From: jogle@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Jim Ogle (Ks. Jim))
Subject: Re: What EAV said about # of anime fans & what is most popular anime ?
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 12:18:35 GMT

In article <mumble> andrean@cs.utexas.edu (Andre A. Nurwono) writes:

>So far so good, Anime seems to have gained momentum in the US entertainment
>media, e.g. LTV episodes.

Some of the translated stuf is even getting reviewed in the media
magazines too (Twilight of the Cockroaches, Akira, Project A-Ko,
Vampire Hunter D, even Guyver.)

>So far, not so good. No more references have I heard been made about
>popularizing anime by fans anymore. Looking at newsgroup statistics
>made me wonder. I even thought of wether its better to split this
>newsgroup, its getting to be a pain to follow the # of postings here.

The amount of traffic has been much higher in the past - no need for a
split IMHO.

>EAV (Electronic Animation Velocity) I read off bongo.cc.utexas.edu
>mentioned that there wasn't enough fans to go about having requests
>on getting anime to TV networks, etc, about fans being non-productive,
>etc.
>
>From what I see, I think Anime fans have grown substantially since
>the writing of that article, and I really wonder wether it could
>grow as fast as it used to, given the limited resources and publicity
>it has. I wonder if it could really have gotten momentum so anime
>prices could be lowered, and make it become more popular.

There is still plenty of potential for growth, but for anime to really
make it big it has got to be made acceptable for the "common masses",
which for the most part means it has to be dubbed into English and any
non-American cultural references have to be either cropped out or
converted into something Joe Average doesn't have to think about to
understand - witness some of the recent flames directed against
Streamline's release of Castle Cagliostro. (sp?)

I would like to think that unbutchered anime would be able to find
popular appeal though.  However, until someone other than Streamline
gets anime into theaters or on TV we'll probably never know.

>So what's my point ?
>
>Well, I just posted to know what people thought would popularize anime more,
>or what YOU think would popularize anime to get more fans, etc.
>
>What anime do YOU think has a substantial number of audience,
>or would attract much more people who don't know anime.

I think the best bet is science fiction that doesn't have a much
reference to Japan and/or its culture.  Dirty Pair is something that
should work real well with American audiences; its full of violence,
T&A, and a dash of humor.

But again, its a problem of getting the stuff where people can see it;
rentals in a video store is fine but its not going to create a market
in the same way seeing the stuff on TV will.

>What audience do YOU think could be targeted by these anime...

Anime has the potential to be targeted at any audience and that is
actually part of the problem in introducing it here.  It's not like
anime is one genre or type of program; there are slapstick comedies,
serious dramas, mindless violence, sitcoms, and so on.  Too many
people fall into the trap of promoting anime as a type of program
rather than media used for all kinds of programs.

This of course serves to just confuse Joe Average, who for example
likes Dirty Pair and expects Twilight of the Cockroaches to be the
same kind of program ("They're both that annie-may thing, right?")

>What anime would YOU like to see in theatres ...

About anything actually.

>What anime would YOU like to see as OAVs,

About anything actually.

>What anime would YOU like to see replacing Tom & Jerry Kids on TV...

ANYTHING!  ANYTHING AT ALL!! Even Sailor Moon!  8-)

>What anime would YOU think could be as popular, supplement, or replace
>popular shows such as Ren & Stimpy and The Simpsons ??

It's impossible to say unfortunately.  A couple of years ago would you
have believed that a cartoon about a freaky dog and cat who specialize
in gross humor would become as wildly popular as it did?  Who's to say
what the mass audience will like?

Unfortunately, no one has the money to pitch a program/movie, get it
released, and if that one bombs to bring in another and try again.  If
the first big release to theaters or TV doesn't do well no one will be
brave enough to risk their money on anime again for quite a while. 8-(

>Some openers :
>
>* Ranma 1/2 nett.. is a great comedy show, which appeals much more to me
>  than would Tiny Toons Adventures. The slapstick is different, but
>  the stories make much more sense than I get from TTA.

Different intended audiences; TTA, despite many of its in-jokes, is
still primarily a show for children.  (Of course now someone will tell
me that so is Ranma 1/2, but somehow I doubt it.)

I haven't seen a lot of Ranma but I do agree that it could do well;
some network would just have to be brave enough to show it without
"Americanizing" it though....

>* Bubblegum Crisis is revolutionary ! I would give it a PG-13 or even
>  an R rating. It is one of the most popular anime I've ever seen
>  around here, I would think people age 13-20 would be attracted
>  to this OAV series.
>  How did my local anime club members respond ? They unanimously
>  agreed that this could appeal to a LOT of audience out there !

BGC does have the potential to appeal to the mainstream, but there
isn't enough of it for a TV series and the OAV concept (known as
"direct to video" here) just isn't the way to reach a wide market in
the US.

>* Lupin III: Cagliostro's Castle is unbeleivably popular !
>  Tintin should have been animated and directed like the Lupin series !!
>  It should attract people age 7-13, 17-.... (all ages !)

I haven't seen the Tintin animated series on HBO so I can't comment on
that.  Lupin is another show that does have good mainstream potential;
its just a matter of getting it where the mainstream can find it.

While hard-core anime fans may retch at the thought of it, if
Streamline could get Lupin III:CC on TV as a Sunday night movie or
some such thing it would help generate interest in anime and show Joe
Average that you can make cartoon movies for someone other than eight
year olds.

>* Miyazaki's Totoro, Kiki's ...
>  Would appeal to even those die-hard Disney watchers ! No ?

Yup.

>* What do people think of Video Girl Ai ?
>  How about 3X3 eyes ?
>  Both would appeal to those who like unrestricted humour.

Haven't seen much of either, can't comment.

-- 
Kansas Jim (Jim Ogle, TORG guru)                               /|
jogle@aoc.nrao.edu (NRAO-VLBA, Socorro New Mexico)           o| |-
"I'd be apathetic if I cared."                              /| \|