Gucci Messiah
Banned
I remember being so excited when I found out the fox box acquired One Piece. I watched every single episode until it started running on toonami haha.
What was I thinking.
What was I thinking.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Toonami |OT2| Time to Push the Button
- Thread starter Seda
- Start date
- Status
We've since learned that nobody at 4Kids really ever watched anything of the show before acquiring it. They saw the cartoon-ish style and were sold on its popularity and thought it was just a stupid little kids show that they could merchandise, something like Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh, the kinds of things that had made a shitload of money. When they actually got their hands on it, it turned out to be nothing like what they expected and they had to do tons of work to try and shoehorn it into what they had planned for it.
This is also why, for example, they skipped entire story arcs to get to Tony Tony Chopper sooner, because Chopper was THE key marketable character and had already been in the anime for years by the time they acquired it, but they didn't know that he didn't show up for nearly 90 episodes in the original. So they did a massive fast forward on the series and got to him in about 50 episodes.
EDIT: Ah, right, forgot about the Shaman King package deal. That series didn't fare terribly well either.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
Why on Earth did they think One Piece would reach Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh levels of popularity? Both of those had a collective aspect and dipped their toes in other things such as TCG. Pure ignorance?
VGChampion
Member
That's what I thought but someone told me it was a one time only thing and it ended up being someone calling him Zoro with a stutter. Or so I heard.
One Piece is HUGE in Japan, I guess they figured that it would transfer over. Maybe it would have if 4Kids hadn't shit the bed.
Said editor, Alexis Kirsch, said "Z-O-R-O" would appear in a chapter on WSJ Alpha. It ended up being Usopp with a frozen mouth saying "Zorwo". That's why I have trouble believing Kirsch when he says a special edition is likely, the man is a troll.
On the bright side, Viz seems to be pushing One Piece harder than before as it has years of stories to tell, and their two biggest properties look to be ending soon. Bleach is confirmed to be in its final arc (how long that will last is anyone's guess) and Naruto certainly looks like it's in the endgame.
EDIT: Also, this video is appropriate, and was prophetic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic9-BAQxc7w
Yea but at the pace Kubo tells stories that final arc could last years. That said if One Piece takes off it'll be for the best.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
I read the manga via shonen jump before the anime got here so I had an idea that it was very popular in Japan but never did I think it would be anywhere near as popular as Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh. All the marketing in the world wouldn't have seen to that.
That's why I said "how long it will take is anyone's guess". Hopefully he doesn't drag his feet like the Arrancar, or rush it like the Fullbringers.
http://ithinkincomics.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/one-piece-isnt-an-anime-its-a-way-of-life/
This article should show you how big it is.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
Christ, I had no clue the fandom went to that extent in Japan.
Oh yeah, they do that too. Fucking hell. There's plenty of others.
Sea Kings are called Neptunians for some reason.
Elbaf is spelled "Elbaph", completely missing the fact that it's "Fable" spelled backwards. "Hpable?"
Cocoyashi Village is just "Coco Village", a change from the 4Kids dub.
Every instance of calling Eneru "God" is now "Kami", believing it would offend people or something stupid. Even though in the original kana it's "Goddo Eneru".
There's zero mention of Bon Clay being an Okama/Crossdreser, instead lying that the back of his coat says "Oh Come My Way". I think they gave up when Impel Down happened.
Oh yeah, and they also called Loguetown "Roguetown", missing the entire point of the name coming from "Prologue and Epilogue" and the nickname of "The Town of Beginnings and Endings".
God almighty.
It's not a dealbreaker though. Also, I kinda thought the reason behind "Zolo" was that they were scared they'd get sued by the owners of Zorro, and it was stuck before they realized they wouldn't.
One Piece is far far far bigger than Yu-Gi-Oh ever was. Pokemon is a little harder to compare with since its a cross media franchise.
