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Hey, Answerman! - Cartoon Panacea

Haterater wrote:

But they are making a sequel to Avatar, something that they don't really need to do with that logic.

Isn't it? Look at Nickelodeon's other lineup: Madagascar and Kung-Fu Panda... 'sequels' or 'spin-offs' of established movie properties. I'd say it fits their agenda quite well to just make a spin-off/sequel of another of their shows. Why put effort into creating a new show when we can just get a sequel?

enurtsol wrote:

One of the better ones that I recall that's always seem to get bypassed is Exo-Squad, also has memorable death scenes: Exo Squad takes place sometime in the 22nd century, when Humans have fully terraformed and colonized Venus and Mars. The Neosapiens, an artificially-engineered race, have Turned Against Their Masters and launched an invasion of Earth and Venus. The story focuses on the ExoFleet, the Homeworlds' space navy, in particular, Able Squad, a group of Exo-frame (Mini Mecha) pilots led by Lieutenant J.T. Marsh. Exo Squad has been commonly compared to Mobile Suit Gundam, both in quality and the maturity of the themes portrayed in the series. In addition, Will Meugniot himself made a direct comparison to the Gundam series, saying that Gundam is similar to the Pacific Theater of World War II, while Exo Squad is the European Theater. Among animation fans, it's often compared with Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Series, and Avatar: The Last Airbender as an example of how Western animation can be every bit as mature and well-made as the best Anime. Surprising, considering what studio was behind the animation.

I don't think I would use TVTropes as a credible source.. especially when the article is written with so many weasel words and has zero sources. That last bit is pretty much is the analogy of a little kid who wants to sit at the cool kids table in the lunchroom.

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Not necessarily. We used to have Bakugan and Beyblade players here who haven't watched an episode of the animation. It's the challenge of the games that excited them; they didn't care for the storylines.

What exactly is your basis and sample size for this? The Bakugan anime works on commission, oddly enough, so each series after the first was because Nelvana wanted more of it and funded it, since the original series bombed in Japan yet took off in the United States. I can't see them doing that to a show that no one watches. Just because 'a group of kids' don't watch the show doesn't make it the standard. Yes, obviously with a game it's natural there will be people who don't care or know about the show and will still get into it, but the show is still a big part of it.

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They tried with W.I.T.C.H. (actually based on Italian comics), but unfortunately for animation, most American girls prefer watching live-action tween/teen shows with girls and handsome boys they like. (Basically, their own version of fanservice.)

While I wouldn't disagree on the television front, and network executives who almost never greenlight shows with female leads doesn't help, I recall the comics were released in the US and quickly canned in the US due to poor sales, yet shoujo manga does well enough to keep pressing on. Are we sure it's just not a problem with the product itself? Why does every non-manga attempt to get girls into comics end in failure from what I can see?

I'd even stretch it so far as to say there's not even really any 'bad shows'. I mean, I always see people bash the crap out of various stuff each season and how it's garbage, except I see a lot of people who do like it, myself included, and I just shrug. Sort of like people who say 'everything this season is garbage' or 'there's only one good show this season'. When you get to that, then it's quite clear the problem is with you, not anime, because everything will appeal to someone, and those shows have lots of viewers so clearly people are finding it enjoyable.