View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
|
darkhunger
Encyclopedia Editor
Joined: 12 May 2003
Posts: 82
Location: USA
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:21 pm
|
|
|
FullmetalCJ wrote: |
IGLOO or Wing are about 1000% better than "Unicorn."
Do they not have a native English speaker on staff to say "oh, that might be a bad idea" when something like naming it Unicorn comes up? To me it's indicative of the problem that the industry has no idea how to appeal to anyone outside Japan. And have no problem continuing to make strides backwards or to a much smaller niche, otaku audience.
There are a couple examples where it's turning around like the few-day lag between releasing of FMA Brotherhood in Japan and the US or VIZ doing Rin-ne simultaneously. Those are amazingly awesome steps, and so is a simultaneous worldwide release of a new Gundam series. That's huge, and I wish this would've happened 5 years ago. But no matter what (and as sad as it is), if you call a giant robot show Unicorn in the US...who's gonna watch it? (Besides Gundam fans who would watch no matter what you call it.) IMO, they're wasting the opportunity here. You may as well call it Mobile Suit Pretty Pretty Princess. |
Just call it Gundam UC if you don't like the name. That's how its written in the Japanese title.
I'm not quite sure where you get that impression of unicorn from though. Sure its associated with fairy tales and toys for young girls and stuff, but its also a mystical beast that represents strength and fierceness. If the unicorn is really so silly, they wouldn't have named a bunch of military vehicles/vessels after it.
|
Back to top |
|
|
FullmetalCJ
Industry Insider
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 62
Location: Atlanta, GA
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:45 pm
|
|
|
OK, so I see it's named after an already-established novel series and all that and the logo is "UC." That's all good. I just find the full title silly and potentially a commercial death sentence in the US (not that any Gundam besides Wing has lit up the charts). Then again people bought the heck out of Wii so you never know.
|
Back to top |
|
|
BleuVII
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 672
Location: Tokorozawa, Japan
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:52 pm
|
|
|
FullmetalCJ wrote: | I kind of hate to say it, but seriously... what kind of a name is Gundam Unicorn? UNICORN?
For years Bandai and Sunrise have toiled on how to make Gundam a hit in the West -- they've said as much a few times. But then you go and name a new series Unicorn? Really? REALLY JAPAN? I can't possibly be the only one that thinks they've *already* dug their own grave in terms of North American sales/viewers/whathaveyou with that name. |
The Unicorn, or Kirin in Japanese, is a majestic animal. The Twelve Kingdoms anime really shows this. It used to be that way in Western fantasy too. Just look at the way unicorns are treated in Harry Potter or the old Tom Cruise flick Legend. They represent strength and purity.
Personally, I think they have a bigger problem with the antagonist's name. Who is going to be able to take seriously a man named "Full Frontal?"
|
Back to top |
|
|
bob_loblaw
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 229
Location: Tanning in Hell
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:59 pm
|
|
|
"Full Frontal"? Please tell me you're exaggerating. *quickly googles* Oh hell no; you're not joking. Aww, man. I can already predict the terrible Taco Bell jokes that will come as a result of this (i.e. "I'm Fuuuull!").
|
Back to top |
|
|
walw6pK4Alo
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:19 pm
|
|
|
FullmetalCJ wrote: |
walw6pK4Alo wrote: | The other factor is that Gundam is still made for the otaku and fujoshi first. Mecha and over arching storyline for the guys, bishounen and their inane trifles with one another as well as their deep, dark, brooding, and mysterious past that's never really had any explaination. Rooting this in the Universal Century aims it more at the pure male otaku again, as it's the most widely explored and fanboy'd over. If you're a Gundam fan, UC is your biggest thing, and rightly so. We don't care what it's named, we already know the story since the books have been around, so we've accepted it. Stuff like MS IGLOO also isn't for anyone but the hardcore Gundam fans, no one bitches that an igloo is a ice shelter that inuits use to keep warm, and that just totally disconnects with North American viewership. |
IGLOO or Wing are about 1000% better than "Unicorn."
Do they not have a native English speaker on staff to say "oh, that might be a bad idea" when something like naming it Unicorn comes up? To me it's indicative of the problem that the industry has no idea how to appeal to anyone outside Japan. And have no problem continuing to make strides backwards or to a much smaller niche, otaku audience.
