The state of Anime in North America - by Blkcloak
What is the state of anime in North America? I think it's safe to say that it's looking up. Things are not the same as they were years ago. I cannot remember many truly 'anime' series as I was growing up in the 80's. Of course, back in the 80's, I didn't know what anime was. All I knew was that there were live-action shows and then there were cartoons. My, how perceptions change.
How have things changed? Three years ago, one of Japan's most popular anime series, "Sailor Moon," was dubbed and brought over to North America. To say the least, it took three years for a really major following to build itself up here, so "Sailor Moon" kinda self-destructed. Only now, in 1998, is the series starting to get a chance. However, as a Sailor Moon fan myself, I have learned of how DiC had butchered the original content by editing. Certain situations were edited out, such as the deaths of the Sailor Scouts, Serena spitting a soda back at one of her friends, and Serena falling from a balcony and saving herself by using an umbrella. If you don't watch "Sailor Moon," I wouldn't blame ya if you had no idea of what I was talking about. The point I'm trying to make is that DiC was so 'concerned' that their target audience, children in the 7-10 years of age range, might try to imitate these situations that they cut them out. Why? These same children are exposed to shows like "Tom & Jerry," "Looney Tunes," and the like, which by the way I love watching, even at 19. If you've seen these, then you know what kind of content they hold. And Sailor Moon was edited for some less violent situations? Give me a break.
As I said earlier, times have changed. I kinda pit one animated show as responsible for the change. Have any of you heard about a little show on Comedy Central that goes by, oh what was it, "South Park"? I've seen polls, articles, reports, and more where these little children have said they have watched the four foul-mouthed kids from the small Colorado town. Excuse me? Little kids? The same who couldn't handle someone spitting back a soda at her friend? No, this is nothing against "South Park." Rather, it has, in my opinion, loosened up North America. This is the line of what you can get away with on cable television. We aren't as censor-happy back in the early '90, when "Bevis and Butt-Head" were the poster-men for what was bad about television.
Anime is starting to have some life breathed into it here in North America. More shows are moving on over, even if some of them are more targeted to younger children. Pokemon is a prime example. Seems childish, but has deep story lines. Then there is the series of anime movies that Disney will be dubbing and releasing here in America. Disney, that's right. Anime is starting to pick up some attention. This next year will be a big determinant of what the future of anime will be. Pokemon, Monkey Magik, Voltron: The Third Dimension, and the Disney anime series, will either pave the way for anime in North America, or it will be it's downfall. Of course, this is just my opinion.
What
do you think?
Remember, this is open to responce.
Got something to say, then I'll post it up here. Just keep it in
good taste.
Villains and Heroes - by Moltar
Alright, listen up. Today we're talking about something very important. Villains. Bad Guys. The Heavy. 'Webster' defines a villain as truly malicious. A scoundrel. We don't get enough credit. What's a hero without a villain. Bad guys make life more INTERESTING!! My favorite bad guy, besides myself, is Lotor, from Voltron. Remember him? He seems kinda wimpy, but he's got personality!
Now, I see alot of stuff up
here at Ghost Planet Industries. After awhile, 'ya begin noticing
recurring themes. One that I pay some particular attention to is
the presence of heroes. How many heroes do you think there are?
Too many if you ask me. But what would it be like without 'em? No
one to stand up. An end to nobility, purity, and fearlessness. It
would probably be more boring to. Villains need something to do,
don't they? Without heroes, there would be only victims. Well,
victims, villains... y'know. Sure, guys like me would be more successful,
not having any stinking heroes there to get in our ways, but where is the
fun in that? We villains like to work for our success. I think
it has something to do with bragging rights. So you guys should thank
your heroes. Believe me.
Back to Toonami
front page.
What the CN2: Toonami is all about - by Jeff Harris ( CN2: Toonami / The Rhelm )
If Cartoon Network doesn't
want to form an all-action animation station, how about letting
Fox and their allies (Saban, Marvel, Paramount, Sony, and others) start
up one called:
What is CN2: Toonami (Fox
Plosion!)?
