Biggest Bombs for AS Anime

[Desensitized]

Well... some anime did worse than others. In retrospect Paranoia Agent at least seemed to have some kind of following so maybe it shouldn't be on a list of bombs on AS and maybe it should. I suppose that's a matter of opinion but it is a good show or at least a very intriguing one.

You got a good point, I'm just saying using ratings to suggest an anime airing on adult swim is a bomb is kind of pointless since few of them ever actually do well as it is.

 

[Beefy]

Disclaimer: Just because a show is listed here does not necessarily mean it's a bad show, just that it doesn't bring in the viewers.


10) Case Closed
More suited for an older kid or teen block than Adult Swim. There's just so many times the audience can watch the same formula of Conan solving a murder over and over again.

9) Lupin the 3rd
The animation being too old is what drove most people away I'm afraid. Which is a shame. Some of the humor wasn't that funny, but the shows strengths outweighed its weaknesses.

8) Paranoia Agent
Too much talking, not enough action. At least it was a short series and had some good mysteries.

7) Kikaider
I don't remember barely anything about this show to be honest.

6) Reign the Conqueror
The character designs drove people away.

5) Blood+
Too much talking, not enough action. It also doesn't help that Saya was too emo most of the time. Having to wait 10 episodes for a good fight episode throughout the series was too long a wait.
Badass Saya (from the OAV) > Emo Saya (from the TV series)

4) Wolf's Rain
Too much talking, not enough action. Studio Bones and Yoko Kanno couldn't save this show. Wolf's Rain and Witch Hunter Robin were the reasons comedy shows had to be added to the Saturday lineup in 2004.

3) Moribito
Way too much talking, not enough action. Production I.G can make a pretty show, but looks alone can't carry it.

2) Eureka Seven
Too much talking, not enough action. Plus the only likable characters were Dominic and Charles. First you get Renton whining how much things suck in the first episode, then you get the crew of the Gekko hazing the newbie for a few episodes, then they get to hang out in a mine for a few more episodes. All the while you're still stuck with Holland being a jerk and the rest of the crew being unlikeable until almost the end of the series.

1) Super Milk-Chan
Whoever decided to air the direct Japanese translation dub instead of the Americanized dub needs to be slapped.

 

[Sketch]

That looks like roughly the best list so far, similar but different to Beat's.

But again I feel like Conan could have done better if they had given it a real shot before throwing it to 5:30AM never to return. I wont dissagree that it didn't belong on AS but at the time that was really the only option. CC was before it's time as date as it was when it hit AS. Given a year or so more CN might have tried that on weekday evenings or Toonami and it could have been a hit, at least for a while but the lack of replability certainly hurt the show hold an audience overall.

 

[80's guy]

Boy, we're gonna be here for a while, mostly because it's a long list. I will provide expalantions for all my choices, but they will be civil. Well, let's do this!

#7. Android Kikaider- A TV-PG show that's actually an update of an old tokusatsu show from the 70's with a villian that George Lucas cited as inspiration for Darth Vader? Sounds decent enough, except for three major problems.

1. The animation was practically non-existent.
2. The concluding series OVA was cut to shreds including the epilogue.
3. Unless you live in Hawaii, odds are you have no connection to Kikaider as a kid.
.

The animation design is based on the manga design by Shotaro Ishinomori and it a drama.
I liked watchng Kikaider, but disppointed by the ending of the OVA

Don't understand someone
think that Ghost in Shell had bombed.

 

[The Man in Black]

You know what sucks? Moribito is actually a really really good anime from what episodes I've seen, with a kickass theme song. It just doesn't belong on Adult Swim..

Sadly, many anime AS has aired have fallen into that category. Case Closed for instance remains one of my favorite anime. And I loved Kikaider aswell. they just really didn't fit the ASA audience that well.

 

[Beefy]

You know what sucks? Moribito is actually a really really good anime from what episodes I've seen, with a kickass theme song. It just doesn't belong on Adult Swim..

Sadly, many anime AS has aired have fallen into that category. Case Closed for instance remains one of my favorite anime. And I loved Kikaider aswell. they just really didn't fit the ASA audience that well.

That's part of the problem: the shows that aren't that adult seem to do the best on AS, like Bleach, FMA, and Inuyasha.

The other part of the problem is AS picks shows that are very talky and not enough things blowing up. Trinity Blood did pretty fair. I would try Kiddy Grade or Burst Angel, and if they're really gutsy: Black Lagoon or Hellsing Ultimate.

 

[The Man in Black]

and if they're really gutsy: Black Lagoon or Hellsing Ultimate.

You know, considering how violent the average episode of Metalocalypse or Superjail is, you'd think that violent anime could air with no problem at this point. What's the issue? Anime characters look too real for some people?

 

[Beat]

That's part of the problem: the shows that aren't that adult seem to do the best on AS, like Bleach, FMA, and Inuyasha.

