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Episode Review: Sailor Moon Crystal

American kids networks have stated multiple times cartoons with female leads do not perform that well.

Stuart Smith wrote:

American kids networks have stated multiple times cartoons with female leads do not perform that well.

You know, cartoons with female leads would perform better if the English versions weren't so disrespectfully and atrociously handled. Vision of Escaflowne, Cardcaptor Sakura and Tokyo Mew Mew are just three titles that come to mind where the American and Canadian networks basically set such shows up to fail. We know the titles themselves are not to blame; their popularity and quality are not in question. It's the producers of the networks and their awful decisions in adapting such titles that sink the boat.

As much as I loved the show when I was a teenager, I cannot help to enjoy Crystal much more for what it is, a telling for the manga.
I'm not missing Tuxed Mask roses, monsters of the week, stupid arguments between Rei and Usagi, the girls hanging together, talking and laughing (what people miss the most).
But yes, I miss a little the secondary characters, specially when their scenes from the manga are skipped in Crystal.

Is there any evidence that says it's Toei's fault Pretty Cure is not available in America? I can't imagine many networks jumping to license it themselves. American kids networks have stated multiple times cartoons with female leads do not perform that well. Pretty Cure might just be a case of companies not thinking an action cartoon starring females would do all that well so they passed on it. To my knowledge the first series aired in Canada, but was cancelled. Shoujo just seems like a hard genre to sell in America. Viz have essentially said that Sailor Moon's re-release was riding mostly on nostalgia alone.

-Stuart Smith

With Sailor Moon finally being released unedited, do you think it is possible that other magical girl shows like Tokyo Mew Mew, Magical DoReMi (Ojamajo Doremi), and Pretty Cure will be released next?

No. Sailor Moon (and to a lesser extent, Card Captor Sakura) are anomalies: kids' properties that did so-so on American TV, but ended up making a far bigger impact with hardcore anime fans, and then went out of print until they became somewhat mythic in their unattainability. The pent-up demand for those shows was palpable, and their re-release was a big event for fans.

That would not happen with any other magical girl shows, because no other shows have so captured the hearts of current and budding anime fans the way those two did. Tokyo Mew Mew and Magical DoReMi both at least aired on US television (partially), but they weren't successful, and also came out in an era where syndicated afternoon kids' cartoons in general were on the decline. Pretty Cure didn't even get that. None of them became underground hits in the otaku scene, and there aren't many people loudly wishing they could spend gobs of cash on fancy boxed sets of them. Magical girl shows are, in general, a bit of a hard sell to Western audiences (particularly the ones actually aimed at kids, as opposed to otaku), and since those are all fairly big hits in Japan, it stands to reason that license fees would be very expensive, and predicted sales would be very low.

That said, Toei Animation controls all of those shows, and they are among the more shrewd and inventive when it comes to selling their shows to an international market. While they're likely still aiming for a more mainstream audience for those shows, you can bet they haven't given up on trying to do SOMETHING with them in the US. I wouldn't be surprised to someday see a release attempt someday, probably from an unlikely place.

dtm42 wrote:

Stuart Smith wrote: American kids networks have stated multiple times cartoons with female leads do not perform that well. You know, cartoons with female leads would perform better if the English versions weren't so disrespectfully and atrociously handled. Vision of Escaflowne, Cardcaptor Sakura and Tokyo Mew Mew are just three titles that come to mind where the American and Canadian networks basically set such shows up to fail. We know the titles themselves are not to blame; their popularity and quality are not in question. It's the producers of the networks and their awful decisions in adapting such titles that sink the boat.

Cute answer but no; It's a matter of audience for all shows in America and not just specific to marketing Japanese shows.

It's kind of like imagining Western versions of shounen romances- the idea of it doesn't even occur to the audience, let alone the creators and producers. Action shows geared towards girls with female leads? You can list individual shows {try a little hard in your case, please. Escaflowne is not the best example} but it's not a marketable genre this side of the Pacific due to cultural differences {"Girls like these things, boys like these things." "But..." "No!". Just look at any toy department. It's easy to tell any show for girls, it's "pink think"}

The difference is that the West has to make an audience while Japan only has to make a show.

It doesn't help that Crystal has so far dulled the manga's most progressive elements, like its positive depiction of adolescent female sexuality.

*That* is what I miss from Crystal; not the animation (though it could be leagues better in Crystal), nor the touches of humor (which are sorely missed in this adaptation), but the camaraderie.

there isnt a big difference in girlyness between precure and Aikatsu. Hell i would even say Precure is usally more "manly" then aikatsu.

whiskeyii wrote:

*That* is what I miss from Crystal; not the animation (though it could be leagues better in Crystal), nor the touches of humor (which are sorely missed in this adaptation), but the camaraderie.

I don't get a lot of the changes done in Crystal myself. The other girls are sidelined a lot. The girls are originally the ones who kill the Shitennou, and Venus is the one who originally defeats Beryl, but Crystal changes all that and for little logical reason I can tell.

Yuukiwr wrote:

there isnt a big difference in girlyness between precure and Aikatsu. Hell i would even say Precure is usally more "manly" then aikatsu.

That's more than likely the main problem for Pretty Cure, it's very unlike what western audiences are used to. Shows with female leads usually fall into one of two categories: extremely girly, fluffy stuff like Barbie, My Little Pony, or shows that try to skew a male audience by having tomboy/tough type characters boys can relate to like Korra or Powerpuff Girls. Pretty Cure seems like one of those shows that network executives would be unable to figure out what to do with it. It's an action show, but the girls are extremely girly and wear frilly cutsey outfits and like dress up, but then beat the ever loving crap out of people. It's a marketer's worst nightmare.

Aikatsu took forever to be streamed, however. People were forced to use fansubs for over 100 episodes until it was picked up. It's not in the best of positions either. Other popular shows like Jewelpet are still MIA outside the realm of fansubs.

Also, Viz's Sailor Moon dub is not on TV. It was premiered on Hulu if I recall correctly. If Sailor Moon isn't on TV, what hope do other series have?

-Stuart Smith

Cute answer but no; It's a matter of audience for all shows in America and not just specific to marketing Japanese shows.

The difference is that the West has to make an audience while Japan only has to make a show.

The audience is there in the West, this is a fact (see all the hordes of thirty-something women who fell in love with such shows as children).

These are kids shows. The target demo for these shows are not women in their 30s who saw Sailor Moon as a kid, but the kids themselves.

it is kind of depressing that there is a much for global market in every market except anime (which was my original perception, don't know jack about other industries in japan).