Post
by obiwan23s » Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:06 am
Honestly, CN's current stance on anime doesn't really surprise me. Anime in the North American market really hit its stride in the early 2000s and has been in decline ever since. I mean, think of how many big anime distributors there were in 2003 when it seemed like every popular show in Japan was getting picked up for home video release over here. Now it's just, what, Funimation, Viz and Bandai as the big guns? To me, anime seems like a big risk for a cable channel. Even Dragon Ball Z, as wrong as that sounds considering how Z pretty much made Toonami as big as it was. I think CN knows every little kid that loved DBZ back then is out of college (or close to it) with better things to do with their time than tune in for 30 minutes of nostalgia every day. I'm not saying there are fans who wouldn't watch it religiously, just that it likely won't draw nearly as large an audience as it did at the height of its popularity.
I wish Kai the best as far as the broadcast goes. I watched the clips on the Nick website and while I still think some of the old voice actors don't fit their characters, I like the script overhaul. If at some point Kai overtakes Z as the preferred method for new fans to experience the show (and let's face it, slashing the episode count in half will do that), and that person watches it dubbed, at least they'll get to experience the story the right way.
And on the topic of CN's demise, I'll just say this. I love the hell out of Adult Swim. I think most of its original programming is great and acquiring Family Guy and King of the Hill were great moves. Brit Block needs to go and I won't be shocked if and when they axe anime on Saturday nights. But I am genuinely embarrassed sometimes when I'll fall asleep watching Family Guy and wake up to the filth they have on in the mornings. But I suppose one man's filth is a six year old's treasure.
!
She/Her 
