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Jason Demarco has bad news for his haters


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46 minutes ago, Top Gun said:

Serious question: why do you give a single shit about its merchandise? Why does anyone give a shit about a show's merchandise other than some boomer exec who's stuck in 1985 and thinks the only purpose of a cartoon is to sell action figures?

Honest to God answer?

Because a lot of times it doesn't feel like the kids shows are actually being made for kids.  It feels like they're being made for 20somethings who watch them to feel validated about something?  And it's kind of disturbing.  I've gone off on Infinity Train repeatedly in this thread and how it deserved to be cancelled (and apparently was because kids weren't watching) but while there are some token jokes for kids, most of it feels like it's about the writer working through something traumatic including an interview one of their cancelled seasons was going to be about someone going through Alzheimer's.  You seriously wonder why you got cancelled?

The second admitted reason is because following ratings data on streaming services that aren't obligated to give it out is a pain in the ass and a half and that means I have to go to other means to see if the core audience is invested in it.  Merchandise, the willingness of the primary audience to invest in the show, can be a fairly reliable metric when all else is absent.  That's actually what made me find out just how unpopular Voltron Legendary Defender was with its primary audience, when Playmates out and out declared "no one buys the toys, no one cares".

So you have all these unsuccessful shows, and you hear "new management" and you think, at the very least, we'll see something different.  But apparently we're just going to get more of the same.  

Edited by Jman
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6 hours ago, Jman said:

Honest to God answer?

Because a lot of times it doesn't feel like the kids shows are actually being made for kids.  It feels like they're being made for 20somethings who watch them to feel validated about something?  And it's kind of disturbing.  I've gone off on Infinity Train repeatedly in this thread and how it deserved to be cancelled (and apparently was because kids weren't watching) but while there are some token jokes for kids, most of it feels like it's about the writer working through something traumatic including an interview one of their cancelled seasons was going to be about someone going through Alzheimer's.  You seriously wonder why you got cancelled?

The second admitted reason is because following ratings data on streaming services that aren't obligated to give it out is a pain in the ass and a half and that means I have to go to other means to see if the core audience is invested in it.  Merchandise, the willingness of the primary audience to invest in the show, can be a fairly reliable metric when all else is absent.  That's actually what made me find out just how unpopular Voltron Legendary Defender was with its primary audience, when Playmates out and out declared "no one buys the toys, no one cares".

So you have all these unsuccessful shows, and you hear "new management" and you think, at the very least, we'll see something different.  But apparently we're just going to get more of the same.  

Kind of a shame the Voltron toys didn't sell, they looked pretty good compared to other stuff on the market. The Young Justice and ThunderCats 2011 toys from Mattel and Bandai respectively were very poor quality.

I think the first two arcs of Infinity Train told worthwhile messages for young people to see. The third one I dunno and the fourth one was straight up spoke to the young adult experience which I appreciated but it's not something I'd aim at children. So part of me thinks Infinity Train should target older viewers but I also see potential for it as youth targeted series. The creator clearly wants to focus on older viewers though so I'm fine with that.

Edited by Sketch
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2 hours ago, Sketch said:

Kind of a shame the Voltron toys didn't sell, they looked pretty good compared to other stuff on the market. The Young Justice and ThunderCats 2011 toys from Mattel and Bandai respectively were very poor quality.

I think the first two arcs of Infinity Train told worthwhile messages for young people to see. The third one I dunno and the fourth one was straight up spoke to the young adult experience which I appreciated but it's not something I'd aim at children. So part of me thinks Infinity Train should target older viewers but I also see potential for it as youth targeted series. The creator clearly wants to focus on older viewers though so I'm fine with that.

It is a real shame what happened with IT. I really did like the show, but it really did feel like each season after the first was a step down in quality. I thought the first season with Tulip was great, 2nd season with mirror Tulip was alright but not as good as the first. Third season was a bigger step down in quality, and the season 4 just felt like it happened. It wasn't bad, and did like them building on the lore of the series, but it was still meh. I still would have liked for them to be able to properly end the series.

Edited by DBAss
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On 8/11/2021 at 10:06 PM, PokeNirvash said:

I may say this as one of the few people who actually liked Dimension W, but I believe the main reason Toonami got it was not because Demarco liked it too, but because FUNimation wanted to make back as much money on it as they could, being a key player on the production committee and everything. Ditto for Fire Force.

I actually kind of liked it as well. I don't remember being surprised that they wanted in on it too with Funi since I felt like there was plenty of hype behind this one due to who was working on it and the animation, and the manga apparently having plenty of content (I was also in since I loved that first season of Darker Than Black which this manga creator worked on). 

It's been a few years but I recall being surprised it was so short given the large cast and wonder if that lead to my main complaint which for me was that it could have flowed better which I didn't really expect from the adaptation given the staff. And if it were longer it also could have shown more from them too of course. Really liked the buddy cop banter with Kyoma and Mira.

Edited by DangerMouse
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  • 2 weeks later...

Been meaning to read the rest of this thread and reply to this for a while.

I think everyone should temper their expectations here, not just for the quality of the shows themselves, but also where they will be airing.

If you notice, nowhere in the article does it say these shows will air on Toonami.  If I were to go Full Eeyore or Full Chicken Little here, as some posters on this forum are wont to do, I could say that Demarco had this job waiting in the wings, because even as much as he himself hates streaming, Demarco knows cable's days are numbered, and therefore Toonami's as well.