Here are the top selling manga series in Japan in 2011:
1 One Piece Eiichiro Oda 37,996,373 Shueisha
2 Naruto Masashi Kishimoto 6,874,840 Shueisha
3 Blue Exorcist Kazue Katō 5,223,712 Shueisha
4 Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima 4,701,596 Kodansha
5 Toriko Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro 4,665,634 Shueisha
6 Gintama Hideaki Sorachi 4,415,491 Shueisha
7 Bakuman. Story: Tsugumi Ohba Art: Takeshi Obata 4,399,938 Shueisha
8 Bleach Tite Kubo 4,187,258 Shueisha
9 Kimi ni Todoke Karuho Shiina 4,109,481 Shueisha
10 Gantz Hiroya Oku 4,056,981 Shueisha
Here are the top selling manga series in Japan in 2012:
1 23,464,866 One Piece Shueisha Eiichiro Oda
2 8,070,446 Kuroko's Basketball Shueisha Tadatoshi Fujimaki
3 6,495,240 Naruto Shueisha Masashi Kishimoto
4 5,413,899 Space Brothers (Uchū Kyōdai) Kodansha Chūya Koyama
5 4,128,665 Fairy Tail Kodansha Hiro Mashima
6 4,039,715 Kimi ni Todoke Shueisha Karuho Shiina
7 3,603,710 Silver Spoon Shogakukan Hiromu Arakawa
8 3,439,839 Hunter X Hunter Shueisha Yoshihiro Togashi
9 3,437,182 Magi Shogakukan Shinobu Ohtaka
10 3,211,191 Bakuman. Shueisha Story: Tsugumi Ohba Art: Takeshi Obata
That drop off is mostly due to the fact that the volumes in 2011 were the big mid-series finale of the series for One Piece, but the fact is that not only is One Piece the most popular franchise in Japan, it's the most popular franchise by a MASSIVE margin. There isn't anything remotely even in the same universe in terms of popularity. One Piece also routinely comes in near the top of the anime TV ratings, with the only other shows competing with its numbers being family and children's shows like Sazae-san and Chibi Maruko-chan that have been running since the '70s or so.
It has also just about doubled the sales of the Dragon Ball manga, the previous all-time best selling shounen manga.
One Piece Film Z, which opened about 2 weeks ago, also had the biggest opening box office ticket sales of the year in Japan, and it was already at $37 million after 10 days (by comparison, The Avengers made $45 million total).
Gucci Messiah
Banned
It was marketed as a kids show in America...I really don't have a problem with any of those changes except the seakings thing. If you really expected anything different for a show meant to air during a saturday morning block, I don't know what to tell you. I'd be pissed if Adult Swim purchased the rights to air and made these changes but come on, its 4kids...
The Frankman
Banned
I have an animated vid for TOONAMI to play if they ever get funds to do a Music Night (yea right).
Beware, this music vid... yeah, I ain't about dat life.
Beware, this music vid... yeah, I ain't about dat life.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
I was referring to popularity in America but yeah, those are ridiculously impressive numbers.
That was 4Kids reason. But here's the thing, I don't know who actually owns Zorro. I've heard Disney, but I've also heard he's public domain. If that's the case, they overreacted a little bit. Then again, a good number of the edits were overreactions.
I wasn't listing 4Kids changes, those were changes Viz made to the manga. 4Kids never got to Eneru.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
I thought those were made in response to the anime, guess I was wrong. Still though, don't they market those to the 12-18 age demographic? Not making an excuse, just curious.
4Kids actually made all the changes on Enel for the anime by instituting those changes in the One Piece games. Thus he became "King Eneru," his Priests became "Knights," and his Ordeals became, I shit you not, "IQ Tests" (sometimes actually said as "I Cumulus Tests"). These changes were all continued in the edited American broadcast version aired by Funimation.
They do not.
I was scared. I just got all 8 Collections for Christmas.
Pretty much.
Skipping Laboon Effects: BROOK! Also, Crocus being in Roger's crew.
Also, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday (Vivi) were introduced in the arc, and their presence leads them into Whiskey Peak. In the 4Kids version, they just arrive there randomly (and it's called Misty Peak).
Skipping Little Garden Effects: Usopp's desire to see Elbaf. Oimo and Kashi wouldn't be able to join the Straw Hats side because Usopp wouldn't be able to tell them Dorry and Broggy are still alive.
Also, Mr. 3 is introduced, and he shows up in the Alabasta arc. 4Kids actually tried to handwave this by saying he was following them since Loguetown, but this only creates a further plot hole because Baroque Works didn't know about them until the end of Whiskey Peak.
There's probably further effects, but those are the big ones.
Impel Down? Try Marineford. Whitebeard would have been impossible.
Don't worry, the Funimation DVDs are unedited.
Oh yeah, forgot about this.
Oh shi- I just remembered that some Jaya and Skypiea characters do show up in One Piece: Pirates Carnival. I remember Wyper sounding like a Mexican Vegeta.
