How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

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Fireminer
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How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by Fireminer »

I did not live through the Pokemon craze, so I have no idea how big of a deal was the Pokemon anime. Can anyone tell me how big was it, and how long did the show stay in public's consciousness in America? I really want to see for myself how long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime show can last, with Bakugan returning and all--around roughly ten years ago, I couldn't go anywhere in my junior high without seeing people playing Bakugan.
runesaint
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by runesaint »

My first thought directed me to here -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_h ... franchises
Pokemon as a franchise is larger than Hello Kitty, Micky Mouse, Disney Princess movies, Marvel movies, Harry Potter..
Actually Pokemon is worth more than the Marvel Cinematic universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the Transformers put together.
Glancing around that list, I also see Gundam, Hokuto no Ken, and Barbie..so..
I also point out that Winnie the Pooh dates from 1924.. so...
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DKop
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by DKop »

Pokemon hit the market hard towards the end of 1998. I got my copy of Pokemon Red for Christmas that year, and still have my copy to this day. It really didn't hit full stride till I think spring or summer of 1999. What helped market the show was not just the video games, but the anime that aired weekday mornings at 6:30 am on the WB channel. Since television was still the only way to watch cartoons way before streaming is the norm now, the show aired at the perfect timeslot that was right when kids were waking up to get ready for school. I was in 6th grade when the Pokemon craze happened, so I'd make sure to wake up by 6:30am to watch the show before catching the bus.

Retail played a big role, as it always has in the past with brick and mortar stores. Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, KayBee Toys, FYE, Suncoast, Coconuts, Sam Goody, EB Games/Gamestop/Babbages/etc all carried Pokemon merchandise, and when you push merchandise where you can house the video games and the toys then it's all the more reason for Pokemon to take off. I remember really seeing Pokemon tapes at Suncoast for the first time at Cary Towne Mall when I lived in North Carolina as a kid. Fast food joints also had promotion toys for kids, so that boosted the exposure even more. The same thing happened when Dragonball Z figures were sold at Burger King, and that played I believe a major factor to show that Dragonball Z was getting big as well that summer of 1999.

Pokemon is still on TV afaik. It's jumped from different networks over the years, and is still getting exposure even now through streaming services. TV still exists to see anime, you can't watch anime without one, but its just changing from the cable chord and network television stations to streaming services. The technology is evolving, and the fanbase just goes with it.
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Akage
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by Akage »

It also had the knock-on effect of blowing up anime in the US during the late 90s-early 2000s. Every company wanted to be responsible for bringing the next Pokémon to the US. I don't think I've seen the amount of anime merchandise released for several different properties since that era. All sorts of things came out of the works - Yes, there were Burger King Kids Meal toys, but there also were Cardcaptor Sakura (under the title 'Cardcaptors') toys at Taco Bell...at least until the fundie Christians complained that one of the toys, the Book of Clow, because of its similarity to Tarot Cards. Taco Bell cancelled the campaign because they were accused of promoting witchcraft. Because every network wanted to have the next smash hit, they dubbed so many series to bring to the US - Cardcaptor Sakura, Digimon, Medabots, Mon Colle Knights, Di Gi Charat, Tokyo MewMew, Sailor Moon, Dragonball, Hamtaro, Monster Rancher, Detective Conan/Case Closed and, of course, Adult Swim staples like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Big O, Tenchi Muyo (and its universe) and Gundam Wing.

..I'm probably forgetting several series...no clue why I remember all this stuff despite never watching half of them...I remember all the dumb stuff :|

The Pokemon Trading Card game was hugely popular in the US. I don't think I've ever seen anything reach that level of popularity before or since. Cards were sold almost everywhere and for such a huge mark-up. I remember flipping through channels one day and seeing the cards being sold on the Home Shopping Network for hundreds of dollars. I found it was easier and cheaper to just buy an expansion box from Wizards of the Coast (they released the first several card sets in the US) than it was to try to buy them in a comic book store. The craze was worldwide and there was even a special Pikachu set released at the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000.

I think Pokemon comes in waves. It seemed to die down in the mid-2000s and while it was still very popular in Japan, it was eventually replaced and taken over there by Yokai Watch. Now that that series is no longer popular, Pokemon seems to be making a comeback. Pokemon seems to be making a resurgence thanks in large part to Pokemon Go's popularity, but also because this series as well as many other series like HUNTERxHUNTER and Cardcaptor Sakura, have been officially released in China. Speaking as someone who collects production artwork, prices for some of these series have astronomically shot up since China got into the collecting market and Sotheby's Hong Kong now getting in to the anime production artwork market has only made things worse.
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DKop
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by DKop »

Akage wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:59 pm It also had the knock-on effect of blowing up anime in the US during the late 90s-early 2000s. Every company wanted to be responsible for bringing the next Pokémon to the US. I don't think I've seen the amount of anime merchandise released for several different properties since that era. All sorts of things came out of the works - Yes, there were Burger King Kids Meal toys, but there also were Cardcaptor Sakura (under the title 'Cardcaptors') toys at Taco Bell...at least until the fundie Christians complained that one of the toys, the Book of Clow, because of its similarity to Tarot Cards. Taco Bell cancelled the campaign because they were accused of promoting witchcraft. Because every network wanted to have the next smash hit, they dubbed so many series to bring to the US - Cardcaptor Sakura, Digimon, Medabots, Mon Colle Knights, Di Gi Charat, Tokyo MewMew, Sailor Moon, Dragonball, Hamtaro, Monster Rancher, Detective Conan/Case Closed and, of course, Adult Swim staples like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Big O, Tenchi Muyo (and its universe) and Gundam Wing.

