Clue me in...

[selvatori.livejournal.com]

To the people who've watched episode 102..




I heard that the series will end with episode 103, but I really really REALLY wished it was only a rumor, I mean; they said it'll end at 52 before, right? so I thought it might only be the end of season II... oh and there are some people who said there will be fillers because the anime is catching up with manga pretty quickly....??

Is anyone sure of what's going to happen to DGM-anime after ep.103!!? D:

Comments

[blackwhite-rain.livejournal.com]

Sorry to double post~ ^^;

I wish they aren't going to do it, but it seems they are going on an unofficial stop (and until the manga has something more for them to make?).

[sirnatchan.livejournal.com]

Aw shiznat, they can't end there! I want more MORE I TELL YOU!

[selvatori.livejournal.com]

I edited it! I panicked for a moment there~ *neat freak* =P

Hmm~ so they're going on hiatus?? if it's like that then I'm okay with it, even if it's a whole new storyline or plain fillers, so long as it's DGM anime T-T

[selvatori.livejournal.com]

I can't agree more! though I'm catching up with the manga, I'm still not giving up the anime~ =(

[blackwhite-rain.livejournal.com]

I hope they are, but we don't know until there is an official announcement. *sigh*

[selvatori.livejournal.com]

But the screenshot above was from episode 102's preview for ep.103 .. don't you think that's kinda 'official' ..??

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

Long story short, the ratings of D.Gray-man in Japan are really pathetic. It barely grazes 1.5-2% on a good week, which is twice less than Naruto and Bleach (3-4%) and four times less than One Piece (7-8%). Since it's a major Shonen JUMP series, it's going to be compared to those and it compares unfavorably. That's why D.Gray-man has nearly zero merchandise - the anime simply proves not profitable.

In addition, reviews of D.Gray-man anime series in Japan really sucked. 2channel outright hates it for a huge list of reasons and pretty much celebrated when it got canceled. The manga is still going good and strong, but the reactions to the anime range from strained to outright negative outside the established fandom.

My personal opinion aside, I suspect anime is down for the count unless they either hire another studio to redo it from the start, or have the existing team rethink their entire approach. As ratings, reviews and lack of merchandise proved, the series is doubtfully worth it anymore for the investors.

[blackwhite-rain.livejournal.com]

So that's why I can never get something better than cards of DGM... The Japanese audience doesn't like the anime. *headdesk*

[selvatori.livejournal.com]

:O

.... how sad!!
I can understand Bleach and Naruto, but One Piece??? it's getting a bit rusty for crying out loud!! and don't you think it's a bit unfair for DGM to be compared with 5-6 years old shows??!!

I wish the series will survive this crisis, it deserves more love *sob*

[tyne.livejournal.com]

TOO SOON. TOO SOON. D: Also, I'm worried for the last episode. Just in case it isn't a big !FINALE! kind of thing to the series. I mean, 102 just makes me want to watch it forever and ever considering the plot is going such a long way in the manga.

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

One Piece doesn't have little merchandise. One Piece has at least four separate figurine series, one of them (Portrait of Pirates) is considered to be one of the best figurine series on the market. D.Gray-man only received two figurines in its entire existence.

Same goes for video games. FMA received 6 video games in its 52-episode lifespan, all other series receive an average of 2 games a year. D.Gray-man received 2 games in its entire life.

As for numbers in merchandise, are those 104 items listed high-profile merchandise? No. They are mostly cheap keychains, towels, trading cards, things the company won't lose on whether they produce it or not. D.Gray-man doesn't get any collector's items, and that speaks a lot about how popular it is with the crowd that usually pays.

And the fact that fewer stations agreed to provide time slots after episode 52 is really telling of its reputation, don't you think?


Anyway, I'm not here to argue. Like I said, I provided raw facts known to me that have nothing to do with my personal opinion. Personally, I don't think anything you listed makes it profitable enough to resume. If you think different, that's your choice. I'll keep my personal opinion on the anime out of it in either case.

[pia-elric.livejournal.com]

I thought the anime was doing well because of the dvd sales, in september it got 4th place beating code geass, one piece, naruto and more.

[post-position.livejournal.com]

Frankly, I'm surprised it wasnt cancelled sooner. It never struck me as being very popular, and I stopped watching ages ago.

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

Pretty much.

I look around for D.Gray-man merchandise on a regular basis. D.Gray-man only got 2 figurines in its life, both are distributed by Shueisha and use manga designs.

Everything else? Aside of my Rose Cross and an amulet shaped like Allen's early claw, all my accessories are custom-made. D.Gray-man won't even get high-quality wallets; there is a series of metal-plated wallets produced in Japan, it has Kingdom Hearts, Death Note, One Piece, Naruto, Code Geass, even Trinity Blood. Not D.Gray-man. Only D.Gray-man wallets are shitty cloth with chibis printed on.

It's kind of insulting to me as a fan. ._.