There are a couple examples where it's turning around like the few-day lag between releasing of FMA Brotherhood in Japan and the US or VIZ doing Rin-ne simultaneously. Those are amazingly awesome steps, and so is a simultaneous worldwide release of a new Gundam series. That's huge, and I wish this would've happened 5 years ago. But no matter what (and as sad as it is), if you call a giant robot show Unicorn in the US...who's gonna watch it? (Besides Gundam fans who would watch no matter what you call it.) IMO, they're wasting the opportunity here. You may as well call it Mobile Suit Pretty Pretty Princess. |
The bottom line is if it's Gundam, people will watch it. It could titled "Magical Girl Gundam-chan ~Pretty Kisses~" and you'll still have enough people watch it to do well. You people are making WAY too much deal of this Unicorn shit. It has a spike on its head, thus, Unicorn. Get over it, Japan ISN'T going for mass appeal with this, they're going for the loyal and devoted fanbase, THAT'S IT.
Why not pick on titles like SEED? Yeah, farming and agriculture is totally homosexual, right guys? I for one don't care what the title is, I just hope they give it decent animation and the character designs retain a more classic look instead of being moe-fied like SEED and 00.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:32 pm
|
|
|
walw6pK4Alo wrote: |
The bottom line is if it's Gundam, people will watch it. It could titled "Magical Girl Gundam-chan ~Pretty Kisses~" and you'll still have enough people watch it to do well. You people are making WAY too much deal of this Unicorn shit. It has a spike on its head, thus, Unicorn. Get over it, Japan ISN'T going for mass appeal with this, they're going for the loyal and devoted fanbase, THAT'S IT. |
Truly a wise strategy in this shrinking global economy and the ever-decreasing anime market.
Frankly though, you're right - Gundam has never sold well enough in the US for the extremely stupid name "Gundam Unicorn" to really be a "problem". The only series that could have even remotely been called a "hit" (as has been mentioned) was Gundam Wing. So they could call it "Gundam AMERICA SUCKS" and it'd probably do just as well here as it ever has.
Gundam Wing really set up a weird precedent where people just expected any Gundam title to do well afterward. It'd be like if you released Star Trek The Next Generation in Japan, and that did well, and then you released Deep Space 9, and nobody cared, and then inexplicably you released the original series, and then REALLY nobody cared, and then you kept releasing the show, each series less popular than the last, and yet people still said "Oh well maybe this time it'll click with Japanese viewers!".
No, they just liked Next Generation and that's it, and none of the other shows found an audience. If they announce the next Star Trek TV series will be called "Star Trek EFF YOU JAPAN" it wouldn't really matter because the show isn't going to sell there anyway regardless of what the expectation is.
Also I fully expect there to be a series of puffy stickers and Trapper Keepers released as Gundam Unicorn merchandise.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Charred Knight
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:44 pm
|
|
|
BleuVII wrote: |
FullmetalCJ wrote: | I kind of hate to say it, but seriously... what kind of a name is Gundam Unicorn? UNICORN?
For years Bandai and Sunrise have toiled on how to make Gundam a hit in the West -- they've said as much a few times. But then you go and name a new series Unicorn? Really? REALLY JAPAN? I can't possibly be the only one that thinks they've *already* dug their own grave in terms of North American sales/viewers/whathaveyou with that name. |
The Unicorn, or Kirin in Japanese, is a majestic animal. The Twelve Kingdoms anime really shows this. It used to be that way in Western fantasy too. Just look at the way unicorns are treated in Harry Potter or the old Tom Cruise flick Legend. They represent strength and purity.
Personally, I think they have a bigger problem with the antagonist's name. Who is going to be able to take seriously a man named "Full Frontal?" |
A Kirin and a Unicorn are completely unrelated. I really hate when people take two unrelated mythological creatures and try to claim their the same thing.
