Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Isn't More Anime Made For Americans?
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Paiprince
Posts: 593 |
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You know his grandfather is just as ignorant about Japan judging by how he only seems to be focused on the negatives. You have to strike a balance between the good and the bad. Japan isn't perfect, but its society and structure for the most part functions much better than half the globe. |
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SEGAtheGENESIS234
Posts: 81 |
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So true about the girl thing. People in Japan see a cute girl doing something cute might say, "Oh that's cute!" but in America, it's "A cute girl doing cute things? How sexist!" |
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Polycell
Posts: 4623 |
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I think the best argument against "westernizing" anime is the homogenizing effect it has on things in the video game world; there are plenty of international games studios, but very few leave any sort of cultural marks on their games and it seems the vast majority of them that use a real world setting stick them in the US anyway(here's looking at you, GTA).
As a kid, I remember playing a game called Beneath a Steel Sky(that for some reason always crashed and so I never actually finished until years later when I found out about SCUMM VM) that in retrospect didn't seem to make too much effort to 'globalize' itself, resulting it always seeming it being a bit odd to me(like how the subtitles occasionally said different things than the voices did); learning that it was an Australian production(and that there was a voiceless floppy edition) definitely explained quite a few things. Nowadays I'm not sure even that level of foreignness would be done(even if there aren't any "shrimp on the barbie"-level accents). |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Well, I do sometimes buy comic book grab bags, which will contain random issues fro random series. I'm just as likely to get something from the 2010's as I am to get something from DC's Golden Age. It doesn't bother me much, though you're right in that I did notice a trend of it being harder to figure out what's going on the more recent the comic book was. The most recent ones did have a recap though, but it didn't feel more confusing than starting a long-running shonen from the middle. Preview guides are definitely something you have to be in the know about in order to use. Most people don't know they exist. You have the popular notion of the comic book fan walking into a comic book shop knowing exactly what they want. There's no signage in any comic book store I've been to that tells you that these guides exist and are available to view.
No, the big difference is that cute girls ding cute things has male audience appeal in Japan whereas in the west, it almost never happens as the concept of cute girls doing cute things is assumed to be aimed at little girls (or women who like to watch such things). Except for Friendship Is Magic, that idea has never really worked in the west, and even with that show, male fans are marginalized and humiliated and have been even before they started waving a "look at me!" flag around. Also, that show's popularity with male audiences was accidental and unintentional. A major reason behid this is that in Japan and in the west (particularly North America), what is considered attractive is pretty different. Japan seems to prefer innocent behavior and a childlike appearance. North Americans prefer in-the-know behavior and a mature appearance. A personality like Elvira would never fly in present-day Japan, for one. What sexism occurs in series about cute girls doing cute things is not regarding the girls themselves, but the guys who would potentially watch them. Men are expected to watch things aimed at men, lest they be thought gay or pedophilic. |
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TarsTarkas
Posts: 5914 Location: Virginia, United States |
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I travel a lot for work, and I make it a point to visit some comic book stores in those areas. There are very few comic book stores that have great selections. Most of them only have major titles out on display and for sale. Today many comic book stores are hybrid comic and gaming stores. And as others have said, you have to know what you want.
The comic book store where I live has a huge manga selection, huge figures (anime/game/comic) selection, huge comic selection, huge graphic novel selection, massive old comics selection, and some comic & movie antique toys. So I am blessed that way, because there are so few comic stores that are into anime and manga as this one is. Some big cities do have large comic book stores, like New York City and Denver, but that is not the norm across the United States. But even then anime and manga are an afterthought. |
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Primus
Posts: 2803 Location: Toronto |
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Just kind of buries TMS in this article, but they scored one of the few major success stories in Bakugan. In the case of Transformers, Bakugan, Tenkai Knights, Beyblade Metal ___, etc. they're produced to be successful in both the west and Asia.
Afro Samurai is definitely anime. The series was mostly produced in Japan and was based on a Japanese manga series. Probably the most successful adult "this is made for the west" anime. |
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EricJ2
Posts: 4016 |
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Okay, then, how about the Animatrix, commissioned by Warner, to cash in on the craze of comparing The Matrix to anime (gee, I wonder why? ), based on what was then the late 90's definition that Anime was "Anything that looked cool and fringe-y." I'll confess laughing at anyone who called that their gateway series and claimed they were watching "anime"; I suspect I was not alone, and it's as true now as it was when Batman: Gotham Knight came out. |
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Kadmos1
Posts: 13597 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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I think a reason that the listed TMS titles have had a success here is partially because they were a toy/game franchises which often are suc-cessful here.
