Gephyrophillia #212

Originally Posted on 10/28/2009 by Jeff Harris

Naruto Shippuden premiered on Disney XD this week, and I won't be watching. No, it's not because of some loyalty to the franchise's former network that decides it wants to keep it real for some asinine reason (trust me, that bridge has burned a long, long time ago). It isn't because I have a sudden dislike towards all things Japanese (I don't, though some otakus rub me the wrong way with their blatant anti-Western stance and comments). It's not even because I feel that Naruto is a very overrated franchise that people latch themselves to because it kind of reminds them of Dragon Ball (seriously, Naruto is not the next Dragon Ball Z and will never reach its popularity here in the States).

I don't have Disney XD. I'm not planning on getting it anytime soon either. But that's a problem that could easily be remedied. Unfortunately, the lack of availability of Disney XD is just one of many problems that is plaguing the anime industry. The industry has almost evaporated in this country. It's still around, but there aren't many showcases for those shows like there used to be. I'm not just talking about Toonami either. Adult Swim's anime offerings are limited to just one night a week, as are Syfy's programming. Once upon a time, anime used to be found in almost all hours of the day on television. Now, unless you have access to Funimation's own network or The Anime Network's VOD service, you're not seeing anime. At least good anime.

Nearly every Japanese production on the air on mainstream networks are based on gaming properties. Perhaps because there hasn't been a substantial, continuous non-game-related, marketable, relatable property introduced in almost three years. There is nothing comparable to Dragon Ball nor even Naruto or One Piece out there. If it is, it's going to have a harder time making an impact Stateside than its predecessors.

And yet, for some reason, I'm finding uncomfortable pleasure in the downfall of 4Kids Entertainment. Why? Because aside from single-handedly destroying Fox's Saturday morning lineup and Kids' WB's overwhelming dominance of Saturdays, the company was largely responsible for the direction of anime in the mainstream as a vessel for game-influenced programming. The only bright side of the company, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is no longer theirs starting in September 2010 (in case you missed it, Nickelodeon owns the property outright). The only thing that's left are more game-based shows, and while fans of 4Kids scoff about how insignificant TMNT was to the company, in the long run, it's a major loss and exposes 4Kids for what they really are: a one-trick pony that pretty much created the market where Bakugan and Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds are on Cartoon Network while Naruto and One Piece aren't.

And why Viz has their biggest property on a network that a lot of people don't get and has their series edited down further than it had been in a previous life.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
Creator/Webmaster, The X Bridge.