Clubs: Exclusive merchandise, early access to events, or insider updates to deepen fan loyalty

• Passive Fandom: Fans remain consumers rather than stakeholders, with limited ability to shape and influence decisions.

• No Transparency or Control: The broader production and licensing challenges remain unaddressed.

Data-Driven Platforms & Aggregators: Enhanced recommendations and user analytics to improve content discovery

• Still Intermediary-Dominated: Underlying licensing and production committee complexities persist.

• No Value Alignment: Data insights may improve user experience but do not shift industry incentives to empower fans and creators in meaningful ways.

In Summary

Current market solutions operate within frameworks that reinforce traditional power dynamics and opacity. While some offer incremental improvements—such as direct fan funding, digital collectibles, or data-driven recommendations—they fail to address systemic issues. None provide a truly unified platform that aligns fans, creators, and licensees in a transparent, incentive-driven ecosystem, underscoring the need for a holistic approach like Oshi.

Meanwhile, other foreign and web3-focused players have attempted to break into the Japanese market by relying on profit-centric strategies or large capital injections. However, without a nuanced understanding of Japanese culture and business practices, they often struggle to gain meaningful traction. By contrast, Oshi’s founders have spent years cultivating trust with influential industry stakeholders who share our vision—relationships grounded in more than transactional gains. This combination of local credibility and a willingness to innovate positions Oshi to succeed where others have fallen short, bridging entrenched gaps and fostering a new era of anime production and distribution.

tl;dr

Outdated platforms hold fans back: they collect fees, limit creative control, and offer no say in shaping stories. Existing offerings don’t tap into the real power of fandom: the desire to shape the stories we love, see them grow, and benefit financially from our contributions. Nobody is bridging the gap between massive global fandom and direct creator empowerment. The potential is colossal, but the tools are relics of the past.