Though you are right about Full Frontal. I mean the author could at least pretend this series takes place in an english speaking universe. Its as bad as some of the names Death Note gave us, especially that one novel which had Backyard Bottomslash as some poor guy's name.
|
Back to top |
|
|
FullmetalCJ
Industry Insider
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 62
Location: Atlanta, GA
|
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:11 am
|
|
|
Zac wrote: | Truly a wise strategy in this shrinking global economy and the ever-decreasing anime market.
Frankly though, you're right - Gundam has never sold well enough in the US for the extremely stupid name "Gundam Unicorn" to really be a "problem". The only series that could have even remotely been called a "hit" (as has been mentioned) was Gundam Wing. So they could call it "Gundam AMERICA SUCKS" and it'd probably do just as well here as it ever has. |
This is very true, however unfortunate. I guess it's admirable that they keep trying, but with this one I've gotta think...why? But I suppose it's a headline when you can say you're doing a worldwide simultaneous launch.
Great analogy with the Star Treks.
|
Back to top |
|
|
penguintruth
Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8461
Location: Penguinopolis
|
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:25 am
|
|
|
Zac wrote: | Also I fully expect there to be a series of puffy stickers and Trapper Keepers released as Gundam Unicorn merchandise. |
Wh-where might I purchase those?
|
Back to top |
|
|
edzieba
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Posts: 704
|
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:12 am
|
|
|
Way back when I first first heard of Unicorn, my first thought wasn't "ZOMG name r girly books must be failure", but "A single horn? How can it be a Gundam without the V-fin?". Priorities, people!
Yes, I know it has a V-fin within the horn.
|
Back to top |
|
|
darkhunger
Encyclopedia Editor
Joined: 12 May 2003
Posts: 82
Location: USA
|
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:23 pm
|
|
|
Charred Knight wrote: | Though you are right about Full Frontal. I mean the author could at least pretend this series takes place in an english speaking universe. Its as bad as some of the names Death Note gave us, especially that one novel which had Backyard Bottomslash as some poor guy's name. |
Except that the sexual connotation of that term is actually *gasp* INTENTIONAL.
The writer is fully aware of the implications of "Full Frontal". In fact, they actually define his name in his official profile, basically as "buck naked". And the Japanese, judging from 2ch posters, find it just as funny as we do. Why they chose a name like that is beyond me (though it might have something to do with a certain masked man's past alias, which was originally romanized "Quattro Vagina"), but this isn't a case of cultural divide this time.
FullmetalCJ wrote: |
This is very true, however unfortunate. I guess it's admirable that they keep trying, but with this one I've gotta think...why? But I suppose it's a headline when you can say you're doing a worldwide simultaneous launch. |
The fact of the matter is, this show was always intended to be aimed at fans of the original Gundam in JAPAN. Obviously they wanted the name "Gundam UC" to signify the return to that timeline, and Unicorn kind of works as a "backcronym", and the design of the title Gundam reflects that.
So considering the fact that this show is clearly not aimed at the mainstream west, it's a moot point.
|
Back to top |
|
|
nick0991
Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 22
|
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:44 pm
|
|
|
if everyone got dubs out this fast fansubs would die in a year if not less.
|
Back to top |
|
|
kajunbowser
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 9
Location: Undisclosed Bunker in NCR, USA
|
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:47 am
|
|
|
Frankly put, this is one of the weirdest names I've heard for a Gundam series since ∀ (Turn-A). However, because this is a U.C. series, no one should blow this one off. Damn near every Gundam otaku has at least 6 U.C. series/OVAs/movies in their top ten best Gundams.
Also, the hair was drawn showing this Gundam "hero" in the wind, giving it that cotton candy looking hairstyle.
P.S.:
Bob Loblaw wrote: | "Full Frontal"? Please tell me you're exaggerating. *quickly googles* Oh hell no; you're not joking. Aww, man. I can already predict the terrible Taco Bell jokes that will come as a result of this (i.e. "I'm Fuuuull!"). |
That was LMFAO material. I just hope that this is one way to translate his name.
|
Back to top |
|
|
LagannImpact
Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 574
|
Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 6:23 pm
|
|
|
kajunbowser wrote: | Frankly put, this is one of the weirdest names I've heard for a Gundam series since ∀ |
Now THAT is a weird name for a series; the only thing weirder than that would be: Gundam "Prince symbol"!
|
Back to top |
|
|
|