Why doesnt AS like to air older anime?

[Zorak Masaki]

Why does Adult Swim refuse to show older anime titles (ie, pre-2000)? I know they claim that the ratings for them are poor, but there are plenty of older animes out there that still have a huge following like escaflowne, fushugi yugi, el hazard, bubblegum crisis, nadiesco, geobreeders, pet shop of horrors, etc. True, AS barely promotes anime nowadays, but by putting some more known stuff out there that fans may have heard of but never seen they could help increase the ratings.

[herbkir]

They think that the older anime titles are worn out, and anybody who wants to see them has already seen them. Also, they think that nobody would want to wait 13 or 26 weeks to see a series when they can rent or buy the whole thing on DVD or download it all in short order. (^_*)

[J'onn J'onzz]

Because most of the older shows they've bought haven't been very successful.

[Captain Highwind]

Why doesn't AS like to air any anime?

[Darklordavaitor]

Why doesn't AS like to air any anime?
Scratch that, why doesn't [as] like to promote the anime they do buy?

[RomanMack]

Probably because they've been burnt by some that they did indeed promote.

[warnerbroman]

Because most of the older shows they've bought haven't been very successful.was trigun bad?

[airfighter]

Probably because they've been burnt by some that they did indeed promote.

That's just making a bad thing worse then, which would make buying no anime at all (except for those they are willing to promote, if any) a wiser choice.

[creativerealms]

bebop and Trigun did well but then those were two of the first Anime to air on AS. Yet besides those two the older titles they aired never really did that well. I don't even think evangelion did that good. Of course that was probably because by the time Adult Swim aired the show just about anyone who wanted to watch it already had.

also it is clear that Adult Swim really does not want to air anime at all anymore. It's not like when the block started they seemed hyped to air anime. of course heads change and with them so do opinions.

[garfield15]

God, I miss s-CRY-ed...

[Jayngfet]

I loved s-CRY-ed.

[frostedone]

Why not try to air The Slayers? It is old, but very good and not everyone has seen it.

[Antiyonder]

Considering that:

1. Old sitcoms such as the ones on TV Land air.
2. Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry episodes from decades past are still doing well.
3. Old movies like Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory seem to merit repeat viewings.

I don't see why old anime should be treated as the source of all evil. Unlike the aforemention things listed above, the majority of old anime would be new to us US viewers.

Going with some I suggested before, though, you'd think Ranma and Maison Ikkoku would merit some exception since they share the same creator as Inuyasha. I mean, don't viewers show more willing to view outside their prefered programs if their favorite creative team are involved?

[Captain Highwind]

I don't see why old anime should be treated as the source of all evil. Unlike the aforemention things listed above, the majority of old anime would be new to us US viewers.


Not to mention old anime is usually hard to find on DVD anyways... >>

[Jill Faye]

That's not true. They've recently shown Inu-Yasha, Fullmetal, and Cowboy Bebop. So they seem to like showing some of their older shows than acquiring newer ones.

[Zorak Masaki]

That's not true. They've recently shown Inu-Yasha, Fullmetal, and Cowboy Bebop. So they seem to like showing some of their older shows than acquiring newer ones.

By older anime i meant aquiring older shows like the ones mentioned in my initial post. As for those shows, the oldest one is Cowboy Bebop and thats from 1998 (when it first aired on AS it was only 4 yrs old).

[jph139]

Pssh. I'm glad they stream the old shows they still own online... with the ratings anime pull in, I can't imagine why they still buy new shows, nevermind old ones. (Of course, it's partially their fault in the first place, but I think we've gone down that road enough.) Big O, Paranoia Agent, Fullmetal Alchemist? Never would have seen them without the streams. So, be glad they do that, insteading of just dumping everything after airing it once.

Big O's ending blew my mind, by the way. I mean, like, whoa.

[Jill Faye]

Does [AS] stream Scryed or Kikiader?

[Ace Goodheart]

Does [AS] stream Scryed or Kikiader?

"Kikaider" is long gone. The broadcast rights must've lapped at least four years ago. "S-Cry-Ed" has been gone for 2-3 years already so that's another no go.

"Cowboy Bebop", "Inuyasha", "Big O" (second season co-produced/funded by Cartoon Network) and "Fooly Cooly" are Adult Swim's "sacred four": they've held on to them all for over five years since they premiered them. I'd say that Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in The Shell and Super Milk Chan are in their second tier of valuable anime. Stuff like Death Note, Blood+ is currently in limbo and will most likely be kept off the air until their broadcast rights expire (DN still runs on AS's VoD channel). I reckon that "Bleach" is the heir apparent to "Inuyasha"'s throne on AS (just like "Naruto" is to "Dragon Ball Z" on regular CN)........if they don't eliminate anime before it ever finishes.

Every other anime not mentioned, to my re-collection, Adult Swim no longer has the broadcast rights to. "Samurai Champloo" was a recent victim, finishing its AS run on their VOD channel.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Originally posted by RomanMack
Probably because they've been burnt by some that they did indeed promote.

