Have there been any huge fads since TMNT, Power Rangers and Pokemon?

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Napz

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I was just thinking about how the 3 biggest fads over the last 20 years was Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and then Pokemon. And then I was thinking, was there anything that came after that was ever as big as any of these 3 at the height of their popularity?

I honestly can't think of any series that came after Pokemon that really made as big a splash. Sure, Yu-gi-oh, Teen Titans, and Ben 10 were popular, but not on the same level as the big 3.

Was there any other cartoon or fad as big as Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers or Pokemon in recent years?
 
Fad popularity? Nothing I can think of that matched those.

But overall popularity? A little sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea would like to have a word with you. A decade later and its still a merchandising juggernaut and a ratings monster.
 
Spongebob definitely, but I guess I was thinking more of, "action" oriented cartoons.

I'd definitely say Dragonball Z as well. DBZ was pretty huge at the height of its popularity in the U.S., even with the terrible dubs back then.
 
But it seem to me that people in general aren't as aware of Dragonball Z as they are of TMNT, Power Rangers and Pok?mon. It's like, even your average 40-year old woman have at least some basic understanding of what those three things are (especially TMNT and Pok?mon, but also Power Rangers to a lesser extent). It doesn't seem to be the same with DBZ. At best, the average person, when he/she hears the name of the series goes "umm... oh yeah, that's some kinda Japanese thingy, isn't it?". So yeah, the name of the series might be relatively well known to the general public, but the content not so much.
 
Can't think of anything nearly as big as those three shows, but to a lesser extent, I'd say Ben 10 and Bakugan ended up being pretty darn popular.
 
The thing is, much like Batman and Spiderman, you can name drop Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers and Pokemon to random adults or people who don't watch kids shows, and they should know what it is.

You can't do that for other shows.

For example, who doesn't know Bruce Wayne is Batman or that Superman is Clark Kent? It is common knowledge, most likely because these characters have existed for 80 years.
 
I really wouldn't define Pokemon as an "action" cartoon though. That being the case, I think Spongebob certainly would fit in with this topic. And I think that Phineas & Ferb is making its way there as well.
 
I don't know if Spongebob would count or not. I know that it has a large adult/teenager fanbase as well as kids. The other shows mentioned were only popular amoungst kids (they have older fans now but I am talking about when they first started out.)
 
The one show that I can think of that even comes close is Bakugan. Four series, and no signs of stopping.

At its prime, I may have said Beyblade.
 
In Canada, Beyblade would definitely fit. When you're covered on National News for being that popular, it's strong.

You also have the resurgence of Transformers with Transformers Armada which became Hasbro's best selling Transformers toyline prior to the 2007 movie. However, like Sponge Bob, this is a franchise that has never truly faded away from public eye.
 
One animated series/franchise whose name at least appears to have entered the common vocabulary is Digimon. But of course, this is probably mostly just because it sounds similar to Pok?mon, and people in general seems to think of the two as completely interchangeable.

Another relatively recent (well, 13 years old as of now...) cartoon that seems to be somewhat well known is The Powerpuff Girls.
 
While not animated, Hannah Montana was a huge fad, if I recall correctly. Among young girls, anyway.
And wasn't there a yomega yo-yo fad like a decade ago?
 
I think 'Friendship is Magic' is reaching guys of every age, wether they want to admit it or not. The writing's that darn good.
 
Naruto was pretty big for a while. Its popularity never really saturated like a Dragon Ball Z or a TMNT, but it did command a lot of attention from adolescents and teenagers.
 
Speaking of Canadian fads, I wonder if we could add Sailor Moon and Reboot to the list? I remember back when YTV broadcasted SM for the first time in 1995, it was a big hit for YTV.
 
Well... yeah. :sweat: I don't think I've this embarrassed in liking a show since Power Rangers. (and that one was made for boys)

Yeah, I think that's the closest thing right now, everything else doesn't fit the bill, yeah Spongebob has been here since 99 but, I don't think really makes it a fad just that people are still watching it, The Simpsons has been here since 89 but I don't think that's a fad either,
 
I certainly think YGO was at a similar level to Pokemon.

Sure, Pokemon sold more paraphernalia then YGO did, but during it's prime the YGO Card game was (and still is) more popular then Pokemon the card game. It brings in a ton more money annually even today.

I'll easily concede the second two series never got anywhere to taking root on the same level the first series did.

That being said, I'd really have to agree that all the series that have had explosive popularity probably have been named already and there probably hasn't been a series unleashed since the early 2000s that has had that same kind of ground breaking effect.

I tend to think there's a lot of reasons for this that could probably be discussed in another thread but at the end of the day its because, IMHO, there have been several paradigm shifts in the philosophies of businesses and their marketing. Some of it has been brought on by regulation, some of it has been brought on by too much planning for the short term and not enough planning for the long term.
 
YGO is by no means anywhere similar to Pokemon. The YGO card game may have sold better than the Pokemon card game(although the "a ton more money" comment is quite hard to believe), but all this "paraphernalia" Pokemon has puts it in pretty much ludicrous levels over YGO. Pokemon B/W broke the record for most pre-ordered video game ever, and the anime and the Pokemon movies and anime are certainly more popular.

And now that Nintendo is going the AR route with the 3DS, it's a matter of time they come out with a Pokemon video game/trading card hybrid.
 
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