×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Answerman - Overindulgence


Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
OldCharlieStoletheHandle



Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 1288
Location: Mastic Beach, NY
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:27 pm Reply with quote
There was a swimming anime that featured a strange girl joining a school swim club where said girl had a habit of swimming nude. It was called Umisho and despite plenty of moe-fication disappeared pretty much without a trace. I watched some of it; as I recall the main gag was the girl was spoiler[possibly a mermaid].

Also just thought I'd mention that WB is the US distributor for Viz DVDs. Whenever I see a WB sale at DeepDiscount I always check to see if any Viz titles are included (got a good deal on Death Note that way).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
docsane



Joined: 30 Jun 2013
Posts: 53
Location: Boston, MA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:29 pm Reply with quote
Once upon a time, John O'Donnell tried negotiating for the rights to SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (This is what led to CPM licensing ODIN. It was supposed to lead to better things. Instead, it mainly led to YAMATO producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki thanking them for taking that turkey off his hands before releasing the good show through Voyager US.) Anyway, a friend of mine described the meeting of JOD and The Nish as "The cheapest man in America meeting the greediest man in Japan."

I liked JOD. You always knew where you stood with him. I would just never want to work in the actual CPM offices. A former employee once described the working conditions there as "Dickensian".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:30 pm Reply with quote
On the subject of sports anime with girls, I am curious about how well Princess Nine sold. I know that there was a lot of positive talk about it, but that does not always translate to good sales figures.
It was the first sports anime that I watched. It might be the only sports anime that I have seen if you do not count Bamboo Blade as a sports anime.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:49 pm Reply with quote
I bought Big Windup too, but I've always felt that in addition to being a sports anime, its titles were really working against it. Big Windup sounds really childish to me, and isn't the least bit descriptive of the content, Ookiku Furikabutte is an unmemorable mouthful, and Oofuri sounds like a furry getting the stuffing knocked out of him. At any rate, I was very sad that it didn't get a second season dub, because I really did like the dub (though Teague's Mihashi took some getting used to).

I really hope a second season of Free! will spur someone to take a chance on licensing it, though if even KuroBas can't get picked up, I'm not holding my breath anymore.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mikeski



Joined: 24 Sep 2009
Posts: 608
Location: Minneapolis, MN
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 4:24 pm Reply with quote
Jedi Master wrote:
mdo7 wrote:
Mikeski wrote:
We don't have to import it.

This I agreed, also yeah you do point out most sport genre in movie are very much the same found in anime, so no need to import it.

But anime can moe-fy it or make up exotic sports. Girls und Panzer and Love Live are good examples of this.

But do they do well when it's still just the "worst-to-first sports story" underneath something that isn't really a sport? I think G&P is doing well. But I'm not sure that other similar stories have done well. Saki hasn't been licensed here despite multiple seasons of laying down the moé with a trowel. And I'm not sure how well Angelic Layer did, even with Clamp behind it; it's currently out of print.

And based on ANN's bayesian list, Love Live is the worst-rated amongst everything mentioned in this post, other than Saki's Side A spinoff. (It's #1176 out of 4444. Curiously, exactly one spot ahead of "Free!")
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
TG72



Joined: 28 Jan 2011
Posts: 334
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 4:56 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
On the subject of sports anime with girls, I am curious about how well Princess Nine sold. I know that there was a lot of positive talk about it, but that does not always translate to good sales figures.


It did well enough to get rescued (Nozomi's releasing it next week).

It's a shame about Big Windup. That show made me appreciate baseball more.

Bamboo Blade is about a sport that originated in Japan, so that may have made it stand out from the other titles. I don't know how well it did but it's in my collection...


Last edited by TG72 on Fri Mar 28, 2014 4:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 1236
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 4:56 pm Reply with quote
Jedi Master wrote:
But anime can moe-fy it or make up exotic sports.
Nowadays moe-ification is all but compulsory (ie:not "can", but "will"). To moe-ification, especially the modern version of it, I say "no". If that's all they've got, and nowadays it almost seems to be, then I'm out.

My biggest complaint with sports anime is that they so often bastardize the sport. When baseball is treated as it was in Princess Nine/Clannad/Little Busters I just can't take it.

RestlessOne wrote:
I'd say Free could be considered realistic; it's cheesecakey
I don't know what show you were watching, but Free is all about sexually suggestive, scantily clad males. "Cheesecake" describes sexually suggestive, scantily clad females. We already have "beefcake" for this purpose so there's no need to try and bash that square peg through that round hole (ie:repurposing a word).

BTW, is Girls und Panzer really doing all that well for Sentai? The show was "all the rage" when it aired, but now that it is here I haven't heard much about it. (*all emphasis added)

[EDIT: Don't over-quote. -TK]
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2530
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:01 pm Reply with quote
I've always been a supporter of sports anime, though I obviously haven't seen every single one that's been made in the past decade or so. With real sports I'm essentially neutral (i.e. I don't actively try to watch games, but if someone else wants to watch it then I'm fine with it), but I've always enjoyed sports movies. The Sandlot is a quintessential classic of the 90s, the Rocky movies are great fun with memorable characters, the Mighty Ducks are simple but cheesy fun (D-2 especially), and I'm one of the seeming few who actually enjoys Driven. It was only natural for me then, I guess, to try out sports anime.

