Whether it's Gangnam Style, One Pound Fish or The Harlem Shake, viral music videos are still going strong. But what about anime music videos? There was a time when some of the most popular videos on YouTube were AMVs. Now their popularity is at an all-time low. Here are a few theories why:
(1) People can now watch real music videos with ease, so that took away views from non-anime fans who just wanted to hear the music
(2) Full episodes are easy to stream legally, so clips lost a lot of their value
(3) Since it's super easy to make and share video now, the quantity of AMVs skyrocketed but the quality of the average AMV plummeted, poisoning the whole pool
Here's this week's discussion question: Do you still watch AMVs?
And if not, why not?
While we're on the subject, here's a cosplay-themed Harlem Shake video.