Uh, you mean the anime that didn't do well that they only had a couple of promos for at best anyway? Seriously the shows that haven't done well on Adult Swim either weren't promoted all that much or were shows AS knew only had a niche auidence anyway for. They still bothered to at least do SOME promos for them, even if just like a couple a few days before the show aired. Not so much anymore. Besides some of they're own comedy shows have failed and yet they would still promote them anyway so it has nothing to do with fear of failure. AS is simply being cheap. No way around it: acquiring anime isn't that expensive but making the ads for it is obviously too big a price for them nowadays. Which has to be one of the saddest things I've seen but is pretty much undeniably true.

On Topic, there is a reason why Adult Swim dosen't SERIOUSLY air old anime anymore. (By seriously I'm not counting Astro Boy which was a quickie acquisiton to occupy some slots that use to not be used by any shows with actual premieres until last week as well as Shin Chan which is fairly old but also done with a dub that skews to Family Guideesque crowd). It's not just because of people seeing it, or because they don't want to bother with anime. It's because the animation is old and has been proven multiple times on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, people aren't interested in old animation anymore. We've gotten to the age where if it's not digitally colored and animated people are going to notice and turn off the TV. That's what happened to Lupin and Case Closed: People couldn't get over the age of the shows and most of them simply stopped watching because of that fact. And having such big popular old names fail AS isn't going to take anymore kinds of "risks" like showing more old anime. Either they're acquiring it fairly new or (more likley now) not at all. Just a fact of life people. It's the same reason why Cartoon Network or any other regular network (besides spinoff channels like Toon Disney or even Boomerang) don't: kids aren't into old animation and neither are most adults. That's the simplest explanation for it.

[Antiyonder]

It's because the animation is old and has been proven multiple times on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, people aren't interested in old animation anymore.

Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry would suggest otherwise, and they're even older. And it's not that old animation is necessarily out of interest, but execs thinking that shows have to explode with ratings to be good (compared to say last decade when mild successes were considered acceptable by the networks). Plus Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends seems to do well on Jetix despite being a product of the 80s.

Now if and when execs get over the whole "Every show has to be top rating" mentality, we may get more samplings of the classics.


That's what happened to Lupin and Case Closed: People couldn't get over the age of the shows and most of them simply stopped watching because of that fact.

I always thought the problems with Case Closed stemmed from it airing too late to get an audience and the fact that murder plots aside, it was a great deal tamer for the AS audience.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Originally posted by Antiyonder
Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry would suggest otherwise, and they're even older. And it's not that old animation is necessarily out of interest, but execs thinking that shows have to explode with ratings to be good (compared to say last decade when mild successes were considered acceptable by the networks). Plus Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends seems to do well on Jetix despite being a product of the 80s.

I should of noted that there are a few exceptions to the rule.

1. Shows that have been really popular in the past and continued to be popular (like Dragonball Z before it was taken off Toonami earlier this year).

2. Shows that are decently popular but are still connected to well funded franchises coming out with new material. (Thus why you see Tom and Jerry and Scooby Doo on the air since there are still T&J movies and SD shows and movies coming out in some form or another). That's why they're still on the air but nothing else Looney Tunes related (besides the occasional showing of "Tweety's High Flying Adventure" and Baby Looney Tunes which don't really count... no offense to anyone who likes those programs)


Now if and when execs get over the whole "Every show has to be top rating" mentality, we may get more samplings of the classics.

You're right though: A lot of it also has to do with Execs nowadays afraid of taking the risks they use to. CN and other networks use to let shows try and build more of an auidence and not need to be instant successes in order to continue on. Unfourantley due to either execs loosing patients or TV shows being too expsenive to continue on the air unless they're bonafide hits out of the park there isn't the breaking process there use to be. This is espically true with CN, since any original show no matter how popular or well off it still is only continues on for a limited period, the 78 episode/6 season mark and then gets booted off for something else.


I always thought the problems with Case Closed stemmed from it airing too late to get an audience and the fact that murder plots aside, it was a great deal tamer for the AS audience.

Well it aired at 12:30AM at first and was preceeded by ATHF which does well ratings wise. Besides since AS airs ratings around 12:30 (even around these days) the overall ratings for those slots can't be too low. Premieres have also done decent at 12:30 so it couldn't be just that. And uh I don't really think the tamnenss of an anime has to do with the fact it will do well or not. Inuyasha and Bleach are fairly tame for the most part and they did well. I guess though it could also be that Case Closed was actually more intentcually moving then most shows and people didn't want to bother to try and play along with the mysteries and gave up on the show. Either way though the fact it was tradiionally animated was a turn off for some who watched it and is a factor (if not the key one) to AS not bothering to acquire old anime anymore. (Evangelion only went on because of how much hype it recieved by EVERYONE in the anime community. Unless there was something that was able to surpass it's hype then there'd be no show AS would let on it's block that has long since passed).

[Antiyonder]

And uh I don't really think the tamnenss of an anime has to do with the fact it will do well or not. Inuyasha and Bleach are fairly tame for the most part and they did well.

Except that I often heard that the show was a mixed bag in that it couldn't be marketed as a kids show with the murder mysteries, but the content level aside from the murder mystery wasn't as sufficiently high either.

