What would it take for DC to become more popular in the U.S.

[Deltath]

Detective Conan isn't popular in the US because it lacks 3 things:
- Advertising.
- Good time slot.
- Action.

Well, all three of those things have already been brought up a few times..

However, even though there is no not too much action, the story plot itself is more than awesome and I'm sure it would have been enough for DC to be the #1 anime if it ever had a better time slot and more much more advertising. The lenght of the series shouldn't be a problem either because there are other long anime which are very famous (e.g. One piece).

To say you're sure it would have been the #1 anime seems a little... unlikely.  I don't mean offense, but I'm guessing you don't have a team of industry analysts at your disposal that have come to this conclusion.  It's enjoyable, yes, but even if it were met with more popularity it would take a hell of a lot to dethrone every other series before it (and after, for that matter).  Also, when dealing with popularity of long running shows in the United States, I'm not so sure using One Piece as an example is exactly fitting.  Without getting into the reasons (which most all of us already know the plethora of damage One Piece was dealt upon its initial release in the U.S.) One Piece didn't enjoy a great deal of commercial success stateside any way you look at it.

For 2 to 3 years, Funimation Channel actually aired Case Closed about 4 times a day.  Funimation's lineup was something like a 6hr block repeated 4 times.

I'd wager a great deal of people didn't have the Funimation Channel, though.  I've actually never even heard of it and I live in the U.S. (though, of course, I don't claim to know of every channel..!).

[Girl19]

Detective Conan isn't popular in the US because it lacks 3 things:
- Advertising.
- Good time slot.
- Action.

Well, all three of those things have already been brought up a few times..

Erm, I don't read every signle post, so I didn't know that almost everyone in this thread had already posted those same reasons until I read your sentence which made me come back to the other comments and read them.

However, even though there is no not too much action, the story plot itself is more than awesome and I'm sure it would have been enough for DC to be the #1 anime if it ever had a better time slot and more much more advertising. The lenght of the series shouldn't be a problem either because there are other long anime which are very famous (e.g. One piece).

To say you're sure it would have been the #1 anime seems a little... unlikely. 

Not really. It wasn't too difficult for DC to become #1 anime in many other countires parts of the world. Why would it be any different for the US?

I don't mean offense, but I'm guessing you don't have a team of industry analysts at your disposal that have come to this conclusion.

Neither do you.

Also, when dealing with popularity of long running shows in the United States, I'm not so sure using One Piece as an example is exactly fitting.  Without getting into the reasons (which most all of us already know the plethora of damage One Piece was dealt upon its initial release in the U.S.) One Piece didn't enjoy a great deal of commercial success stateside any way you look at it.

However, it's one of the most famous anime in the US right now, and nobody's complaining about how long it is.

[GinRei]

Not really. It wasn't too difficult for DC to become #1 anime in many other countires parts of the world. Why would it be any different for the US?

Because, by and large, America is full of idiots.  If it's not live-action, it's automatically a niche product, no matter what the quality is.

[Girl19]

Not really. It wasn't too difficult for DC to become #1 anime in many other countires parts of the world. Why would it be any different for the US?

Because, by and large, America is full of idiots.  If it's not live-action, it's automatically a niche product, no matter what the quality is.

lol I see. However, a lot of americans still enjoy great shows, so maybe DC still has a chance? *crosses fingers*

[kkslider5552000]

it would require an anime channel filled with popular anime from multiple dubbing companies to exist and for Conan to have a dub where the characters sound believable.

That is for Conan to reach Trigun levels of popularity (I doubt it would become that popular though).

With alot of good advertising of the anime from fans like us, it could be so much more popular on the internet, however. (you can decide how good, bad, or unimportant that would be)

[Deltath]

I don't mean offense, but I'm guessing you don't have a team of industry analysts at your disposal that have come to this conclusion.

Neither do you.

The difference is, I didn't make a definitive statement like it WOULD or WOULDN'T be number 1 in the US.  I said it would be unlikely you could be sure.  And it is.  Even if I did say it definitively wouldn't be number 1 (which I certainly did not), odds would obviously be on my side.  99.9% (repeating forever) of anime aren't number 1.  Only one series can be "number 1", so it's much more likely it wouldn't be than it would be.  That's all I'm saying.

[Girl19]

I don't mean offense, but I'm guessing you don't have a team of industry analysts at your disposal that have come to this conclusion.

Neither do you.

The difference is, I didn't make a definitive statement like it WOULD or WOULDN'T be number 1 in the US.  I said it would be unlikely you could be sure.  And it is.  Even if I did say it definitively wouldn't be number 1 (which I certainly did not), odds would obviously be on my side.  99.9% (repeating forever) of anime aren't number 1.  Only one series can be "number 1", so it's much more likely it wouldn't be than it would be.  That's all I'm saying.

There is no difference...
- I literally said, and I maintain, that DC can be the #1 if good conditions (listed above) are.
- Maybe you didn't literally say that DC can't be #1, but you seem, from your words, quite sure about it.
So actually, we both are pretty convinced about a certain opinion, yet neither of us has "a team of industry analysts at their disposal that have come to that certain conclusion".

