Point - E.W.C.

As a rule I do not watch imported anime on American television. Why? There are a couple of good reasons. One is I am a snob - an elitist otaku with a voracious appetite for new, groundbreaking material. I am ever searching for that unique anime or manga series that will pique and sustain my interest. By the time the networks get the cajones to broadcast an anime title, I've seen it months, sometimes years, ago. So when my editor asked me to throw in my two cents on Cartoon Network's Toonami segment I was less than enthusiastic about the assignment. I don't watch Toonami or anything remotely like it on television. If I want to watch anime I'm going to go out and get some. I'm not going to wait for some nudnik T.V. execs to "discover" the hottest thing coming out of Japan and force-feed me their version of animation extreme. But for the interest of this column I yielded to the pressure of watching the Toonami segment.

I grasp that the network is trying to approach anime from a different angle, which is a good thing, I guess. If that sounds too vague, you're right - Cartoon Network is a queer entity. Given the popularity of its real winners like "Dexter's Laboratory," "The Powerpuff Girls," and "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast" why does Cartoon Network insist upon pushing three-hour blocks of "Scooby Doo," "The Flintstones" and other bargain basement Hanna Barbara cartoons of which few are even funny?

While that question stews, let's move on. Did you ever wonder why American networks bother to import so many Japanese cartoons in the first place? For the money, of course! Sure, some PR proxy will tell you it's to diversify children's programming, introduce something fresh and bold and new to the weekend and after school line-up - but that's a load of bull. American networks buy up these little gems to market them to the young tikes here where public opinion decrees all cartoons cater to immature minds. (Grown-ups, on the other hand, reserve their attention to more mature forms of entertainment such as daytime talk shows, Nascar racing, professional wrestling, and 'reality-based' television). Until the 18-35 crowd is ready to abandon its prejudices against animation in general, anime fans will not be witnessing a mass-media revolution for quite some time. The most clueless members of the entertainment industry's think tank will continue to mishandle some of the best and most provocative anime Japan has to offer by either butchering it for commercial incentives or ignoring it completely, the latter of which would be a blessing.

Rehashing an anime series for either censoring or marketing purposes cuts into the quality of the story. If you don't agree just take a good look at "Card Captor Sakura." "Sakura" suffered a major restructuring thanks to the quacks at Warner Brothers who removed the first several episodes and supplanted the central heroine with a supporting male character. Why? To rake up the little lads. "Sakura" is bona-fide shoujo (girl) material. Warner Brothers, however, in an attempt to replicate the success of "Pokemon," tailored it to appeal to "Pokemon's" target audience - young boys.

So, network heavies ousted "Sakura" from the title, expanded the unisex "Card Captor" into the plural and slapped on some generic studio opening music that bears a striking resemblance to the theme for "Pokemon." While not one of the best of the magical girl genre, "Sakura's" redeeming quality is the oh-so veiled and subliminal homoerotic proclivities among the lead characters, which Warner Brothers thoroughly cleansed and purified for American television ... whether it was actually there or not.

Need more convincing? How about the "Escaflowne" disaster on the Fox Kids Network? For some strange reason, Fox also thought it best to chop off the first several episodes of the series. Then it got rid of all the cool dying and killing scenes, but added some watered down techno music in the promotion shots to give the series an edge. If that wasn't humiliating enough Fox campaigned their new series with one of the cheesiest tag lines in the history of kids' programming: "Go With the Flow" - get it? As in "Esca 'FLOW' ne."

Out of all the networks on American television that feature cartoons imported from Japan at least Cartoon Network tries to be a little more democratic. Toonami targets the crowd who enjoys the camp and flair of the anime inspired "Powerpuff Girls" but could also go for more bellicose material. It features such battle intensive series as "Outlaw Star," "Sailor Moon," "Dragon Ball Z," "Ronin Warriors" and "Gundam Wing." Sorry to all of you "Wedding Peach" fans who are not going to catch any of that kind of stuff here. Cartoon Network still aims anime towards kids - airing a lot of the shows in the afternoon - but it also demonstrates an awareness of the anime fan community. The network aired an uncensored version of "Gundam Wing" at a later time slot. This was a breakthrough for anime on American television, a company that was willing to broadcast authentic and nearly unadulterated trans-cultural animation even if they had to screen two versions of the same show. Granted, being a cable station, Cartoon Network can afford to do this, but hopefully their example will establish a precedent in American television.

One more thing: I just want to reiterate that this is not a researched feature. I do not have any facts or statistics to back up my claims - this is all my opinion. You are more than welcome to tell me to go stuff myself. (E.W.C.)

