4Kids Talkback: The Crossroads of Destiny - The 4Kids Discussion V10

I think, just maybe, it's because of the time slot they have placed 5D's. I mean, ever since it was CW4Kids, it has only aired after 10:00. That may be why kids aren't watching, or kids only like stuff that has already aired either on other networks (DBZ Kai) or ended years ago (YGO, Sonic X). Not saying the last one is true, but...:sweat:
 
Ah, I thought that it was at least a good two months after 5D's premiered in Japan before 4Kids announced that they had acquired it. My mistake. Thank you for the clarification. I'm still kind of nervous with the idea of Viz handling Yu-Gi-Oh! considering that they do have a history of not finishing their some of dubs and not releasing all of the series, or even what they have dubbed, on DVD. Though, considering the merchandise revenue they would get from the franchise, they probably wouldn't do that if they did get the license. I'm not really sure if Zexal would have to be out when the new starter deck hits America. That would make sense in order to promote the newest cards, but 4Kids hasn't really made it a priority to have the new episodes of 5D's match with the most recent released booster packs. If they did, then I think they would be a bit closer to the end of 5D's by this point. Plus, depending on how the legal situation rolls out, TV Tokyo may not have enough time to get a new company to license Yu-Gi-Oh! and produce a dub for Zexal by May.
 
Actually, I think the newest Pokemon game in Japan broke records during it's release. Bakugan I don't think was that popular in Japan, the anime is taking so long to run while America and Canada are very much ahead, respectively.
 
Oh, I actually meant the CW4Kids block. After taking it off the block, they haven't really tried to promote it or use any of their Chaotic characters, though the lack of new cards to promote was probably a factor. I must have typed in website by mistake. Sorry about that misunderstanding. I'll go ahead and edit that out of my original post.



Well, I wouldn't be surprise if the time slot is a factor for why 5D's doesn't do well in ratings. However, I do recall that when it was on a better time slot on the CW4Kids block, I think either 10:00 or 10:30, it still wouldn't do that much better than how it does now. Plus, both DBZ Kai and repeats of Yu-Gi-Oh! air after 10:00 and they're able usually pull in pretty good ratings. Though DBZ Kai is technically new, but it still does pretty decent when its in repeats too. I think that this is the only way for a lot of kids to see DBZ Kai. I don't think Nicktoons is available in most homes since not everyone can afford it. Most of the Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes that they have aired, like most of season two and the current Battle City finals arc, haven't aired on TV for years, so I could see how those episodes could be new to a lot of kids that weren't able to see the premiers on the old Kids' WB or any repeats on Cartoon Network. I am still surprised that Sonic X does so well though. I don't hate the series, but I just see it as a pretty average series. Considering how often they go through the series and its popular enough for three slots on the block, I am wondering how it does stay so successful, but maybe it just appeals to a large group of kids that often watch the block.
 
My CW affiliate has always had the kids block from 6- 11 AM here in Odessa. I also know that the CW affiliate in Idaho Falls/ Pocatello airs the kids block from 6-11 AM.
 
When I checked this last week the price was $11.00, looks like it has had a huge price drop now down to only $6.96

Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time
Studio Name: A&E Home Video
DVD Release Date: 07/19/2011
Rating: PG
Format: DVD
Screen Format: Full Frame
Run Time: 49 minutes
Language: English

http://www.walmart.com/ip/16440121

The UK will be getting the movie on Region 2 DVD (and looks to also be getting the 'Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon' card they gave away at the movie theaters) and in 3-D on Blu-ray (also comes with a card).

Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time 3-D
Format: [Blu-ray] PAL
Classification: PG
Studio: Manga Entertainment
Release Date: May 30, 2011

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yu-Gi-Oh-Mo...ef=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1302596958&sr=8-4

Also members over on the Technodrome forum discovered the UK will also be getting what appears to be an uncut widescreen release of Turtles Forever


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever
Format: Anamorphic, Widescreen, PAL
Region: Region 2
Classification: PG
Studio: Best Medicine
DVD Release Date: April 18, 2011
Run Time: 80 minutes

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teenage-Mut...9GB4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302596888&sr=8-1

I have already got this version of Turtles Forever on pre-order (I have an all region DVD player) and it looks like I might be adding the Yu-Gi-Oh 3-D Blu-ray (Does anyone know for sure if Manga Entertainment blu-rays are region free? I sent an e-mail to them about it last night have not heard from them yet). If any one is interested in getting these movies, please make sure your DVD and/or Blu-ray player can actually play them first.
 
4Kids is a bit late to the game with this rebranding. Toonzaki is a strange name--does it refer to anything, mean anything? Is is an homage to Miyazaki?
 
