It’s hard to pin point exactly what it is about Eden of the East that makes it so popular, but popular it is; the 7th episode managed to find a bigger TV audience than Naruto; an even more remarkable feat when you stop to consider that it airs at 00:45, compared with Naruto at 19:30! Either there has been some serious marketing yen thrown at the series, or, more encouragingly, there remains a strong demand for intelligent, mature anime in Japan (could have fooled me)?
Of course, TV brand Noitamina deserves a lot of the credit. Conceived with the “intention of expanding the target audience [of anime] beyond the typical young male”, they have done exactly that; starting with the excellent Honey and Clover, and following that with the likes of Mononoke and Moyashimon, their main target is clearly the josei female audience, yet their selected series are often so good (in terms of animation, direction and characterisation) that they appeal broadly across the sexes, hence Noitamina has become synonymous with quality anime, and the viewing public have responded in proper numbers, which is encouraging to say the least!
Replacing Eden of the East in July will be the earthquake-drama Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. So, replacing the cinematic quality of Production I.G will be the ever-impressive Bones; seems Noitamina is showing no signs of slowing down!
Tags: bones, eden of the east, mononoke, noitamina, production i.g, tokyo magnitude 8.0
Quite a pleasant surprise this is, I must say.
Oh I think there’s definitely a demand for “mature” anime. And by that I mean shows with appeal for adults, not necessarily sophisticated shows.
Golgo 13 & Shin Mazinger have both done better in their late night slots than shows like Toradora or K-On! In fact I believe Golgo 13 is now getting a rerun at an earlier time slot and doing even better. Likewise the run of gambling shows from Yuzo Sato & Madhouse have performed strongly.
The popularity of revivals like Yatterman, GeGeGe no Kitaro and Dragonball Kai also show there’s an adult audience who A) want to relive their childhood and B) share their favourite series with their kids.
Finally I think the huge rating Conan vs. Lupin got (19.5, that’s above Dr Slump’s peak iirc) shows the right project can have huge appeal.
I think there’s a decent chance there’ll be a shift to more nostalgia shows over the next five years or so. Either remakes or more remastered series like DBK. I also wonder if there aren’t more manga series like Golgo 13 that have somehow avoided getting an anime TV series made for ages, despite their longevity and popularity.
I wonder though, how much do things like DVD sales and the rest come into the equation? Though it’s cool that Golgo is beating K-On!, I think it’s fair to say that the K-On merch/DVDs will outsell Golgo by a large margin. That being the case, may be advertising in K-On! is more valuable than in Golgo, and hence more profitable for the TV networks too?
Oh I’m certain that’s the case.
Golgo 13 maybe an exception as he’s a manga property that is strong enough that he’s appeared IN television adverts without an accompanying TV show. He’s a cultural icon who has value outside of products with his face on - he can sell products that don’t have his face on.