Why I gave up on local anime

I used to watch a lot of locally dubbed anime. That's because the only major sources of it back in the day were the networks and VHS tapes sourced from a friend or relative that works in Japan.

As far as I can remember, during the early 80's anime was referred to as 'Japanese cartoons' or 'Japanimation'. The term didn't even exist then.And most of the anime aired back then were of the 'giant robot' or 'space opera' kind. The emergence and availability of more anime in broader genres in the 90's made the general public aware of, not only of the source, but of the term 'anime' as well (which was over used by a certain network to some extent).

It was great and all for a time. I remember sitting in front of the TV watching Mazinger Z and Macross episodes superbly done in English. Colloquially dubbed anime was unheard of then not unlike today when every show is in Tagalog. But that is not the root of the matter at all. Here are the reasons why I gave up:

1. The networks carelessly edit the airtime for the show - cutting off the opening and ending credits and peppering the show with commercials for about half the timeslot is just too brutal. A lot of viewers enjoy the opening and ending themes as well.  A show's episode falling short of its intended run time just kills the plot. And the enjoyment. So really, why local networks?

2. Reruns -  anime x and y have been running around for more than a decade now. Same timeslot, same seasonal intervals, same everything. Show something else or none at all is my stand.

3. Poor dubbing - a lot of issues here I guess. Some voice actors lack the 'soul' of the character they are portraying. Some just do it the they do in telenovelas: lame and repetitive. And so on. While there are good voice actors out there, they are outnumbered by the mediocre ones so, tough.

4.Timeslots -  there used to be anime in the morning,primetime and mostly on the weekends. look at a station's programming right now and there's actually no really good anime going on any time of day.

5.Lack of variety - there is anime for each genre, age group and any other social strata imaginable. There's also anime worth critical acclaim that should be shown and watched. There's just more to anime than the mainstream.

While this is going on as a rant, I would just like to drive a point here. Sure there are a lot of considerations about show selection and such. But the local otaku should get what they deserve and much more.I'm just wondering why the networks just stopped and didn't bother anymore.

So while this is the case, I'll be getting my anime in alternate and reputable sources.

Tweet