Right now, it's just
a dream that the Inner Circle (Skullmonkey, Blkcloak, myself, and countless
others) have. However, many of you might agree with its ideals. CN2: Toonami
(Fox Plosion!)
combines the attitude
of the popular Toonami afternoon lineup currently airing on Cartoon Network
along with the finest
action cartoons from the Claster, Saban, and Time-Warner library (along
with
some independantly
syndicated shows) and the best library of classic action shows like GI
Joe,
Dungeons and Dragons,
MASK, and Transformers, modern shows like Calamity Jane, Beast Wars,
and Batman:
Gotham Knights, classic anime like 8th Man, Astro Boy, Gigantor, and Speed
Racer
along with modern
classics like Ramna 1/2, Slayers, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo,
and
Voltron. Not to mention
movies and series not yet seen on American television like Akira, Ghost
In
The Shell, Macross, and others.
CN2: Toonami (Fox Plosion!)
wouldn't just include kid-oriented programming. It would also feature
movies and series for
older, more mature audiences. Shows like Todd McFarlane's Spawn and Aeon
Flux would run rampant
here every night. In fact, CN2 would be more like an animation equivilant
to
TNT than Cartoon Network
by also producing made-for-tv series and movies. In fact, this will be
the
first network to fully
use the television ratings system to its fullest (I mean, somebody has
to, right?)
with ratings from TV-Y to
TV-MA SLV. CN2 would be the only place to see many of the shows we want
and more.
Back to Toonami
front page.
Was it destined for destruction from the very beginning? For the first time ever, the Cartoon Network wants to hear what you think. This is your shot to manipulate the manual. Now you can let them know what kind of programs Toonami should have, shouldn't have, or just compiment them for at least having such a cool programming block. Drop Cartoon Network a line at:
C/O CARTOON NETWORK
1050 TECHWOOD DRIVE
ATLANTA, GA 30318
Thanks in Advance...
Back to Toonami
front page.
A NEW PURPOSE.
ARE YOU UP TO IT?
I
must be pretty selfish. Here I am thinking about my site and I'm
not even plugging one of my greatest helps with this page. Now, I
have a dream. My dream is to one day show the glory that is Toonami
to everyone throughout the country. To do this, we must journey into
uncharted territory. My site, The Unofficial,
and Jeff Harris' CN2: Toonami Inner Circle
site are the targets. For what? To become the first Toonami
site on the Yahoo! search engine. Hey, just getting onto Yahoo! is
an accomplishment in itself.
So, here is how to recommend these sites for a link on Yahoo. First you have to pick the area. News and Media : Television : Genres : Cartoons (Which comes under recommendation from Jeff Harris. It's better than my last choice). When you reach this area, at the bottom of the page there will be a link that says "Suggest a Site." Click on that link and you'll be taken to a submission form. You'll need the site(s) URL for making your recommendation. So, here they are:
Toonami:
The Unofficial http://geocities.datacellar.net/Tokyo/Harbor/7168/toonami.html
CN2:
Toonami Inner Circle http://geocities.datacellar.net/TelevisionCity/Studio/8307/index.html
The rest will be self explanatory. Let's see what happens.
Will Cartoon Network ever listen to their fans? - by Jeff Harris( CN2: Toonami / The Rhelm )
Well, maybe they will, maybe
they won't. They have listened to fans about
bringing in newer shows to
the Toonami lineup like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball
Z, and soon ReBoot.
ReBoot would most likely replace Jonny Quest if they
ever get their head out of
their nether regions. But they need to do
something totally drastic
to the Toonami lineup. Here's three suggestions
they should do.
1) Show the opening
credits - - Some of us actually miss the opening theme
to Sailor Moon and Dragon
Ball Z.
2) Go outside of the Time-Warner-Turner
library for shows - - Look at the
success of the non-TWT shows
like the two mentioned above, plus Robotech
and Voltron (Thundercats
IS owned by Time-Warner).
3) Put Batman in the Toonami
lineup! - - The promos say that it's the best
action show ever made.
Prove it by placing the show in the best action
block of programming on the
planet.
4) Create a division for Toonami
acquisitions - - Get someone who can find
the best action shows readily
available and get them on Toonami.
5) Work out alliances with
other companies - - Hasbro and CN already have a
marketing arrangement by
sponsoring giveaways with the toy company. Now
Hasbro also owns several
animated properties, many of which could air on
Toonami like GI Joe and Transformers.
