Perhaps the real reason Gundam SEED and .hack//Legend are gone

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Their contracts ran out.

The way they always showed .hack// seemed to me as a forced airing due to contract. I think it actually did okay ratings wise at least compared to Gundam SEED but something about the amass over airing seems as if they had to "keep it on the air" and the same was probably true of Gundam SEED. But April is here and that means at least SEED's contract is probably over (2 years since April 2004 afterall and I believe some folks have speculated that while CN didn't air it until summer, .hack//Legend was also picked up about the same time as Gundam SEED. That may or may not be true. But at any rate they were both picked up 2 years ago. So their contracts probably expired or would soon (though Legend just had a single episode left so I wonder why they didn't just air it other than thinking when YYH was over they'd throw that out as well).

Yu Yu Hakusho's contract may have expired by now as well. Though it wasn't picked up in Spring it was picked up by Toonami in March of 2003. Or perhaps they just don't want to rerun it when a CN original comedy rerun would get better ratings. But at least they finished it.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that in may very well be the case that all 3 of those series or at least 2 of them simply can't air on CN anymore. So what this means to me is I can't schedule them in fantasty Toonami network schedules... but what it means to CN is well... they wont air again for better or worse.

I'm sure many of you figured that out already or at least considered it but I thought a discussion on the topic is still in order.

[Ultra Mike]

Hmmm Contracts running out is a pretty good theory (it at least explains why they lasted so long on CN and why they moved to the late hour instead of just disappearing completley when Old CC Toons/Action Originals/Fridays repeats came), although I believe that the .Hack series started around early summer 2004 so in theory it could air again even though it probably ever won't. The entire reason for the late night anime block as said before was to test some boundaries on airing anime so late at night. I actually think that expirement succeeded due to getting the Miyazaki movies uneditted and TV-PG Naruto.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

they're both bandai properties so I kind of figured they wanted them pulled to get people ready for the coming sequels :confused:

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Well I'd believe that if there was any sign of Destiny airing on CN soon but well... there isn't.

And .hack//ROOTS looks like it could be a bit too fanservicey for CN and reguardless wont be in the US any time soon.

[Lord Mawdryn]

I wouldn't be surprised if expired contracts were indeed the reason, but CN certainly did viewers a disservice by running Seed as a bi-weekly series and preventing it from running one last time in its entirety. At 50 or so episodes, quite a few people never saw it from beginning to end as it was frequently bounced around different timeslots without warning and occasionally preempted...

I guess we can call the Gundam era on Cartoon Network officially closed now.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Quite possibly Gundam will never air on CN again. Destiny is it's chance for salvation but it would take a moment of vision for them to see it as anything more the sequel to a failure they've just dumped. But if they don't get Desinty they wont get the next series and they certainly wont get any of the older series that haven't been brought over yet nor Zeta and ZZ.

So it could be years before we see Gundam again (after Japan gets over SEED) or it may never air again. Which is a shame because I love Gundam and I know a lot of other folks that do as well but unfortunately none are CN's demographic anymore and Adult Swim doesn't want Gundam either. If Eureka 7 tanks they may never get another mecha period.

[EscaflownePilot]

So it could be years before we see Gundam again (after Japan gets over SEED) or it may never air again. Which is a shame because I love Gundam and I know a lot of other folks that do as well but unfortunately none are CN's demographic anymore and Adult Swim doesn't want Gundam either. If Eureka 7 tanks they may never get another mecha period.Which sucks beyond words. Gundam is largely what brought me into Toonami and anime in general, and seeing the possibility of any more Gundam, or even all mecha anime (like you said, I get the feeling Eureeka 7 could be a make-it-or-break-it for mecha anime on CN, [as] or otherwise), airing on CN again being so low just because of how demographicized CN is now, just plain sucks.

It's ironic that while anime editing standards are getting so lose on CN, their risk-taking tendencies and the diversity of their acquisitions (both in theme and maturity) are plumetting. I almost long for the days when it was the other way around.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

Hmmm Contracts running out is a pretty good theory (it at least explains why they lasted so long on CN and why they moved to the late hour instead of just disappearing completley when Old CC Toons/Action Originals/Fridays repeats came), although I believe that the .Hack series started around early summer 2004 so in theory it could air again even though it probably ever won't.

if I remember right CN never even announced having Legend it just appeared on the schedule one day and people speculated it came with something else...Seed maybe? :confused: if they were acquired together it makes sense the contracts end at the same time


Well I'd believe that if there was any sign of Destiny airing on CN soon but well... there isn't.

And .hack//ROOTS looks like it could be a bit too fanservicey for CN and reguardless wont be in the US any time soon.

well both are still real hot properties and any air time is better than none so I think Bandai will try hard and both will appear on CN at some point

[HellCat]

I can buy the contracts theory. I believe I said likewise when it originally got rescheduled. After MSG, Bandai would want to cover their ass.

As for Gundam never airing again- hopefully Bandai are working on a solid heavy hitter that the US will eat up. SEED was originally intended to work in both the US and Japan but when it became a success Japan threw that out the window and pushed for something that fits their own standards. We all know what happened next.

[Captain Highwind]

Did anybody ever get Tales of Eternia dubbed? From the few episodes I've seen, it looks like the equivalent of .hack//Legend if they ever need a replacement.

[Emperor Fred]

With all this talk of Yu Yu Hakusho running on Funimation Channel and in syndication recently, its days on Cartoon Network have seemed numbered for a while now.

[The Fullmetal]

But if they don't get Desinty they wont get the next series and they certainly wont get any of the older series that haven't been brought over yet nor Zeta and ZZ.

Zeta came out in December of '04, buddy. ;)

[Zechs]

I thought it was because the ratings we so-so. Whatever the reason I don't think their will be another gundam series for a while. CN and AS seem to be going more the regular action route. I would dare to say it may even be a while befor they get another mech related anime.

[Master Moron]

Wouldn't it be a big coincidence if the contracts for .Hack, Gundam Seed, and Yu Yu Hakusho all ended the same week? I think it's far more likely that they saw that Yu Yu Hakusho was showing its last episode and figured they might as well get rid of the block.

[Dogasu]

Zeta came out in December of '04, buddy. ;)
But it aired between 1985 and 1986 in Japan, making it way too old for CN to even consider airing now. They may have given it a chance five years ago, but nowadays CN doesn't seem to want to pick up anything that came out before 1998.

[MilkManX]

CN is crap now. They have no concern with any shows other than the ones they make themselves. I tried to watch Gundam SEED on there but they kept switching the time and day so I just gave up.

[The Fullmetal]

CN is crap now. They have no concern with any shows other than the ones they make themselves.

That is not true and you know it. They didn't make Naruto, and look how well they're treating that series.


I tried to watch Gundam SEED on there but they kept switching the time and day so I just gave up.

They only changed the timeslot twice, and the second time, the series already had a full run.

[MilkManX]

That is not true and you know it. They didn't make Naruto, and look how well they're treating that series.

For now, its new so they have been running lots of reruns. Certain shows get this coverage on CN. Justice League doesnt,Gundam(besides Wing) has never gotten a nice slot from CN. I dont know what they consider to get that treatment but most of the time it isnt stuff I love. Naruto is pretty cool but I would rather be watching Gundam SEED Destiny also.