eesh. Heavy Hit. It will take independent studios (like outside of Japan) to produce old school scifi shows. Unless they can work out some kind of deal with toy maker like they did in the old days.
It's definitely a cost/benefit challenge. Developing a good mecha anime costs a lot vs. the profit that is to be had. That's why it's Gundam & Macross that get made & not a whole lot else - they're established properties that people still buy by the truckload.
There must be a Magic Girl/Moe/Idol Star bubble that going burst somewhere. I'm kinda tired of that show being the norm when anything is made.
We've definitely hit peak idol anime - IdolM@ster & Love Live are the big two (plus Uta wa Prince-sama on the male sidd) & all the other names are slowly getting pushed out of the market. WUG has come to an end & they were the closest thing to a serious competitor. Bushiroad has tried to transition to bands with BanG Dream! with mixed results.
Is there sign of tastes in Japan fandom changing or they more into video games? More i see these games, animated clips, more i think scifi leaning fans are there now playing more interactive scifi aka games.
Moe has definitely taken a backseat to a mobage backed fantasy revival, although I'd say there's yet to be a new dominate market trend since the isekai boom a couple of years ago. The anime industry is still struggling with the inevitable collapse of the Japanese BD market a few years ago.