The other part of the problem is AS picks shows that are very talky and not enough things blowing up. Trinity Blood did pretty fair. I would try Kiddy Grade or Burst Angel, and if they're really gutsy: Black Lagoon or Hellsing Ultimate.

The latter two are Starz Media (IE: ScyFy's parent company) properties and aired on Starz! in the past. Burst Angel was famously turned down by Kim Manning due to fanservice, forever cementing my despising of her policies.

Anyway, I'm going to defend three of my picks and explain them a bit more thoroughly.

Case Closed- Case Closed is a show I hesitate to call bad. Formulaic? Sure. Childish? Of course. Aired for the wrong audience? Definitely. But bad? It's kinda like wanting to air Doug next to Rome. You can't expect a show for kids, targeting kids, to have that level of sophistication. But at the same time, targeting it to adult is just plain dumb from a ratings standpoint. You guaranteed yourself a bomb because of the disconnect between show's intended and network's target audiences.

Paranoia Agent- It amazes me that when you don't count the Y7 filler (Pilot Candidate), Paranoia Agent was the first genuine bomb on ASA and yet became the template Williams Street wanted for all its shows. It wasn't underperforming but still competent, it wasn't bad because of the night, it was the first series where the show's ratings were made of pure fail week after week. And what does WS do? Try to get show after show after show with similar pacing. Why? Why pattern your releases after a certified bomb?

Moribito- This show is a case study on what not to and how not to show something to an 18-34 audience. First, the show. Moves like molasses, has absolutely no hook, and is mostly dull dialog. Then the presentation. One ad which said "We don't care! This show is going to bomb!" Nothing Williams Street did suggested what they were about to air was anything but more of the same type of show that Adult Swim viewers have vehemently rejected in the past. And then when given one opportunity to shove the thing under the rug where no one will ever find it, Kim Manning, on a mission to acquire new anime, ENSURES the entire series has to be played on Adult Swim. And this is where I shake my head at what WS made sound like a huge waste of resources. "We're going to send our acquisition head to Japan, half a world way, with the sole intention of renewing a show that has no audience because she refuses to pick up anything else."

Desk, meet my head.

 

[Gold Guy]

S-Cry-Ed. That was fail.


EDIT: Oh yeah. And Milk-Chan.
*Shudders*

 

[veemonjosh]

You know what sucks? Moribito is actually a really really good anime from what episodes I've seen, with a kickass theme song. It just doesn't belong on Adult Swim..

IIRC, there was a woman (her name escapes me) at CN who became in charge of acquisitions for a month or so before, tragically, dying abruptly. In that short amount of time, her biggest contribution was picking up Moribito with the intention that it would air on Toonami. Unfortunately, with her passing, the next (and I think still current) head of acquisitions decided to just chuck it at Williams Street because it didn't fit in with his ideals.

So, in fact, Moribito was almost a Toonami show. I'm sure someone can find the source of this information, but I clearly remember reading about this somewhere around here.

 

[TheVileOne]

They should've gotten GunXSword. That show was epic.

Also Milk Chan was awesome. I liked the ADV version, but would that have really played all that well in the US?

 

[macattack]

IIRC, there was a woman (her name escapes me) at CN who became in charge of acquisitions for a month or so before, tragically, dying abruptly. In that short amount of time, her biggest contribution was picking up Moribito with the intention that it would air on Toonami. Unfortunately, with her passing, the next (and I think still current) head of acquisitions decided to just chuck it at Williams Street because it didn't fit in with his ideals.

So, in fact, Moribito was almost a Toonami show. I'm sure someone can find the source of this information, but I clearly remember reading about this somewhere around here.

The woman was Jennifer Davidson, who was at Cartoon Network at its founding in 1992, and expressed interest in airing "good, kid-appeal anime" in her TZ interview two weeks before her sudden death. Notably, CN had expanded Toonami back to four hours in advanced schedules right before she died in November 2007. Promptly Toonami got permanently stuck at two hours and eventually wasted away.

The info is garnered from John Sirabella (head of Media Blasters) at what was the AnimeOnDVD forums and an insider at the ASMB. Basically, the info was that Moribito was picked up at the beginning of Davidson's short tenure in 2007, and was due to begin in fall 2007. The broadcast was delayed when Geneon collapsed. CN pitched in money to fund the dub, which means CN likely had many plans for Moribito which never materialized. I would not be surprised if half-completed Moribito Toonami/CN bumpers are lying around somewhere in the Williams Street coffers. Perhaps Beefy should give WS a call regarding this.

Anyway, when MB picked the show up the TV rights activated, but as only ten episodes were recorded before the collapse that's all CN had, as the rest of the rights reverted to Production I.G. themselves. AS had to fly to Japan to get the TV rights for the remaining 16 episodes.

Connect any remaining dots from there and you have the general theory regarding Moribito.

 

[Beat]

OK, if Moribito was executed in its original context, it would have made sense. Maybe it's Case Closed syndrome again, at least in promotional context. We'll never know unfortunately.

