Forum - View topicThe Popularity Of Gundam
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TranceLimit174
 Posts: 964 |
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I was curious about this and also thought it would interesting to talk about. Anyway my question is why hasn't Gundam taken off in the US? I would think it would do very well here but for some reason it never caught on. Personally I think the reason is because of the way Bandai/Toonami released the series. I think Wing was a good gateway series but then they jumped from Wing to the original which in my opinion was a bad move. It probably would have been better if they followed up Wing with X (which was great by the way). I don't know how well 08th, 0080, 0083, and G did here in the states but I'm guessing not very well. I don't even see the US MSiA's anymore, just random remenants from the G Gundam line. So did Bandai go about marketing Gundam to a US audience the wrong way or is just another "works for the Japanese but not as well with Americans" issue a la shows like Lupin and Detective Conan?
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PantsGoblin
 SubscriberEncyclopedia Editor  Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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Maybe Americans just don't like Giant Robots. Same with dating sims, Americans just don't like them. Maybe the concepts are just too wierd.
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Mugen1style
Posts: 281 Location: North of the wall |
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One reason could be that the series are old and some what dated not to say they are not good but they are alot different than todays anime. You are not going to get alot of fan service and the subject matter in general is a little more sophisticated than most other shows geared towards young male audience. Politicle plot line's do not seem to do that well in america and gundam has quite a few politicle twist's. There is plenty of action so by rights it should have done better. It could also be that most of the american fans probaly watched most of the arc's long ago via DL, and might not have been interested in the Dub version or perhaps they bought the imports? But the main factor is probaly the age of the show Imo.
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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I think it's because Bandai was trying to target Gundam at the wrong audience. Bandai was trying to market Gundam to kids, but the series is very politically-themed and the show can be somewhat hard to follow if you aren't paying attention to the plot. Kids care more about anime series with more simplistic plots and monsters duking it out with each other, like Pokemon or Digimon. Remember, that was one of the reasons why Escaflowne failed when it was aired on Fox Kids. I think Gundam Wing did as well as it did because its plot was a little easier to follow than other Gundam shows. It also had plenty of action to appeal to boys and lots of angsty pretty boys to appeal to some girls. Plus, they also aired the uncut dub on their Toonami Midnight Run block, so more older anime fans could watch it on TV more. Perhaps if Bandai had targeted Gundam towards older fans by airing an uncut dub either on their Toonami Midnight Run block when it still existed or on the now-airing Adult Swim, Gundam might have gotten better ratings? I don't think Gundam is something that kids aren't interested in because its plot is too hard for them to follow. Gundam seems to be more popular among anime fans that are old enough to buy DVDs and watch uncut dubs.
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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Also, a lot of the time it seems that people who really liked Gundam Wing don't care much for the other Gundam serieses, while those who liked the whole franchise don't always really like Gundam Wing. I'm sure there are many exceptions, but from my experience GW fans like GW and not the other Gundams (except perhaps Gundam Seed, which I think it doing fairly well and, from the one episode I've seen, looks rather close to Gundam Wing). Thus, GW ended up not being a gateway series, because its fans didn't necessarily like the other Gundam series played after.
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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Actually, Gundam is very much like Fullmetal Alchemist in this regard. Though (at least as far as the original goes) it was rich in thematic depth and had an expansive, unusually heavy storyline, it was still marketed as a children's show in Japan with the primary motivation behind its production being the whoring and selling of merchandise. While both Mobile Suit Gundam and Fullmetal Alchemist are both anomalies within their demographic for carrying some heady, underlying political and social themes, they were still produced in almost every other respect as children's "buy more crap" shows. Bandai was not at all unjustified in trying to market Gundam to young people in America, as a result.
Partially that, but also because Gundam Wing was a newer, more recent show. Cartoon Network's usual viewing audience don't usually care for older shows, as has been proven in the past (Detective Conan, Lupin III, etc.). The only real exception to this rule are those cherished childhood classics like Robotech and Speed Racer, of which Gundam most definitely is not. There's also the shift in the type of story. Wing is all style, little substance (or coherency, or even basic story structure, but that's another issue entirely), and a lot of instant gratification. The original was a more character driven story with...a story...and also did not continue the adventures of Heero & Co. as many "Gundam fans" at the time so badly wanted (I remember ruining someone's day at a bookstore back before Mobile Suit Gundam debuted on Cartoon Network simply by pointing out that Heero wasn't in it...wasn't even mean about it, I was still a Wing fan myself back then). And as to older fans liking Mobile Suit Gundam more, that's because those were the people that got into Gundam before the Wing trend. And really, regardless of Japanese demographic, the anime fanbase in America is of a pretty consistent "older teen to young/mid adult" range, so judging the original target audience by the people that watch it over here is a bit inaccurate. |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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Most dating sim games are just plain lame and really dated, no pun intended. I mean, it's nothing but a bunch of still images with a "choose your own adventure" text box. Who's going to pay good money for that in this day-and-age? |
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joel_s95387
Posts: 1804 Location: California... The Village Hidden In The Porn |
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A lot of people HATE giant robots. I like them, I love Gundam, Big O, RahXephon, and Eva, but most of my anime watching friends don't. Now that I think about it, out of 5 of us only I like giant robots. Only 5 of my friends like anime so that's why I only said out of 5 of us.
