by Ryan Mathews

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November 2000

Only two months ago, I used this column to discuss how I felt about Fox Kids' mangling of Escaflowne. Now I get to discuss its cancellation. That's right, the plug has been pulled. Less than halfway through the 26-episode series, Fox Kids has yanked Escaflowne for (I wish I was making this up) NASCAR Racers. As far as I know, no official reason has been given, but certainly it has to do with the ratings. While not a complete disaster, the ratings were unimpressive, and most likely Fox Kids figured they could get equally bad ratings with an American cartoon, without the added expense of editing it to taste.

Of course, as we all know, the bad ratings couldn't possibly have been worsened by said editing, which included skipping the first episode, cutting some of the mushy bits and rearranging the soundtrack so the excitement wouldn't be ruined by Yoko Kanno's softer compositions. It couldn't be because Fox Kids took a shojo/shonen fusion and tried to aim it at little boys. No, no, it must be because kids don't like anime anymore.

Mind you, if broadcast networks give up on anime, there's plenty of purist fans who won't be shedding a tear. These fans see the broadcasting of anime as one more step towards its "Americanization". Of course, many of these fans are the same ones who would like to see all American anime distributors fold up and die so that we can return to the golden age of fansubs, so I tend to take their views with a grain of salt. Surprisingly, though, on this issue, I found myself taking their side.

I want to see more anime on American TV. Every new series that appears on the tube is a step in the right direction, as far as I'm concerned. However, and this is very important, I don't want to see these series edited. Some editing will always be necessary, in order to bring anime series into compliance with standards regarding sex and violence. Any more than that, though, and it's no longer the series I wanted to see. Worse, editing sets up a nasty lose-lose situation. More often than not, network meddling causes a show to flop. The network execs, secure in the knowledge of their infallibility, assume that the show in question just wasn't hit material, and may become gun-shy about picking up more anime. But when the show becomes a success, that can be even worse, since it simply justifies future, possibly even more severe, editing.

As anime continues to grow in popularity, as more and more US dollars are spent on Japanese animation, I see anime heading for two possible futures. One is a utopia, where anime is plentiful, and relatively inexpensive. Where new anime series, accurately dubbed and minimally edited, appear on American TV in a matter of months after they debut in Japan. Where anime movies hit the theaters over here in the same year they do over there, and you don't have to hunt down an art theater to see them. Where subtitled anime plays regularly on PBS, and where that all-anime cable channel might someday be a reality. The other is a disastrous hell, where networks buy up all promising new shows and hack them to suit their own tastes. Where subtitled and even unedited anime is impossible to find, outside of illegal fansubs. Where anime itself becomes more Americanized, the better to win a bigger piece of the profitable US pie.

Neither future is likely, but the real future will be closer to one than the other (assuming that anime's popularity doesn't take a U-turn, which isn't completely out of the question). It goes without saying that I'd prefer the utopian version. And if achieving that means keeping anime off network television until we're truly ready for it, then so be it. Given that, it's hard for me to see the cancellation of Escaflowne as anything but good.

It's worth noting that Fox Kids is planning to give anime another try, having acquired the rights to Slayers. (Yeah, that's right. A show with occult overtones and breast jokes, where the main character practices "black magic". Guaranteed Saturday-morning family-pleaser there...) While this may mean Fox hasn't yet given up on anime, it's fairly certain that Slayers was acquired before the decision was made to pull Escaflowne. At this point, I'll believe it once a schedule is announced.

Hey, kids! Web picks!