July 27-28 2013 Image

July 27-28 2013 US

July 27-28 2013 WW

“I got this, I can do this. This world can’t beat me. I will survive.”

          Kirito, Sword Art Online (Episode 01)

Sword Art Online is not a mainstream show.

          Jose Argumedo, numerous times on the Toonami Faithful Podcast, on his discontent of the possibility (at the time) of SAO airing on Toonami.

We aren’t worried about that scene turning away viewers, at all.

          The Toonami Tumblr, when asked about a “certain scene” you will be seeing sometime down the 2nd half of SAO potentially turning away viewers.

Well, I guess the day that Jose (and every SAO hater for that matter) has feared has finally been realized. Here’s the Toonami Trending Rundown for July 27-28, 2013.

Sword Art Online logs on into the block (and like the SAO players themselves, won’t be logging out for the foreseeable future…uhh…too soon?) as we got ourselves our first perfect night since January 19-20 2013 as Toonami and every show reached the US trends list. Heck, we were even close to a worldwide perfect night, as every show but Bebop and InuYasha sniffed the worldwide trending list. In terms of character trends, I spotted a image of Ichigo trending worldwide as he and Aizen kicked off the arc’s grand battle. I can’t say exactly say when it trended or who it came from, but I’ll just put it out there to see if anyone can confirm it. There is also reports that Black Star trending in the US as he failed to stop the kishen resurrection, however the only form of proof that i have seen that it did was via an i-Pad app.

That all being said, it wasn’t easy, as we were up against a variety of events, including Jesus Soto Karas’s knockout of Andre Berto, not to mention Demetrious Johnson’s knockout of John Moraga a bit earlier, as well as the first night of FOX’s ADHD block (though I’m not sure if anything from that block trended, as some areas had preemption issues due to said events.). To make matters worse, we had to deal with a very glitch-ridden trending list and other various technical issues, meaning that all the trends you see up in the list were either delayed or weren’t exactly seen by everyone (and as you can see from the list, this rundown couldn’t have been pulled off without some assistance). But none the less, both Cartoon Network and the Toonami Faithful pulled off this night on their ends without a hitch, and fans were treated to a night to remember. Though it does bring the question: Did Twitter break because Foxy put his Slow-Slow beam on the trending list? Who knows.

Interesting note regarding SAO: Despite that Kayaba Akihiko sounds like he was voiced by Crispin Freeman, Freeman himself has said otherwise, as despite that the show was dubbed in Los Angeles, SAO was dubbed using non-union actors, and Crispin by contract is restricted to union-only work. After some research, the voice for Kayaba is actually Marc Diraison, known for voicing Zoro in the 4kids version of One Piece and Guts in Berserk. So that dispels all the rumors regarding Crispin and SAO.

Do you think Jose and his fellow critics are right that SAO has no business being on Toonami? Toonami after all is meant to be the biggest mainstream gateway drug to anime and mature action cartoons in the west (and with the state of today’s industry, one could say it’s needed more than ever), and getting titles that are accused of what some call “Otaku Pandering” would not fit that M.O. Or do you think it deserves a shot at mainstream success just like every other Toonami show has gotten and want to see if it can it take it’s golden opportunity to be an even bigger phenemon and in turn help Toonami start another golden age? If you’re thinking the latter or even undecided on the matter, all I can say is keep watching and we’ll find out.

Yes, i know Jose’s willing to give SAO a second chance. I was just using his quote to showcase the show’s divisiveness, not to spite anyone.

And yes, as of this post, the trending rundown is now apart of ToonamiFaithful.com. I will talk more about that next week.

Legend: The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown.

US Trends:

  • Toonami/#Toonami (During Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Soul Eater, Sword Art Online, IGPX, Eureka 7, Big O, FMA Brotherhood, and InuYasha.) [#3]
  • #Bleach [#4]
  • #Naruto [#5]
  • #OnePiece [#5]
  • #SoulEater [#5]
  • Black Star (From Soul Eater. Phone App only.) [#7]
  • #SwordArtOnline [#5]
  • #IGPX [#5]
  • #Eureka7 [#5]
  • #BigO [#5]
  • #FMABrotherhood [#5]
  • #CowboyBebop [#5]
  • #InuYasha [#5]

Worldwide Trends:

  • Toonami/#Toonami (During Naruto, One Piece, Soul Eater, Sword Art Online, and IGPX) [#5]
  • #Bleach [#5]
  • Ichigo (From Bleach) [#9]
  • #Naruto [#5]
  • #OnePiece [#5]
  • #SoulEater [#5]
  • #SwordArtOnline [#5]
  • #IGPX [#5]
  • #Eureka7 [#5]
  • #BigO [#5]
  • #FMABrotherhood [#5]

Special thanks to @JacquelineMay3, @YonkouProdHD, @DatDamnPR, @DakotaMexCon, @TheNextHokage, @M40A3Beast, and other folks i forgot to mention for their assistance on some of the trends on this list.

