Astro's Lack of Popularity in America- A Good Thing?

[Prettywitchiusaka]

This is something I've had on my mind for quite some time, so I'm kind of curious to see what you guys think about this.

Basically I want to ask a specific question;

Is AStro Boy's lack of American popularity a good thing?

Now before I say anything else, let me make this perfectly clear; I'm very mixed in this response.

On teh one hand, I think it would be a good thing for the character's image as an icon. After all, Astro Boy (and by extension, Tezuka in general) has done A LOT for the medium. And who knows where it (the medium) would be if it weren't for those factors. Now, I'm not saying that Astro Boy or Tezuka should be so exposed to teh point of it being puke-inducing. I do think, however, that Astro Boy and Tezuka should at least be better known and respected. Especially in today's medium, where Tezuka is barely touched upon.

I mean really; people know who Hayao Miyazaki is. People know who Hideaki Anno is. People know who Satoshi Kon is. And yet very few are even aware of Tezuka nowadays. Noe yes, thsi does apply to me as well, because...well quite frankly, I actually didn't know of Tezuka either until JO's review of Phoenix. But I was interested enough that I began doing research on him, and that's what lead me to Astro Boy.

And I think that's ultimately what both legacies need; just a little bit more attention, if not just a little bit more exposure. No shoving in your face required.

On the other hand, I do feel that popularity for Astro Boy over here would bring about three specific problems;

1. Overexposure- I won't touch on this too much, since everyone knows where I'm going with this. But yeah...I feel that overexposure would not be a good thing for Astro Boy, or Tezuka in general. Overexposure can sometimes be a good thing, but I don't think it would bode well for Astro. Sure it might be fun at first, but then people start to get sick of seeing teh same thing after awhile, which may or may not result in a "Hype Backlash" of sorts. Besides, Tezuka stories really aren't glamorous enough to overexpose. What I mean is that most products that are overexposed usually have some type of "wow" or cool factor to them. Withe Tezuka, the stories really aren't glamorous inn that aspect, you get teh sense that he wanted to tell these stories. And because he covered so many genres throughout his life as a manga-ka, there's at least one story he's written that everyone can invest in. That is the appeal of Tezuka, and any attempts to overexpose that would backfire miserably.

2. Fanbrats; Now I don't mean normal fanboys and fangirls who express their love, but are sane about it. They're okay. I'm referring to the kidn who won't shut up about it, and act like crazies when people have a different opinion than them. Let's face it; when anything becomes popular nowadays, it seems to be followed by HOARDS of screaming fanboys and fangirls, who overexpose every aspect of a series they love to the point where people just don't want to hear about it anymore. And in all honesty, I would prefer for this to not happen to the Astro Boy fan community. And yes, I know that there are crazies every fandom. But having only been here a few months, I seem to get teh impression that you guys are a really intelligent, really nice, really open group who get along well in sharing your love for Astro's various adaptations. To see it devolve to a bunch of annoying fangirls who won't shut up, or attempt to break Rule 34 (LORD knows I've seen some really dsiturbed KND fans try to get away with that).

3. Detractors- Now Detractors is sort of a mixed concept for me. On teh one hand, Detractors are not evil; if something isn't your thing, and you have valid reasons for why, then fine. Heck, JO has explained in great length why she doesn't like Evangelion and I am okay with that. Why? Because her reasoning is sound and makes sense. On the other hand; you got snobby detractors, and those guys irritate me to no end. Why? Beacuse they're so overly cynical about something that it hurts.

What does this have to do with Astro Boy? Well, let's face it, we live in a very cynical society. And while Astro tended to get pretty dark at times, there was always still that ray of hope. That even if things didn't always turn out right, that all life is sacred, and that violence is not always the first solution to the problem. In short, it signifies that Astro is a symbol of hope rather just being a superhero doing what's right. Unfortunately, our society has become so cynical nowadays, that I think many people woudl reject that message, saying that it's outdated and so forth.

Now I don't think all cynics would be like that. After all, I myself am very cynical, and even I am touched by a different resolve other than to fight. Therefore, we must examine the following.

Do I like dark stories like Puella Magi and Princess Tutu? Yes.
Do I like dark, psychologically distraught characters like Asuka Soryu, Anthy Himemiya, and Tenma? Yes.
Do I also like pacifistic do gooders like Vash the Stampede, Astro Boy, Utena, or even Princess Tutu and Sailor Moon? Yes.
Why? Because I can admire their nobility, and/or resolve to BE pacifistic.

Basically, theoint I'm trying to make is that I don't think ALL detractors would be that way. It's just that I'm afraid that SOME detractors will not look past Astro's message, either because of their cynisism, or because they're just too stubborn to admit it.

Anyway, that's really all I have to say on this matter. So feel free to post a comment, and let know what you think.

[Amaryllis]

I don't think it would be a bad thing at all if Astro Boy was more popular in America. It'd make the manga and anime easier to find, for one thing. Cynics and bashers are easily ignored, and so what if it attracts "fanbrats"? That's just an elitist attitude, and I've always disliked the attitude of looking down on so-called "immature" fans (I've seen enough of that attitude in other fandoms, and it makes me uneasy). And besides, like with cynics and bashers, they'd be simple enough to avoid. So really, there would be nothing wrong with Astro Boy and Tezuka in general becoming more popular. The series does seem to be kind of dormant right now, but who knows, maybe the trend of a new anime adaptation every twenty years will continue, and that might open the fandom even more to fresh faces. Better to be hopeful, after all.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

I'm not saying I think it shouldn't be better known, I guess I just worry about the potential draw-backs to popularity is all.

[Satus]

All the pros and cons to popularity effect everything that ever will be popular, so it feels silly to want to prevent something having popularity just because of the potential cons. To me, it doesn't matter that much whether the series becomes popular or not (it just makes it harder to buy things if it isn't).

But, if the series gains unappealing fans, you don't have to expose yourself to them. In my teen years I wasn't that big on Disney, I avoided seeing fan's Disney stuff pretty well during that time. Of course, I love Disney now.

Pretty much my view in shorter form is: From a company's perspective, yes, Astro Boy should become popular. Other than that, it doesn't matter much as long as access to the series exists in some form.

[Prettywitchiusaka]

To be honest; I don't think Astro Boy being more popular is a bad thing at all, that's not my intention.

[Tetsuwan Atom]

I'm a hardcore Otaku and to be honnest i have never even heard Hideaki Anno and Satoshi Kon etleast there not on top of my mind but yeha people need to release that Tezuka's message behind his stories can be so much better than just fighting alone i may be a fan of history in general so that helps but i have been reading tezuka manga non-stop for over 10 mhonts now without to read something else except for the newest chapters of One Piece than .

[Prettywitchiusaka]

Oh, I see. Sorry for that generalization Tetsuwan.

BUt yeah, that's kind of my point. I din't think more exposure to Tezuka would be a bad thing, it's just that I'm worried about the repracutions of overexposure is all.

[jayrath]

Speaking for the 1980s American voice cast, it was agony that what we worked so hard at was hidden for so long. It's a great relief to know that what we did was recieved so well in other countries.