It's not because anyone doesn't like it. It's because people up top who make these decisions to bring Gundam to the masses just don't give a damn.
>>13504315
Exhibit B
Who cares? Shut up.
>>13504323
Here we see how a particular company with stores nationwide make their best efforts to end Gundam. They don't want anything to do with it. They do their best to make it as unappealing as possible.
>>13504323
What?
Did they turn the Gundam into a harpy?
That's a kinda cool concept, actually.
>>13504337
Is it time for posting your local Sengoku Astray?
>>13504337
That's frankly easier to believe than the possibility of an entire board of directors of a big company looking at the lineup of gunpla they sell and unanimously agree that the fucking Sengoku Astray is the most attractive looking one.
!
>>13504364
>d-d-d-don't look at me...senpai....
>>13504337
That's just shitty employees though.
If the guys in charge willingly brought the gunpla in, and the display kits are like that, its just the employees being shit.
And America has shit taste in robots anyway.
>>13504315
Maybe Gundam simply doesn't deliver what 'Muricans want in a war story (i.e. Saving Private Ryan/The Pacific with robots). Have you considered that?
But you used to be able to go into any department store and buy Gundam action figures.
This stopped with
SUPRISE
SEED
>>13504446
> The North American market is difficult. Gundam depicts war through the eyes of characters like Amuro and Kira, who are against fighting. These types of characters and the cruelty of war lend themselves to anti-war themes. But a protagonist like Amuro isn't acceptable in the North American market. It has to be a type of character who fights for his country. If we end up creating a Gundam for the North American market, it will be entirely different from the anti-war Gundam of Japan. I doubt if we could call that Gundam. Instead of introducing the anime to the North American market, we want them to know the story. For example, knowing about Gundam through video games, then going to watch the animated series.
> Yasuo Miyakawa, producer of Gundam SEED
>>13504542
>For example, knowing about Gundam through video games, then going to watch the animated series.
This has me thinking. What gundam games did well in the US? Wasn't stuff like Zeonic Front a hit over here?
>>13504591
>youtube "let's play gundam"
>nothing with massive views
nothing
>>13504330
this desu
>>13504497
>Zeta is about to come out
>SEED is so god damn popular in Japan
>Bandai completely fucks over all the big box and toy stores trying to completely rehaul their entire supply line to rush SEED shit to stores
>effectively blacklist themselves
I think it was bad enough they kept trying to sell Mandala Gundams on the MSIA action figure series instead of just making more lead Gundam or Wing ones.
>>13504606
I'm sure there must be someone who does... Oh look, Big Zam.
>>13504542
yeah it's not like Kira ended up fighting for one particular country. An island country that was the best nation in the entire world that could do no wrong.
What a load of shit.
At least they aren't making their own version of gundam, if we disregard G-saviour.
>transformers
>giant pile of scrap metal running around exploding
>LOOK OUR SOLDIERS ARE DOING COOL SHIT
>muh people drama
>godzilla
>LOOK IT'S FUCKING NOTHING
>muh people drama
>pacific rim
>story is mediocre, everything is alright but
>LOOK AT THOSE FOREIGN ROBOTS BTFO LOL HERE'S SOME GIANT METAL FOOTBALL PLAYER
>>13504387
I'm so proud of finding this at my Barnes and Noble.
>>13504631
It was the G and 0079 toylines that were the death of it. Mandala and Taurus Gundams as far as the eye could see, and then clogging the shelves with every goddamn 0079 toy they could find. Couple that with how frankly, 0079's animation is shitty and teenagers are shallow as fuck, and that was the end of it. The only SEED-related mistake was that they dumped the useless fucking First Grades on the market in spite of how nobody has wanted a First Grade ever.
>>13504542
Miyakawa has clearly not seen 0079. Explains a lot about SEED.
>>13504780
>if we disregard G-saviour.
It was made by Canadians though, so it wouldn't count regardless.
>>13504631
Did Derringer or whatever the shill's name is say that it was actually toy stores that ordered a bunch of shitty bench-tier G Gundam MSIA and then dropping the franchise after it didn't do so well? It's not like Bandai can force retailers to buy shit they don't want
>>13505096
But 0083 and 08th represented the height of the gunpla craze in the US. And we even got that ridiculous jumbo GP01 toy. It was like the size of a PG.
>>13504780
>hurr durr how dare those amerikkkans have national pride and not put other nations ahead at the expense of their own!
>it's not like they are just doing what literally every other country in the world does!
I wish we could just IP ban all of yurope and be done with it.
>>13504315
>Gundam will never be popular in the USA
Modern /a/ and to a slightly lesser extent /m/ are very elitist and do not want Gundam or any mecha series to become popular outside of Japan again. Said but true. No fun allowed here.
>>13504323
>>13504337
>>13504364
>>13504387
What if it's really a ploy to turn these abominations into some meme that will make tons of people who never gave a shit about Gundam go out and buy these ironically?
>>13504542
Load of horseshit
High and mighty Gundam, tell me, how the fuck do Gundam Build Fighters and Mobile Fighter G display "anti-war" themes? Even 0079 doesn't have big antiwar shit, it's just one disturbed teenager.