But I have to once again ask, why send someone to renew a certified bomb? Wouldn't it have made more sense to send Kim over, have her pretend to want Moribito, and smuggle the rights to Sengoku Basara out of the country instead? Just pretend it never existed?

Edit- Actually, this is a pattern. It feels like in a lot of cases, there was a higher octane alternate to the usually dialog heavy show AS bought in. Not always though, but here are five random examples for a sort of "Bizzaro Swim Action."

Paranoia Agent-Gantz (they have nothing in common. The sheer fact that they're opposites in every way is what draws this comparison out for me.)
Eureka 7- Godannar
Case Closed- Burst Angel
Wolf's Rain- Full Metal Panic (The previous two were what Kim rejected in favor of what she acquired)
Code Geass- Gurren Lagann
And now Moribito- Sengoku Basara.

 

[airfighter]

Burst Angel certainly has action but not much else besides fanservice and yuri overtones. Would that really be enough to guarantee it wouldn't bomb? Then again, I'd rather take Godannar or, better yet, the previously suggested GunxSword over it.

 

[Sketch]

OK, if Moribito was executed in its original context, it would have made sense. Maybe it's Case Closed syndrome again, at least in promotional context. We'll never know unfortunately.

But I have to once again ask, why send someone to renew a certified bomb? Wouldn't it have made more sense to send Kim over, have her pretend to want Moribito, and smuggle the rights to Sengoku Basara out of the country instead? Just pretend it never existed?

Edit- Actually, this is a pattern. It feels like in a lot of cases, there was a higher octane alternate to the usually dialog heavy show AS bought in. Not always though, but here are five random examples for a sort of "Bizzaro Swim Action."

Paranoia Agent-Gantz (they have nothing in common. The sheer fact that they're opposites in every way is what draws this comparison out for me.)
Eureka 7- Godannar
Case Closed- Burst Angel
Wolf's Rain- Full Metal Panic (The previous two were what Kim rejected in favor of what she acquired)
Code Geass- Gurren Lagann
And now Moribito- Sengoku Basara.

Sengoku Basara would be great for Adult Swim along with Darker than Black and Baccano.

Code Geass over Gurren Lagann or even Gundam 00 was a TERRIBLE choice. Don't get me wrong I liked the show (in Japanese) but it did horribly and 00 might have done better and TTGL absolutely would have.

Adult Swim still should pick up FMP. All of it. Even the comedy series but certainly the first and third series. Great show for their demographic.

 

[Vyse]

I'd rather watch the complete runs of Milk-chan, Tim and Eric, 12 Oz Mouse, Assy McGee, Reign, Pilot Candidate, Queen's Blade, and School Days in the Ludovico facility a la A Clockwork Orange than watch Moribito. It belong on Toonami and IFC, not [as]. The only thing worse than Moribito on [as] is White Album on [as].

And, yes, I think Burst Angel would do well on [as]. Make it in HD, and you got a weekly viewer. Heck, Basara would work as well, but I see [as] and Kim Manning picking up another terrible anime than Basara.

I wonder if they are still cool with Claymore. I would watch it...

 

[MrScottyBear]

Man, oh man...These lists really hurt. Seeing so many of my faves on them. E7, Blood +, Case closed, Paranoia Agent, and especially kikaider and Moribito. I loved them all so much. :C

Kikaider and Moribito are much more drama shows than action. They suit ADULT swim just fine. Adult swim action, not so much. I thought both were very engaging...

And do you people honestly feel Kikaider should be TV PG? A show where a mother shoots her brains out in front of her Child? A show that has the HERO crushing the main villain's head with his bare hands? Adult swim is the only place it would have ever fit on Cartoon Network.

Pilot Candidate is easily the WORST offender. At least a few folks found the bizarre humor of milk chan funny. PC? I had forgotten that show even existed until it was mentioned here.

 

[Beat]

Kikaider and Moribito are much more drama shows than action. They suit ADULT swim just fine. Adult swim action, not so much. I thought both were very engaging...

And do you people honestly feel Kikaider should be TV PG? A show where a mother shoots her brains out in front of her Child? A show that has the HERO crushing the main villain's head with his bare hands? Adult swim is the only place it would have ever fit on Cartoon Network.

As far as overall quality goes, when it comes to Ishinomori remakes, Kikaider (which was TV-PG for most of its run) falls several steps behind its contemporary, Cyborg 009, which was a Toonami show, and 009-1, which is another "Not Kim Manning approved" show.

Personally, I agree with Vyse's assessment. At least Assy had some good one-liners that wouldn't have been out of place in an episode of Sledge Hammer! Dare I ask how bad White Album is since I think Kim probably wants to air it?

 

[Taekmkm]

Um, White Album is shoujo-like. I think he was making a point on the left-field selections, not the show itself. The same point if he said Fruits Basket or Kare Kano.

 

[Angilasman]

I thought Eureka Seven and Paranoia Agent were two of the best things to air on Adult Swim. So what if they got bad ratings? I watched and enjoyed them.

Home Movies was probably the best original AS show sans Venture Bros. and it got poor ratings.