Anime T.V Guide for Canada

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T.V Anime in Canada
Aug.29/98


"Nothing on again!?"

T.V Anime in Canada
By: Carol

While flipping through the channels on a regular day,
One may notice the lack of anime.
Look at the quantity; like many skin pores.
But why are we here watching Big Wars?
Look at the quality; it's not a sin.
Though we are stuck with Quest of Odin.
Look at the selection; all different kinds.
And yet Sailor Moon is still in our minds.
In Canada, anime on broadcast T.V,
Is not what most anime fans like to see.
But it was not always sad and meek,
Anime on T.V has reached it's peak.
The T.V showings which gave a suprise
to anime fans who thought they were wise.
Wings of Honneamise, Macross Plus,
That is good for all of us.
Patlabor, Ninja Scroll,
Now we are on a role...
Wait. That's it?!
Nothing more but a little tidbit?
Do the stations not care who we are?
To them, are we just sticky tar?
Does anime to them even exist?
Do they not put it on their list?
Or
Can it be true they are on the fall?
Is it for real they have no money at all?
Overall,
T.V anime should not be put to rest,
since anime is still the best.
Like the poem? (I wrote it all myself which just shows how bad a poet I am.) If you even bother to read it, you can tell that this 'In Focus' issue deals with the lack of anime shown on broadcast T.V in Canada. To many anime fans, that may seem bad, or even horrible. To others, it may seem good. Why don't the stations give it a chance? And why not more often? Through surfing the net of a few Canadian anime T.V stations, and along with past email from the stations themselves and viewers of this site, I manage to come up with five logical theories why anime is not fully exposed on broadcast T.V here in Canada.

Here are the theories why:

NOTE: Theories may be inaccurate; any response to this, please email the editior.
  • T.V time is very expensive and it does not come for free. Most stations have a budget for each year. Once it's all spent, the station may have to wait and see how much money will be available again before they can commit to bringing new programming again.

  • Anime is one of the hardest shows to broadcast. As quoted from TELETOON "Unlike the rights for video distribution, broadcast rights for Japanese animés are very difficult to acquire".

  • Anime is a form of entertainment that is not 'mainstream' in North America and T.V stations have no reason why they would just choose Japanese animation.

  • Anime is not know by the majority of people in North America. This may not make a significant impact on the T.V stations ratings, which is what T.V stations don't want.

  • Anime is not all good. Sex and violence do occur and T.V stations can not just show any anime, especially when sex and violence are linked. As quoted from SPACE "This reflects a longstanding Chum Television policy"

Through these five theories, there might be some reason why T.V Anime in Canada hasn't become as sucessful as it could yet. I guess when you look at it as a whole, anime is still just one small portion of many portions in the entertainment world.

Carol
Aug.29/98

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