And I'm sure that the "fight and kill everybody in the name of peace" theme in later Gundam (like 00) would appeal to Americans.
The reason Gundam doesn't catch on in the USA is not because of some philosophical difference. Look at Godzilla; we love it so much we rebooted it twice on the silver screen. So much for the anti-nuke toku that protested American bombing.
The reason is that the US doesn't like robots. Look at all the major sci-fi classics in the US, and you'll see that every one stages robots as the enemy. Terminator, Matrix, even Dune has elements. The US has a strange Luddite attitude towards humanoid robots and US viewers would rather see them blown up by humans than piloted by humans.
This is my first time on /m/ and I came here specifically to ask this
does Gundam get better? I decided in a Whataburger drive through in the middle of the rain that I wanted to watch politics motivate giant robots to blow each other up, and then I made the mistake of beginning this series. There are at least 4 characters whose dialogue I skip entirely or else I wouldn't have the patience to make it through. Does Gundam get better and cooler?
>>13505184
woops, forgot pic. I was referenceing Wing.
>>13505167
>The reason is that the US doesn't like robots
Nah I don't believe that for two reasons.
1:Wing was HUGE when it aired in the US.
2:Transformers makes a shitload of money whenever a new movie is released.
Gundam failed because Bandai got too cocky after Wing and G and tried to push then a two decade old cartoon onto an audience that was busy eating up Outlaw Star, Big O, DBZ, and YuYu Hakusho at the time. Combine this with their retarded decisions when it came to their toy lineup here and it was doomed for failure. If they just kept releasing a steady lineup of the more modern shows at the time while targeting 079 for a niche older audience then it could have lasted a lot longer than it did.
>>13505184
>>13505186
Check out the original series 079 instead of Wing. If you don't like that then you probably won't like Gundam at all since most of the entries after it carry a lot of the same themes and motifs.
>>13505191
I actually got about 10 episodes into 0079 before hopping aboard the Wing train. I really liked it, but half of my Gundam craving was watching robots blow each other up, so I initally meant to watch them side by side, 0079 for plot and Wing for animation. That fell apart rather quickly. But I'll give 0079 more time.
>>13505202
If you wanna watch a series solely for good animation during the fight scenes then you're better off with 08th or 0083. Though once you get past the QUALITY 0079 actually has really great fight choreography.
>>13505209
I'm kind of in it 50/50. I'm a sucker for both space politics and cool ass robot fights. They just got to earth when I stopped watching 0079, I'll invest some more time in it. Zakus are cool, anyway. Thanks for all the advice, anon.
>>13505228
You should really stick with 0079 because you're extremely close to one of the key moments in it that really kicks everything off. You've pretty much just been watching it all build up so far. Also I'm sure once this mother fucker shows up you'll really start to appreciate the fight scenes more.
>>13505239
Okay, that motherfucker has gun barrels for fingers. You sold me.
>>13505246
Really hope you enjoy it as much as I did anon.
>>13505167
>The reason Gundam doesn't catch on in the USA is not because of some philosophical difference. Look at Godzilla; we love it so much we rebooted it twice on the silver screen. So much for the anti-nuke toku that protested American bombing.
That's because Japan sees Godzilla and says "fucking americans bombing japan so sad" while America sees it and says "FUCK YEAR USA!!!!!!!!!!!! NUKE DEM CHINKS YEEHAWW MUDAFUKA"
>>13504542
SEED and MSG failed because of their animation. American audiences are vain.
>>13505302
>tfw I know a guy who says he 'just can't' watch any anime older than the mid 2000s
>>13505142
the retailers wanted more "gundam" character merchandise because they performed better than the zakus/etc. and ...well it's what they got more characters that were "gundam"
>>13505188
>Gundam failed because Bandai got too cocky after Wing and G and tried to push then a two decade old cartoon onto an audience that was busy eating up Outlaw Star, Big O, DBZ, and YuYu Hakusho at the time.
This has already been disproven numerous times that no matter what they would have to bring the original Mobile Suit Gundam over to open the UC timeline which has the largest portal of merchandise. And it has also been shown that no matter what form of MSG was aired through either the TV series or the Movies,it would flop hard no matter what.
>>13505154
I'm starting to think Barnes and Noble is using a form of advertising on us. By posing their display Gunpla in weird ways, they prompt people who know how to do it right to point out errors. Then some of those people post pictures online while inadvertently advertising the fact that Barnes and Noble carries Gunpla. I mean, I didn't even know they did until I saw the earlier posts with their crappy Gunpla displays.
Think about it; what's more likely to get more exposure? Displays that look just as good as others and are passed by without a second thought? Or crappy displays that prompt people to "point out errors?" It's not that I find it bad or anything. I just feel like I should point out one potential reason for it.
>>13505317
>every post complaining about B&N is actually viral marketing andt causes people to be curious and walk into a store to search for the mythical shit display.
I guess have shortened it to that explanation.
>>13505167
Consider what the fuck your post has to do with selling 0079 or SEED to Americans then kill yourself.