Additive, isn’t it? Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.

5 COMMENTS

  1. “I kind of always assumed giving into their demands for the latest and greatest was not going to satisfy them but I’m sure the reason Toonami got those popular shows besides just liking them, is because they are trying to get good ratings and sure enough it worked. It is a compromise for longevity sake but we’ve reached the point when I question if they compromised a bit too much trying to air the most mainstream shows found in a niche industry and are rarely thinking outside of the box anymore.”

    So, you are angry that SAO is not mainstream enough to be on Toonami, but in the post a few days ago you are saying Toonami has too many mainstream shows? I am officially the contrarian of this website. Because no body is disagreeing or noticing the incredible double standard that I keep seeing.Still not trying to troll, but I need to be honest about what I am seeing.

  2. For me, the discussion of success or failure…actually, to be more accurate, the breadth of SAO’s popularity and exposure cannot be divorced from its most recent hype-monster brother, Attack on Titan.

    To be fair, I want SAO to be as successful on Toonami as it possibly can be. Now that it is on the air. At the same time, it is far from my first choice when imagining anime that could get mainstream exposure. I do believe the appeal of the show is niche, but not the otaku kind.

    When I think of SAO, the first comparable title that comes to mind is not an anime at all. It reminds me of Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey. SAO’s success, from my perspective, has a lot to do with a certain form of wish-fulfillment that is very similar to the appeal of Twilight. In both novels and anime, there are many examples of such fan pandering, and these two just happened to be the ones with the right combination of elements in their niche to reach high levels of popularity. The major difference is there’s nothing special about a show that fulfills fantasies of the male gaze while one centered around female pandering was a novelty at the time Twilight came out.

    On the other hand, Madoka Magica is a very otaku centric TV series. Its tropes appeal to a certain demographic who are very familiar with a genre (magical girls) that is unique to anime. However, it is not fan pandering or wish-fulfillment. Its popularity comes from telling a very good story with certain elements that appeal to anime fans.

    It is unfortunate both SAO and Madoka are held back by their niche from reaching a mainstream audience. In Madoka’s case, it has to do with the fact general audiences shy away from genres they are not familiar with, no matter how good it actually is. For SAO though, the decision to cater to a specific fan-base helped it gain a substantial amount of notoriety while lessening its chances to appeal to demographics outside its base. To engage viewers outside a niche, especially for a category of entertainment like anime which is already niche in and of itself, depends on the combination of a familiar concept married to a story that does not pander to a specific audience.

    Attack on Titan is probably the best example to come along in quite some time. Like SAO with the survival game, it has a refreshing take on the humanity vs. monsters concept. Unlike SAO though, its story is not driven by wish-fulfillment. That distinction seems most apparent in the lack of fanservice, and Attack on Titan’s treatment of the female cast. In other words, a general audience’s attention is not distracted by an unfamiliar genre (Madoka) or fan pandering (SAO). It is much easier to get caught up in the story, and be distracted by what really matters: the fact they are watching an animated serial drama.

  3. I dislike the hipster mentality because all shows deserve a equal chance. SAO is a good show, I can understand taking apart what is popular and trash. For example why is The Walking Dead amazing today? Two reason; its popularity is being based on a marketing idea going on now and for the fans who wanted their comic to come to the network. When I look at shows like Big Bang Theory or Wilfred; What’s the difference between those shows? It’s their storyline and marketing. Where I am I see Big Bang on billboards on the highway and on walls. What about Wilfred? Well it comes on after 6pm as a preview on TV for the next episode and this is only on FX. Big Bang is commercialized on different channels besides CBS. I won’t say Big Bang is terrible or anything; it’s in the middle. Wilfred on the other hand even though it is based on Australian tv show it is actually good and the humor is darker and better. I said this alot I think if you want your shows to grow; Guerrilla Marketing will help post your tags online, on the street (With Posters or Flags, NO Graffiti) and buy the dvds; show them you care. After seeing SAO I like the show, good action, small bit comedy, I want more. Just like IGPX I actually want to see more expanded world.

    My claim is that we try to support every show on Toonami because I don’t want Toonami going away again just it did years ago because of the ATHF incident. That hurt our creativity and insecurity about making amazing shows. I actually want to expand the market and help grow the Animation Industry, not only that but promote competition Worldwide for other countries as well to push for new promos and shows. Don’t give up on the SAO because each show matters to me as a whole. Let’s fight together not individually. Stay Positive and Work Hard.

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