User blog:Arkimonde/Petition Tower of God

On change.org someone start a petition to produce a Netflix animation. We are actually 6000 signatory.

Link:
https://www.change.org/p/netflix-a-netflix-tower-of-god-anime

Description:
Hello, friends. First, let me thank you for taking the time to read this humble prayer. We are here to implore you to be a part of this dream of ours. For the first Korean manhwa/webtoon to become a serialized international anime. For us to see and be a part of Tower of God getting the anime it so rightfully deserves. In the interest of brevity and directness I'm going to be addressing each necessary actor in part. Starting with you the people, Netlix, Naver/Webtoons, and SIU himself, I'm going to present the case for why you should be a part of this movement to change the anime scene forever. Now, don't get us wrong. We understand how far fetched this dream is. How unlikely it is to come to fruition. But, with your help, maybe, just maybe, we too, can make a change, and bring Tower of God to anime where it belongs.

Let's start then, with you the people. Why should you give this piece of work your time. Well, if you've already read Tower of God then it really shouldn't take much convincing, given the quality of the work. So, instead, let me pitch it a bit to those who are unfamiliar with it. Tower of God is a Korean Manhwa(manga/comic) centered around a boy who enters a fantastical tower with over a hundred floors, with each floor being its own unique world. To climb the tower you have to take tests, with each test being different, to compete vs others, and at times put your life or the lives of others on the line as you search for your desire and dream, which is promised to be granted "at the top". They boy, Baam, enters at first to chase after a girl Rachel, but over the course of many trials and tribulations, friends and enemies, joys and sorrows, comes to discover both who he really is and what he really desires...

I know. Sounds like a fairly generic battle shonen(work aimed towards young boys) right? And it can be that, at times. But it is the authors stated goal to have it be a mix between shonen and seinen( a work aimed more towards adults), and he accomplishes that beautifully. The work is a master class in painting shades of grey, in giving complex character motivations, and to call into question what it means to be human, to succeed, and to struggle and live as a human. It is not a perfect work, but it does reach for it, whenever it can, and more often than not, will have you too reaching for the stars in your own heart, at the top of your own Tower. It has beautiful crisp fully colored panels, technically immersive battle scenes, multiple villains with master plans, and more controversy over said villains than anyone save maybe Griffith from Berserk. It is a Manhwa that screams and breathes to be fully animated and lived in, with a universe and lore that rivals any fantasy giant, past or present.

Now, say that none of this appeals to you. That's OKAY. Truly it is. Even still I want  you to be a part of this. Sign it at least. Share it if you can. Why? You're almost certainly reading this because you've been touched, entertained, or developed a sincere feeling for an anime or manga that you've watched or read. Of those, I'm sure that at least one of them was a Japanese adaptation. Naruto may not be your thing, but perhaps Monster was. Violet Evergarden may not have resonated with you but Attack on Titan might have. Surely, though, there's at least one work that was adapted that connected with you in a way that feels unique and special to you. Now imagine that you never had that opportunity, merely because anime refused to cover and adapt a single piece of work from your country. Imagine that it was Japanese works that got blacklisted, not Korean.

How many memories would you lose? How many emotions? How many thoughts and ideas would you never have? How many are you missing out on because the amazing work that Korea does, doesn't even get a chance. Yes you can still read. But everyone knows there is something magical to seeing your favorite images come to life on screen. Television, anime, it is a medium that can cross the screen and touch hearts, and to all sorts of people who would never even get a chance to read or think about it. This is more than just Tower of God. Just like if the shoe had been on the other foot, getting Dragon Ball Z adapted would just be the start. Look at how far the Japanese anime culture and market has come internationally since starting out. Even since a decade ago it was radically different. This would just be the first step, and trust me when I tell you, there would be no greater first step than Tower of God. So I hope, again, bravely, that you sign and share this petition and be a part of that future. Of the next ten years of art that we all deserve. The best possible future. Thank you.

Now, to Netflix. Why should you pick up Tower of God. Well let me be blunt. It almost doesn't matter *what* exactly you pick up from Korean Manhwa to animate. Tower of God is just a fantastic work that appeals mostly to males from the teens up into the adult years, because it straddles the line of appealing to "children" and "adults" by being a shonen/seinen hybrid. But there are definitely other choices. That said there is a very passionate and hardcore underlying fan base for Tower of God so we hope you choose us. But you absolutely should take this chance to claim this completely untapped market.

You guys made Attack on Titan what it is today. You guys have made many other anime shows incredibly successful. There is a history of you guys taking a relatively unknown international work and bringing it to international acclaim simply by hosting it as an anime. However, you are in a tough competition in the anime market with heavy licensing fees, and unlike your original live action shows, the inability to produce it in-house. You have to out source. Even still, you've put in the work and money to create  your own original content, or at least give it the exclusive Netflix original brand. From such exemplary works like Devilman Crybaby, Knights of Sidonia, The Seven Deadly Sins, and many more, you've found a way to claw into your own offering. But compared to crunchy roll and your own live action offerings, your library is extremely lacking. Why is that? If I had to guess it's that licensing all those works with tough competition is an extremely tough process to do. And yet the demand for anime is still at an all time high and continuing to explode dramatically.