This statement was also made before the whole LEL LET'S SELL GUNDAM THROUGH VIDEO GAMES plan they thought was going to work for a couple years flopped like a motherfucker and not only did the dedicated Gundam franchise push in America die but Bamco decided to never localize another Gundam game again.
>>13505326
Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to apathy or incompetence.
>>13505308
I makes sense in G Gundam since every country has a "Gundam". Did Bandai really have anywhere else to go after Wing? G Gundam was somehow popular despite it being G Gundam. It's not my fondest show but the dub along with the BURNING SPIRIT still warms my heart.
I watched a lot of UC stuff like 0080 and 0083 when it aired but I didn't get back in until Gundam 00 was getting subbed.
>>13505730
>Did Bandai really have anywhere else to go after Wing?
X. X had lots of Gundam's like Wing, and it involved traveling around post apocalyptic US which often goes well with people for some reason.
But since X flopped in Japan Bandai assumed it wouldn't work. And also they really want US to be like Japan with 30 year old nostalgia for UC and buying up every Zaku variation they shit out. That will never ever happen now because they didn't push Gundam in the US back in the 80s but they don't care.
>>13505845
>And also they really want US to be like Japan with 30 year old nostalgia for UC and buying up every Zaku variation they shit out.
This is their main issue
90% of gundam merchandising is based on here is this old stuff and also a Strike Gundam
>>13505246
Welcome to the Gouf Fan Club.
>>13504542
He's full of shit. Amuro wasn't against fighting. He was rattled by the psychological impact of war, but his character arc in 0079 consists of him settling into his new place in life as a soldier and fighting for the sake of his new comrades.
And as >>13504673 mentioned, Kira ended up doing exactly that; fighting for a country he believed in.
It looks like cultural posturing on his par to me.
>>13505306
Are we really at that point now? I remember being dumbfounded that someone thinking 90s animation was too old to watch.
Though to be fair, a lot of early 2000s anime had pretty bad coloring.
>>13504780
You act like Japanese Godzilla movies didn't have muh people drama. You can't have a movie that's just a giant lizard fighting giant bugs. It'll get old.
>>13504631
Don't remind me, I was hypest of all time for zeta and zeta msia and then fucking seed ruined that all. To be fair the duel and buster gundam were the standouts of that line and we at least got zeta dubbed but we didn't get any zeta msia.
And now I spend some of my free time trying to track down any possibility of US release zeta msia if they ever even had a test run, closest I got so far is a broken in half arch enemy AEUG mk2.
>>13505302
>SEED and MSG failed because of their animation. American audiences are vain.
SEED failed because of it's content. Great job guys, you tell Fukuda he can't call his show Gundam SIN because of America but then turn around and let him use sexual content and graphic violence (I believe this was pushed by the TV station to draw audiences, who kept on demanding it be more over the top). They try to bring the show over here but get told it would have a PG-13 rating or something.
But Bandai just had to put the toys first and demanded the show be edited to a Y-7 rating. They were targeting the same audience as Power Rangers. Show flops in America and Destiny is direct-to-video.
In Canada, where it appeared unedited on YTV, it was a hit. So much of one they also aired Destiny.
Why was G Gundam so popular in the USA but hated in Japan?
>>13504315
>Gundam will never be popular in the USA
But it already is... Among anime fans at least.
>>13506229
Actually, it was pretty popular there, even if some people found it wildly different from its UC predecessors. Americans loved it because of how it was insanely over-the-top and crazy awesome at the same time.
>>13506229
We didn't have a sextillion shitty tournament fighter anime yet.
>>13504315
The real reason is that we'll never get the amazing dub casts we had during the Bandai-Sunrise of America days.
While not perfect 0079 and the two OVAs, G-Gundam and CCA had stellar voice work that's yet to be matched again. You couldn't understand my disappointment when I found out it was Ocean's Dub in the Blu-Ray.
>>13504780
Have you seen Marvel comics today?
You don't want casuals coming in since they will change everything to be like the movie. Or worst.
>>13506303
Or this.
>>13504780
>muh people drama
But that's like what 90% of Gundam is.
>>13506360
At least we actually see gundams doing gundam things most of the time
>hey look it's godzilla
>better have our charactes hide away and not show any of that shit
>>13506428
Godzilla's issue was the human plot just being shit not Godzilla's lack of screen time. Invasion of the Astro Monster has around the same amount of time spent with Godzilla on screen yet it's one of the best movies in the franchise because the human plot was actually interesting.
>>13506438
Godzilla's problem was they killed Bryan Cranston too early.
>>13505146
>make movie
>insert millitary wank
>remove/ignore interesting stuff(robot with three arms, robot with reactor head)
>insert MURICA to a degree
yeah how dear any one hate this shit must be dem pesky yurofags america no.1 amrite?
>>13506456
>Walter White will never use science and stuff to build a robot from the meth RV to fight Godzilla
;_;
>>13506456
I wouldn't mind that if they didn't market the movie like he was the main character so hard.
