Astro Boy Is Weak In The USA

[stoogefreaky]

Yes, I know there are Astro Boy fans here in the USA but not a lot of them. Everytime I mention Astro Boy to people my age or alittle younger, they reply that Astro Boy is lame or stupid, and even words I can't put here. I also think that if a movie were to be made here in the USA by an American movie director, it will probably not be a huge success but be a flop. It will not make a lot of money, so why would diretors put so much money into it in the first place.

Why do you think people hate Astro Boy?

[Strange Wings]

It's hard to tell, they're probably not perceptive enough to recognize about Tezuka's main message conveyed via Astroboy, that is, to unconditionally love any creature & any being on this earth. Most of the time we're treating each other like "I love you when...", and this restricting"when" appearing before the line I think is also a reason why we're happen to focus just upon our own needs.
Maybe I'm getting too philosophical...

Also a reason to consider may be that a lot of us grew up with Astroboy and therefore are biased by the nice memories about it by recalling those times.
I'm not sure about how I would perceive Astro if I had missed the opportunity to watch the series back in my youth. Perhaps I would think the same way as those people, perhaps not directly hating it but at least thinking "yeah, cute character but oh well...". However the fact is, each time I happen to look at Astro's face, I'm caught by a pleasant feeling.

As long as those anti-Astro people are caught within their prejusticed opinions, their point of view won't change that easily.
It's up to them giving the series a chance and to let it allow developing itself in front of their eyes. Most of the people saying that they're hating Astroboy often did not watch one single episode of it.

[DrFrag]

I can only speak on this from the perspective of an Australian.

I don't think it was ever marketed very well in the USA.

I've suspected it has its roots in post-war anti-Japanese-culture, given the removal of all Japanese references in the 80s series, but now I'm not so sure of this. Australia was bombed by Japan in WW2 as well, yet the 80s series was repeated 11 times in 10 years here. People here remember the 60s series, and you can still buy 2003 merchanside in shops.
So if it is cultural, it's probably more about pro-American culture than anti-Japanese culture. The American market has American animation to choose from (Warner Bros, Hana-Barbera, etc), whereas there's really no Australian animation industry to speak of. We get a lot of Japanese animation.

I also think the 2003 series isn't the best one to grow up with. It didn't capture the spirit of Astroboy. If I was born 15 years later I'd probably stick with Pokemon.

I think the only way the CGI movie will be a success is if they capture Tezuka's message.

[Astro Forever]

DrFrag, could the geographical proximity (well, relatively speaking, considering Australia seems so far from almost everything to us ) could also play a role in Australia's interest in the Japanese culture?

[Kirben]

The American market has American animation to choose from (Warner Bros, Hana-Barbera, etc), whereas there's really no Australian animation industry to speak of. We get a lot of Japanese animation.

Not a valid point, as there is actually an animation industry in Australia. There have been many companies producing animated series over the years, but mostly aimed at younger kids. The work of Flying Bark Productions (formerly Yoram Gross), and Disney's former animation studio in Australia, would be the most well known. Australian animation is shown on free to air TV more, due to the current Australian content requirements too.

[CommanderEVE]

It's weak here in the UK too i hate it.

[DrFrag]

Not a valid point, as there is actually an animation industry in Australia. There have been many companies producing animated series over the years, but mostly aimed at younger kids.

That's good to know.

[stoogefreaky]

Does anyone have friends in the real world (not cyber space) who like Astro Boy?

[CommanderEVE]

Ummm i little bit.

[Astro Forever]

Not today, but obviously I had when it was on TV back when I was a child.