It may not be for a while, but eventually all the Boomers, Gen X'ers, and older Millennials are going to get rid of their cable and/or die off, and I doubt too many younger Millennials and Zoomers that don't live with their parents, grandparents, or aunts/uncles etc have cable.  Plus, cable companies have such horrible pricing models and customer service, it's almost like they want to go out of business!

Toonami basically has no use or function on a streaming service.  Streaming is a la cart and on-demand.  You watch what you want, when you want.  There's really no need for bumpers or intros, etc, unless the platform forces them on there, which would just annoy viewers.  Basically all you would have are trailers and promos which would be posted on YouTube and various places on the internet, and the streaming platform itself, which is what streaming shows currently do.  But even if you look at the ones Toonami uses now, they don't feature Tom or Sara.  They use the Voice of God narrator, which Toonami already is one of the few to still do this.

But, maybe hopefully we will get some decent shows out of this, even if few or none air on Toonami.

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On 8/14/2021 at 11:00 PM, DangerMouse said:

I actually kind of liked it as well. I don't remember being surprised that they wanted in on it too with Funi since I felt like there was plenty of hype behind this one due to who was working on it and the animation, and the manga apparently having plenty of content (I was also in since I loved that first season of Darker Than Black which this manga creator worked on). 

It's been a few years but I recall being surprised it was so short given the large cast and wonder if that lead to my main complaint which for me was that it could have flowed better which I didn't really expect from the adaptation given the staff. And if it were longer it also could have shown more from them too of course. Really liked the buddy cop banter with Kyoma and Mira.

I heard that Dimension W had a huge number of chapters at that time, like over a hundred, and for some reason they did a series really short that crammed and rushed everything, which is probably what made the show suffer so much.  But I also remember hearing that no one was translating the manga, officially or otherwise, so that probably wasn't a good sign for its popularity.  So it's even more odd then that all these entities would jump on this series and pour a bunch of money into it, hoping for it to be the next big thing.

Maybe the first few episodes were more in line with proper pacing, and as it went along, it got more hectic, and that's why the show felt so rushed and all over the map further down the line, with tons of characters being introduced left and right.

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13 minutes ago, ben0119 said:

I heard that Dimension W had a huge number of chapters at that time, like over a hundred, and for some reason they did a series really short that crammed and rushed everything, which is probably what made the show suffer so much.  But I also remember hearing that no one was translating the manga, officially or otherwise, so that probably wasn't a good sign for its popularity.  So it's even more odd then that all these entities would jump on this series and pour a bunch of money into it, hoping for it to be the next big thing.

Maybe the first few episodes were more in line with proper pacing, and as it went along, it got more hectic, and that's why the show felt so rushed and all over the map further down the line, with tons of characters being introduced left and right.

That show was doomed from the start. What was the Mcguffin in that show called? Coils?

The main character hated an inanimate object called coils. Then takes a job where his entire life revolves around coils.

That reminds me of the time I hated tables and became a table salesman.

I just have zero respect for that show, which is why I shit on it so much.

 

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18 minutes ago, ben0119 said:

I heard that Dimension W had a huge number of chapters at that time, like over a hundred, and for some reason they did a series really short that crammed and rushed everything, which is probably what made the show suffer so much.  But I also remember hearing that no one was translating the manga, officially or otherwise, so that probably wasn't a good sign for its popularity.  So it's even more odd then that all these entities would jump on this series and pour a bunch of money into it, hoping for it to be the next big thing.

Maybe the first few episodes were more in line with proper pacing, and as it went along, it got more hectic, and that's why the show felt so rushed and all over the map further down the line, with tons of characters being introduced left and right.

Yeah, that's what I thought too, that a good number of volumes were already out before it started so I didn't understand why it felt like they crammed so much and it really did just get faster and faster and messier as it went.

Not sure when they started but I remember seeing several volumes of the manga in Barnes and Noble so I think it was getting translated around that time, though I'm not sure so I guess it could have been after since that's probably when I would have been looking after seeing the show premiere or finish.

Yeah, I really liked it at the start, but as they kept introducing more characters they never really fleshed where all the locations were in relation to each other as they kept introducing new characters and factions so I felt like I was always playing catch up as it continued to grow messier as it went and so probably ended up mostly watching for the animation and Mira development.

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On 8/14/2021 at 11:00 PM, DangerMouse said:

I actually kind of liked it as well. I don't remember being surprised that they wanted in on it too with Funi since I felt like there was plenty of hype behind this one due to who was working on it and the animation, and the manga apparently having plenty of content (I was also in since I loved that first season of Darker Than Black which this manga creator worked on). 

It's been a few years but I recall being surprised it was so short given the large cast and wonder if that lead to my main complaint which for me was that it could have flowed better which I didn't really expect from the adaptation given the staff. And if it were longer it also could have shown more from them too of course. Really liked the buddy cop banter with Kyoma and Mira.

Real talk: Dimension W was actually my favorite new show on the lineup after Parasyte ended, with Samurai Champloo my second favorite at the time in April-May 2016. Of course it would eventually be replaced with Gundam IBO, which was light-years better and still has a few episodes hanging around on my DVR (of Season 2) to this day!

I wonder if Gundam will ever get back on Toonami, or if the franchise has gone streaming-only like JoJo? It seems like Toonami's future is in co-productions like FENA, which is what makes me believe at least SOME of these shows mentioned in the article in the OP will be Toonami-bound.

Edited by OwlChemist81
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