What Anime Actually Looked Like in 2010

Yumerio Patissiere/Yumerio Patissiere SP Professional, Battle Spirits Shonen Gekiha Dan/Battle Spirits Brave, The New Three Musketeers, Heartcatch PreCure!, Beyblade Metal Fusion, Dragon Ball Kai

Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri, ONE PIECE, Romance of Three Kingdoms, Naruto Shippuden, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Chibi Maruko-chan

Sengoku Basara Two, Sazae-san, Star Driver, Shimajiro, Animal Detectives Kiruminzoo, Gin Tama

Tamogotchi, Fairy Tail, My Three Daughters, Bleach, Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestroia, Thriller Restaurant

Digimon Xros Wars, Stitch, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s, Kaasan – Mom’s Life, Inazuma Eleven, Marie & Gali

HEROMAN, Anpanman, Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan, Gokujō!! Mecha Mote Iinchō, Shugo Chara Party

MAJOR, Jewelpet Tinkle, SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors, Sgt Frog, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Elementhunters

Gokyoudai Monogatari, Detective Conan, Beast Player Erin, Letter Bee/Letter Bee Reverse, Bakuman, Pokemon Diamond & Pearl/Pokemon Best Wishes

So, pretty much what it looked like last year.

The main changes has been less nostalgia. Dragon Ball Kai is the remains of that mini-trend of recent years, as we’ve not had a real Yatterman replacement and no classic characters showed up in the evening slots that Mazinger and Golgo 13 occupied last year. The shows occupying those slots were the two Letter Bee shows and reruns of MAJOR.

There was also a lack of traditional worthy/literary anime from NHK. Rather than being replaced by a like-minded series, Beast Player Erin was replaced by Star Wars Clone Wars. Instead we got the puppet adaptation of the Three Musketeers filling that role of wholesome entertainment. Other notable US cartoons showing up this year included Transformers Animated and Dora The Explorer (which had replaced Soul Eater in ’09).

One Piece had a big year as it hit the previous year’s huge events from the manga. Looking back now its feeling more like an attempt to move the series’ protagonist Luffy into adulthood as the usual cast was sidelined and the screen time was given over to the adults in the series. There’s another big shift due next year, and it will be interesting to see if there’s any effect on the show’s audience figures.

Sengoku Basara returned, but in a daytime slot. Unfortunately it, nor its successor Star Driver managed to equal the success of the previous occupier of the slot, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. The failure of new and new-to-daytime shows to make any impact is probably the tale of 2010’s new before-midnight anime. Heroman and Romance of Three Kingdoms are the other genuinely new shows (if being based on a 14th century novel counts as new) that didn’t really do anything of note. Both underperformed compared to what they had replaced – Gin Tama in Heroman‘s case and Jewelpets (!) in Romance‘s. Everything else “new” was either a continuation, sequel or a franchise show.

Oh, wait. I forgot Lilpri. That did OK for a magical girl show that wasn’t called Pretty Cure. Synopsis sounds like a throwback to 80s magical girl shows where they basically magically transform into a light entertainment career.

And the debut of Bakuman did decently as a MAJOR replacement. So its not all doom and gloom. A modest success can still be eked out, just not one that creates a decent buzz like a FMA or Code Geass has in recent(ish) years

And it is hard to say what could break through in the ways the Yatterman revival, Kaasan and Thriller Restaurant did. A lot of these shows aren’t going to run out of material any time soon and it seems like every “big” current manga is already on TV. And even if you replace a successful show that ends, you aren’t necessarily going to hold that audience.

There’s one big gun that no-one’s pulled the trigger on yet, for a number of sensible reasons. But if we get a full change of cast and if the specials see a drop ratings after that change, I think we will get a full blown Lupin III revival in the way Yatterman did. When? Who knows, but it will be fascinating when it happens.