Counterpoint - Matt

What's that? E.W.C.'s comments are mere opinions? I thought her columns came hand-delivered by messengers of God and inscribed on stone tablets. How's this for unsubstantiated opinion: E. is a pompous anime-aristocrat who considers the sum of Japanese animation her private property. So forgive me a little skepticism with regard to her characteristic tirade against mass-marketed anime. But whatever you do, don't make me stuff her.

Let's take a closer look at the strategy behind Cartoon Network's Toonami line-up. In the lead-off spot is "Ronin Warriors," which is about as good a show as it can be given that it's basically "Voltron" without the Voltron. But it's on at four o'clock in the afternoon. I'm still fixing my after-school snack. To carry the baseball analogy a little further (hey, it's springtime - it's allowed) you want your second batter to have a good set of legs. And "Sailor Moon" has nine sets of good legs. This is a show with real star power...and moon power...and some other goofy powers. And damn those outfits are cute. Yes, it's basically built around adolescent squabbling and Care-Bear karate, but the sailor scouts can be charming and the show is a welcome relief from what can be an overwhelming onslaught of brainless violence in the Toonami block. Speaking of brainless violence, batting third is "Dragonball Z." Now my ten-year-old brother will kill me for this, but I do not like this show. If I want to witness ugly men clenching their teeth and groaning I could hang out in the bathroom of an Indian restaurant. In the clean-up spot is "Outlaw Star" - and clean it is. A nicely drawn show, the only one of the afternoon that doesn't look a little dated; but the story can't keep pace with the style. Which leaves "Tenchi Universe" - probably the best-written show of the lot, demonstrating a good knack for communicating over-arching plot lines in satisfying and self-contained half-hour installments. And then Cartoon Network calls its star hitter to the plate, the ultimate icon of Japanese culture... "Superman." Blame it on the expansion teams.

So yes, Erica, Toonami does not represent the very finest in Japanese animation. However interesting, Tenchi's romantic entanglements, pale in comparison with those of Akane Tendo. For every Sailor Scout who calls upon a quaint, supernatural power, there's an "Utena" duelist dripping with homoeroticism. But why indict weekday afternoon programming on American TV? Bugs Bunny dressing up in drag is about all the gender-bending your average third grader can handle. And like it or not, Toonami is targeted primarily at school age children. Consider the commercials: Eggo Waf-fulls, Chuck E. Cheese's, and AOL. Sure, I'll eat the odd Eggo or play the rare game of ski-ball, but only a child would put up with America Online. Which is not to say that Toonami doesn't contain some interesting shows a reasonable adult might watch and enjoy, but judging the block against "Cowboy Bebop" is like blaming "Tiny Toons" for not being as good as the "X-Files." As good as the "X-Files" was, that is.

My biggest problem with Toonami is that you can watch four hours straight and at the end of it nothing really happens. I remember languishing through my mother's ritualistic observance of "All My Children." At the beginning of the show Erica Cane was going to reveal the father of her baby, and by the end of the show you would learn that...tomorrow Erica Cane is going to reveal the father of her baby. The curse of poorly written serials is the habitual cliffhanger; single plot-points stretched over a week's worth of shows. And there's a lot of "All My Children" happening in Toonami. If, as E.W.C. asserts, the networks are trying to recreate the runaway success of "Pokemon" by re-tooling shows for a young male audience, they must recognize that young males, and not so young males, are not famous for their attention spans. By the end of a "Pokemon" episode Charmander is back in the ball and Ash and Co. are moving on. Kick more ass in less time - that's my marketing tip to you, Mr. Cartoon Network.

Ultimately, do I care if Toonami succeeds? No. For me the Cartoon Network is just a brief layover between "Ghost Dog" on IFC and "TV Funhouse" on Comedy Central. But the bigger issue of anime's place in mainstream American media is an important one. I'm willing to bet that Erica's first exposure to Japanese animation was on a weekday afternoon or a Saturday morning watching "Voltron" or "Robotech." And were those shows that much better than "Sailor Moon" or "Tenchi Universe?" Erica loathes the omnipresence of "Pokemon" and the perceived half-heartedness of Cartoon Network efforts like Toonami - but without this type of exposure where will we find the E.W.C.'s of tomorrow? Locked behind institution walls, if society has advanced any.

Nevertheless, I would argue that anime fans great and small should try to get behind these fledgling efforts for only through increased exposure will the world of anime expand and grow, which ultimately leads to more fans, and more money for production, and a few more of the really quality pieces we're all looking for. And maybe even a raise for the writers of Karekano. (Matt)