State of Anime on US TV

[solomon]

Hey all,

Just wondering how many here watch their anime on tv, and what they think about anime on tv in the states.

Technically anime has been on tv scince the 60s (astro boy) but for clarities sake I'm refering to the late 90s onward.

Ever scince Pokemon and the explosion of Toonami in late 90s and 2000, US saw a concentrated efforted to get that big eyed, "Japanamation" on the airwaves. DBZ was a big factor in this.

Unless I am mistaken, Pokemon was the first one to really hit pay dirt in US syndication.

Cartoon Network then experimented with Toonami in around 98-99.

Then around 2001, CN made a unique move with it's adultswim block with Cowboy Bebop on Sunday Nights, the first big effort that I saw being done to put anime on a popular basic cable channel.

The block expanded around 2 years later to an all anime saturday.

Later Toonami would continue showing various anime, although none approached DBZ level of popularity until Naruto came around.

At it's peak, anime was on Kids' WB, FOX Kids, and CN most notably.

Now I think the popularity is cooled off somewhat. Of course my logic may be colored by nostaligia scince I grew up in the 90s during the EXPLOSION of anime onto the mainstream scene in america.

The major terrestrial networks FOX and CW still run some anime, and CN still does. Asian American targeted Imaginasian network began running shows around a year or so ago. And Sci-Fi brought back anime to Monday Nights (I hear they used to do this in the 90s).

Still aside from Naruto, it doesn't seem to be making huge waves in the eyes of the populace anymore. AS seems to have scaled back on anime timeslots due to weak ratings as well.

What do I think they should do? Well, it's hard to say;

Anime is at least recongized by a sizable portion of the US populace, if not accepted let alone embraced.

Personally, I think companies should selectively pick anime shows that offer something to non-anime viewers more often.

The best examples I saw were when Toonami aimed at children 9-14, and in AS's early anime days. Still I think Anime has a bit of stereotypical reputation that preceeds it.

I see stuff like Nijuu Nensou no Musume that could work great for young teenage girls but such shows aren't really looked at by companies to push.

What do you all think?

[typhonsentra]

Yeah, Adult Swim has been gradually phasing out anime over the past year or two. Soon I wouldn't be surprised if the only anime remaining is Bleach.

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

Well there is still quite a bit of anime on Adult Swim just more so very late at night. Anyways there are plenty of people I know that at least watch the anime on Adult Swim so while the amount of anime being shown on TV is dwindiling in a sense the popularity has seemed to have stayed intact. I still se a lot of anime on TV, but sometimes its hard to come across. There is a channel called movieplex or something that shows the Street Fighter anime and Yu Yu Hakusho quite a bit on weekdays and thats one of the last places I'd have thought ot see anime on.

[xxmimixx]

Originally Posted by solomon

The best examples I saw were when Toonami aimed at children 9-14, and in AS's early anime days. Still I think Anime has a bit of stereotypical reputation that preceeds it.

It still is.

I mean, people who never watched anime at my school think anime is stupid, they speak chinese all the time, hentai is in ALL anime shows, etc. I mean, at first the principal at my high school didn't like the idea of having an anime club. But when the club first started, anime club had the most members since it first came out in my high school. I can show proof in last years yearbook that there were like 30 kids at one time, and it even looked like it has the most members. But thats a different story.

But still, anime is still popular (heck, in the school library, all of the anime books are by the entrance now = AWSOMENESS), but not like "OMG look!" popular.

[AceD]

i always thought anime on TV channels was bad mainly because its dubbed....now most people either love or hate anime, and alot of people that love it...like subbed better

well with the internet how it is...watching anime on TV is just totaly pointless, unless you have an internet conn from 10 years ago and a monitor like a gameboy

i think its just because for the america and europe, the internet is far superior for anime, unlike japan where TV is better id of thought

[solomon]

I say unless companies get more daring in pushing anime out past little boxes like adult swim, it will stay relatively well supported by hardocore fans but little else.

[Radiosity]

Originally Posted by Voracious Hollow

unlike japan where TV is better id of thought

Not really, because shows don't air in every area like TV in england (where I live also). So TV is good for them mostly but anyone that wants to catch all the shows that interest them, the internet is the only way to go.

[CrowKenobi]

The state of Anime on US TV just got poorer: Tonight is the last night of Cartoon Network's Toonami block.

[kk2extreme]

so sad, the most cartoons and other american made animations are pretty crapy nowadays comparing to the anime on tv. I remember back then, they put rahxephon on g4 (along with other cool shows), and it was kool, and there are very cool uncensored version on internation channel (its now gone), toonami went from anime in weekdays, to saturaday and its now dead. Adult swim is not really doing any better either, they pretty much replacing the 11pm to 12 pm block to american show, and once code geass ended and bleach is gone, idk if they are gonna replace them with some new and cool shows. anime is phasing out of the american tv, now the only things that i watch on tv are documentary shows (something like history channel).

Dark days for american tv viewers like us.

