LoGH appeal/release possibilities
Hank Wong (hankwong@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU)
Sat, 18 Jul 1998 03:09:07 -0700 (PDT)
On Fri, 17 Jul 1998, Sampo Haarlaa wrote:
> I have also noticed this in Finland. When I descripe LOGH to some
> people (mostly women) they are like 'where are the mechas' or
> something similiar and then they lose interest to it.
> I think they want anime to be mindless action and or some shit
> like FY (School girl goes somewhere and meets a boy, have we seen this?)
> I quess they cannot believe that there can be an animated drama.
I always thought LoGH was an anime with a wide appeal among female anime
fans. This might sound ironic, but I feel that the more sophisticated FY
fan would be a good candidate to show LoGH to, given the similarities
(shoujoish, drama, plot-intensiveness, character relationships, etc)
Anyway, LoGH is an anime you have to show to a person to get them
interested. IMO, describing it verbally just doesn't give it justice.
You have to see the the stunning scenes of massed ships in mortal
combat, as the strains of Dvorak's New World Symphony echo in the
backgrounds. You have to see the diabolical and ingenious use of science,
strategy, and intrigue. You have to see the character interactions and
how their relationships develop. On as big a screen as possible. And in
stereo surround sound :)
> I also agree to the opinion that LOGH probably won't be released
> commercially, since it is not for mass audience. This is very sad
> since LOGH is the best anime series ever. But of course we can
> always hope. Heck, I even sended a tape filled with LOGH to our
> national television.
To have mass appeal, an anime show must either have cuteness, fan
service, outrageous humor, or giant robots. Preferably all four. LoGH has
none of these. Even Kikukawa-san admitted at the panel that it is a niche
market in Japan. It takes a sophisticated audience to appreciate a
sophisticated show. And face it, there aren't that many sophisticated
people out there. We are like the creme de la creme de la creme.
I was talking about release possibilities to some friends after the panel.
We all agreed, LoGH would not be viable as a straight video release in the
US. Some alternative ideas we tossed out were:
(1) Some company does the series, but only on a limited run and after a
certain number of preorders (a la AnimEigo with KOR)
(2) Some company gets only the movies initially, with an option for the
rest of the series. This might not even be feasible, given that
Kikukawa-san stated that the series would only be sold to an American
company as a _whole_, not in parts.
(3) Fan campaign to get a PBS station interested in the series, as
a group of Lum's Stormtroopers did with KTEH-TV for Urusei Yatsura.(For
those of you not in the USA, PBS is a network of TV stations that show
educational and special programming without any commercials- they rely on
viewer and corporate donations.)
Note that these are all just _ideas_ so don't go around starting any
rumors! But hey, even Gundam is being released in the States (and they
said it couldn't be done), so don't abandon all hope yet!
> As for fan service, I am glad that there is none and I hope there
> will never be. Who would like to see porno statues (as I call them)
> made out of LOGH characters (They made these from EVA charas already!)
> Sampo.
um, two words. EVA doujinshi ^^;; Let's not go there.
Though I wouldn't mind seeing a parody sub/dub of an LoGH episode :)
-Hank, who got to touch a real authentic LoGH box set at AX!
-----
Hank Wong hankwong@soda.csua.berkeley.edu
LoGH List Admiral http://www.hooked.net/~renegade
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