Also, there's this group called
Bohbot who owns several shows
like Skysurfer Strike Force, Extreme
Ghostbusters, The Mask (which
is already shown on other Cartoon Networks
worldwide), and Mighty Max.
Rather than starting up their own network that
nobody's going to get, like
they're planning to do next summer, maybe
Bohbot should ally themselves
with a more established network like Cartoon
Network.
6) Dump Jonny Quest and The
Superman-Batman Adventures - - Replace them
with shows that they put
on hiatus like Thundercats, Voltron, and Robotech,
and don't be greedy with
the episode orders. We want to see all of them.
7) Extend Toonami to three
hours and weekend showings and a strong lead-off
- - CN should air from 4
- 7 PM EST on weekdays and 1 - 4 PM EST on
weekends. Plus, strong
lead-in shows like SWAT Kats, Centurions, Speed
Racer, and James Bond, Jr.
would greatly increase the viewers to Toonami.
It makes sense to me. What do YOU think?
What happened with Dragonball Z? - by Blkcloak
11-13 - Okay, this isn't Moltar. It's actually the guy who sets this site up, Blkcloak. I was watching DBZ on 11.12, thinking I was about to see episode 54. Instead, to my surprise, it was episode 1 that I saw. The moment this registered, I though one thing... "I'm about to get a whole bunch of hate mail in my mailbox today." I was somewhat right. Many visitors here have voiced their displeasure in the turn of events, especially when I reported that Cartoon Network said they had episodes 1 thru 60. This whole Dragonball Z event brought up the Sailor Moon series as well. The major question was 'why is Toonami ending each series without finishing it first?' Here is the reason why, even though this isn't the answer from Cartoon Network.
As many may know, both Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z are Japanese anime series. That is, these series were created in and originally shown in Japan. For anyone in North America to see these episodes, a number of things have to be done. First, a company must put up the capital to bring over the series (in this case, DiC for Sailor Moon and FunMation for DBZ, I think). Then there is translation. Since all the language in the original episodes is in the Japanese dialect, it must be translated so North American audiences can understand. It does take time for translations to be completed. Then the companies must find television stations willing to air the series. In this case, Cartoon Network had to buy the rights to show both Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z.
Now, there comes good news and bad news. First, the good. As you see in the closing credits for DBZ, the last copyrighted episode for the series was 1997, so there are guaranteed more episodes in the works for release in the North American market. It's just a matter of when. Dragonball is the most popular animated series in North America right now, so expect to see more episodes before the new year. Now the bad news. These 17 episodes of Sailor Moon might be the final episodes that North America will get, even though the series actually contains 200 episodes. The reason for this is that Sailor Moon was marketed wrong when it came out in 1995 and the effects still cling to it. Noone is willing to take the chance anymore to translate the series for the North American audience, so these last 17 episodes might be the last ones for us.
There is one more very important
thing to mention, and this is to defend the Cartoon Network. Even
though they show Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z, they do not have the rights
to translate anymore episodes. It lies solely in the hands of DiC
and FunMation for the translation of any more episodes. To put it
more simply: Cartoon Network only shows the Sailor Moon and DBZ series,
they do not make them. So no matter how much you don't approve of
Cartoon Network not showing more episodes, it's really not up to them.
Keep that in mind when you write them. I hope all this helped clarify
some things for all visitors.
Back to Toonami
front page.
The 10,000 hit letter to the Cartoon Network - by Blkcloak
Subject to toonnet@aol.com: Cartoon Network, listen up
To any or all execs at the Cartoon Network,
Do not throw away this letter or take this
lightly, cause this is serious. I go by Blkcloak. I've written
afew times. I run a little space on the world wide web that goes
by the name of 'Toonami: The Unofficial.' As you can probably guess,
it deals mostly with your two-hour programming block of Toonami.
The URL to the site is:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Tokyo/Harbor/7168/toonami.html.
This site is the first real Toonami site
listed on the Yahoo! search engine and just two days ago, my site hit a
real milestone, for a fan site. It received it's 10,000th hit.
The site only opened up three months previous. That is a monumental
acheivement. It is also supposed to serve as a wake up call.
