Forum - View topicINTEREST: Crunchyroll Store: Hikari & Angewomon GEM Figure Cancelled in West; Not 'Child-Friendl
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DRosencraft
Posts: 665 |
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So for those stating this "isn't for kids anyway" because of the price, are we going to pretend parents don't spend that much on gifts for their kids? I would think that especially if you're a parent that watches a streaming outlet like Crunchyroll you'd be more apt to try to get your child into the anime collector scene with a gift in this realm. Not to mention that $100 for a gift is a pittance compared to a couple video games, or a new console, or a smartphone/tablet, that many parents buy their kids nowadays, not to mention the accumulation of that sort of tab on an assortment of toys. So, whatever you may think of the product, citing a $100 price tag as a baring element for a child's toy is a stretch.
As for whether or not the toys were meant for kids, let's not forget that this specific iteration of the series has been revived by the new Tri OVAs. Clearly there is an effort to reintroduce a new generation to the Digimon franchise through the lens of that original generation. It's unfortunate if you were one of the older fans looking to grab this up, but it's not entirely unreasonable for the distributors of the product to recognize there may be a conflict with one of their products and the demo they want to target with that product. I've said it before, just because something is deemed appropriate for whatever reason in one society, doesn't mean it automatically applied for all societies. If this is even deemed child-appropriate in Japan, it doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in Europe or the US. It has been a battle for ever for Mattel to redesign Barbie to make her more reflective of a real person, and she isn't anything close to looking like Angewoman. Companies in the West have to be responsive to parents and parents groups because they live and die on their support, or lack of antagonism. |
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Chrysostomus
Posts: 335 |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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A single pose figurine that costs more than a Nintendo 2DS plus Mario Kart 7 plus the complete Avatar: the Last Airbender on DVD... seems like it is wasted on an eight-year old kid, who six months from now is going to put it in the back of her closet because she's not into Digimon anymore. |
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ohstalon06
 Posts: 40 Location: Northern VA |
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I direct you all back to my quote where I said that this is for people who grew up with the original Adventures series. Now if this was an action figure, something that could be available with a simple trip to Toys R Us or Wal Mart, I could understand why they are doing what they are doing now. Right now I have no understanding with why they are doing this, its just silly. |
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ninjamitsuki
 Posts: 597 Location: Anywhere (Thanks, technology) |
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These figures were specifically meant for adult collectors, particularly people who grew up with Digimon Adventure. Almost all anime figures have a "for adult collectors ages 15 and up" on the box. Not only are they expensive, they're very fragile and just one pose. I don't see why a kid would be interested in one at all.
The only reason I could possible see this figure being so controversial is because Hikari, a child, is included in it? |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 2948 Location: Email for assistance only |
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Parent groups. The same ones that exist in Japan and file BPO complaints that get PriPara censored or express concern about pig-ladies erotically eating bananas or late night anime having masturbation jokes. They probably wield far more power in the West. It's why music albums have Parental Advisory labels in the U.S., for instance. But yes, continue. |
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Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
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A total shame that the dual figure of Angewomon and Hikari got aborted. No kid was ever going to buy it, for obvious reasons; thus, no result besides anger from disgruntled customers came out of Bandai/ Toei/ Saban forgoing distribution.
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CCTakato
Posts: 514 |
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digiboy123
Posts: 16 |
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Awful decision. As a 29 yr old who grew up with Digimon since 12, they're missing a sale from me.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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This should answer all your questions about that. Honestly, though, it's a mistake to cancel either of them. Digimon would have received absolutely no negative press for releasing this figure; anyone who would be in a position to know about it should already be aware of what Japanese figurines are like. |
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CandisWhite
Posts: 282 |
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As someone whose parents did indeed buy her collectibles whose sole purpose was to sit and look pretty, I'll answer that. Most collectible items, cheap or expensive, innocent or raunchy, are marketed at adults: The market for collectibles for children is VERY small as 1) Kids are seen as very flighty, moving through interests at the speed of light-very few kids are seen (SEEN is the key word) as wanting things like this, stagnant and ever-lasting; 2) Most parents are just trying to get by, or have 3 or 4 other kids to think of, and either aren't willing to spend money on something that a child can't play with or outright can't afford to- Toy companies know this and that's why affordable playables exist and dominate marketing; and 3) The collectible market that does exist for children, such as Precious Moments, has proven that, though it can be successful in the mainstream, it ain't takin' over Wal-Mart anytime soon. The things that I was bought as a child, outside of the aforementioned Precious Moments figures, were ageless items that anyone would have wanted. e.g. a GOURGEOUS unicorn figure I would bet the farm this $100-plus figure was not geared towards kids in its conception but, also, that the parent of a kid could be an auxiliary customer. This figure, if intended for the parents of kids, was for those outside of the "I only buy Barbie for my kids" or "I hate Barbie because she's stylized and not built to scale" crowds so catering to them would be the same as going after those tongue-in-cheek Princess pajamas that Disney sold over a decade ago (I own the Belle-LOVE IT). They weren't pulled then because that would have been STUPID and this figure shouldn't have been pulled. |
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FtKaru
Posts: 70 |
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Considering the western market can easily get their hands on Cyber Sleuth, I'm not sure what the issue with the figure is. The character designs rarely stay "family-friendly" when Yasuda is behind them (just look at the Re:Digitize Decode cover) and a game on the PS4 and Vita is much more accessible to a kid than a figure on some online retailers is.
Seems like a really inane reason to purposefully lose sales. |
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ParaChomp
 Posts: 1018 |
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I won't lie, the proportions are overexaggerated and there's also the fact that this is a physical item. Not surprised in the slightest nor am I choosing sides.
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I can sort of see why they made the move, assuming they think the child-marketed brand of Digimon is much stronger than the adult market (which I assume has mostly moved on from the series), and they probably don't want the latter to adversely affect the former. That said, even though the Angewomon figure is eye-rollingly suggestive, the US comics industry has been appealing to both child and adult demographics for some years now, with animated cartoon series for the kids, as well as premium collectibles for adults. It's not unprecedented to have properties that can be adjusted to appeal across generations, though I'm guessing the Digimon licensors don't want to try and bridge that gap.
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AnimeLordLuis
 Posts: 1626 Location: The Borderlands of Pandora |
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Well I'm not going to be one of those Otaku who's "Sticking It To The Man" by going through loops and hurdles just to get one but I applaud those that are.
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