Adult Swim is killing anime
Adult Swim is killing anime. Or at least, their own efforts to bring anime to U.S. shores. The network that ushered in a new era of popularity for shows like Cowboy Bebop, Wolf’s Rain, and Fullmetal Alchemist, has just banished two of their latest acquisitions to the 5-6 a.m graveyard slot. ‘Tis a sad day indeed.
As of yesterday, Sept. 14th, Code Geass and Moribito are on at 5 a.m. That’s right, five in the morning. Shin Chan? Gone completely from the schedule. The Saturday night block is now dominated by Adult Swim’s own original series, and Fullmetal Alchemist, a show they’ve reaired several times already. The only real new anime they’re showing is Bleach, and they’ve been notoriously slow with keeping up with new episodes there.
So the obvious question is, why? The obvious, but wrong, answer is low ratings. But Adult Swim’s own ratings numbers contradict that theory:
Highest Rated Adult Swim
Programs Saturday 8/23/08
[Viewers 18-34]Code Geass 251,000
Bleach 246,000
Shin Chan 239,000
Both Shin Chan and Code Geass were doing comparably well with Bleach. Yet, they’re gone. There must be something else at work here.
The answer to the question could be something that Gen Fukunaga hinted at back at Anime Expo:
Fukunaga headed up some really informed and on point questions in the Q&A session (i give mad respect to the anime fans, they know their stuff). One of the questions brought up why One Piece isn’t on Cartoon Network anymore. Fukunaga explained that CN didn’t feel that the show progressed quickly enough to capture the American fan’s interest, but then he also said that Cartoon Network is looking to reduce the number of anime they show anyway.
Now, Turner Broadcasting did split off Adult Swim from Cartoon Network for purposes of Nielsen ratings, but the two are still connected. It seems like Cartoon Network/Adult Swim is committed to reducing anime.
But why?
There are many theories, but one is common and is probably closest to the truth. Properties that CN/AS owns bring them more money. Adult Swim gets no cash from those Code Geass DVDs, or Code Geass merchandise, and it costs them quite a bit of money to get broadcast rights. On the other hand, money that comes in from shows like Venture Brothers, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Metalocaplyse is all theirs, and they have complete control of where the shows go.
As usual, it all comes down to profit.
Granted, Adult Swim’s website still has the latest episode of Code Geass on their website, and people can always set their DVRs or Tivos to record the 5 a.m. viewings. But all indications point to anime on Adult Swim being on the road to extinction.
Is this sad? Yes. Will it hurt the U.S. anime industry? Yes. But there’s still some hope for anime on U.S. airwaves. SciFi’s AniMonday is still going strong with Gurren Lagann and Now and Then, Here and There, and Gundam 00 is coming in November. Maybe SciFi, a network with not much quality programming to begin with, will pick up the mantle and run with it. Maybe efforts to bring all-anime channels like Anime Network to cable will get more backing from the US licensing companies.
In the meantime, anime fans will still find ways to watch their favorites and find new shows. But Adult Swim is one of the few “free” options for anime viewing around here. Without it, people will just go back to their pirated episodes, and that’s not a good situation for an already struggling anime industry.
Technorati Tags: anime, Adult Swim, Code Geass, Moribito, Cartoon Network
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Honestly I find it hard to be surprised or concerned by your post. I’ve been saying for a long time now now that AS abuses the anime it broadcasts; there have been many obvious examples over the years (anyone else remember the April Fool’s Day joking that ruined the Witch Hunter Robin premiere episode?).
Having an ultimate goal of profits is fine, and if they wanted to they could promote more US anime and support the starving anime fans at the same time. But they don’t respect anime, or the fans, so it’s only about the quick buck. It’s not that different from the Sci-Fi Channel running wrestling while cancelling genre shows. The result is a large number of genre fans who no longer respect the Sci-Fi Channel, and the same thing’s happened to Adult Swim.
I got fed up with Adult Swim last year, and I simply stopped watching their shows, permanently. Everyone should do that, and just maybe the Adult Swim/CN people will get what they’ve earned.
My simple solution for the anime problem is Netflix. Now I have all the anime I could ever watch, without editing, and without waiting. It’s great.
Comment made on September 14, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
Simple solution would be to buy one of the studios that does the English dubs. I think one of them was having problems (or went out of business). ADV, or Genno (spelling?) I dunno. It would probably be cheaper in the long term, plus you’d have control of the DVD revenue and what not.
Code Geass is a great Anime. Season 2 is almost over. Bleach is in a hugely boring part right now. What they need to bring over is One Piece. A good, uncut version with better voice acting. One Piece is consistently in the top 10 in Japan, and there is no reason it could not be in the US.
Comment made on September 15, 2008 @ 12:28 am
RE: Netflix
Eh… There still isn’t enough instant viewing anime… not stuff that we haven’t all already seen on one channel or another… Mostly kid stuff IMO. We definitely need an Anime Network 24/7 or a Funimation Channel. Though what would be even better? An all anime service that uses Roku and web viewing for distribution! I’d pay mad buck for something like that! All I ask is that they give it its own stock ticker so I can say I own part of it! Hell maybe finance it by soliciting otaku as shareholders! Yeah!
Comment made on September 20, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
BOYCOTT ADULT SWIM AND CARTOON NETWORK NOW FOR THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD ANIME SHOW THE SEPT.11 ADULT SWIM BLOCK CHANGE IS THE LAST STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL BACK I CALL FOR AN ALL OUT BOYCOTT OF ADULT SWIM COMEDY AND MERCHANDISE AND WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT PROTESTING THE COMPANY FOR THE DECISIONS THEY MADE.
