Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Makes An Anime A Crossover Hit?
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
|
|||||||||||
Well, when those shows came out, "Toonami" was really the "Adult Swim Saturdays" bloc. To be on that, those shows generally fit Adult Swim's mode of being particularly violent, gritty and/or sexy (less so the last one than the first two). I think it makes sense why not many shojo would make there way on there, particularly Furuba and Ouran. And why the exceptions might include magical-girl shows (but I don't think that Toonami has had any since Sailor Moon. Correct me if I'm wrong). |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Barbobot
 Posts: 460 |
|
|||||||||||
When dealing with a mainstream audience, this really doesn't matter unless the show has a non-ending. A mainstream audience who isn't already into anime in general is unlikely to even know that a show they're watching is based on pre-existing material let alone if the show deviates from that material. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
DuelGundam2099
 Posts: 533 |
|
|||||||||||
|
What did I just read? I have comments and I apologize if they sound condescending.
Like Death Note- Oh wait....
Code Geass, Full Metal Panic, Gurren Lagann, and Kill la Kill automatically sinks this argument into the dirt.
Most anime in the US is considered "adult stuff" unless it is something like Pokemon or One Piece; Trigun alone is treated as an adult series despite it being not. What kids will watch something TVMA that airs after midnight?
I judge anime all the time and this never once acts as a factor. My parents are not open minded to animation, even if it is just CGI backgrounds, let alone anime.
Awfully subjective!
Like Southern Cross, Rayearth, X, Patlabor, Madoka Magica, Kill la Kill, Watamote, Nanoha, Vivi Dred Operation, Casshern Sins, Outlaw Star, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and- Wait those were bad and don't have that yet are massive hits.... There are also anime that have all that yet don't sell like hotcakes for some reason such as: Aquarion in its entirety, Gravion, Godannar, Samurai Flamenco, Star Driver, Fafner, Zegapain, Dougram, Dunbine, every Braves series that isn't Goldran, the Guyver franchise, Neo Ranga, everything ever made by Go Nagai or has his name on it, God Mars, Night Head Genesis, both halves of Freezing, Dai-Guard, Angel Links, the Robot Romance trilogy, Orguss, Dancouga, Macross 7 and Zero, VOTOMS, the Zoids franchise, Majestic Prince, the original Casshern, E.Y.E.S. of Mars, Nobunaga The Fool, and the best anime of all time 1001 Nights. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
brucepuppy
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Come to think of it, I never bother to ask my parents to be involved in my anime-manga hobby
Back then when I was still underage, my parents monitored my fandom every now and then, just to make sure I didn't do anything naughty, and to check how massive the fandom was. Because the larger the fandom, the more goodies it had, and I certainly would spend more money on them ^^ That's the extent of my parents' involvement. |
||||||||||||
PurpleWarrior13
 Posts: 2025 |
|
|||||||||||
|
It has to be marketed well too. Both Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z were failures in US syndication and didn't achieve much attention or success until they were on Toonami. Also, there was no way the original Dragon Ball was ever going to be a hit here without DBZ. It was well liked here, but it took DBZ being a huge mainstream hit before Americans would dare think about watching the original DB. It had bombed not once but TWICE on it's own.
And of course, there was nothing like DBZ on TV at the time, but I think part of it's appeal was it's memorable characters, gripping story, and interesting artwork. Obviously, the main draw was the action, but the characters, art, and story are what kept me watching. Also, DBZ was the very first show I watched with an over-arching storyline, and I thought that was really, really cool at the time! But overall, I think a lot of the stuff that makes anime popular here are the same traits that make ANY fiction entertainment popular here. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
GATSU
Posts: 15309 |
|
|||||||||||
I don't think it's entirely important. Because look at Totoro.
Actually, Howl was pretty uninteresting. And have you actually sat through all of Future Boy Conan? It's technically a show, not a film, but it definitely qualifies as boring.
I wouldn't say that, because people who like Pokemon do not necessarily buy other stuff, and vice versa. l would be more specific, and argue that it has to appeal to at least both genders, as well as the 18-25 sweet spot. Though 'older' [I.E. middle-aged and higher] women don't really watch anime in either country. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2515 |
|
|||||||||||
|
I agree with DuelGundam2099 that Justin's analysis seems a little off, so instead I would propose listing shows that can be agreed were anime and were popular enough to be seen or heard of by people (in the US?) who do not watch anime shows in general and see what elements they all have in common. From my microcosm of acquaintances over the years, the list is as follows in somewhat of an order
1. Spirited Away 2. Ponyo 3. Naruto 4. InuYasha 5. DBZ Action (3.5/5), Relatably non-Japanese (2/5), Not age-specific (2??/5), GOOD (yeah, define that), Non-pervy (2?/5 depending) Backed by major US movie/media company (5/5 if Funi counts, 4/5 otherwise). Thus, I'd argue that there are plenty of good anime that could be "cross-over hits" if they had proper backing, Justin's criteria notwithstanding. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Mr Adventure
 Posts: 1598 |
|
|||||||||||
|
Personally I think Attack on Titan came at exactly the right time to ride that violent fantasy wave that Game of Thrones primed the public for.