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Steventheeunuch
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People don't hate Giant Robots, nor politically-themed shows, it's just that- Original Gundam was too dated; G-Gundam waas a bit too odd; More original Gundam was still too dated; SEED was essentially a lot of people walking, talking, and occasionally being punctured by action scenes (which is more of Destiny's style, I know). The problem is that when these shwos are bought over, they're still being aimed at a culture that has grown up and accepted Gundam for near on 25 or more years. They've had tons of series, movies, diverse and gigantic toylines, etc. Therefore, Gundam and all of its flaws and such are accepted. What bandai tried to do was inject all of that, without any kind of buildup, into the US, and it failed. Now, if Sunrise had perhaps consulted some US production companies, and possibly tried making a U.S-specific Gundam series which repaced and replotted the key elements and storyline of the original Gundam, it MIGHT have been a success. But of course, they didn't, so guess where we are now? |
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PantsGoblin
Subscriber Encyclopedia Editor Posts: 2969 Location: L.A. |
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Yep, that's exactly the reason Americans don't buy them, they say they're "lame". Yet, I have played many dating sims with as good if not better stories than any anime I've watched. In addition the art quality is superb and extremely detailed compared to most anime. Plus they're just plain fun. Americans just don't like the idea of dating imaginary cartoon characters, which is apparently "lame". I don't see why you think dating sims are dated though.
Me, and thousands of Japanese people. |
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SlyphGlitch
Posts: 35 Location: Fighting my way out |
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This is my first post, so err Hi...
How big does Bandai think Gundam will become? I don't think it will ever be as big in the US as it is in Japan. Still Gundam brings a lot of people into anime. One prob with Gundam is where it's aimed at. Most younger kids won't get the political over tones, while a big chunk of the "anime as art" crowd view Gundam as crap, useless you are talking about Zeta Gundam or Turn A Gundam. Still, my nephew watches Endless Waltz, and that gives me hope. |
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Steventheeunuch
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Bandai want it to be on par, if not more popular than it is in Japan, since America has more people. What Bandai/Sunrise didn't account for was that America and Japan are vastly different markets when it comes to advertising, content, direction, interests, tastes, and well, just about anything else. |
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Super Arrow
 Posts: 334 Location: Australia |
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Actually I heard that G was pretty popular...it's just that they oversaturated the MSiA line with stuff that nobody bar the die-hard Fans would buy.
And X probably would do well over here...too bad that Bandai America seems to hate cancelled Shows. Remember when Blue Comet SPT Layzner was dropped?
Partial agreement: Hell, I admit that G is more-or-less a kid's Show and have no problems with it. I just wish I had Shows like that growing up.
Was G-Saviour not a lesson to you or something?! |
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ryokoalways
Posts: 562 |
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What Japan consider as "Children Material" is different from America's interpretation. For example, it has been stated that all of Miyazaki's films have children as intended audience. While most of them seem that way, there are parts in some of his works that may be deemed to be for teenagers in America, best case would be Mononoke Hime. That would not be the case in Japan, as they consider the level of violence to be perfectly acceptable for children.
Of course due to other cultural differences, genre appeals will also be vastly different, or perhaps it is'nt cool and is "lame", as someone else put it (dating sim, was it?). But I tjink that the intended audience should not be treated similarly between the two very different cultures, whether it is for this particular genre or otherwise. |
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bateszi
 Posts: 5 Location: Cambridge, UK |
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I actually disagree with this; having seen the original Gundam series, Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto, I'd classify them all as family anime rather than primarily children's fodder- this is reflected in their Japanese TV timeslots. Star Wars is in the same boat; they have been specifically designed to appeal to damn near everyone. Though it can appeal to them, Gundam certainly isn't a kid's series. |
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