Forum - View topicIntial D on TV and the end of the universe
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ShockWave
 Posts: 22 Location: Atlanta |
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Now, I love anime, and I love cars. But ever since hearing that TokyoPop was shopping Initial D around for a US TV release, I can't shake this one thought, 'this is a really bad idea.'
Okay, maybe the end of the universe is an over exaggeration. Still, I can't imagine that an anime about street racing would be received well by American parents. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I keep seeing rabid PTA groups screaming that there is a cartoon teaching kids to go out and kill people racing hot rod cars on public roads. Dunno, maybe it's just me. |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4543 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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I'd say there's a good chance that it is just you 8) . If Initial D got on American TV at all, it would be on the Cartoon Network, not Kids WB or Fox Kids, and the people in groups like the AFA that tend to knee jerk at content in cartoons also tend not to subscribe to premium cable, which is why I don't recall having ever heard any such groups bitch about Gundam Wing or Cowboy Bebop. (Before anyone points it out, yes, Berit Kjos does have a "Responses" page for Gundam Wing on her website Crossroad.to , but this was only because anime fans, for some reason, insisted on deluging her with e-mail on Gundam Wing for a couple of months, even though she emphatically pointed out that she had never seen the show because she doesn't subscribe to the Cartoon Network.) So Initial D will probably sneak in below their radar, if it gets on TV at all. Unless, of course, there are Initial D Kids Meals at Taco Bell. I wasn't a big fan of Initial D when Univeriste de Montreal's (now defunct) Anime Central club was showing it last year, but I was curious about Initial D model kits, if they make them over here. Aren't the cars on the show real cars except with made-up names, since the makers didn't get permission from Mazda, Honda, Nissan or Toyota to use the actual names and logos (unlike You're Under Arrest, where they had full permission from Honda to use the Today as a police car). Would this prevent them (Bandai?) from selling Initial D merchandise over here? Last edited by Tenchi on Sun Feb 17, 2002 2:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tenchi
Posts: 4543 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Another thing, do PTA groups still have much infuence in relation to popular culture? Keeping Harry Potter books out of local school libraries (which falls under their jurisidiction; I think their objections to Harry Potter are silly, but when it comes to what books should and should not be availible to kids in a school, not public, library, I think the opinions of parents as to what is appropriate for their children should prevail, even if I disagree with their objections) is one thing, getting Initial D taken off the air, especially off a national premium cable channel, is quite another thing entirely. Maybe it's one of those subtle differences between Canadian and American culture; you never hear anything about Canadian PTAs having objections to anything, at least not in the East-Central portions of the country. |
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ShockWave
Posts: 22 Location: Atlanta |
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I've only seen a small sampling of the show but the car names I saw were accurate. I recall they included the Sil-Eighty, Lancer Evo and the AE 86. All of these are actual cars, though the first two aren't available in the US and the third is called the Corolla here. (Special note, the Evo is on it's way finally!)
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mike3560
Posts: 23 |
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You know, I kind of have to agree with Shockwave. You never know what parent's groups will glom onto next as something to "Protect the children". For me it's very simple: If you don't like it, don't watch/read it etc. And if your children are, turn it off. Don't try banning whatever because it doesn't agree with your sensibilities. There's stuff out there I don't agree with, but I chose not to partake of it and let others make up their own mind. You're never going to convince anybody just by banning it. If you really want to show someone your point of view, sit down with them and intelligently talk about it. And hey Shockwave, I heard the US version of the Evolution is losing 25 hp compared to the Japanese version. Anyone know if Japan has less strict emission standards or something? Just trying to figure out why they'd cut back on the horses |
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Tenchi
Posts: 4543 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Sorry, I just don't think that there is too much to fear from these groups, especially in regards to Initial D, for 3 reasons: 1) (And I'm really just restating my point from earlier in this thread) The only American network that would be likely to show Initial D would be the Cartoon Network (Nickelodeon only shows old sit-com reruns in the evenings, right?), and the sort of parents that are overly sensitive as to what their children watch on television tend not to subscribe to premium cable channels, thus Initial D would be "Out of sight, out of mind". If you examine the TV shows groups like the AFA bitch about, they're almost always on broadcast television, South Park being the only exception I can think of, and I don't anticipate Initial D getting nearly the same level of mainstream media coverage as South Park did in 1997. 2) (Paraphrasing something I wrote on rec.arts.anime.misc) These groups really peaked in influence in the 1980s through the early 1990s, from the era of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe through the Transformers and G.I. Joe (80s incarnation) through the Real Ghostbusters era, up to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and early Power Rangers era. Time was, you could walk into any Christian bookstore and find whole shelves of books about the dark influences inherent in children's cartoons, with lurid titles like "Saturday Morning Mind Control". There just aren't books like that being written anymore; those authours that still write sensationalist books about children's entertainment have pretty much shifted their focus mostly onto Harry Potter books. Even their complaints about Pokemon were pretty tame compared to some of the stuff they said about the Smurfs back in the days (there's the example, mentioned in Linklater's Slackers, that Smurfs are blue-skinned people meant to condition kids into accepting Krishna). 3) As far as I can remember, there's nothing really "occultic" about Initial D. Cartoons that are "occultic" get the lion's share of attention, assuming they were still paying much attention to "occult" content in kids cartoons; I don't recall these groups making much of a fuss over Sailor Moon or Cardcaptors. As the AFA hasn't followed up with any other articles about the evils of Cardcaptors, we can conclude that the whole Taco Bell affair was merely about "Tarot-like" cards at Taco Bell; that the cards were taken from a Japanese cartoon is only a minor esoteric detail to these folks.