Even though there are more work that ever before, it's also being consumed more than ever before, with an endless demand for MORE among anime fans, and honestly, a diminishing supply amongst Japanese studios/mangakas to supply that demand. This is purely a market share move, but the business and competition  makes it hard for you to develop the unbeatable set of Netflix originals that ensures brand loyalty and long term subscription success. That's why Tower of God and Korean Manhwa/Webtoons are absolutely perfect for you. Roughly the same amount of people had heard about Knights of Sidonia or Attack on Titan before you brought them overseas. But due to your amazing algorithms and the quality of the work themselves, they outperformed all expectations and became incredibly popular and valuable to some degree to you. At worst they are good filler that you can say *Only at Netflix*. I don't need to lecture you to how important that is for your brand. Now you have a whole history of works to take from, all cheaper than Japanese rights, since its a completely untapped market, all hitting the same market share that you want for anime, all with absolutely no competition. And all you have to do is do the same thing you did for Castelvania or Knights of Sidonia, except you get to do it cheaper, with more room for unabated growth and complete brand domination? You get to have the good press of moving the anime business forward in a unique and innovative way? At the least you get an *Only at Netflix* filler, and at best you get complete ownership of a new market and funnel of Anime?

If this goes well, you will have the signature brand for your Anime department at Netflix. The unique manhwa/webtoons adaptation(s), headlining your work, setting you apart and above the competition, all at a fraction at the cost. And at the worst, its a great experiment that you learn from and promote your brand off of. This is a deal that you should not refuse. I sincerely hope you take advantage of the opportunity in front of you before someone else does.

Next, Naver/Webtoons. Why should you get involved in this? Well you've already put out some experimental on Noblesse Awakening to get into the anime realm. But there are a few problems with that. First of all, Tower of God more accurately captures the uniqueness of your business. Noblesse to western audiences really just feels like another Van Helsing. We've seen it before. We have Castlevania to scratch that itch. Secondly, Tower of God is simply just better than Noblesse, while being just as if not more popular. Thirdly, you've found that Noblesse and anime are hard to do on your own. It's expensive, and unlike manga there is limited physical copy and memorabilia sales to capture off the hard work.

Regardless of which exact work you pick, Netflix is the partner you need to be focusing on first and foremost. Netflix has the money to sponsor it, without the necessary profit margins that you have to have. They can handle a loss leader a lot better than you can, that's their entire business, show by show. Moreover, the Korean Animation Studio scene is... well if not non-existent, then nearly so. Netflix however has all the connections you can't get because of rivalry between Korea and Japan, and, in addition, has experience now contracting American made animation of high quality. They have multiple paths that can you can use to pursue your work getting out there to a wider audience, in an honorable, profitable, rights management way.

You don't need to be in the business of making anime. Shonen Jump isn't in the business of making anime. What you need to be in the business of is of making sure that you get money for anime being made, for your works to become more popular, and thus for your own market share and passive income to increase. A Tower of God anime on Netflix accomplishes that for you with the least amount of risk to yourself. A success takes your business to new heights, and a failure leaves you no worse for wear, and in facts gives you some money for those rights you weren't using anyways. You absolutely must take advantage of this and I hope this petition convinces you of the desire of fans all over the world to see it happen.

Finally, even though I know the chances of this are low that he ever even hears of this, but, let me make a humble plea to the revered author himself, S.I.U. Mr. Slave In Utero. As a hardcore Tower of God addict and a personal fan of you, your hard work, and the amazing story you've brought to us, I know how difficult it has been for you to give up the rights to your baby. Tower of God is your creation. It is unimaginable for someone to take what you've created and mess it up. I understand that it's a risk. I understand that you'll feel hurt beyond words if they don't do your story justice. I really do. But there are so many people out there, more than will ever see this petition, and more that will never even know what they are missing, if Tower of God doesn't get an anime. I truly believe you've created a masterpiece. It has affected so many people not just here in the United States, or just in Korea, but around the world. Even all these years later we spend so much of our time and lives making friends, exchanging passionate debates on your characters, and growing up around the Flag that is Tower of God. Maybe it will go all wrong. But even if it does, if it can get even one more person to look up at the stars like Rachel does. To feel what we felt when we first saw Baam have something he fears more than death, in a world that was completely new and foreign to us. If even one person can be captured by that indescribable feeling your work provokes, then, to me, it's worth it. And I hope you consider that and come to share that feeling as well. You created a beautiful child, after all.

So. For most of you out there, you may only have read a portion of what we wrote. You may not have read anything, and skipped to the bottom. However you got here, it's fine. We all have our own journey to take. But I implore you. Please. Be a part of the solution. Be a part of the answer. Don't accept that this could "never happen". Who says that it can't? Who says that a Korean manhwa can't get an anime? Where is the law? All a human can do is all a human can do. But it's hard to do anything alone. Please, take this call to action. Sign up. Tell your friends. We can make make a change. And this is simply the first step.