why

[tonigirl1000]

hi- why was the astroboy's series in 2003 not popular in the united states? i would had thought the series would be popular- apparently the other children thought differently about animation then i did. it was animated alot better than other series such as -billy and mandy- ed, edd and eddy and also made more sense. thanks- please keep safe and saved please your friend tonigirl/astroboygirlfan- astroboy's number one fan in rome, ga- hugs

[fafner]

Sure the animation and graphics are excellent, but the original Astroboy spirit isn't there anymore. Not to say it is bad, but, well, for too many episodes you could just replace the cast of characters for another one and you would get an episode of some other series...

[Dragonrider1227]

My theory is lack of proper airing. It kept bouncing back and forth between Kids WB and Cartoon Network and neither networks just played the darn thing. They kept trying to make it an instant hit rather than just run the series and let it take it's course. They also pulled it too quickly I think. It was off the air before the toys even hit the shelves. So my theory is the networks were too impatient and wanted an instant hit. That didn't happen, so they killed it

[tonigirl1000]

hi- hugs thanks fafner and dragonrider1227- i love the series and wish the other children had and i wish the networks would give the astroboy's 2003 series another chance. why series about silly boys are so popular and stay on the air but one about futuristic adventures of a robot boy can't- puzzles me- hugs- thanks- please keep safe and saved please- your friend tonigirl/astroboyfangirl- astroboy's number one fan in rome, georgia- hugs

[Dragonrider1227]

You're welcome. My major gripe is that their boxset is only in english. I would've prefered if they had released it with a japanese subtitled version

[jeffbert]

I believe Fred Schodt answers this in one of his books, "Dreamland Japan," unless I am mistaken. Something to do with taking a family-oriented show & editing to try to make it a kids' show. However, there may be more to it, than that.

[jeffbert]

My mistake, it was "Manga, Manga" in which this appears. Page 155, in the 3rd full paragraph FS writes about anime whose complex plots among other things, made them unsuitable for Saturday morning kids' shows. Nevertheless, they were edited, censored, etc., & forced into molds that simply did not fit them. Thus, the kids were still unable to understand them; hence, failure and cancellation.

[Dragonrider1227]

(We can't show this to children. It makes them have to think!) XD
they should've just made it a Toonami exclusive series thus not having to censor and rewrite it so much

[tonigirl1000]

hi- hugs- thanks dragonrider1227- jeffbert -fafner- thanks- that picture of astroboy blushing is so cute. wish they would show all the astroboy's cartoons- your friend tonigirl- astroboy's number one fan in the galaxy- please keep safe and saved please- love you all- thanks- hugs

[dannavy85]

I'd agree that poor presentation on the cable networks did it a diservice.