>>13505979
I actually find most early 2000's animation to be far less watchable than anything the 90's produced
>>13506639
That's because of the transition to digital. Everything looked so gray and ugly.
>>13506212
I recall SEED being wildly popular in the northeast US. High school teens ate that shit up so hard. The problem was that SEED was popular among the sorts of fans who don't buy gunpla, they're in it for the characters. Combine that with the abysmal quality of SEED's gunpla and you were gonna have a bad time.
>>13506313
Das raycis
>>13506313
What the hell is even going on in this image?
>>13506841
I have no idea but it makes me want to punch someone in the face.
>>13506811
>I recall SEED being wildly popular in the northeast US. High school teens ate that shit up so hard. The problem was that SEED was popular among the sorts of fans who don't buy gunpla, they're in it for the characters. Combine that with the abysmal quality of SEED's gunpla and you were gonna have a bad time.
I'm pretty sure that's the same thing that happened in Japan. I've seen articles from Japanese news sites that claim 60-70% of SEED's DVD sales that first year were by girls in high school and middle school.
>>13506212
>But Bandai just had to put the toys first and demanded the show be edited to a Y-7 rating. They were targeting the same audience as Power Rangers. Show flops in America and Destiny is direct-to-video.
I was just as confused back then seeing Gundam SEED on at 3 PM on Saturdays on CN. Then it got sent to the 12 AM Friday death slot along with .hack and IGPX.
On top of that they aired Zoids Chaotic Century at 5 or 6 AM depending on daylight savings instead of on Toonami like Zoids New Century. Then they pick up Zoids on Toonami and never show the last 4 episodes for over a year until the "Final Four" marathon again at 2 PM on Saturday.
>>13506212
>(I believe this was pushed by the TV station to draw audiences, who kept on demanding it be more over the top)
Fukuda has always been at war with broadcasters over content.
>>13506811
>The problem was that SEED was popular among the sorts of fans who don't buy gunpla
The problem is that nobody would stock SEED merchandise because they were still sitting on stacks of Mandala and Mermaid Gundams. A couple years later when stores were liquidating Gundam stock after Bandai pulled out I could get 0079 and UC OVA stuff but SEED never existed.
They mishandled the TV broadcast with the disco laser guns and everything but it's academic by comparison.
>>13506811
I remember SEED never had anything on the shelves until well after the series ended, and that it was on at like a 2AM timeslot on CN. Plus there was hardly any attention given to it, like they just didn't care.
It also didn't help that I seem to remember SD came out in the US prior to SEED, and that thing was an outright left turn abomination it even turned my young self away from Gundam.
Why we never got Zeta or X on Toonami/CN I'll never know.
>>13504364
I have the worst fucking version of this, BEHOLD!
>>13507262
I'm speechless.
My B&N looks good in comparison. The MG Fenice Rinascita has panel lines and the Beargguy Family is posed reasonably well.
>>13507262
Aside from the feet the pose is decent compared to the rest but jesus christ what happened
I'm pretty sure Hasbro has something to do with it, they don't like Bandai coming over to the USA to eat their Mecha profit.
>>13506231
>But it already is... Among anime fans
Which is an incredibly niche audience you fucking dip.
What are the chances of the new blu-rays from Rightstuf having even the tiniest impact on Gundam catching on - even in a larger niche - in America?
>>13507818
>no Astray
I bet it was already sold.
Like, some kid glanced at the poorly built thing on display and automatically went I WANT IT MOMMA BUY IT
>>13507818
atleast they didn't fuck up the bearguys
>>13505202
>>13505184
Watch Gundam 00
>>13507253
I was so blindsided by seed I completely forgot SD was a thing, I think that probably had a greater effect on dissolving the fanbase than mandala gundam shelfwarmers destroying the chance for zeta to air
>>13504661
I hate Game Grumps for ruining GBA2.
It's a solid fighter but people will only remember "hurr durr big zam"
>>13508144
Not him, but anime fans are no more niche than comic book or video game nerds in the US these days. In fact they often overlap in geek culture.
>>13504315
I distinctly remember this commercial from around 2000-ish. I think I was a freshman in HS and remember it airing during Toonami on CN (the cable provider just started to have it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS09UoaT0Js
I think it helped influence my getting into Gunpla phase for the next couple years.
>that Fred Durst kid.
kek. What a crazy time.
>>13509259
>building anything lower than level 5
Snapfag plebs pls go.
>>13504315
>>13504323
>>13504337
>>13504364
>>13507262
2 points:
1) Models and Model kits are still seen as very much seen as toys and for children in the US.
2) Model kits conflict with the Gotta-have-it-now culture we have these days.
Most people are not going to pay a premium for a toy that you have to spend hours trying to make it yourself and still having it look nothing like it does on the box.
>>13504542
And it is this reason why Hollywood will never pick it up. For what it's worth, the sentiment of war is viewed here in the states as a victor looking down upon a conqured.
>>13509384
Holywood won't pick it up because story is too big to cram in 90-120 minutes. Unlike American superheroes and other media that has instilled itself into American pop-culture and need not a lot of exposition, Gundam would require a shit ton of exposition which would not fit in the run time or there'd be a huge pacing issue in the screenplay.
