Forum - View topicNEWS: ADV Licenses Comic Party Revolution
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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I have to wonder, is there any way to consistently appeal to the female audience? I just don't run into many female fans IRL or online who are heavily into drama/romance/shoujo/Magical Girl, the genres typically aimed at women/girls in Japan. It's usually either shounen-ai, male-oriented action series (a phenomenon of girls crossing over into "male" territory tending to have male-type preferences), or a mix of male & female-targeted anime that they like. |
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Wolverine Princess
 Posts: 1100 |
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I like all of those genres, but I guess you're right since I really haven't seen too many female Magical Girl fans. Honestly, most of the Magical Girl fans I know are male. |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Ok, so Sister Princess is harem which is jiggle (or pre-jiggle lolita which I'm not getting into). ADV had a lot of jiggle/harem titles.
I'd put Princess TuTu in there-nice story & all, but it is still magical girl like Pretear, etc. My tastes run to yaoi & shonen. I lack the patience for most shojo. Boys Over Flowers-I have abandoned that manga 3 times now-I need to stay away. The only shojo I've kept gladly up past vol 7 on is From Far Away, Please Save My Earth, Hana Kimi, Hot Gimmick...Clamp titles...Red River is getting close to drop status. Platinum Garden looks good, but that's just started & is only 10 volumes according to Tokyo Pop's website, so I might just last the whole set. Don't get me started on Yu Watase. My daughter laughs at how frustrated I get. "Why do you buy it?" Because the bishies are pretty, then she kills them! Argh. Magical girl..Wedding Peach was good because it was a spoof. Pretear's bishies made up for the plot holes. Magical Boys are more fun-Kyo Kara Maoh. ADV had Tactics, but dropped it, preferring to release Mythical Det. Loki Ragnarok. Yes, same artist, but there is more jiggle & magical girl action in Ragnarok than in Tactics. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15296 |
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CCSYueh:
Well their titles are becoming increasingly lacking in humour and titilation. They're just gimmicky.
The problem is most of those shows don't appeal to girls in the first place. At least not girls in the U.S. I don't see the point in licensing titles with Western themes like Princess Tutu and Moby Dick when people buy anime because it's Japanese. |
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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I can easily see why. Even with a Western theme, it's fresh and new. It's done with a Japanese perspective and carries that flavor. Besides, Princess Tutu was created in Japan, not from a pre-existing story like Moby Dick. Additionally, people in the U.S. are more likely to gravitate towards titles with a western theme because there is a familiarity crossed with a medium they love. It's that simple. It's about a mass audience appeal, not just appealing to girls alone. They just need to have better marketing for some of the titles. At the very least, it has little to do with your reasoning I think. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15296 |
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Godai:
If I want Western media with a Japanese flavor, I'll watch Kill Bill or Last Samurai.
But it still is perceived as Western in style.
So how come Spirited Away did better at the box office than Howl? Hell, even Metropolis did better than Steamboy. And the most obvious example is how Naruto's beating One Piece. And as I've previously stated, I'm not sure how the Emma manga's going to do here, either. Hollywood has more Victorian-themed media than Japan, so for Japan, it's more of a novelty than it is in the U.S. |
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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You really need to ask that? It's the overall quality of writing that comes into play here (and marketing moreover) that makes or breaks a title, not the percieved theme. Porco Rosso is deeply Western in content and many people will laude that one over Spirited Away and Howl's. It's possible the perception of Western themes in anime is more likely to help a title to be successful than not. Sister Princess is a stinking pile of poo, and more Japanese in its feel than Western perceptions. Escaflowne is more european in feel and did tremendously better here in the U.S. than it did in Japan. Same applies for series like Cowboy Bebop and Full Metal Alchemist, which are also themed with Western concepts and yet are highly successful amongst the US audience. Like I said, it's the writing that's the problem, not the theme or perception itself. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15296 |
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Godai:
Those aren't my tastes. I'm just making a point that they're as Japanese as Gankutsuou. If I wanted rotoscoping, I'd see something from Richard Linklater.
And if the writing seems derivative, then people don't watch.
The average younger fan will think of Mononoke and Spirited Away when Miyazaki's name comes up. Porco Rosso's more familiar with the hardcore Miyazaki fans who've been watching his work since Nausicaa or Cagliostro.
The concept(conceit?) of a bunch of girls swooning over one guy isn't inherently Japanese. If that were the case, you could lump Sister Princess in with Ranma and Love Hina, which are successful, because they have uniquely Japanese takes on the harem concept.
Escaflowne did better here, because it didn't have to compete against Evangelion. And it's only European on the surface, with a Japanese-style characters and story. Godai:
Cowboy Bebop did well, because of its Japanese take on Western archtypes. FMA is popular because it filters Japanese takes on science through Western know-how. Detective Conan, on the other hand, looks totally Western, and it disappointed.