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Hahalollawl
Posts: 22 |
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If anime was so popular outside of Japan so as to warrant the creation of more anime intended for audiences outside of Japan, wouldn't companies outside of Japan sprung up to meet the demand? And not just kids cartoons...
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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I think the point of the original question was considering that North America is the largest audience for any entertainment medium and that catering to North Americans would be a good source of revenue and a good way to popularize anime.
This very same situation has already happened with cars, video games, and food and drink, to where companies like Toyota, Ubisoft, and Nestlé get huge amounts of their sales from outside their home countries. None of these products were that popular internationally until the companies that make those products started aggressively marketing internationally. |
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BadNewsBlues
Posts: 6232 |
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Not exclusive to American TV series and somewhat more preferable to. "Let's squeeze this material that should cover a specific number of episodes into a smaller number and let's throw in an unsatisfactory ending. Also not exclusive to us.
Unless those people happen to be also be cartoon fans who'll wonder what drugs your mother was smoking while pregnant with you, that could possibly explain why you would watch and enjoy a show like Teen Titans Go. |
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EricJ2
Posts: 4016 |
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Well, yes, I should have clarified that you can watch any classic cartoon that you want, while watching CN shows will gain you only contempt and drug tests, and watching cartoons about sponges or pastel-colored ponies will have your sexual orientation questioned. Testament to our culture, however, that you can quote lines from Chuck Jones cartoons in common parlance as a grown adult, and everyone will know exactly what you're talking about. (Particularly for those comfortably well-off and without pronoun trouble, but who have difficulty remembering the correct lyrics to Ride of the Valkyries.) |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Or, in the case of shows like One Piece and Naruto stretching it out for as long as possible out of fear that their audiences will leave and never return.
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Lili-Hime
Posts: 569 |
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@Willag
I feel your pain about Once Upon a Time! I fell in love with the show and binged Season 1... then I stopped watching around the start of Season 3 because the plot became way too overly complicated. Oh Regina's not rly evil, her mom is! Oh wait her mom isn't, it's really... etc. etc. Some shows overstay their welcome. Glee! should've ended at season 3 as well, everything after was a mess and bordered on self parody.
Disney Sets Animated Ratings High with Star Vs the Forces of Evil 2 Million Viewers for Steven Universe Feb. 2015 You were saying? Also Rainbow Brite was huge when I was a small child, as was Sabrina the Teenage Witch when I was a teenager / preteen. Fully expecting a rebuttle that these aren't 'real' magical girl shows because of some caveat like 'they don't wear short skirts'. Oh, and yes I did use TV shows because comic sales are in the toilet over all. Of course it's not to say magical girl comics wouldn't sell. There's a whole generation of women raised on Sailor Moon, and there's solid proof that women are buying more and more comics. America sort of does have idols. When I was a teen it was Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore. Later it was stuff like Hannah Montana. We even had American Idol, a show where more people voted for the top idols then they did in the presidential elections. Yes, I realize all or most of my examples have a female target audience. But realize that magical girl shows with a male target audience is a new phenomena in anime. In the 90's magical girl manga ran almost exclusively in shoujo / josei magazines. We also have harem stuff. Look at the success of The Bachelor & The Bachelorette. There are equivalents here, it's just the target audience is vastly different and more diverse here. Your argument almost sounds like "I don't want my anime westernized it'll have to be more progressive about its gender politics! AND they'll have to start sexualizing women who are over 18 and aren't submissive baby waifus!" Correct me if I'm wrong here. And the 'cute girls doing cute things' does work for guys here; look at the Bronies. No one ever implied Japan should kill off moe to make animated Games of Thrones shows. I may dislike moe, but I don't think it shouldn't exist. Creative freedom and all that. The more diverse the shows we get, the better because everyone's happy. More coproductions doesn't necessarily mean less moe/harem/idol shows. Japan has always had that and always will, as long as there are lonely geeks with loads disposable income. Even in the 80's and 90's where action & sci fi where huge, we still had Kimagure Orange Road, Ah! My Goddess, Tenchi Muyo, Saber Marionette, Love Hina, etc... As to my other comments about western comics & retconning things... yes I was referring to Marvel & DC, because they own such a large chunk of market. I understand there are indie comics out there with self contained stories, and that's awesome. I know it's because the IP is profitable, but it strikes me as creatively bankrupt. I like anime because most of the time, I can suss out a beginning, middle and end. I like stories like that, just a preference. |
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Kadmos1
Posts: 13597 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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Space Dandy is probably an American-geared anime that might be one of the most successful ones for a while and that may be partially because it is from the Cowboy Bebop director.
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