Even if they were going to do an original Gundam story, they'd just cut their loses and forego licensing to make an original non-Gundam mecha movie.
>>13509467
Just have a all out battle and give them the colony drop as the big crescendo. They'd eat that shit up like maggots on a corpse.
>>13509307
I don't think many people see model kits as children's toys, considering the pricepoints, time invested, painting, and gluing in the case of cars and planes. Unless we're including Lego, model building is more of an adult hobby. And even then Lego has massive cult following.
>>13509508
sure, but it won't be that simple.
Why are they dropping a colony? Who is dropping the colony? What do they plan to accomplish by doing so? Why not just nuke the target from orbit? Wouldn't that be more cost efficient?
Pacific Rim more or less had the same problem but with an even simpler plot.
>>13509518
I can't speak for the country that you live in, but in the US, model kits are often found in the toys department.
>>13509307
Snap-built model kits also have zero value as collectibles and there are bootlegs everywhere so collectors tend to avoid them.
>>13509467
Hollywood won't pick it up because the general public sees giant robots as a juvenile concept, and your average person has a hard time suspending their belief that mecha are pivotal or powerful over conventional weaponry in any way. Giant robots are seen as a campy guilty pleasure, and nothing more.
>>13509520
Simple- establish that whoever, presumably Zeon, drops the colony wants to send a message to their enemy. Thousands of lives would be lost, which sends a pretty damn big message to the Earth Federation.
I'd say a Gundam movie would actually be pretty easy to sell, if done right.
>>13509531
I never understood that, honestly. Mecha doesn't take any more suspension of disbelief than the average superhero does, but those are widely loved nowadays.
>>13509526
I'm in the us, and I've never seen a conventional toy store that stocks gunpla. They're too niche. At the hobby shops I've actually seen them sold, they're alongside cars, planes, etc.
Not trying to upsell gunpla as hardcore, mature models, but the fact they require hobby knifes and sharp cutters to properly build makes them unfit for children.
>>13504542
So you don't watch Gundam, do you?
>>13509538
Superheroes are just having their time in the limelight right now. They're hip and popular, and people are realizing the medium is a little more "adult" than they presumed.
Whether or not people latch on to mecha as the new pop culture icons is the real dealbreaker.
>>13509545
No, the producer of Gundam SEED does not, in fact, watch Gundam.
>>13504315
Or..you know, maybe the average American thinks the following?
>>13509542
I think I've seen them at my local TRU once or twice recently. They're usually stocked with the more 'mature' stuff like NECA toys.
>>13509550
Honestly, with the fact we're getting around 40~ superhero movies by the end of the decade, I'm completely expecting the audience's reception to the genre to be dead in a few years. I've talked to more than a few people who are getting tired of capes.
Honestly, if anything is going to be the next pop culture icon, we're most likely going to see another short glut of science fantasy space opera after a few years because of Star Wars.Maybe we'll get a better Dune movie this time around.
>>13509542
>the fact they require hobby knifes and sharp cutters to properly build makes them unfit for children.
Most of them don't as they usually just snap together in most cases.
But you do have a point in that some of the really high end kits out there do require some cutting, abrading, gluing, painting, etc to look good.
That's part of the reason why Gunpla isn't big here.
>>13509567
>Dune reboot
I am not against it.
>>13509626
Uh, you have that backwards. Every gundam kit requires nippers except for newer sd kits which have twist off parts.
>>13509307
I dont know what universe you live in but model kits are considered non children product because of the use of hobby knives and glues. Model companies have had to make kits with snap fit molds just to appeal to children. Also the image that most people think of for model kits are old military guys building tanks
>>13504315
Despite they're really fond of Western culture (like rock, metal, sci-fi), japanese people are still unable to completely understand the very principles of these genres.
That's why you (most of the time) get those silly sword-wielding mecha movies called scifi, or cute little girl vocalists on a japanese "death metal" concert...
So gundam basically is not what an average western consumer expect from a sci-fi.
>>13509654
Not really. I've built a few Gunpla and non-Gunpla models and have gotten buy with twisting pieces off the runners and abrading them later.
>>13509661
You should really take a trip to your local department store like Sears or Wal-Mart and see where the model kits are stocked.
Hint: It ain't the hardware department.
>>13509567
As much as I love Dune, I seriously doubt it will happen. It's as ambitious as the LOTR but more niche, and wouldn't garner the support and budget, we'd end up with yet another adaptation that doesn't come close to doing it justice.
Honestly I'd rather see some of Asimov's work in movie form. Foundation or Robots, either could work. And they don't rely as heavily on the massive mythology that Dune or LOTR do. They could easily stand on their own.
Imagine Trantor or New York City, caves of steel style, done right on the big screen. Makes me hard just thinking about it.
>>13506303
Is it weird that the last panel's dialog is the only one that actually pisses me off? Just because you're trying to do comedy doesn't mean you get to make Galactus suddenly start talking like an eight year old.