You do realize that you're preaching to the converted here? Lets be fair here, though. These groups are not trying to get toys and cartoons banned. If they are offended enough by a toy, book or cartoon to try and get it taken off the shelves or the TV schedule, they use consumer pressure to achieve their goals, not legislative means. If enough people were offended by the Taco Bell promotion (admittedly, for silly reasons from our point of view), they can show their displeasure by taking their business elsewhere. Taco Bell thought that there were enough of these people that the Cardcaptors promotion became a liability, so they pulled the cards and Li's Board. (Remember that consumer pressure is a two-way street; if a Cardcaptors fan is offended that Taco Bell caved-in to these groups, he or she can also take their business elsewhere.) But, as I don't recall any big pressure groups getting riled-up about Cowboy Bebop or Gundam Wing, I don't see it happening for Initial D either, since it would be shown only in the evening and only on a premium cable channel, if it makes it onto TV at all. (Remember that only a tiny fraction of what is displayed at NATPE ever makes it on to the schedule.) |
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ShockWave
Posts: 22 Location: Atlanta |
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Tenchi, I hope you are right. The reason I am nervious is because of some highly publicized youth racing stories that I have seen recently, as well as some of the backlash to The Fast and the Furious.
Here in Atlanta, we had a 16 yr old kill himself racing in his hot rodded camero. End result, when a 16 year old gets a license they can only drive with a 25 year old adult in the car with them. Now, I'm 27, so it doesn't really effect me, but I really think they are missing the point.
The Evo will have about 252 hp when it arrives in the US. The hp rating of the Japanese version is 276 but that's a lie, it's actually somewhere closer to 300. As for the reason for the lower number, Mitsubishi only wants to trump their rival, the Subaru WRX (227 hp) so 252 is more then enough. Emissions doesn't really play a big role in this. More relevent is moving the intercooler from the front bumper (where it gets cooler air) and the availability of higher octane fuel in Japan (it's easy to find 100 octane fuel, I have been told). Great question! |
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Arostus
Posts: 1 |
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Well, I am not sure how they would edit out the relationship between Takumi's girlfriend and older man. Though it was not a large part of the plot until the second and third stage.
Anyway, When is the Evo coming to america? |
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Hagakure
Posts: 111 Location: Connecticut |
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Tenchi, don't get me started. The PTA practically rules my little backwater CT town. I would love it if they stopped just at Harry Potter books. But the PTA here is like some sort of elitist aristocracy of parents who suppose their kids are some sort of superior version of the human race. The actual town hall government is like some sort of figurehead, as the PTA and educational system run random censorships and the like. Its like something out of Farenheit 451. A conspiracy I tell you! Conspiracy :wink: . But seriosly, it is quite scary. As for Intial D, I don't really consider the threat all that bad. That is, beyond what has already annouced. As Ginsu Camel wrote in a similiar post, what does it matter if a uncut release is made? Even in elitist aristocratic PTA towns like my own, such groups have little control over things broadcast outside of their jurisdiction. Consumer pressure is most certainly a double edged sword, but the edge for us just so happens to be duller. People preaching indignant offense are usually listened to. I had made a similiar debate with animeuncut awhile ago (another story, another time) But its in the locked Cowboy Bebop Marathon post, and I'm pretty sure it sums up the issues of religious/racial indignancy and action/legal procedures that can follow. I don't honestly think we have too much to worry about regarding Initial D aside of course for those who feel strongly about the changes running on TV that have already been made. With regards to those, however, I really think that fans of the series will buy the DVDs to see the subs anyway. I will never say that such fears are not well grounded, but for the most part, I think it is still legitamite to say that it won't be much of a worry. That's not to say it's not worth discussing though. Finding a way to avoid attacks, especially with a cut version, shouldn't be too hard. And to finish, I never saw the views of many of these groups as valid. My town is the spitting image of PC clean cut town, and still, we see Cowboy Bebop and the like. |
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zimbach
Posts: 5 |
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Craeyst Raygal
 Posts: 1383 Location: In the garage, beneath a 1970 MGB GT. |
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Initial D on TV is a danger to itself, isn't it? What with all its glamorization of the lowlifes of street racing and their support of the seemy underbelly of society. *takes amounts to think, then keels over laughing at himself*
First off, Tenchi is right. Adult Swim is the very first and practically only place you'd find Initial D, and considering the violence, death, and (albeit far toned down) sexuality of the other series there it'll seem fairly tame. Just a series about a bunch of kids on back roads who race their cars. It even shows the occasional results of these activities (Iketani's accident in the second episode, or, even worse, Shingo's) The characters are regular people who work and are generally law abiding citizens. The only objectionable thing is the racing. It hardly falls into the (ech) Fast and The Furious category. The biggest problem parents have is when a show actively promotes an activity. Initial D doesn't. Never has. Shuichi Shigeno wanted to show something that's a part of life. Not fictionalize and sensationalize it like Fast and the Furios did. Therefore, I don't think it will have all of the problems of that wretched movie. (If you can't tell, the only things I found worthwhile out of that movie were the Veiside FD3S and RJ de Vera's all too limited appearance) |
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