The thing to remember with 4Kids is the limited funds. This means any show they produce or acquire needs to have limited funds spent on it. Acquiring any anime typically also means getting music rights, streaming rights, dubbing rights, etc. It can be a pretty hefty cost in the long run, though they are usually able to get around the music rights by producing their own music. That's also where the problem is when it comes to producing their own shows.

Frankly what 4Kids needs is a show that can appeal to kids and that they can have merchandising rights for. To me Web Ghosts PiPoPa would be a perfect fit on Toonzai for the early hours. The series is complete, it contains interesting monsters, and they could get a lot of merchandising sales by making dolls of PiPoPa, having various cell phone accessories of PiPoPa, etc.

In terms of original productions, I agree that they need their own series that has a good story and that they can have a lot of merchandising from. The question though is what type of series are there out there at this time? Warner typically has been the most successful at creating their own series (Ben 10, Fosters, Powerpuff Girls, Megas, etc.), but Disney (Phineas and Ferb) and Nick (Avatar) have also done well. Can 4Kids actually acquire a good storyteller though to create such a series? They'd have to get permission from FOX to do so, but frankly I think they could get such a series if they were to do an animated form of Eragon. Yes, the movie bombed, but an animated series would be able to follow the storyline more closely, and the storyline is interesting. Dragons, swords, magic, dwarves, elves, and monsters are just a few things that can attract kids interests that Eragon has in it, especially if they could end up animating all 4 books (I say 4 since there is still a 4th book to come). Yes, they might have to edit some of the story with Roran and Katrinna, but that is the only area that might have to be slightly adjusted for a children's animated story.
 
Hmmm, 4Kids has a little more money than I expected them to have so maybe if they get through this Chapter 11 business they will be okay, but I still don't expect them to last beyond the end of this year or Q1 of next year. If I was them I would just let Yu-Gi-Oh go and focus on getting something else that could take off like Yu-Gi-Oh did back in the day, though there would be no definate success more than it would be a gamble.

And I've said it before, sometimes you just gotta toss the dice and see what happens....
 
I noticed that 4Kids put a "Season Finale" on Sonic X.

I guess they must think that kids will keep watching it, hoping for a new Season.

It's like a video that I have from when I was little. It said, "If you want to see more, just hit rewind."
 
I'm glad that the block did so well. We won't be able to expect this good of ratings for at least a few weeks.

The only thing is that some diehard 5D's fans might have been really turned off by the second 5D's episode. :sweat:
 
I was just trying to throw ideas out there, just so people remember that part. :sweat:

I agree that time does play a factor in the ratings. However, it's not like the show has recently been jumping slots. Even when it had an hour, it was getting something like a .6 or .7. However, over the past few weeks, it only had one episode and got over a 1.0.
 
Bakugan doesn't do well in Japan, and never really did. It initially cratered which is why the anime's seasons have been so far apart in Japan. It's only after seeing the international success that TMS and SEGA Toys tried lighting the fire again.



There's actually a bunch of recent toyetic stuff no one has touched. The most significant would be Battle Spirits (there was a rumored bidding war for the anime, but it has been way too long and we've heard way too little for that war to be ongoing), which is actually pretty popular in Japan. And while 4Kids likely couldn't license either series, they could broadcast Monsuno, or Mix Master: Final Force (like I said before, it's so 4Kids...).
 
That's certainly true. There can be certain factors, like time and if it's a holiday, that might explain some decreases in ratings and we can see in the schedule, but this does show that ratings can go up and down in just the span of one week without any clear reasoning behind it.

I'm glad to see that the block did really well, especially Sonic X and DBZ Kai. Even though they are both in reruns, they had great ratings. It's too bad that 5D's still doesn't have strong ratings, but I'm kind of used to seeing that for the series by this point. I'm not sure about Zexal premiering in the fall though. It might be just from how the new schedule only shows one new episode for 5D's on the lineup, which may not be a long-term change, but it still makes me think that they haven't dubbed enough of the remaining 5D's episodes to have double premiers for the next few months or they aren't ready for Zexal right away. I could be wrong and I wouldn't mind seeing Zexal in the fall, but the schedule change makes me wonder if 4Kids is really that eager, or perhaps ready for, dubbing the new Yu-Gi-Oh! series so soon.
 
Yeah, but most ratings on other blocks and channels will be lower than usual on Christmas Day anyway. They might have decent ratings on New Years Day, depending on what other channels are airing that day. While there were some diehard 5D's fans unhappy with how the second episodes turned out, I don't think that affected that episode's ratings. Most of, if not all, of those fans are older than the target audience who aren't factored into these ratings, as far as I know at least, and I don't know if a lot of kids watching the dub are familiar with the Japanese version of the series.
 
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