>still no logh-ish Dune long series
;_;
>>13510846
Maybe FSS will get a proper animated adaptation... sometime after Nagano dies.
>>13509683
This post is pretty good
>>13509194
I explicitly remember SD running most of my friends (and myself) off from Gundam. We didn't care much about all the Mandala shelf warmers because at the same time there were those bitching Battle Scared suits.
They tried to push Gundam in the US for a while. You couldn't watch Cartoon Network for twenty minutes without seeing advertisements. Despite that, only Wing saw any major success.
Much like Monster Hunter, Gundam is one of those things that will probably always cater to a small but dedicated niche in every country but Japan.
>>13511502
But monster hunter is neither terribly good, nor anywhere near as varied as Gundam is. There's something Gundam gor everyone's tastes
>>13504315
So what? Gundam doesn't live or die by its popularity in the US.
Besides making it more popular in the US would mean butchering it. Anime is Japanese and I hope it stays that way.
Coming fresh off of my phone.
>>13511564
I don't know why it went sideways and no I have no clue where the v-fin went since it wasn't in the glass case.
>>13504542
Its just like that forum post by the Japanese woman that used to work for Bandai
>hurr americans HATE long series hurr
The Japs are too xenophobic and retarded to understand other cultures outside of shitty stereotypes, so they just play it safe with Shonen.
As if american soldiers arent famous for writing emotional antiwar novels
>>13511607
Can I get a link to that forum post?
>>13504542
You know, as fucking wrong as his opinion is I wouldn't actually mind the approach of introducing people to Gundam via videogames and shit IF THEY'D ACTUALLY FUCKING RELEASE GOOD GAMES HERE. But no, they poisoned the well and won't risk it anymore. We'll never get another Zeonic Front or Gundam VS game here again;_;
>>13509307
>1) Models and Model kits are still seen as very much seen as toys and for children in the US.
Really?
Cause in the UK it has more of an old guy vibe I find. In kid shops you'd never see kits, just in special retailers
>>13505184
>>13505186
Dont watch Wing you idiot. Your friends that nostalgiafag about it are fucktarded and only like it because its the only somewhat traditional Gundam theyve seen. Watch 0080 & the 0079 movies. Then 08MS team, Zeta, & CCA. F91, 0083 & Turn A are optional.
there, thats all the good gundam.
>>13509555
wannabe Freudian psychoanalysis is always funnyBesides, mecha is so iconic because robot anime was seen as being representative of the rapidly recovering post-war Japan embracing the future.
>>13509531
This is true but odd. Some gruff buy dressed like a flying mouse punching a clown can get awards, but then a big robot happens and suddenly people just go no this is silly now stop it
>>13511653
Toys'R'us was the biggest retailer of gunpla back when it was still popular. You could also find military and car shit in the kids sections of shops like Michaels
>>13511678
If you look in kids shops now though you won't find any type of kits. The only thing you can really buy retail is airfix from a hobby shops
>>13511632
Its some old Colony Drop article I read years ago, halfway thru the comments. Probably in an article about the Industry itself. I guess she worked in Licensing. Shit she said was waaay off the mark just like the faggot that made SEED quoted above. Itd take me as long to find it as it would you.
>>13511694
Toys R Us really doesn't have model kits anymore? That's just sad. Now I know how middle aged people who look at clickbait articles with "millennials" in the headline all day feel.
>>13509550
Simple...make the mecha background. Character driven story always wins.
>>13509630
>>13510751
No good. Think really hard and it is in the general mindset Muslims IN SPACE!
>>13511671
Give it premise...somehow something would work.
>>13513687
>Muslims IN SPACE!
The SJW in me supports this idea.
>>13513714
>SJW in me
>>13509771
we're talking about how the product is actually designed and have their parts meant to be removed not your shitty shortcuts
>>13509789
Have you been to a Sears or Walmart recently? they don't have any model kits because they were deemed too complicated for children.
>>13505184
you don't have the capacity to sit and read/listen to dialogue.
stop wasting my oxygen.
>>13513744
Wing is shit.
>>13513739
Most model kits do not require cutters. They can be twisted or snapped off.
>>13513743
>Have you been to a Sears or Walmart recently?
Yes. The model kits are in the toys section.
Shit, even online they are under "Toys."
Why are you in such denial over this? Nobody is judging you.
>>13513782
That's not Sears, it's a guy using the Sears market place to sell his items. That's no different from me selling my shit on eBay.
>>13513768
There are certain model kits that are advertised as able to be removed from the runner without parts. These are very few in number. The majority of kits require tools to remove the parts. Show me a non Bandai kit where the instructions don't indcate a nipper is required.
>>13513866
Aren't those Spru Kits or whatever they're called like that?
>>13513866
Even on eBay, model kits are found under the toys category. Just about anywhere you go, model kits are affiliated with toys. Toys are considered for children. Even though you may disagree because you don't believe an 8yo can use diagonal cutters or have ever bought a model by walking into a store, that's how Americans in general view model kits and why Gunpla has never reached mainstream popularity here.
Deal with it.
