Is it just me?

[mystic gohan]

Or is anime dying off?
I don't know maybe it is just me, i mean i haven't really watched anything since naruto, bleach and death note, it seems all the good anime are dying off. Please someone come to me with a reply telling me im just wrong because i would hate for anime to die off.

 

[oakzap425]

I don't think that anime is dying off, so much as people seemed to have jumped that wagon very quickly.

 

[Fading]

I don't, I just think the ones who solely got their anime from Cartoon Network (Adult Swim/Toonami, not saying there's anything wrong with that) are less vocal.

Personally I'm enjoying anime as much as ever. One Piece, FMA: Brotherhood, Bleach, Hunter X Hunter, Detective Conan, all great ongoing animes I'm enjoying a lot. Code Geass is rumored to have a new season coming up, the church of Haruhi are getting their fill, etc. Also even tho I'm not into them anymore, Naruto Shippuuden is still popular, and Inyuasha is getting a new season. Hell, even Dragonball has an ongoing series (Kai is sooo much better than Z thnx to all the filler, yelling for an hour to power up crap has been cut out).

There's tons of great animes still going on, just not on US TV (outside of Bleach, and Naruto). Tho to be fair, I don't watch TV...at all...anymore (besides Destination Truth when it comes back). So my knowledge of what animes are currently on TV is from months ago.

 

[oakzap425]

I don't, I just think the ones who solely got their anime from Cartoon Network (Adult Swim/Toonami, not saying there's anything wrong with that) are less vocal.

Personally I'm enjoying anime as much as ever. One Piece, FMA: Brotherhood, Bleach, Hunter X Hunter, Detective Conan, all great ongoing animes I'm enjoying a lot. Code Geass is rumored to have a new season coming up, the church of Haruhi are getting their fill, etc. Also even tho I'm not into them anymore, Naruto Shippuuden is still popular, and Inyuasha is getting a new season. Hell, even Dragonball has an ongoing series (Kai is sooo much better than Z thnx to all the filler, yelling for an hour to power up crap has been cut out).

There's tons of great animes still going on, just not on US TV (outside of Bleach, and Naruto). Tho to be fair, I don't watch TV...at all...anymore (besides Destination Truth when it comes back). So my knowledge of what animes are currently on TV is from months ago.

I must agree with you there. Maybe I worded it incorrectly. It's not that is dying off, it's just that those who limit themselves to watching their anime on cartoon network/adult swim/4kids/etc. really aren't getting a full grasp of all that's out there.

Honestly, CN and AS are not the know all and be all of anime. Sure, they're gate ways, but how many anime's have they dicked over by shoddy dubbing ,or incomplete airings?

I takes time, dedications, research, and money, not gonna lie, to really get into this fandom.

Maybe poor marketing is a problem?

 

[Fading]

Yeah, a lot of us probably got into animes thanks to CN, 4kids, Sci-fi and their various programming blocks. However they really do only touch a very small piece of the good animes out there. You really do have to go outta your way to know what to watch. If it wasn't for the Hype I would never had gotten into One Piece, or back into Detective Conan. I also do google things like, "Good animes in 2009", or google reviews on animes I've heard about when thinking about watching them.

As for poor marketing, I'd agree, and add the US mindset towards anime. Everyone seems to think if it's animated it's strictly for kids. A lot of anime watchers seem to be embarrassed to admit they watch. Plus there are the ppl with mindsets that if it's foreign entertainment it's stupid. Personally I could care less, if I enjoy it, I enjoy it (same with music, movies, video games, or anything else, it's all entertainment). As such I think anime is avoided by mainstream, so can't hope to go farther than a niche market (atleast anytime soon). Tho a lot of US cartoons are starting to adopt anime styles, so given time I'm sure it'll be more accepted.

Anyway I'm just rambling at this point lol. Guess I'm saying it's not dying off, it's just taking off very slowly, and at times making no progress at all in penetrating that mainstream consciousness.

 

[mfbtl]

hey mystic. I don't think anime as a whole is dying off, but new origional anime depending on one's tastes might be rare. Everything that came out this past year that i watched was a "spin off" from previous anime. FMA: Brotherhood and Umineko no Naku Koro Ni. The last origional anime i watched was Chaos; Head. A 3rd season of Code Geass would be awesome.

 

[Tron Bonne]

When you say dying off, do you mean in general or here in the States? Because in general, I don't think so. The anime industry has definitely been somewhat in a slump as of late, but I think a lot it has to do with economics problems which lead to a combination of studios and producers attempting to cut back and overly fall back on what works. Despite all that there's still a decent amount being produced, and anime movies like Ponyo and the two new Evangelion movies have done incredibly well in the box office and over DVD/Blu-ray releases.

In America, I'm not so sure to be honest. Though I won't go as far as to say it's 'dying off', there seems to be a shift going on. Several big anime license companies have gone under, or left out in the case of some Japanese companies that handled overseas distribution. Seems like anime is becoming less available in certain stores that offered a decent selection beforehand (I believe Best Buy, for example, actually switched all their anime stock to online and only shelf stocked in limited areas).

It does seem that general interest has definitely fallen lately. Some point to the lack of quality of anime titles right now, which is probably a factor. Probably another factor is general lack of interest in traditional 2D animation also. Seems like there's not much happening in that area compared to the late 90s and early 2000s. There is still anime being localized and a little on American television, but it's gone down in the last few years. I think the next couple of years are going to be crucial for the industry

 

[BrollySupersj]

Doesn't seem to be fading to me. There are a lot of series starting or currently airing.

 

[Max J Power]

Anime isn't dying off in terms of how much is made, but its popularity in America has definitely declined compared to 5-10 years ago, especially for adults. Adult Swim tried reverting Saturday back to all-anime a couple years ago and the ratings tanked.

I think the reason is, unfortunately, that American adults view animation with a very limited perspective and see animated programs as kids' shows unless they're comedies. Comedy is the big thing in animation now, and action anime shows are left out to dry. Anime shows, for the most part, only sell among a niche market.

 

[Jokyjoker]

Here in Belgium only the best Anime's will show up on tv after they're done in America!!

 

[childeroland]

But anime is doing well worldwide, right?

And Adult Swim's anime ratings may have been due more their inconsistent scheduling and trying to shove Williams Street stuff down viewers' throats than anything else.

 

[Red Mask]

I get most of my anime through the Animax channel, but that's only shows that can be licensed by Sony. Still, it's better than nothing.

 

[childeroland]

I wonder if its surge of popularity in the U.S. was really just the popularity of Naruto, Inuyasha, Pokemon, Miyazaki films, maybe a few other shows, and never the overall genre. Most people who watched Voltron growing up may not have known it was (heavily Macekred) anime and Avatar the Last Airbender and other recent cartoons show are very influenced--so maybe ultimately anime makes itself most felt indirectly in this country.