There are a number of titles which have good writing, but which just don't catch on here. Look at Kaleido star. Or Slam Dunk. |
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Fallen Embers
 Posts: 76 Location: CA |
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There are plenty of girls that enjoy Anime. I know, I am one. Go Netflix.
Except for particular shows like Witch Hunter Robin, Azumanga Daioh, Kino's Journey and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (when it makes it over here), I can't imagine buying most shows. I did buy Princess Tutu but mostly because the early ones rocked but I need to catch up on it a bit before I buy more. I do like how certain shows now are beginning to get "rebate" versions. I have weird interests, I like the adaptations of Koge Donbo's mangas as much as certain bloody stuff. Kashimashi was really cool towards the start. Slice of life with a weirdish twist like Haruhi appeals to me and a good deal of the big anime-fangirls I personally know (not exactly an unbiased sampling but *shrugs*). There's just not a lot of brand loyalty because you can get anime for free plus time with fan-subs (and those you can't get anymore just trade with a friend who followed it before it got licensed). I'm probably the only fangirl among my particular group who like a lot...for collection...buys anime DVDs and even then it's a lot less and pretty different in interest than the anime fanboys I know. Swag sure but DVDs only rarely. Just my personal experience on that part brought up. Gomen. More than anything I hope ADV keeps the clever manga-like construction of the original Comic Party set or something comparable. Last edited by Fallen Embers on Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:48 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Zalis116
Moderator
Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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Evangelion: 1995-10-04 to 1996-03-27 Escaflowne: 1996-04-02 to 1996-09-24 They didn't air at the same time--was it that people were tired of philosophical mecha after NGE ended? EDIT:
Idk, ADV seems to be going in strange directions these days...I remember searching for fansubs of Diamond Daydreams and being shocked at how hard they were to find; I didn't think that that series would have been licensed at all, much less by ADV. This Ugly Yet Beautiful World was slightly surprising, though I've heard that it's etchi enough for their standards. Maybe this is a "growing pain" period, a readjustment upon realizing that they can't make so many choices on fanboy grounds alone. Best of luck to them. Last edited by Zalis116 on Tue Jun 06, 2006 3:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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GATSU
Posts: 15296 |
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Zalis: I'm aware that Escaflowne came after Evangelion. That's part of its problem. It had to suffer from being second out of the gate, and thus it didn't have the same hype.
If they were, then the movie wouldn't have been a hit. I'm guessing Escaflowne didn't do well in Japan, because it was competing against the likes of Final Fantasy. RPGs were all the rage back then, and it didn't really have anything new to offer in that area, either, with the exception of a more original plotline. Maybe if it had a videogame tie-in like Sakura Wars, it might have found a larger following. |
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Fallen Embers
Posts: 76 Location: CA |
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English major brigade!  *charge* No, I totally understand. It's only fun to read in a class where a professor can tell you what the heck is actually going on. Hehe Queequag and Ishmael...the original Yaoi-suggestive coupling. I don't like the anime for purely...it doesn't improve on the source material-reasons. There are anime that wrestle with the really nifty bits of "What is God?" and "Are we pushed by a divine hand of fate, have free will or just subject to chance? Or all three" And it's a shame because I think Eastern storytelling best connects with the style of Meville where each character speaks for themselves with their own interpretation and that's not the definite answer to things and things aren't neatly woven together but just are there for you to take what you think out of things. That's like a lot of anime I know and love. And that would kick-a to get together in the right balance! *bummed it hasn't happened more and better*
But I did have more fun reading Bartleby... I hope ADV keeps this set to a single volume and doesn't do like Gantz or...FLCL (although different company and dealie) |
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bennyb
 Posts: 477 |
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ENGMAJ stand and be counted! Haha. Not a big Moby Dick fan myself, hence having little to no interest in the anime version.... sorta know how it ends. 
Anyway back to topic, I enjoyed Comic Party and am looking forward to seeing the OVA! C'moooooon bring it to anime network so I don't have to buy anything! |
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hikaru004
 Posts: 2306 |
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Where's the love for Princess Tutu, Comic Party and This Ugly and Beautiful World? All titles don't have to be mainstream to find an audience.
Princess Tutu is a great title imo to bring over. It combined ballet and anime beautifully. I hope that ADV brought the specials over too. Loads of people like The Nutcracker. It's a holiday tradition on TV where I grew up. Yeah, Comic Party is a harem title, but it's funny. I hope that it makes alot of money so that the rest of this franchise can come over. I also hope that the box rivals Right Stuf's box in design. This Ugly and Beautiful World told a poignant story. I agree that it is mildly ecchi and also mildly loli, but it's not the main emphasis of the title. Lighten up, guys. |
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