Comment made on September 21, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
HELL YEAH MAKE THOSE F@#$%RS PAY FOR RUINING MY SATURDAYS!!!
Comment made on September 27, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
Just this past weekend, both Code Geass and Moribito were not aired. I was sad. Not only because my favorite shows were canceled, but sad about how CN and AS treat their viewers. CN and AS have zero respect for their viewers. Without Code Geass and Moribito, I don’t watch any of AS’s original craps. Just like Sony’s high price PS3 launch, an arrogant corporation that doesn’t listen to it fans is doomed to fail. Now, it is Adult Swim’s time to fail. I am boycotting AS in revenge of Lelouch’s death on Adult Swim.
Comment made on September 29, 2008 @ 6:01 pm
Those shows aren’t cancelled (yet), it was just BK night, where a fan gets to pick the lineup. Both shows are back next weekend.
Comment made on September 29, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
I used to work for Turner. One thing I haven’t seen brought up is that we are seeing the death of Adult Swim itself. Adult Swim has never been a moneymaking unit for CN or for the Turner holdings of Time Warner. Such units, as long as they didn’t grossly embarrass themselves (as in ATHF Boston Bomb Scare of 2007), were tolerated, the slack being picked up by more lucrative holdings like CNN. My feeling is Adult Swim has made a series of disastrous decisions making it untenable to keep. Their original programming has been very inconsistent and if they paid more than they should have for some of their many “stinkers” then that further builds the case for getting rid of them. That’s the only reason I can see for the move of two programs they already paid for into dead time slots. My guess is Cartoon Network ordered that move to further break down the unit. Toonami is dead–Adult Swim is right behind them. Smart people at AS are polishing resumes and sending them out.
They will most likely rebuild the weekend lineup to more closely resemble the usual CN programming. Shows like Family Guy are a natural progression of the type of infantilized American style animation seen during their prime hours that is their bread and butter. This is all part of a corporate restructuring that’s been going on for some time. If you read between the lines in the corporate announcements, it’s pretty clear where they are headed.
The Sci-Fi Network is a much better fit for anime in the end. Hopefully you are right and they will pick up the reins for anime on basic cable.
Comment made on October 4, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Thanks Rose, for your very intelligent and informative comment ^_^
Comment made on October 4, 2008 @ 1:02 pm
Hie my name is keith kelson I love anime alot and adult swim and I was wondering if I could get a coreer with adult swim because I am very good at drawing anime and a lot of people say that I have a adult skill in drawing and I have a lot of experience of gitting a coreer.
Comment made on October 15, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
The reason Adult Swim is dying is is that Adult swim got too damn big for their britches, hired too many people, costs went up, too many people, not enough cash to go around. Adult Swim should have stayed lean and mean, but instead they seemed to want to bankroll any inane show they could get, I mean who really though Tim and Eric were so damned hot in the first place…. Plus you have the two creators of ATHF who though that just because they hit gold on Aqua Teen meant they could go produce more kits but non of their stuff turned out to be good. All the stuff created by them has been crap and any show out that not produced by “Williams Street” has had to do double time to justify it’s existence (Venture Bros, Stroker and hoop, Anime etc….). While any shows with the William Steet logo can just coast by with mediocre drivel.
Really the only thing that honestly has supported the Comedy Block has been Family Guy and Futurama, and now that they lost Futurama, the writing is on the wall. Adult swim is going to die in obscurity, and that is too bad, but they themselves killed it.
The time slot it was on was pretty much a graveyard shift for channels showing cartoons, but they filled it up with pretty good stuff and that helped the ratings, at one point they outdid Jay Leno for chrissakes, pretty good for a basic cable channel.
I think they died when they started producing more than 1/2 their content on their own. Costs went way up, gross profits stayed the same down, Net profits took a plunge. If they were just paying for licensing of series and a staff of say 4 or 6 people to do promos and programming then they would still bet at the top of their game. Just how many people do they need to program pre-made shows in the middle of the night anyways????
I just wonder what the cost of licensing an anime series is compared to producing a horrible show about cartoon squids is anyways.
Adult Swim was literally killed by it’s own success….
Comment made on October 24, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
The reason why they are doing this is because AS isn’t making any profit from the anime since its from another company, they make profit with their original crap, although, they need to stop and think twice about it because most of them are complete shit. Bleach is the “Naruto” of Adult Swim, so they have no choice but to keep it there. Full Metal Alchemist is already over, but I guess there’s some fanboys that likes it so I guess they THINK it will boost the rating a bit to keep them awake for the next show.. original…
Shitty Adult Swim…
I guess its all for the money.
Comment made on October 26, 2008 @ 4:54 pm
u no wat fuck them if they die i hope Ted Turner old an dliberal ass have enough sense to make an anime block that show violence anime such as bleach uncut for couple of hours on cartoon network on saturday night is dat too much to ask for Turner u no wat we should be saying fuck u i wont listen to what u tell me bitch ass adult swim president mkie lazzo damn i just want code geass back to like 1 o clock morbito is not that interseting wish they bring ruroni kenshin uncut that something
Comment made on November 1, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
It was already imminent, AS has been dead for a year already in Australia/NZ. However the solution that I think would be best would be to have the ads for the DVDs appear every 5 or so minutes next to the CN logo. It worked Madman Entertainment(until they ran out of shows) so it can probably work for Bandai, ADV etc.
That way AS makes money and the viewers get their anime.
Comment made on November 3, 2008 @ 1:17 am