>>13513943
who said this wasn't a toy bro, all I said was non children's product, not that it wasn't a toy.
>>13513945
That's just it: the US market doesn't draw a hardline between toys for children vs toys NOT for children. They are all just "toys" and people consider toys to be for children.
>>13507818
My B&N has the same arrangement, but the Fenice is missing the red part on its V-fin.
>>13505167
>how the fuck do... Mobile Fighter G display "anti-war" themes?
Even not looking into that post's obvious problems, there is this.
>>13505314
The movies would have done slightly better, at least? But then, what point was there in giving people 0079 anyway? American audiences loved 08th and 0083 even without context to everything else, and the only thing 0079 could have brought with it otherwise were a bunch of 80s shows and Victory, which (while well choreographed) had some pretty notable animation problems.
Should have brought over the other 90s stuff. X probably would have done well, Turn A most likely wouldn't have done badly, then they keep giving the newer stuff to the audience until it's entrenched enough that you could sell "The ORIGINAL Gundam show!" and people would buy it because now you have a fanbase for it.
But as >>13505845 and >>13505856 said, Bandai wanted to rush people into buying the old stuff, which caused immediate problems. And then they tried to give us SD Gundam Force... I mean, if they were going to give us anything SD Gundam related, it should have been Gaiden. Short, sweet, involves a knight who smites evil monsters and robots and a bunch of other fantasy characters. Probably still wouldn't have done well all things considered, but in comparison to Force...
>>13513984
>American audiences loved 08th and 0083 even without context to everything else, and the only thing 0079 could have brought with it otherwise were a bunch of 80s shows
This is true for me. I liked Wing, but when 0083 aired in the US, I was became a fan of the franchise. When they were airing 0079, I wasn't into it at all mostly because the '80s animation couldn't hold a candle to the biggest '90s anime in animation quality.
New question
Lets say The Origin was fully adaptedmaybe the end it different to make way for Zeta/a remakeor just a 0079 remake happened in some form
Could it do well in the west with a younger/casual/general audience?
>>13514025
No.
The origin is intended to be a supplement to the original. The current ovas planned will end next year and cover only up to Char entering side 7
>>13505246
oddly enough that's the aspect of the original Gouf design most people like the least
>>13509194
>>13511436
I think SD Gundam Force would have been better received if it had been airing simultaneously with a more normal Gundam series than by itself for much of it's US run
>>13509567
a new Space Fantasy/Sci-Fi boom could be just the thing needed for a Gundam movie to happen, especially if the Robotech movie ever actually happens and "Tests The Waters" so to speak(similarly if the next couple Transformers movies do well, and if Pacific Rim eventually happens and possibly does well)
>>13505167
>>13513984
Really now?
I thought the whole fucking argument Master Asia had was :
"All the fighting brought about by the Gundam Fights while causing less bloodshed as a whole, is utterly ruining Earth's environment and creating and ever wider class gap as a result of those forced to live in bombed out and trashed cities, or as they are now known . . . sports arenas"
Seemed pretty anti-war to me, probably one of the few Gundam shows to actually illustrate it that well.
>>13514060
I don't think you understood the question, which was theoretical
>>13505096
>The only SEED-related mistake was that they dumped the useless fucking First Grades on the market in spite of how nobody has wanted a First Grade ever.
First Grade was a shit idea. If they wanted a cheap kit to sell they should have aimed for SD kits.
>>13506841
>What the hell is even going on in this image?
The one in the banana suit is communicating via hologram Star Wars style. Starlord called Banana and asked her to do something distracting so Starlord can but out of his prison cell.
The ooga chaka is clearly a reference to the GotG trailer, but it is not the silliest thing in this image.
>>13504315
Yes
To my understanding the anime bubble of the 90s-00s was popped by japan themselves, often forcing their own western subsidiaries to pay enormous prices to air anime in the west that just wasn't worth it.
supposedly one of the big wigs at sunrise/bandai strongarmed the deal for 0079 to be aired on Toonami because he hoped to recreate the mecha fad from japan 20 years prior in America and was convinced that the original Gundam series was integral to that.
There isn't a lot of risktaking in the genre as a whole, which is kind of ironic because the most loved franchises within the genre were pieces that took a lot of risk (Eva, 08th ms team, Gurren Lagann, Eureka 7, Code Geass)
>>13514110
Yeah, G was pretty damn anti-war.
>>13514930
>To my understanding the anime bubble of the 90s-00s was popped by japan themselves, often forcing their own western subsidiaries to pay enormous prices to air anime in the west that just wasn't worth it.
ANN Cast and the AWO podcast have over the years talked about the licensing nightmares and how the anime industry shriveled up around 2007 through 2009 to the companies we have left. ANN Cast has even interviewed former employees from now defunct companies. ADV probably still exists as a debt holding entity that licenses out to its subsidiaries like Sentai and Section 23.
If the Japanese had direct control over their American subsidiary, they would not change from whatever they learned in Japanese business school out of shame and because that's how they do things over there. It was designed to fail.