[solomon]

More like dark days for causal would be fans. But anime really doesn't make any money on TV aside from kids shows.

Naruto and Pokemon will still go on, I bet. Everything else, meh.

[D-KLAC]

this is total disater happening to anime in u.s. tv

1.geass goes midnights showing to early morning
2.RUSH-DUB of anime like 5D
3.few anime showings

now toonami goes bye-bye ALRIGHT IT'S SO F'N OFFICAL ANIME IN U.S. TV ARE GETTING F'N SCREWED!!!

oh please let there be something to save anime in u.s. tv!!!

[kk2extreme]

Originally Posted by D-KLAC

oh please let there be something to save anime in u.s. tv!!!

hope that gundam 00 could save american tv, like gundam wing which created a legend for american to take interest in mech and anime.

[Vexx]

Frankly, at this point I'd say cheer the demise of anime on american tv....so far they've most proved they don't understand the product, who to market it to, or what end their ass is located at.

What we need are some globalized channel feeds and channel packages so these dweebs would have to compete directly with foreign networks -- I'd love to just be able to select channels from anywhere on the globe. Just another case of "globalization for the corporations, not for the consumer".

[solomon]

I can kinda understand where Vexx is coming from.

toonami and early AS were the most ambitious and experimental with how they aimed anime to an underserved demographic but after words (like everything in the nielsen game) it became routine.

[D-KLAC]

well maybe u.s. tv should have shown anime lucky star & haruhi besides we all going laughing f'n crazy to watch.

even beg for anime in u.s. tv but look it's THE DARK DAYS for anime in u.s. tv

oh please have something to anime in u.s.!!!

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by solomon

toonami and early AS were the most ambitious and experimental with how they aimed anime to an underserved demographic but after words (like everything in the nielsen game) it became routine.

Well, this shouldn't be that surprising, actually. No matter how good we believe (know ) anime is as a medium, American-born ideas will always be an easier sell to an American-born audience (especially a younger audience). So much of humour and storytelling is cultural, and while people can certainly grow to appreciate foreign humour and cultural traits (it's probably a good idea to do that, too) people are still largely inclined to gravitate to the things that "hit close to home". If you look at the "big anime sellers" in the U.S. of the past few years, they've largely been shows either produced by or produced for Americans (things like Afro Samurai, Witchblade, Devil May Cry, etc.)

What I think happened on the domestic TV front is that, for a while, anime was new, different and exciting, and pulled in a lot of interest and ratings. But in the meantime, the domestic producers picked from the things in anime that were useful, and started developing their own material with those ideas in mind. Then as interest in anime began to wane, people started naturally coming back to the American productions that are now "tweaked" to match some of anime's "cool factor" (not to mention artstyle, if you've noticed...). The other thing is, the generation that grew up watching serialized story-driven anime on Toonami have, at least in part, now moved on to mainstream American dramas which, not coincidentally, have turned a lot more serious and serialized over the last few years. So there was a sort of natural transition path away from Cartoon Network/Toonami and into the mainstream TV world.

The other thing I think that's being downplayed a bit in this thread is that I think TV networks may be seeing their older demographics continue to shift away from linear TV and towards other forms of media, including on-demand and online. When anyone with a computer can just do a quick Youtube search and pull up the next 20+ episodes for their favourite Toonami anime show, why should they even bother putting it on TV? With the Cartoon Network move in particular, this may be, in part, a move to get a bigger presence online, using the anime fandom as a starting point (since they already tend to be a bit more online-savvy). Over the next 5-to-10 years, as people continue this transition to digital, is there even a place for something like Toonami/Adult Swim in a linear format?

So these are just some factors that I can think of that may be playing into all this. As you said, ultimately linear TV is all about maximizing ratings, and I don't find it overly surprising that times have changed in that regard. But even if we are seeing the end of Anime on US TV, it may just be a sign that we're seeing the beginning of the end of specialty linear TV in general. I, for one, think we may be better off for it. We'll see what the next few years bring.

[Siegel Clyne]

On the flip side, ratingswise, American television animated series fare much worse on Japanese television, according to ratings data from Video Research Ltd.

For example, perhaps hoping to duplicate the success it had with Anime Major in taking away TV ratings from the doroku time slot (6:00pm-6:30pm, Saturdays) on TBS/MBS and eventually helping to eliminate it, months ago NHK-ETV will began begin airing Thursday, October 7, 2008 SpongeBob SquarePants, known simply as SpongeBob in Japan, opposite Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (Pocket Monster DP), which airs on TV Tokyo, Thursdays, 7:00pm-7:30pm.

As far I can gather, ratingswise, Pikachu(u) has been kicking SpongeBob's butt in the Kantou region (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama, etc.). Pokemon Diamond and Pearl is a steady regular in Video Research Ltd.'s Weekly Top 10 Most Watched Animated Programs in Kantou. On the other hand, SpongeBob SquarePants has yet to crack the Weekly Top 10 even once.

