Eroanime production company Anime Antenna employee Murakami Kouichi (村上恒一: producer – Mahou Shoujo Ai, The Guts!, Taimanin Asagi, other Pixy titles) made a post on the official Ani-An company blog on May 6th relating the news that Lilith Soft affiliate brand Pixy is in danger of financial collapse within the year, and that other major brands may soon follow.

He describes how Pixy was established with the goal of setting a revolutionary low price point for the OVAs it produced while retaining a high standard of quality, to make legitimate purchase of the product an option for all consumers. As a result profit margins on each sale became razor thin, but for Pixy’s first year of operation they were selling well enough that it seemed they could squeak by. Now, however, according to Murakami Pixy titles are being so widely pirated that their low-cost sales model is proving untenable. He makes the claim that if the current status quo continues, not only Pixy but adult anime as a whole may cease production within the year. Continued below:

Without solid numbers to back it up this seems to be an extravagant statement, but on the other hand I’ve often wondered how these companies do survive. If it were anyone other than Pixy saying this I’d tell them to try lowering their prices, but Pixy has already done what the industry had thought impossible in that regard.

I haven’t bought much eroanime in the past, but in the light of this post I’m going to start trying to put my money where my mouth is. Regardless of whether Murakami’s claim is true or not, I think companies like Lilith and Pixy who go out of their way to make their products economically accessible to fans deserve to be supported.

Pixy anime can be legally purchased via download at English DLsite.