Appealing to a western audience

[Zeki]

So, I think about this a lot, because I'd LOVE to see some of Takahashi's manga get an official English release, but I fully admit that marketing it would be really hard, for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that people don't take cartoon animals seriously. I mean, I know GNG was a hit in Nordic countries, but that seems almost like a fluke. Do people look back on it fondly and think 'Damn, that was a good series,' or 'Wow, that show was weird as fuck?' It's a pretty niche fandom.

Stories like Shiroi Senshi Yamato and Byakuren no Fang would do terribly because of the dog-fighting theme. Let's be honest, those stories glorify the hell out of pit fights, most of which end in mutilation or death. Imagine if PETA found out about a comic like that on American shelves. Also, SSY is just weird as hell.

I think the story most 'palatable' to western audiences would be the Ginga series. Yes, they tried that once with Weed and failed spectacularly, but that owed a lot to the fact that they totally skipped over GNG and threw people into an admittedly very strange series with no background knowledge.  There was nothing to ease people into this weird-ass world. Also, the translation and writing were poor, and on the whole the attempt just seemed really feeble.

The most reasonable thing to do would be to start with the GNG manga, or even anime. It might be a hard sell, but people enjoy weird, gory things and GNG definitely fits the bill. The anime could fit in well a late-night Cartoon Network kind of thing, so they wouldn't have to censor anything. Wolf's Rain enjoyed a modest success on CN, though that could be in part because the wolf characters could appear as hot humans... People might tune in just for the sheer weirdness factor of cartoon talking dogs unironically fucking shit up (actually, for similar reasons, I think Kacchu no Senshi Gamu might sell because 'what the actual shit, is that dog riding a horse?').

I do love the idea of supporting Yoshi instead of just reading scans, so if it ever did see an English release, I'd happily buy it all.

Anyone else think Ginga could be a success here, or would it be a total flop?

[乃ĿŌŌƉȲ₭ȲŌŪƧĦĪṜŌ]

In popularity, I think it would be a flop, but I could easily see it having very dedicated fans, who would no-doubt try to purchase all of the merchandise. I totally agree with the idea that it would be a marketable to a certain niche, because it is an animal series, and some people - like myself - really adore those, and even if there's nothing special going on, the mere fact that animals are involved would make me take a second look.

The dog fighting and the sexism would be the main turnoffs for people, which is understandable. You're also correct about people assuming that all animal series are for children. When I first encountered Ginga I thought "Aw, what a cute puppy," then the blood happened. That being said, I don't think something being weird or violent on its own is enough for people to not want to look at it. The anime isn't that bad, it's pretty standard in terms of violence, the manga is a different story, but if I'm not wrong, there are series that can be just as brutal. The only issue with the violence is that it involves dogs. I guarantee that if the characters were any other animal no one would bat an eye.

In terms of general weird-ness I think that isn't a deterrent, people may come to appreciate it as a novelty. Like you said "What the actual shit, is that dog riding a horse?" Let's not talk about the dog wearing armor either. Even if they don't end up liking it, it'll catch their attention.

As far as trying to appeal to us over here; I don't think it was necessarily a bad move trying to start off with Weed. I know that sounds a bit odd, but here's why. It's newer, and as someone who watched Weed, before watching Gin, I don't think it will diminish the impact of the more meaningful scenes. Sure, you may wonder "why is this guy so special," but when he goes out in a blaze of glory, you'll be awed and amazed at his courage. Especially for a first-time watcher. Another thing with the new-ness is that you have to take into consideration the art, and animation. The GNG manga, is great, and the anime is pretty good too, but you can tell it's old. Now GDW animation was no holy grail of art (far from it), but in terms of appealing to an American audience I think that the newer something is the more open people would be to watching it. The other issue I have with GNG, is that it's supposed to be an animal series, how can you market it like that when the first couple of books (or episodes) are mostly about humans with the dogs not talking. You don't need animals to talk to be successful, but - to me- it seemed that the beginning kind of spun its wheels a bit, even, though it had a purpose.

[Kit]

I thought I'd responded to this, for some reason...

Anyway, I really don't think Ginga has much chance, in the West. Japan has very different standards when it comes to what qualifies as a kid series, and Ginga is considered a series for kids there, despite the levels of gore and such. Whereas in America, it falls into this weird niche where it is neither for adults or kids. The levels of violence make it too adult for our kids, while a majority of adults wouldn't enjoy it because it has the atypical kid theme of preaching friendship and morals, in very cheesy amounts, and is pretty over-the-top with the shounen trope characters.

But I doubt any company would even think it worth censoring the violence for an American kid audience, since the plot is also quite standard and relies on a lot of cultural points of view, such as the dogs' samurai-like mindset, overall. I just don't think it would be appreciated outside of the basic "yay, animal protagonists!" levels. Even a lot of major fans don't appreciate many of those aspects, like the lesser role for women, and (for the biggest example) Weed's very noble samurai-esque "do not slaughter a defeated man, and show mercy" mindset. Some of that stuff is obviously the writing, but it's also a romanticized cultural thing, I think, and kind of wouldn't be on the radar to a lot of Western viewers.

Kids would only watch it for the dogs, (and there are plenty of 'safer' animal protagonist alternatives) and adults would likely avoid it. It just doesn't fit anywhere into Western viewing standards.

But this is all my take on it. I could be dead wrong and it would do amazingly.

[Kausza]

I agree with Kit. If anything, it would have a small following (like it already does), including people who enjoy talking animal stories and people who initially would be drawn in by the strangeness of the series. Otherwise, it seems rather dated (literally and figuratively), and would offend the hell out of a lot of mothers/conservatives around because of the violence, not to mention advocates against animal abuse.

Wolf's Rain was popular because it involved "werewolves" but also the story was complex and fantastic (read: fantasy) and the characters were unique, in relation to each other. Takahashi characters in contrast are rote and the stories can be interesting, but none of them are particularly sophisticated. Simple doesn't necessarily mean something won't do well over here, but I mean... in this case kids probably wouldn't be reading as much as an older audience would be.