>>13509538
>>13509520
>>13509508
>>13509467
I was thinking about just this thing the other day. The perfect way to get the set-up exposition out of the way would be to do a history montage that shows the divergence from our reality a la Watchmen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVUDdQS2UxA
Maybe not quite in this style - different music, different framing than "moving photographs", but the same general idea - and end with a 2-3 minute sequence showing a colony dropping (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAf5qSwsZrM) and a Federation squad's ill-fated attempt to stop it (which introduces us to the concept and capabilities of MS).
This shit is doable, Hollywood just doesn't see the point when there's tons of stuff with more nostalgia points to pick up on. I guarantee that a Sailor Moon movie will be coming out within the next decade, though.
>>13513984
This. I remember being online as a kid and reading rumors about a "Gundam X" coming out soon, about "a lost nation of people from the moon attacking Earth with Gundams." Obviously they were conflating X and Turn A, but the point is that people were still so excited about Gundam in 2003ish that they would make shitty fansites to pass along rumors that they'd heard from a friend's cousin who lived in Japan. We wanted that new stuff, man.
And then they gave us the SD Gundam shows, like you said. And I refused to watch on principle. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. You can't start us off with Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond and then give us the Richie Rich cartoon and that black-and-white Casino Royale TV special. Follow it up with Craig or Connery, goddammit.
>>13517361
For the record, the SD Gundam show actually got pretty legit after it slogged through the generic children's show morass of friendship is good and stuff. I never imagined they would do some of the things they actually did, like killing Ashuramaru.
Plus I loved the little Zako bros. I had the toy on my dashboard for years. If I braked too hard his head would hit the windshield, triggering the gimmick where his armor would go flying off.
>>13506811
This. I distinctly remember my nerdy second-generation female Nigerian friend being EXTREMELY pissed about Flay fucking Kira. When it was airing early in Toonami's new Saturday night run, it was the flagship series. No one was watching Naruto. Everyone was watching SEED. But you couldn't find gunpla outside of cons, where they cost $50 bucks, minimum.
>>13509384
>the sentiment of war is viewed here in the states as a victor looking down upon a conqured.
Explain then the phenomena of every other story these days being about an oppressed person fighting against a dystopic government.
Maybe if you spin the story as a Kamille type fighting against the injustice of the Zeon government and also chaffing against Federation injustice, you'd have a double dystopia and make twice the money.
>>13517308
>I guarantee that a Sailor Moon movie will be coming out within the next decade, though.
I dunno. If Jem tore it up at the box office sure, but "old property of girl who becomes doubleplusgirl" has a specific bomb strapped to it.
Maybe if Wonder Woman does good/happens.
>>13517410
>If I braked too hard his head would hit the windshield, triggering the gimmick where his armor would go flying off.
dude that's sick and realistic I gotta do that
sage for 2x
>>13504542
But North America has plenty of movies, books, and games that dealt with anti-war themes. Gundam isn't really saying anything new about how war is bad.
>>13517468
I'm also looking at Power Rangers. But my thing was that we're about to hit the 90s mainstream nostalgiabomb hard, and if any anime series is representative of that zeitgeist (and isn't DBZ or Pokemon), it's Sailor Moon. So someone will at least try to tap it. Maybe they'll do a 3DCG film or something?
>>13509555
How come Japan isn't making any Mech series based off the Sengoku Era? Why do they always use WW2 as a source for their mechs?
>>13517500
They are you stupid cocksucker
>>13517493
oh no, it's not impossible by any means, I'm just thinking that there's a fairly analogous property in terms of concept
sure, if MMPR happens/does big I could see a Sailor Moon thing happening, but it's a bit more of a leap
Power Rangers did gangbusters. Sailor Moon did acceptably but it had to scratch and claw to get even get past the second season's worth of content.
Power Rangers spergs never had to convince themselves to buy pop-tarts.
>>13504337
was that in kansas city? I saw one just like that sad piece of shit right there on saturday.
>Bandai Namco Restaurant in Illinois
>have Gunpla and shit
>The big Zaku is missing an arm
>$300 Gundam figure
>little amuro in the display is just laying on the groud
>Gundam is badly posed
welp
>>13513943
Are model kits even popular with kids in japan?
When I was a kid I thought gundam was cool but specifically didn't want model kits because I thought it looked too complicated.
I know there are even adults that are intimidated by building kits but I don't know how common that is.
>>13518098
found a picture
>>13518098
>>13518110
>little amuro in the display is just laying on the groud
kek.
Still, why do companies think brand-themed restaurants/cafes are ever a good idea?
>>13518117
I think cause lots of older people come to the restaurant because "Hey I remember Pac-man, want to eat at the Pac-man place?"
I mean, how can you go wrong with drinks like the "1 UP", "PINKY", "SPLIT SCREEN", "CLYDE’S HANGOVER CURE", and so on?
It's an official Bandai restaurant though, I got the creator of Pac-Man's signature.Billy Mays was there too, but no one cares about him.
>>13518110
>hey maintenance dude go get the medic Amuro fell off from the cockpit
>the fuck are you giving me guns for what am I supposed to do with these
>you are just gonna leave him here?