Are you talking about shows on network TV? Afaik Di Gi Charat never aired on TV, or if it did it was through satellite networks maybe. You're forgetting the Escaflowne dub that was on UPN. I want a copy of that to hear how bad it is, because that seems to be the general consensus. You forgot Fighting Foodons, a prime Fox Box kids show that must be remembered :lol: .
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by davemerrill »

How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime last? Well, let's see. Mobile Suit Gundam started in 1979. It's 2020. That's 41 years so far of selling lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of model kits of Mobile Suits.
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by runesaint »

Akage wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 10:59 pm
The Pokemon Trading Card game was hugely popular in the US. I don't think I've ever seen anything reach that level of popularity before or since. Cards were sold almost everywhere and for such a huge mark-up. I remember flipping through channels one day and seeing the cards being sold on the Home Shopping Network for hundreds of dollars. I found it was easier and cheaper to just buy an expansion box from Wizards of the Coast (they released the first several card sets in the US) than it was to try to buy them in a comic book store. The craze was worldwide and there was even a special Pikachu set released at the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000.
The Pokemon trading card game was so huge that Hasbro purchased Wizards of the Coast -solely- thinking that Pokemon would continue to get bigger and bigger. Dungeons and Dragons? Magic the Gathering? They didn't care about it, they wanted even partial access (Nintendo, after all) to Pokemon.
(I know, I am abbreviating things, but still... yeah, Pokemon was huge...well, is, Pokemon Go afterall)
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Akage
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by Akage »

DKop wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:52 amAre you talking about shows on network TV? Afaik Di Gi Charat never aired on TV, or if it did it was through satellite networks maybe. You're forgetting the Escaflowne dub that was on UPN. I want a copy of that to hear how bad it is, because that seems to be the general consensus. You forgot Fighting Foodons, a prime Fox Box kids show that must be remembered :lol: .
I was thinking of DoReMi and for some reason typed Di Gi Charat. Sorry about that :lol:

And yes, I remember the Escaflowne dub. Not as bad as the Cardcaptor Sakura dub, but bad nonetheless.
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by Akage »

Akage wrote: Tue Aug 11, 2020 5:39 pm
DKop wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:52 amAre you talking about shows on network TV? Afaik Di Gi Charat never aired on TV, or if it did it was through satellite networks maybe. You're forgetting the Escaflowne dub that was on UPN. I want a copy of that to hear how bad it is, because that seems to be the general consensus. You forgot Fighting Foodons, a prime Fox Box kids show that must be remembered :lol: .
I was thinking of DoReMi and for some reason typed Di Gi Charat. Sorry about that :lol:

And yes, I remember the Escaflowne dub. Dilandau created a lot of headaches for the dub and there was a lot that was cut. Not as bad as the Cardcaptor Sakura dub, but bad nonetheless.
Fireminer
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Re: How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime can last?

Post by Fireminer »

DKop wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 5:40 am Pokemon hit the market hard towards the end of 1998. I got my copy of Pokemon Red for Christmas that year, and still have my copy to this day. It really didn't hit full stride till I think spring or summer of 1999. What helped market the show was not just the video games, but the anime that aired weekday mornings at 6:30 am on the WB channel. Since television was still the only way to watch cartoons way before streaming is the norm now, the show aired at the perfect timeslot that was right when kids were waking up to get ready for school. I was in 6th grade when the Pokemon craze happened, so I'd make sure to wake up by 6:30am to watch the show before catching the bus.
So 6:30 AM is the timeslot for children shows in America? That is one thing I always wonder... When do primary schools usually open in America? Here in Vietnam, primary schools usually open at 7:30 in summer and 8:00 in winter. I don't think most children can watch TV at that time, since they are busy having bath and breakfast. I distinctively remember having watching Mashin Hero Wataru on AniMax (or probably some other cable channel) at that time, but that is largely because I can just walk to school. Most of my friends at the time had to travel really early on motorbikes for if they went any later, the traffic would just be a nightmare.
davemerrill wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:26 am How long can the craze for a merchandise-driven anime last? Well, let's see. Mobile Suit Gundam started in 1979. It's 2020. That's 41 years so far of selling lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of model kits of Mobile Suits.
I am thinking that "craze" here means media saturation, and not just the media being paid to talk about it, but the media and the public in general see and describe it as an abnormal social phenomenom, and the coverage spread the effect on an even bigger area. Or, in another word, when did the Nightly News stop talking about Pokemon? This is more of a marketing thing that I am asking about.
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