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

One Piece is a household in Japan, pretty much. I was surprised myself. It's the only shonen anime around that consistently breaks into the upper 10, as far ratings go.

But even if you compare it with new series, it took Soul Eater less than one season in order to crush D.Gray-man anime both in terms of ratings and merchandize... ._.

I don't think the series is in a crisis The manga still has a very solid fanbase and it won't be canceled anytime soon. But like Yu-Gi-Oh!, which had two separate anime runs because the first ended in disaster, D.Gray-man may want to rethink its approach to anime market.

[doggiedynasty.livejournal.com]

Same here

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

Actually, I have an avid Meitantei Conan fan on my flist and she's practically swimming in merchandise. The series gets into promotional videos of Japanese police forces and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for god's sake. I don't see where it has little merchandise.

I ignored the anime sale rankings because they say nothing in Japan. DVD sales may be important in America, where anime is a niche market. In Japan, once you score an anime series, you score the whole merchandize gig. Even if D.Gray-man outsold Code Geass and Naruto in DVD's, it still fell behind it because those have figurines, audio CD's and a whole list of collector's items. It still didn't bring in as much profit, because it has none of the merchandise intended for the collector's market; the market that actually pays.

I know that trading cards and seiyuu alarm clocks don't cost cheap here, but you forget that they're largely imported. They cost pretty cheap in Japan. And really, seiyuu alarm clocks? Shizuka Itou and Sakurai Takahiro are in 5+ series per season. Recording a single line for them is not very difficult.

Seriously, though, I don't see why you're getting on my case about this. I'm just providing facts observed on the market. I'm a messenger. A newscaster who reports the situation and nothing more. Being a jerk to me won't change anything because everything I said here is just observations made from online stores and TV-ratings, not my personal opinions. So stop it.

[haya5h1.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to see it stop, but it's at a good stopping place considering how close it is to where the manga is right now. And frankly I'd rather have a break than another season of horrid and pointless filler.

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

I'll repeat a little of what I said in the above comment, if you don't mind. :X

DVD sales may be critically important in America, where anime is a niche market. This is different in Japan. In Japan, once you score an anime series, you score the whole merchandise gig. You get keychains, bookmarks, wallets, bags, breakfast cereal, all the stuff. All of it is really cheap and can be bought by anyone, and it only matters in the long run if your series is a household name like One Piece, Meitantei Conan or Dragonball.

But the critical part of all sales is collector's items. In America, DVD's are practically the only available item from such a market. In Japan, you get figurines, plushies, character song singles, audio CD's, novels, expensive jewelry and more. All of it pools into the overall profit made from the series, thus making profit from DVD's into a much smaller margin than it would seem to a western fan.

Sad fact is, I could list you all of the collector's items for D.Gray-man right here. As far as Code Geass, One Piece and Naruto go, they get tons of it. So even if D.Gray-man outsold them in DVD's, it could still lose overall.

It's an unfortunate fact, but it's true. :(

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

I could provide an entire list for why anime should've been canceled. It made numerous mistakes in production that could be forgiven to an amateur doing a low-budget 13-episode anime, but not a major title like D.Gray-man. The entire 'turn down the brightness in frames to save money on background detail', as conveniently demonstrated by the screenshot on this post, is a move nobody should ever do because it instantly reveals that you're awful at pacing your animation budget.

But that is that. I'm personally a bit sad to see it go, because I did like the additional attention the series got. But I'm also hopeful that like with Yu-Gi-Oh!, a more competent studio will intercept the rights and turn D.Gray-man into an ambitious, stylish project it deserves to be.

So in the end, cancelation is both a bad thing and a possibility of new hopes.

[mellmell.livejournal.com]

That's too bad. It would've been cute to see the Zombie ark.



I'm sure people will think I'm a jerk when I say this but, I'm sure a big problem too were the fansubs and illegal downloading.

*runs and hides*

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

Your entire previous post was done in a condescending manner that ignored proper sentence structure for the sake of tossing in sarcastic quips, and ended with a dismissive whatever. And you call me insulting?

To quote you, whatever. If you're too busy achieving morally higher ground in a non-existent argument to demonstrate most basic manners and concern to the other party, you're obviously not worth my time. Farewell.

[blackwhite-rain.livejournal.com]

...Actually, I want to get a list like that. ^^; I do understand a bit of why some anime got cut, but not everything.

[fidchell.livejournal.com]

Haha, well. I could provide you with some of my observations concerning the series. However, they would be mostly my observations.

I'm in the anime fandom for... Seven years, I think? You know how such things go. You watch several dozen series, you read discussions and you begin to understand how different production decisions may make a series more or less popular. I'm not an expert, but I know my way around by now. ^^;

It would be pretty off-topic, though, so I'm not sure how I could get you that list. Unless I post it in my journal or something...

[blackwhite-rain.livejournal.com]

I'll check your journal. ^^ You can go and post it in yours.