LenMiyata

(Note: this was spun off of the 'Whats the best samurai series ever' located in the Spoiler section... Whats the best samurai series ever)

Grumble Grumble Grumble

It's interesting to note that the majority of posters here claim that Samurai Champloo is one of the best Samurai Anime series, when the reality is that during it's first broadcast showing, Samurai Champloo was canceled after episode 17 due to poor viewer ratings. Now there has been other cases in the past where a anime series was canceled due to poor ratings, but had a resurgence during reruns (Space Battleship Yamato, Mobile Suit Gundam), but this is most definitely NOT the case with Samurai Champloo in the Japanese Anime market. So the questions needs to be asked...

Is the anime fandom outside of Japan so different from the anime fandom inside Japan? And if So, why is this the case???

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Hassun

We should start a whole new debate topic about that!
I think the fandom is definately different, but in the past we only got to see the series that had alot of success in Japan.
Now that even lesser known series reach our TVs or computers the differences might stand out more.

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Dreadhawk

I think, I heard, Japan makes the Anime solely for outside Market, they don't necessarily make Anime and stuff to appeal to the Japanese culture, even when it originated there, they find its more profitable to make products that appeal more to us than them.

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LenMiyata

Grumble Grumble Grumble
This is true only in the case where there is a US based company that is providing partial funding... (e.g. Big O II, IGPX, Super Deformed Gundam, and the upcoming Powder Puff Girl anime series). The amount of editing/censoring that occurs for anime TV broadcasts on Adult Swim show that these series were not intended to meet US broadcast standards. The only recent anime series that I know of that was written for American broadcast standards was the 50th anniversary remake of 'Astro Boy'

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esthered

I'm really surprised at Samurai Champloo being cancelled. But I think the main possible reason is because Japan has been exposed to Anime all their lives, and its nothing new to them. They've possibly seen so much anime that they probably are picky, or *PERHAPS* not very interested in Samurai anymore.

I don't know, I'm just making assumptions, but I think it is really because they have been overexposed to anime that their taste is starting to differ.

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LenMiyata

Grumble Grumble Grumble

Samurai Champloo is the most recent anime series that is more popular in the US market then the Japanese market, but it's not the first anime series with these credentials. Other series that have done better in the US market are...

Ninja Scroll (the Movie)
Trigun
Outlaw Star
Escaflowne (TV series)
The Big O (the second season was only possible with Cartoon Network funding...)

While some series that have gone like gangbusters in Japan have met with limited success in the US market, such as...
Gundam Seed, (Gundam Wing got better ratings and sales...)
Cardcaptor Sakura (Distributed as an afterthought by Nelvana, in fact ALL the Magical Girl Series have done poorly in the US market...)

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Spartan117

Samurai Champloo was a hip hop samurai anime. Hip hop isn't japanese so thats probably why not enough people liked it while here in the US were used to alot of hip hop so we liked Samurai Champloo. My guess is they were thinking about the US market when they made this anime.

LenMiyata

Grumble Grumble Grumble
Or it could be that the director of Samurai Champloo, Shinichiro Watenabe (Nabeshin of Excel Saga fame) is the only Japanese director known for having (at one time) a Afro hair style...

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