Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Isn't More Anime Made For Americans?
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2471 Location: Germany |
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Great column Justin and you are now officially my favorite thing on ANN after Jason decided to take a break. I agree with all point and i love it some much that we are stated to live in the golden age of television (and were are) yet most of us consume it on the web.
My random American anime recondition is the recent Thundercats reboot. Only half the series got made...  and Big O´s "more American" second season is better that the first yet it is was left unfinished too. Sigh.
The flip side would be all the recent and mostly nonsensical Marvel anime so blind Japan pandering ain´t a good idea either. Last edited by residentgrigo on Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:18 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Just-another-face
Posts: 324 |
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Pretty much everything said here. Japan is still pretty ignorant of anything regarding the U.S. and its history to this day. I doubt they'd make any real solid effort toward educating themselves any time soon for that matter.
Exactly. Part of anime's mass appeal is that it's not like anything in the U.S. and we still enjoy seeing these crazy and over-the-top ideas of Japan's, with their masked riders, magical girls, and giant robots that can get as big as a galaxy. |
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Jex2193
 Posts: 283 |
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That's exactly why I love anime, it's different. The reason for me is story. Most shows don't have "plots", or they do, but for an episode or two without much continuity so every episode is a one time adventure with no one ever speaking of it again. And That's cool and all until some thing is contradicted.
There's a reason why I like shows like Teen Titans, Ben 10, and Ninjago. Don't judge. |
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mgosdin
 Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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I remember those experimental animated shows from the 60's, both Japanese & French ( of all things ) and they were exciting for a youngster but I'm sure that there were people elsewhere that lost their proverbial shirts on them.
What is amazing is that we in the rest of the world can understand and enjoy Anime made for that quite distinctive Japanese market. Yes, it does appear that we are in a golden age for Anime. Let's just enjoy it. Mark Gosdin |
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Lemonchest
Posts: 1771 |
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It's the shows that aren't nakedly pander...targeting a specific demographic that tend to be the best, imo.
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MajorZero
Posts: 359 |
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Anime is definitely different perspective, unfortunately it's usually perspective which has nothing to add to anything remotely relevant for modern society on a global scale. Japan maybe not isolationist country anymore, but they still lack knowledge about other cultures. I watch anime because it's a glimpse into foreign life, surely deformed and mostly escapist view, but nonetheless interesting...and because fantasy/sci-fi shows are damn rare these days.
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Animechic420
 Posts: 1730 Location: A Cave Filled With Riches |
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Whoa, now. While I do agree Japan should dish out more U.S./E.U. based anime, we gotta remember that Japan's Japan. It's not that they're ignorant. They would need time and really good resources to come up with accurate information so us Westerners or Europeans won't complain. Japan just sometimes likes to stay a little close to their home turf so almost everyone gets what they want. And besides, when has America ever come up with something that was specifically targeted towards Asians??? Nobodies perfect. |
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omiya
 Posts: 1836 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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Wasn't Marine Boy or its sequel made for US/non-Japanese markets primarily?
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Lili-Hime
 Posts: 569 |
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I'm actually really glad anime doesn't follow the week after week, never ending American format. Do we really want stuff like the Simpsons, where the characters never develop or age for 20 years? Or even worse, something like American comics where anything meaningful is eventually retconned or rebooted to keep the status quo? Part of why I like anime over american TV is that it most times has a beginning, middle and end. With how bad 'filler' in anime can be, I'd rather not see it adopt an American structure.
Actively forcing a creative work to cater to a demographic can also hurt artistic freedom- unless that artist already has a western influence (like Nightow or Otomo). But some works are intensely Japanese, and loved the whole world over - such as Ghibli's movies. I mean, Spirited Away is as Japanese as it gets and it won an Oscar. That said co-productions aren't always bad. The Animatrix is often considered the best thing to come out of the Matrix franchise. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Also, most countries' ideas of US tastes come from imported Hollywood movies, where wiseass-critter CGI and corny action-blockbusters tend to do better in Asian/European countries (ahemtransformers4) than they do in the more savvy, studio-cynical and discriminating US. Oh joy, an anime influenced by the Terminator sequels, Dark Knight, or Pirates of the Caribbean, because someone who's never been to North America thinks that's what we watch all day. 
Or, believe that we know absolutely nothing about their rich culture, and that anything made for us poor overseas Americans has to EDUCATE us about them, like a nice samurai/Nobunaga/Perry series with lots of basic cultural explanation and no complex storylines. (Like the Chinese gave us, when they wanted to start co-producing Hollywood movies, and gave us a big budget action movie where a dweeby American teenager learns all about the Monkey King.) And with anime....yes. We'd know the difference between a real one and a "fake" one, and that's coming from someone who does give Big O the benefit of the doubt. They'd try too hard to try and kiss up and give us What We Want, and not what they think horny, discontented, fight/action-distracted, game-addicted, easily embarrassed Japanese teens want. |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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There was a period during the bubble when Gonzo made a lot of shows with a clear US-bias, like Afrosamurai, GI Joe, Witchblade, that Linkin Park video etc.
I think the most recent company to have an eye (although not necessarily both eyes) squarely on a US market is Madhouse with their Marvel titles and Supernatural. I don't know how well that's working for them but I for one haven't watched any of them (in part because they're not available streaming anywhere to my knowledge). Last edited by Shiroi Hane on Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:01 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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DmonHiro
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"multiple-year-until-the-ratings-drop-off-the-map" series is the thing I hate MOST about American entertainment media. It ruined so many shows...
And the next thing I hate about American entertainment media is "let's cancel this series and leave it on a cliffhanger forever". |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4481 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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^ You mean "Madhouse", not "Madman" (the Australian distributor), I presume.
EDIT: That was for Shiroi Hane. |
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sailorsweeper
Posts: 416 |
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They actually have that with Chibi Maruko-chan, Doraemon and Sazae-san just name few big ones. Last edited by sailorsweeper on Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:02 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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I would never make a mistake like that! *whistles* |
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