As for what types of sports anime I enjoy I'm essentially open to all. Realistic stories are cool & all, but there's also a fun appeal to titles that go over-the-top & fantastical. Mikeski mentioned how "traditional" sports stories are over here, but my response to that would be "Well, not in animation". I watch anime because I like animation, and animation regarding sports is most-definitely not something that's made in America often; in fact, it's really rare. Sure, something like Eyeshield 21 can be pretty wacky & over-the-top, but at least it's still football that's being played... I can't really say the same for NFL Rush Zone, now can I?

dtm42 wants to call Inazuma Eleven "stupid" & "awful" simply because it's over-the-top, but at the same time that's what makes the show easily identifiable & fun; you truly can't predict what kind of imagery you'll see next (admittedly, though, that specific title may have gone a little too far). I don't really understand why people have to seemingly try to enforce that "realism is good; over-the-top is bad" when it comes to sports anime, because it really comes off as single-minded & ignorant of the influence of the over-the-top stuff. In fact, the over-the-top stuff tends to be the more influential creations, such as Ring ni Kakero (for boxers & MMA fighters), Captain Tsubasa (for soccer players), Prince of Tennis (for tennis players), etc. Sure, titles like Slam Dunk were also influential, but it just proves that there's an appeal & relation to both styles for fans.

Personally, though, I do admit that boxing would probably be my favorite type of sports anime to watch and that might be because it appeals in a "fighting" style, similar to what Justin mentioned about martial arts titles selling a little better. But, to be fair, I think I just have a weird "nontraditional" environment as an anime fan, because all of my friends like sports anime; one of my friends played football in his senior year of high school, another played the same sport early in high school, and the third is essentially open to anything. If anything, the four of us are probably just anomalies among anime fans.

Honestly, I still believe that sports anime's biggest challenge is "conformity". Justin has a fine point with "intellectual separation", but I still think that a good part of it is simply that whole "nerds can't enjoy sports" stereotype. I'm not saying that people have to start loving real life sports, but maybe if people would just be more open & willing to try new things, instead of sticking to the "status quo" of what they feel safe with then maybe they'll find sports anime to be an interesting change of pace. And, to be fair, I think that is happening to an extent with CrunchyRoll. Kuroko is a big hit, Yowapeda is generally loved, Ippo has a hardcore fanbase, & Eyeshield 21 has been able to stay in the Top 40-50 titles for years. If anything, E21's failure on DVD yet moderate success on CR shows that anime fans are more willing to watch sports anime now... They just aren't big on buying it.

Still, I wish Sentai luck with Haikyuu! & I have Right Stuf's rescue of Princess Nine on pre-order. I do hope that companies still take the risk every now & then and try their hands at releasing sports anime, because I'll definitely always be there to support it (as much as I can, anyway).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Posts: 1426
Location: New York
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:08 pm Reply with quote
Echo_City wrote:

RestlessOne wrote:
I'd say Free could be considered realistic; it's cheesecakey
I don't know what show you were watching, but Free is all about sexually suggestive, scantily clad males. "Cheesecake" describes sexually suggestive, scantily clad females. We already have "beefcake" for this purpose so there's no need to try and bash that square peg through that round hole (ie:repurposing a word).

Meant to write cheesy but wasn't really thinking; I mean, I was comparing it to Inazuma, which I assume isn't very cheesecakey either. Will fix.


Last edited by RestLessone on Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mister Ryan Andrews



Joined: 28 Jan 2014
Posts: 219
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:10 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
That's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.

*makes a mental note to never watch such an awful show*


Don't be a hater. You just jealous you can't summon a horde of exploding penguins to crush your foes in a children's soccer match.

Wait until you see the aliens Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
7jaws7



Joined: 17 Aug 2013
Posts: 704
Location: New York State
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:15 pm Reply with quote
Echo_City wrote:
BTW, is Girls und Panzer really doing all that well for Sentai? The show was "all the rage" when it aired, but now that it is here I haven't heard much about it. (*all emphasis added)


Well, it beat the "Riding Shotgun" manga quite easily in rightstuf's Anime Madness tournament. Here's what the bracket looks like now.

I think it's still pretty popular. Then again, it's not your typical sports anime when it comes to competitions and tournaments.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:02 pm Reply with quote
TG72 wrote:
Touma wrote:
On the subject of sports anime with girls, I am curious about how well Princess Nine sold. I know that there was a lot of positive talk about it, but that does not always translate to good sales figures.


It did well enough to get rescued (Nozomi's releasing it next week).

Awesome to hear that Princess Nine is faring well. I'm 10 episodes into the show and I'm having a real thrill watching it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
CrownKlown



Joined: 05 May 2011
Posts: 1762
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:04 pm Reply with quote
I think the only great tragedy about lack of sports appeal is that the West will never get to appreciate the master that is Mitsuru Adachi, what I wouldn't do to see just one of his series released here.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Sylpher3



Joined: 27 Jul 2013
Posts: 85
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:14 pm Reply with quote
Lord Geo wrote:
Honestly, I still believe that sports anime's biggest challenge is "conformity". Justin has a fine point with "intellectual separation", but I still think that a good part of it is simply that whole "nerds can't enjoy sports" stereotype.

I also believe that simple stereotyping is the main reason for the poor sales of sports anime. Generally, sports (alpha) and anime (beta) fans don’t mix very well. Most people are either a sports fan, anime fan or neither, but relatively few are both. Current simulcasted sports shows as Ace Diamond, Yowapeda and Hajime no Ippo have a hardcore fanbase and possess high quality of action and character development, but when compared to shows from the romcom or harem genre, I think it’s a very small group that watches and discuss it. And I think it will always stay this way.

The best way to attract more fans is probably by incorporating hot guys or girls (Kurobas, Free, maybe Haikyu) but the downside could be a decrease in quality and authenticity which may alienate sports anime fans (though I didn't see a significant downfall in the mentioned shows).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:16 pm Reply with quote
Free! might have some success with a huge marketing blitz and I think including bonus goods with premium video releases would incentivize fujoshi to buy them instead of just watching on CR.

Perhaps the same could be done for Kuroko's Basketball, but the downside is that such a marketing campaign for Kurobas would kill half the potential audience
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  Next
Page 2 of 6

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group