Forum - View topicDeath of North American Astro Boy franchise?
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CloakBass
Posts: 61 |
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Last edited by CloakBass on Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:35 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4663 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Simply because he's not that exciting a character for kids raised on Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! who aren't aware of the importance of the character.
Maybe sad, but it's the truth. Last edited by Tenchi on Fri Sep 24, 2004 8:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Shiki MSHTS
 Posts: 738 Location: NoVA |
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I personally, don't find all that much amusement in the series. And the newer version feels pretty dead to me. None of the characters really speak out to me, and they all have pretty flat basic personalities. I'll admit that I never did watch the original 60's series, but in reference to the newer series, it just kinda bores me.
I think Tenchi stated pretty well why the series seems to be failing here. It's just not something that kids these days can relate to easily. And though it was original in it's time, similar concepts have been done various times, with more amusing results. To kids, the name "Astro Boy" probably sounds no cooler than "Super Babies". I just think they catered to the wrong audience. As for the movie, it's all a mixed bag to me. But I think I could well say that it's probably going to be the last desperation attempt to promote the series here. It's all or nothing. |
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Kyo
 Posts: 245 Location: OH, USA |
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Speaking of Astro Boy, at my high school in the auditerium, there is a "Got Milk" poster and it has Astro Boy on the front of it in the snow with penguins. o-o
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GATSU
Posts: 16413 |
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It'll probably do well on dvd with baby boomers who grew up watching the original. That at least explains to me why the manga did so well in the U.S...I haven't actually seen the new one, but it just looks like the old one with a better budget. They should just try modernizing it, instead of remaking it. A friend of mine told me his favorite version of Astro Boy was the 80's one, because it was darker. So maybe that's the way to go-more mature and/or contemporary.
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rektagunn
 Posts: 218 Location: enohana |
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and that's a damn shame......Astro Boy's storyline certainly is more thoughtful than a bunch of kids running around catching a bunch of animals, or throwing cards at each other........... |
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jfrog
 Posts: 925 Location: Seattle |
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Nice idea, GATSU, but...no. Part of what appeals to me about Astro Boy is its innocence, and I don't want to see the character undergo a grim and gritty makeover (in the style of early 90's superhero comics).
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Kagemusha
 Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I didn't like the new Astro Boy series either. It just didn't do anything for me.
But I think that part of the manga's success may have been due to the recognition that Tezuka finally started to be getting at that time. Maybe its just be, but I can't see middle aged people who don't read comic books go buy Astro Boy because they grew up on it. I'm sure some did, but it was pretty successful, so there had to be other elements. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7548 Location: Maine |
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Meh, it'll be back in time to promote the movie.
Emerje |
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jsyxx
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I actually still want to see the original. Tomino and Rin Taro worked on it, so it can't be all that bad.
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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I know that there are people who insist that the artists of the 50's-70's were untouchable gods, but they really weren't. Yes, Tezuka broke a lot of ground and layed a lot of groundwork, but the people who came after him used that groundwork to reach much higher design plateaus than Tezuka ever did. When people stand on the shoulders of giants who are standing on the shoulders of giants who are standing on the shoulders of giants, they're generally much taller than the giant on the bottom, no matter how tall he might have been.
Astroboy is a pretty standard concept, Pinnocchio in the future. it's nothing new to a modern audience though, so there's no buzz there. The animation was done well, but the character designs (by modern standards) are crap. I don't find it at all surprising that the series fell flat on it's face. They were marketing it at US kids, when, outside of Japan, their only viable target audience is middleaged oldschool otaku and hardcore elitist snob otaku. Neither audience is particularly large. |
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Kagemusha
Posts: 2783 Location: Boston |
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I will admit that people do sometimes become a bit fanatical about old school writers and refuse to admit that a newer one can match them, but Tezuka's storytelling ability is still to this day amazing. And just because hs characters don't look like today's cliches doesn't mean they are not good. I won't go so far to say that he's my favorite artist, but his work does have charm to it.
I have little energy this late, so I'll leave the flaming to others (you know who you are  )...
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CloakBass
Posts: 61 |
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Last edited by CloakBass on Fri Oct 28, 2011 11:35 am; edited 1 time in total |
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jsyxx
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I also have problems with people who seemingly have hatered for what is old or fore-runs what you like, which I think you demonstrated here. The character designs are not crap. They're not just what you are acustomed to with all the similarly, generic looking character designs of today. I personally like the more exaggerated styles of character designs. Plus that was the first style of anime character designs created which all of your favorite character designs would eventually root back to, so a position like this I think is pretty hypocritical. Please respond back. You call that those who would like the show snobs, but I think you're commentary was pretty snobbish in itself. People who try to be anti-snobs are usually the biggest snobs of all. I don't expect people to love it, but dissing it is way too much. That would be like dissing the Beatles becuase you are a fan of modern rock and are tired of people talking about how good they were.
I completely agree. |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, so long as they are willing to accept that few people agree with them on it. Some people adore Tezuka's artistic style, even in America, that much is obvious, but not many do.
Yeah, and historical means that it should stay in the past. Artistis based their style on Tezuka, that's undeniable, and other artists based their owrk off of those artists, and yet others based their work off of those artists, and over time anime evolved to where it is today. Respect must be given to the originators, but that doesn't mean their work is still competative with contemporary artists. Tezuka was good, and perhaps the industry would not be anywhere close to where it is today without his presences, but the fact remains that his body of work, taken out of any historical context, does not hold up to modern work. If you show his work to anyone who DOESN'T CARE, who is unaware of the history behind Tezuka and anime in general, then they will undoubtedly prefer the newer stuff to his. There's just an enourmous style gap that he's incapable of surpassing from beyond the grave. |
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