10,000 fans cannot be wrong about what they like. There are more than just that small little number that haven't gotten the chance to go to my Toonami site, because Toonami has been something neglected, both on the web and by it's creators, you, the Cartoon Network. Well, neglected is too strong a word. I, like many of the fans, geatly appreciate what you have done since creating Toonami more than a year ago. Bringing in the Thundercats, Voltron, and Robotech helped to give it life, Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z helped to solidify it. At least, so I though. Some recent incidents have been much of a concern to many of the fanbase. Let's go over it, shall we.
First, Dragonball Z. 1) The handeling of this situation has been almost appauling. I learned from the fan line that the new episodes will premeir in January, the official date being announce in a matter of weeks. This was more than a month ago. 2) Once when I had written, I had asked how many episodes of DBZ you had to show, and the responce was 60. But when episode 52 (I think) came up, we all expected to see episode 53 the next day. But it was not to be, we went back to episode #1. What was the mix-up? 3) Why did the DBZ series, in it's second showing after beginning at episode 1 again, start getting mixed up. I caught alot of heat with both these incidents, with no answer to give. Why be so secretive? As an avid Sailor Moon fan, I go to the Save Our Sailors HQ (I'm sure you know about them). We knew well in advance when the new episodes were coming. Why not so for one of the most popular animated series in North America, and for that matter, on your Toonami block at the moment, DBZ?
Next, there has been mounting unrest in the series of Superfriends and Jonny Quest. I understand that these series are owned by Warner Brothers, and since CN is a part of Time Warner, it costs you nothing to go ahead and play these series to their death. And their death it has been for some time now. Many are tired of seeing the same 20 or so episodes of Jonny Quest, and why you would have the Superfriends on Toonami is beyond me. Many of the fans that wrote me didn't like that it was there, and I, frankly, agree with them. Please understand, by saving money and showing these lame series, you are still losing something, and it's more important that all the money you have, and that's your fans. I'm no buisnessman, but even I know that if you lose your fans, you lose money. Many requests have come to me to put back on Robotech and Thundercats. I personally never watched those series too much, but even I know what would make the fans happy and I would like to see those back on as well.
Now, this is not just a complaint letter. I want to go ahead and take this chance to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for showing the new 17 episodes of Sailor Moon. You made alot of people happy by doing so and just by having Sailor Moon on your Toonami block, you have breathed life into what was thought to be a dead series by DiC. I know you have nothing to do with bringing over new episodes, so I have my own beef with DiC now. But even with that, you have helped out in ways that are too much for words. Also, congrats on snagging Dragonball Z. Very popular series and you've got it. We all hope to see more new episodes in the near future, cause I'm sure you were able to make some purchase on more of the translated part of the series, due to it's popularity.
I think most of what I have said here was said too by the fans. Toonami is more popular than I think you guys give it credit for and I think that Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z have opened up worlds of opportunity for your block. Moltar said it best in a schedule commercial some time ago. "The Revolution will be Televised." That has become the slogan for my Toonami site, because it is a revolution. By now you should see that you have something going for Toonami and by neglecting it, you turn the fans off, and more importantly for you , turn them away. Do not do this. So many have waited for something like this to come along. Anime fans have suffered some ridicule in the past, but things change. Anime is becoming more widley accepted, and Toonami has the chance to be the trailblazer for bring anime into the country and making it mainstream. Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z, you top two series for Toonami, are both anime and just show what's possible. I hope to hear from you with a well though responce to this letter. I will keep sending this until a real responce is received. This is the voice of your fans speaking. Are you listening?
Blkcloak, creator of 'Toonami: The Unofficial'
"The Revolution Will be Televised"
Okay, for the moment, this sounded pretty good. It didn't address everything that I was hoping it would, but the fact that Cartoon Network paid attention was something. He is what was sent back to me via email, of course. What CN wrote back is highlighted in yellow.
<< First, Dragonball Z. 1) The
handeling of this situation has been almost appauling. I learned
from the fan line that the new episodes will premeir in January, the official
date being announce in a matter of weeks. This was more than a month
ago. 2) Once when I had written, I had asked how many episodes of
DBZ you had to show, and the responce was 60. But when episode 52
(I think) came up, we all expected to see episode 53 the next day.
But it was not to be, we went back to episode #1. What was the mix-up?
3) Why did the DBZ series, in it's second showing after beginning at episode
1 again, start getting mixed up. I caught alot of heat with both
these incidents, with no answer to give. Why be so secretive?