Impel Dow is a Superjail based off of Buddhist Hell, and contains:
People being forced to walk on razor blades
People being thrown into BOILING BLOOD
Every other fucking thing about Impel Down.
Well, let's be realistic, everything since the separation would have been impossible. *cough*Accidental handjob*cough*
Unspeakable Evil
Member
I dont believe you guys mentioned the change to Nami's past. Terrible
I liked the flashback showing a guy get shot, and then the guy who did the shooting laughs and says something like "I can't believe he fainted when I fired this pop gun!"
Also POISON SUCTION CUP DARTS!
yankeeforever2
Member
One Piece is mostly dead in America, I don't think Adult Swim would touch it unless they get it for cheap
They will probably go after small cheap anime, unless they expand to the weekdays.
They will probably go after small cheap anime, unless they expand to the weekdays.
Ussop getting stabbed was the most unintentionally hilarious thing ever. the ow before hitting the water was amazing thing ever
Like how Arlong sent Bellemere to a dungeon instead of killing her, and Nami just forgets about her.
I'm about 20 episodes into the Funimation dub of One Piece. Wow, I didn't know 4kids made all those hilarious changes. Maybe that's why I couldn't get into it when it aired years ago.
This picture is hilarious to me considering I watched this episode yesterday.
money would be a problem.
and then Toonami might not want to air THREE long-ass shonen at the very front of the block
you thought wrong, sir
This picture is hilarious to me considering I watched this episode yesterday.
Oh please. Americans can take violence. Now the Queen (King?) of Transsexuals? I would have paid to see someone attempt to edit Ivankov.
I remember when if first started airing my friends would troll me with the rap which they memorized (they were fans of the manga so they knew how badly it was mangled).
Which is a shame since, as the posts above have said, it is a pretty big frikkin cash cow. Movies, merchandise, games. It could have been DBZ 2.0.
It's depressing really, One Piece should have been huge. Instead, it's nothing more than a cult following.
The manga at least seems to be doing somewhat decently, the latest volume spent 4 weeks on the NYT best-sellers list. But it's still sad that it's nowhere near as successful as it could have been.
It doesn't help that there's still people that think 4Kids is still dubbing it. Even with Funimation promoting the fuck out of it, the message isn't getting out there. It needs a TV deal.
The manga at least seems to be doing somewhat decently, the latest volume spent 4 weeks on the NYT best-sellers list. But it's still sad that it's nowhere near as successful as it could have been.
It doesn't help that there's still people that think 4Kids is still dubbing it. Even with Funimation promoting the fuck out of it, the message isn't getting out there. It needs a TV deal.
While we're on the topic, I'd like to thank this thread for getting me into One Piece.
It's really good. I'd love to see the dub air on Toonami but it would definitely be hard to schedule considering episode count. Maybe give it an hour when S7 and SBT end (they end close together don't they?)
It's really good. I'd love to see the dub air on Toonami but it would definitely be hard to schedule considering episode count. Maybe give it an hour when S7 and SBT end (they end close together don't they?)
Yeah, S7 and Titan both end in February. Though I predict they'll restart Titan as it's a Cartoon Network original where S7 will get replaced.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
Maybe they could take turns rotating Bleach/Naruto/One Piece in that 12-1 slot
Eh. I think the only hope for One Piece is a 1-hour block after all the shows that only get 1 ep a night.
Until they get to the amazing bits (Water 7) this would be the bets it could do.
You mean Arlong/Alabasta.
Still a long way to go after that, I'd think they'd want to rush ahead to try and get a little closer to Marineford. If it went 1 episode a week after Arlong we'd never see Impel Down.
My idea is that Adult Swim allows One Piece to air an hour every night, Monday-Friday, until it catches up to Season 4. That's 205 (or 206) episodes. If they're willing to give up that hour of Family Guy repeats that people have seen hundreds of times already.
Or maybe allow an hour of One Piece to start at 11 EST, before Bleach.
Or maybe allow an hour of One Piece to start at 11 EST, before Bleach.
No, I think 2 eps a night until.......Thriller Bark is good.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
Eh, that's too much One Piece
You can never have too much One Piece ;p
Those Family Guy repeats get 3 million viewers a pop. There is no chance. You're also talking about Toonami adding 10 more broadcast slots a week to its budget. That would nearly double what it's running now. Just not plausible.
The only real scenario I see as vaguely plausible is Toonami expanding to 11 on Saturdays. And even that seems unlikely.
- Status