I’ve started feeling this way about anime too, so it’s obviously a pervasive problem in Japanese markets.
Got a series that’s interesting? You can have some curious character developments and mysteries in the twelve episodes you get, but its REAL reason for existing is the hope of selling merchandise and concluding its story arc across 100 manga releases and 80 episodes (which almost never happens)
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 4 months ago
US animation existed for the sole purpose of merchandising and advertisements. Back in the 80s when transformers were all the rage (the cartoon existed for the almost sole purpose of selling the action figures) they released a movie that killed off most of the transformers (children cried) and they did this so they could bring in all new transformers to carry on the battle, so that kids would have to go out and buy more new toys.
Maven@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
Fun fact to add onto this. Before Reagan repealed the law, it was illegal to make a show purely to advertise to kids. Once it was repealed we got the transformers and GI Joe and so on but before Reagan every single one of those would’ve been illegal to show.
Zahille7@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Hot Rod is still one of my favorites.
It’s a shame we never got to see him in the live action movies.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 4 months ago
Oh. He’s there. It’s just the movie that bombed harder than Hiroshima. Transformers: the last knight.
Zahille7@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I watched that one and I do not remember him being in it at all. Tbh it was probably the most forgettable one.