Since women [and teenage girls] are reportedly the primary viewers of SpongeBob SquarePants and the main consumers of its merchandise in Japan, it remains to be seen how much TV ratings SpongeBob (which has been an unexpected commercial hit in Japan) can actually steal away from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, whose primary viewers are children, in the Kantou region.

Demographic data strongly suggest that Anime Major really hurt doroku anime series in the TV ratings among children aged 4-12 years in the Kantou region.

About the only time one might see an American TV cartoon series place in the Weekly Top 10 is during the end of the year, when many top rated Japanese anime shows are preempted by special yearend holiday programming.

This occurred during the week of Monday, December 24, 2007 to Sunday, December 30, 2007, when an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (known simply as Mutant Turtles in Japan) on TV Tokyo finished in Video Research's Weekly Top 10 Animated Programs in Kantou - with a TV rating of only 2.5%.

That particular broadcast of an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in fact, is the only American TV animated series I can recall making Video Research's Weekly Top 10 Animated Programs in Kantou the past few years I have been following and posting them.

[D-KLAC]

well R2 (aka RUSH-DUB ENGLISH of R2) & 00 ENGLISH still left for anime in u.s. tv in 08 it's now up those 2 anime or else 08 in u.s. tv anime will be remember as the "the dark year"

besides with the lost of toonami & as put geass & moriboto to early morning days while sci fi is "?" please SOMEONE GET A NEW ANIME CHANNEL FOR EVERYONE TO WATCH!!!

[Happy_Chip]

Originally Posted by D-KLAC

well R2 (aka RUSH-DUB ENGLISH of R2) & 00 ENGLISH still left for anime in u.s. tv in 08 it's now up those 2 anime or else 08 in u.s. tv anime will be remember as the "the dark year"

besides with the lost of toonami & as put geass & moriboto to early morning days while sci fi is "?" please SOMEONE GET A NEW ANIME CHANNEL FOR EVERYONE TO WATCH!!!

why is this a problem?

-you have animesuki for fansubs (free)

-there are many mail-order DVD services (Netflix in the US, Zip.ca for those in Canada etc) with many anime DVDs

why not take control of your own viewing, and watch what you want, when you want, rather than waiting for some network to service you?

Empower yourself ...

[kk2extreme]

Originally Posted by Siegel Clyne

On the flip side, ratingswise, American television animated series fare much worse on Japanese television, according to ratings data from Video Research Ltd.

For example, perhaps hoping to duplicate Major's success in taking away TV ratings from the doroku time slot (6:00pm-6:30pm, Saturdays) on TBS/MBS and eventually helping to eliminate it, on October 7, 2007 NHK-ETV began airing SpongeBob SquarePants opposite Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (Pocket Monsters DP), which airs on TV Tokyo, Thursdays, 7:00pm-7:30pm.

As far I can gather, ratingswise, Pikachu(u) has been kicking SpongeBob's butt in the Kantou region (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Chiba, Saitama, etc.). Pokemon Diamond and Pearl is a steady regular in Video Research Ltd.'s Weekly Top 10 Most Watched Animated Programs in Kantou. On the other hand, SpongeBob SquarePants has yet to crack the Weekly Top 10 even once.

About the only time one might see an American TV cartoon series place in the Weekly Top 10 is during the end of the year, when many top rated Japanese anime shows are preempted by special yearend holiday programming.

This occurred during the week of Monday, December 24, 2007 to Sunday, December 30, 2007, when an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (known simply in Japan as Mutant Turtles) on TV Tokyo finished in Video Research's Weekly Top 10 Animated Programs in Kantou - with a TV rating of only 2.5%.

That particular episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in fact, is the only American TV animated series I can recall making Video Research's Weekly Top 10 Animated Programs in Kantou the past few years I have been following and posting them.

american cartoons lack depth, they are kind of an on going soap opera show until their popularity goes away. that is why anime like pokemon, bleach, dbz and naruto is doing so well in us, bcuz, they are long and on going show which feature catchy scenes. Most of the anime has a definite length to it, most of them ranges from 12 to 50 ep and has quite a lot of development in terms of story and character, and has a true ending. My guess is that most american find that not suitable for their taste, and most american viewers likes on going entertainment instead of bursts of them. Me personally dont like how most american shows (drama, animations and cartoons) are set up, they are on going crap, i rarely gain any thrills and entertainment out of it. what i could say to those shows is that they lack artistic values. Take mutant ninja for example, generic story, ok fighting scenes, it was kinda cool at first like dbz, but it keep reincarnated throughout the year with the same theme over and over, and im surprise that people are still demanding new seasons for it. Dont get me wrong, im not for or against any particular types of shows, this could be apply to dbz as well, the show kinda went downhill for me after the cell arc. In rare ocasions that i find something that is consider good for the american tv, like avatar for example, i wouldn't put it as a masterpiece, but it ends and the flow of the story is quite good.

btw, pikachuu could so fried spongebob's ass with just a thunder shock, and destory the binkini bottom with a thunder