I think the show could have had a better chance if CN had started the PG Non Adult Swim shows sooner.

But it seems we agree that old animation in general isn't a turnoff, but that the execs try too hard to be hip.

[Jayngfet]

I liked case closed and Lupin.

Am I the only one seeing elfin lied on [AS], I know it's impossible but it seems their style, with the gory naked catgirls.

[frostedone]

Elfin Lied has no chance at all of being shown on AS. You would need to edit/blur half of each episode...


Come on Slayers though! That show would be perfect.

[Zorak Masaki]

Elfin Lied has no chance at all of being shown on AS. You would need to edit/blur half of each episode...


Come on Slayers though! That show would be perfect.

Theres 3 seperate slayers series though, that might be too much of a commitment for AS.

[SSJPabs]

But it seems we agree that old animation in general isn't a turnoff, but that the execs try too hard to be hip. Except the animation in Cased Closed was low quality regardless of it's age. It was all angles. That said I was a big fan of Lupin 3.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

You know, I think Toonami being cancelled is enough of a reason to answer why AS won't air Old Anime: AS is still a part of Cartoon Network and still has indulges in samplings of they're overall thinking. And it's obvious in Cartoon Network's attempt to be "hip", "trendy" and "ratings savy" they're desperatley forgetting all of they're old programs and shows and trying to go with the new things. In other words they're just hating on they're history. And obviously AS is indulging in that as well since history would show that anime has a place on AS and can do well if given the right amount of care. And obviously that history has been buried to 5:30AM in the morning if you want to see the latest AS anime acquistion. You really think if they're going to treat a new show like that they'd treat an old show any better? Maybe if it was a joke, since AS likes to indulge in sick jokes. But nothing actual that would show they're age since that'd ruin they're savy image. Bottom line: You won't find any old anime on AS since they just don't care for they're history, espically they're anime history. So they're obviously not going to care to go into anime's history to try and pull up some new shows. Sad but it obviously very very true.

[blitzkrieg]

Considering that:

1. Old sitcoms such as the ones on TV Land air.
2. Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry episodes from decades past are still doing well.
3. Old movies like Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory seem to merit repeat viewings.

1. And pretty much all of them have a larger fanbase than any anime showing in America. Also they've already made their money several times over making them rather cheap to air compared to the ratings they get.
2. Children will watch most anything. And once again, they've made their money several times over, have a larger fanbase than any anime showing in America, and are cheap to air.
3. Once again, large fanbase, cheap to air, have already made their money several times over.

To be completely honest, it is not that much of a stretch to say that a not-horrible business model is to create a cable channel and show nothing but public domain materials, reruns of old shows and infomercials.

[Antiyonder]

1. And pretty much all of them have a larger fanbase than any anime showing in America. Also they've already made their money several times over making them rather cheap to air compared to the ratings they get.
2. Children will watch most anything. And once again, they've made their money several times over, have a larger fanbase than any anime showing in America, and are cheap to air.
3. Once again, large fanbase, cheap to air, have already made their money several times over.

To be completely honest, it is not that much of a stretch to say that a not-horrible business model is to create a cable channel and show nothing but public domain materials, reruns of old shows and infomercials.

Regardless, they are old, and would be rejected by the viewer if old things were dreaded. I still go with the theory NUM and I agree on.

Execs simply have the mindset of a shallow trendy teen where anything not currently should be treated like a plague. Afterall, going with the whole inserting enthusiasm in your product, how can you expect consumers to enjoy the product if you do not enjoy putting it out there?


Except the animation in Cased Closed was low quality regardless of it's age.

Doesn't it improve in the later episodes? Besides, while I'm not saying the art design is perfect, does the show really look that bad?


I should of noted that there are a few exceptions to the rule.

1. Shows that have been really popular in the past and continued to be popular (like Dragonball Z before it was taken off Toonami earlier this year).

2. Shows that are decently popular but are still connected to well funded franchises coming out with new material. (Thus why you see Tom and Jerry and Scooby Doo on the air since there are still T&J movies and SD shows and movies coming out in some form or another).

Relating to this I need to ask again, shouldn't that qualify Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku for a chance to air? I'd think afterall that old or new, that viewers would tune into anything if advertised as "From The Creator Of Inuyasha".


That's why they're still on the air but nothing else Looney Tunes related (besides the occasional showing of "Tweety's High Flying Adventure" and Baby Looney Tunes which don't really count... no offense to anyone who likes those programs)

As I understand it CN only has access to the shorts prior to 49 and don't want to run them because of personal disputes with WB.

[Creme]

I wondered the same thing. Lupin is the last anime they really aired that is an older anime.
I mean look at Escaflowne, Tekkaman Blade, Rurouni Kenshin. All older anime that I think would have a great reception if they were to air on adult swim.

And as for newer anime, I think the CN audience is getting tired of it, the old school fans want more variety. I can see why Code Geass wouldn't do well on AS, but I'm kind of surprised that Moribito didn't do too well at first

[chdr]

AS does like old anime, they just know that they wouldn't get respectable ratings, so they put them at 5 in the morning.

The original 1950's Astroboy is apparently Lazzo's most favorite cartoon of all time.