As an avid Sailor Moon fan, I go to the Save Our Sailors HQ (I'm sure you
know about them). We knew well in advance when the new episodes were
coming. Why not so for one of the most popular animated series in
North America, and for that matter, on your Toonami block at the moment,
DBZ?
The other "episodes"
53-60...have been separated into 3 "movies" which will air during the coming
months.
Next, there has been mounting unrest
in the series of Superfriends and Jonny Quest. I understand that
these series are owned by Warner Brothers, and since CN is a part of Time
Warner, it costs you nothing to go ahead and play these series to their
death. And their death it has been for some time now. Many
are tired of seeing the same 20 or so episodes of Jonny Quest, and why
you would have the Superfriends on Toonami is beyond me. Many of
the fans that wrote me didn't like that it was there, and I, frankly, agree
with them. Please understand, by saving money and showing these lame
series, you are still losing something, and it's more important that all
the money you have, and that's your fans. I'm no buisnessman, but
even I know that if you lose your fans, you lose money. Many requests
have come to me to put back on Robotech and Thundercats. I personally
never watched those series too much, but even I know what would make the
fans happy and I would like to see those back on as well.
Thank you for providing
us with your thoughts and opinions regarding these cartoons.
Your input helps us know what you'd rather see in the schedule.
Now, this is not just a complaint
letter. I want to go ahead and take this chance to thank you, from
the bottom of my heart, for showing the new 17 episodes of Sailor Moon.
You made alot of people happy by doing so and just by having Sailor Moon
on your Toonami block, you have breathed life into what was thought to
be a dead series by DiC. I know you have nothing to do with bringing
over new episodes, so I have my own beef with DiC now. But even with
that, you have helped out in ways that are too much for words. Also,
congrats on snagging Dragonball Z. Very popular series and you've
got it. We all hope to see more new episodes in the near future,
cause I'm sure you were able to make some purchase on more of the translated
part of the series, due to it's popularity.
If you and other
fans continue to watch DBZ, and ratings increase, it is likely Cartoon
Network will purchase more episodes.
I think most of what I have said
here was said too by the fans. Toonami is more popular than I think
you guys give it credit for and I think that Sailor Moon and Dragonball
Z have opened up worlds of opportunity for your block. Moltar said
it best in a schedule commercial some time ago. "The Revolution will
be Televised." That has become the slogan for my Toonami site, because
it is a revolution. By now you should see that you have something
going for Toonami and by neglecting it, you turn the fans off, and more
importantly for you , turn them away. Do not do this. So many
have waited for something like this to come along. Anime fans have
suffered some ridicule in the past, but things change. Anime is becoming
more widley accepted, and Toonami has the chance to be the trailblazer
for bring anime into the country and making it mainstream. Sailor
Moon and Dragonball Z, you top two series for Toonami, are both anime and
just show what's possible. I hope to hear from you with a well though
responce to this letter. I will keep sending this until a real responce
is received. This is the voice of your fans speaking. Are you
listening?
>>
Please realize that at only 6 years old--Cartoon Network continues to grow into a network that you and all your friends will love--it's considerably different from even just 2 years ago. More cartoons will be acquired, and more schedule changes will be made, but we can assure you we'll do our best to change it for the better! Thanks for writing.
Cartoon Network Online
So, what did we all learn today people? Well, let's try to cover it in order:
1) Cartoon Network did have more DBZ episodes, but they are in the forms of the movies we will see later on Toonami Movies. Whether or not they have more episodes past that still remains to be seen.
2) Well, at least they listened to me about the fans objections to the Superfriends and Jonny Quest
3) Cartoon Network is stating that they would like to show more episodes of DBZ, but that still does not mean they will fund the translation process. So it is still a mystery if any more episodes of DBZ will ever make it to North America.
4) It is still obvious that Cartoon Network is a young station, and it really has come a long way in those six years, even more so in the last few as they mention. Toonami has also undergone some changes with the station and will continue to change. Be it for the better or worst remains to be seen.
I can't say that I'm disappointed in this letter, but I'm not really too happy with it either. It wasn't like it was a bad response, but I really was expecting more. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Maybe I should be writing to the front offices of Cartoon Network directly. I want to hear from others what you thought about this reply, be it directly to me, Blkcloak, or on the message board. We'll address this issue together.
- Blkcloak