Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Makes An Anime A Crossover Hit?
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H. Guderian
Posts: 1255 |
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Ah, so much to speculate on for this.
I will echo the idea that if it is selling in Hot Topic, it is fairly well on the edge of mainstream. A chain for troubled brick and mortar stores are stocking hundreds of stores with physical anime merchandise, someone has to be buying it. You certainly see more Survey Corps hoodies in stores than you do Kamen Rider belts. I think a safe way to figure the show out is to see how easy it is to recommend it. Most anime become recommended by that small pioneering group of early adopters. These adopters have to sell the mainstream, and they need tools to sell the show. We've all heard "Just watch at least three episodes of Madoka!" Heck, I posted to my friends the first trailer of Attack on Titan before I knew much else about it. "Look at this action, it's like Spiderman meets Shadow of the Colossus!" So if the show is too hard to sell to your friends it won't take off. You know. Take solidly constructed shows you know that you can't bait your friends on. Its just that simply, you have no good way to bait them in with what the show gives you. "You have 5 other shows you're watching? Well watch this one too, it'll get good at episode 16, I promise!" -- As to people disagreeing with it needing to be Action-Oriented, I would agree with the writer. This isn't Combat-Action, most mainstream hits are able to hide the talking heads or dazzle you with the movement of a character making simple actions - think a Ghibli movie. While most men aren't going to watch Free! that was a decent success in its own right and we all know where the good animation budget in that show got stacked. Swimming and taking off shirts and it was good. |
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MidoriUma
Posts: 130 |
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If this is what makes anime a "hit", I'll happily stick to obscure and otaku-centric series. What you've described is a recipe for RUINING anime.
It has to be relatable to non-Japanese people This reminds me of the idiots who replaced the onigiri with a submarine sandwich in Pokemon, so as not to offend the Western viewers. What does "relatable" even mean? It comes across as rather arrogant and snobbish, suggesting that the unwashed masses can't understand or relate to any objects or locations they aren't regularly exposed to in their daily lives. It needs to be action-oriented I enjoy action at least as much as the next person, but you're throwing away a MASSIVE number of amazing series, far more than I can list. It can't be too pervy This might be the one I actually agree with you on, to a point. It's a bit hypocritical though, as you don't need to go far through either American cable TV or Netflix to find far more perverted fare being broadcast every day. It has to appeal to a broad range of ages This sort of assumes that all people of age range X have the same tastes. They don't. Also, far too many Americans automatically think anime = cartoons, and "cartoons are for kids". It has to be GOOD Wow, there's a deep statement. How much do you get paid to write this stuff? Seriously, people like you are the reason the anime industry is on the decline outside Japan. You want some sanitized, westernized show that "everyone" will like. Try being bold, watch a few series that aren't dubbed by Funimation, and (heaven forbid) check out some new genres and titles off the beaten path. |
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MrBonk
Posts: 192 |
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Needing action really, really just seems incredibly shallow. Brainless Hollywood we do not need.
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miken
Posts: 52 |
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actually sports anime were extremely popular in large parts of europe, with stuff like mila (attack no. 1), captain tsubasa, etc. running on mainstream channels all the time. same goes for the world masterpiece theater stuff, where series like little women would fall under slice of life nowadays. well, in the last 10 years the kids program drastically changed to endless action and merchandise anime only - the usual suspects: one piece, pokemon... *oldmanrant* |
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Rederoin
 Posts: 1427 Location: Europa |
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Good thing most anime do not try to get overseas hits then, a few is fine, but they don't exactly top my list.
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13564 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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This season's Concerto Revolutio could appeal to Western fans since it is about superheroes.
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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Anime on the outside (foreign countries) is declining because anime in Japan is declining among other things. Understand what is the cause and what is the effect. And don't be fooled by the number of anime series being made annually, it doesn't give a faithful representation of the health state of the anime industry. |
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Rederoin
Posts: 1427 Location: Europa |
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If you make claims like that, a source would be a good idea. |
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Mr Adventure
 Posts: 1598 |
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And One-Punch Man, and the inevitable My Hero Academia anime. But like Justin says, its actually somewhat unpredictable what becomes a crossover hit or not. |
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Nonaka Machine Gun B
 Posts: 819 |
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Wow, such condescending remarks on the "good" line. Justin pretty clearly outlines when he says "good" he really means "competent" in its production. Big hits weren't cheapos rushed out the door; they look nice and they hit all the appropriate beats as not to turn off anyone(I suppose you could say "safe bets"). He never once even mentioned writing at all, and, if you wish to be fully cynical, you could argue "regular people," the ones that make series a hit in the first place, aren't 100% invested in a show's story structure.
Nerds are refusing to look at this stuff as non-nerds and it's showing. Also, somebody earlier in the thread namedropped Code Geass and Kill la Kill as "hits", which is completely not true in a Western sense at all. Geass aired at 4 AM during [as] action's nadir. Kill la Kill came and went. Personally, the climate has change that I don't think Toonami has the power to create "hits" anymore. Not since Naruto; not since leaving weekday afternoons. |
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Mr Adventure
Posts: 1598 |
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Kill la Kill probably had more crossover penetration then most, but yeah its not the right bar to set. Its a bit like Jojo in that it was a little bit of a blip, and then tapered off back to niche.
Doesn't help that its blu-rays cost a fortune. Thanks Aniplex. |
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Actar
 Posts: 1074 Location: Singapore |
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...well, in the end, I guess the simple answer is: "Make a show that panders to American tastes". But if that's the case, what's left of it to define it as Japanese anime? It's just another show that could very well have been made in America if taste-pandering and relatability is all that is required.
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Mr Adventure
Posts: 1598 |
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Crossover appeal rarely includes pandering. Because teens (the best judge of popular appeal) can see pandering coming a mile away. |
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Rederoin
Posts: 1427 Location: Europa |
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And that is based on what exactly? |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5426 Location: Iscandar |
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You don't seem to have any idea about who Justin Sevakis is. You are painting Justin as some kind of apologist, but he is one of the most spoken critics on the ills of the current anime industry. To me (and I am sure many others) Justin Sevakis is an authority on anime industry related stuff, and he is absolutely qualified to explain what makes an anime a hit in the West. |
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