It also helps that 3D Maneuver Gear is one of the cooler bits of fantasy tech to come out of genre fiction in the last decade.
Except, those shows aren't broadly popular. They're only mega popular in anime fandom circles. Attack on Titan had MINECRAFT & DOCTOR WHO levels of popular culture penetration. They sell its merch at Hot Topic for god's sake! |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
|
|||||||||||
|
Justin Sevakis' answers would be ok if he didn't equate Westerner with American. The two concepts are not the same.
American fandom doesn't like shoujo and sports anime. In Europe sports anime and shoujo are very well liked. Lots of anime that has had success in Europe and latin America hasn't even made a dent in American fandom. So let's put things in perspetive shall we ? Americans love blood, gore and violence. Day to day slice of life anime not so much. There is a reason Touch and Kimagure Orange Road and a host of magical girls shows have never aired in the US. • It has to be relatable to non-Japanese people Yes obviously. • It needs to be action-oriented No not necessarily. It varies by country. • It can't be too pervy It can be pervy all it wants. Censorship will take care of it. Every country had censorship when it comes to broadcast tv. Perversion also varies by country. What is acceptable on Italian or French tv may be off limits to American tv. Think boobs. • It has to appeal to a broad range of ages Nope. It needs to be mainstream not late night anime. Broad range of ages doesn't enter into the equation. • It has to be GOOD Nope. Masterpieces are few and far between. Most anime is low quality. Low quality can have success, just look at Sailor Moon (the classic series) or Saint Seiya. Neither of those are what you would call masterpieces and yet they are vastly successful franchises. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Hiroki not Takuya
Posts: 2515 |
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Lili-Hime
 Posts: 569 |
|
|||||||||||
You mean like Saint Seiya? |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Lostlorn Forest
 Posts: 544 Location: USA |
|
|||||||||||
There's honestly more action in the political arc (second half of the second season) than in the Female Titan arc, it just has less frequent drama - but it's still there. It was painful reading the manga once a month with the tedious pace it was going, that's why I think people complained. In the least, the anime can only improve that. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
|
|||||||||||
Yes, Saint Seiya is but one example. Even more egregious ones are the sports animes. From wrestling, to football, to volleyball, to boxing, to basketball,. to baseball etc... these kinds of anime don't succeed on American tv. Different countries have different cultures and they related to anime in different ways. There isn't 1 kind of anime that's going to succeed the world over. No matter how hard the Japanese or the Americans wish it were so. It's like searching for the philosopher's stone. You're doomed from the start. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Triltaison
 Posts: 724 |
|
|||||||||||
I work in a retail environment that sells nerdy goods in a large mall in a very affluent area, with many high-end gifts (Star Trek/Wars, Doctor Who, anime, video game, etc.). I promise you: anyone who has ever talked to a child aged between the years of 6 and 13 knows Minecraft. They all play it, or watch Youtubers play it. It is, hands down, the single most popular thing among all children of an entire generation. Nothing else comes remotely close anymore. Doctor Who is sliiightly less mainstream, but is absolutely huge among middle school girls and adults about 30-45 (and thus watched the Fourth Doctor when it aired). I often need to explain what it is to customers. It's definitely gaining more and more attention by the average person with its improved presence on viewing platforms, though. It even plays on the Disney Channel. Also, it is the stuff that appeals to those 15-20 year olds that pretty much determines how "mainstream" something is. Those kids talk about the stuff all the freaking time, and their parents get to hear about it all the time. The people who talk to these kids know Black Butler and Hetalia because those kids never shut up about it, blow all of their money (or their parents' money) on merchandise for the shows, wear the shirts they bought at Hot Topic all the time, post about their reactions to individual episodes on social media, cosplay the characters in everyday life, and nickname themselves after the characters. I've long ago lost count of how many Scout Regiment cosplayers have come to my store, and how many girls in Ciel wigs with eyepatches have wandered in. The average convention age skews younger that it used to for a reason. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Actar
 Posts: 1074 Location: Singapore |
|
|||||||||||
|
Personally for me? I'm not too much of a fan of series that pander too heavily to Western audiences. Japanese animation is unique because it is made for a different audience with different sensibilities.
Cheers! Now you know why we like Slice-of-Life. To be honest though, one of my friends hated Cowboy Bebop and was bored to tears because he had no overarching narrative to latch on to.
This. So. Much. From what I understand from my friend who's a huge American TV Series buff, shows over there work on something called a pilot, where everyone is used to judging a book by its cover. I had to convince him so hard to watch shows like Shin Sekai Yori, Madoka and Haruhi where they show but blow your mind later. Personally, I love shows that try to trick you into believing one thing while doing another. It provides so much re-watch value when you know what's really going on in the back ground. All the details suddenly make sense and it's amazing. If I could liken them to a movie, Hot Fuzz would be a great example. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group