Anyhow.. TBH, I don't think DC's popularity is the US would make such a big difference since it's DC's popularity in Japan which is important and decisive for its future and longevity.

[Deltath]

I don't mean offense, but I'm guessing you don't have a team of industry analysts at your disposal that have come to this conclusion.

Neither do you.

The difference is, I didn't make a definitive statement like it WOULD or WOULDN'T be number 1 in the US.  I said it would be unlikely you could be sure.  And it is.  Even if I did say it definitively wouldn't be number 1 (which I certainly did not), odds would obviously be on my side.  99.9% (repeating forever) of anime aren't number 1.  Only one series can be "number 1", so it's much more likely it wouldn't be than it would be.  That's all I'm saying.

There is no difference...
- I literally said, and I maintain, that DC can be the #1 if good conditions (listed above) are.
- Maybe you didn't literally say that DC can't be #1, but you seem, from your words, quite sure about it.
So actually, we both are pretty convinced about a certain opinion, yet neither of us has "a team of industry analysts at their disposal that have come to that certain conclusion".

It's not the same.  You made a statement that is statisically very unlikely.  All I did was point that out.  Detective Conan isn't the only show with a good story that has turned out to be unpopular in the US.  There are tons of shows that suffer the same fate.  It just seems farfetched to state with absolute certainty that it would have been #1 if only it had a better timeslot.  As I said before, only one show can be #1.. so regardless of how much you like Detective Conan, strictly speaking by sheer probablity, considering the thousands of other shows out there, it's immensely more likely to not be number #1 than it is to be #1.  You have an opinion you're pretty convinced about, I merely made a statistical observation regarding your opinion.  Though unrelated to this, I'd personally love to see Detective Conan skyrocket in popularity, but you made a valid point.  Its success in the US doesn't matter that much.  It just has to be popular in Japan.

[TromOuji]

All the following is just my personal (unresearched) opinion, but the main problem is that DC doesn't fit the standard age demographic groups.

It fails as a kids (7-10) show in the US because:
1)  It's too plot-oriented, probably way beyond the level that TV programmers think kids capable of (whether that's true or not).
2)  The are scenes of graphic violence, which TV programmers will absolutely not allow on a program for this demographic (whether you agree or not).
3)  Kids in the US are simply trained to dislike this kind of thing, and they do.

It fails as a tweens show in the US because (though it shouldn't):
1)  TV programmers think much the same as above, but with less justification.
2)  Poorly advertised, incorrectly pitched into dead-hour slot.  Can't expect it to be popular when they don't even see it.

It fails as a teen show in the US because (though it shouldn't):
1)  FUNI failed to localize it for this market.  They attempted to kiddify it (aiming at the 9-13 market I am guessing).  The abysmal voice acting by Alison Viktorin is the exemplar case-in-point.  Note how the Japanese did it, yes they are 7-year old kids, but the voice actors pitch the voices older.  FUNI couldn't apparently figure that out, or probably didn't bother.
2)  Dead-hour slots don't help, but aren't a complete obstacle here.
3)  Publicity did not target this range until they realized it had to be (because of the US 'insulate the children' crap philosophy), but then they were stymied by issue (1).

It fails as a adult or family show because of, again, the bad localization and the crappy voice acting.  US voice acting for anime is awful in general, but if they'd gotten better actors for Conan, and really put an effort into pitching it to the same demographic that it enjoys in Japan, they might just have had a chance.  Unfortunately, the usual incompetence prevailed.

PS:  The fact that mystery shows are super-popular in Japan, but are considered non-sellers these days in the US is another big-time obstacle.

[Girl19]

It's not the same.  You made a statement that is statisically very unlikely. 

I don't think you should be talking about statistics since there are no actual studies that might or might not prove your point. If you have actual statistics about the matter, then please bring them on and I'll be convinced.

Detective Conan isn't the only show with a good story that has turned out to be unpopular in the US.  There are tons of shows that suffer the same fate.

I know that many other good anime have the same unfortunate fate.. however, call me a Conan-geek if you want, I don't think they're as good as DC to be compared with it in the first place. I've been watching anime since I was like 4 or 5 and I've never had the chance to watch and enjoy any other anime as good great awesome as DC. I think it's the only one that's worth watching because it contains all characteristics of an interesting plot, and I believe it's suitable for all ages (the older you get, the more you understand the deepness of the story and crimes). So please, don't compare. (Again, yes, you can call me a geek if you want, I don't mind.)

It just seems farfetched to state with absolute certainty that it would have been #1 if only it had a better timeslot. 

I also talked about advertising, which is actually more important in this case. And there are actually other conditions too that made it difficult for DC to be more popular, such as the changed title (Case closed) which make it harder for CC fans to recognize and sometimes even realize that CC=DC; and I'm not talking about the wrong names which create big holes between CC and DC. (But then again, this argument was already mentionned by others in previous posts.)

As I said before, only one show can be #1.. so regardless of how much you like Detective Conan, strictly speaking by sheer probablity, considering the thousands of other shows out there, it's immensely more likely to not be number #1 than it is to be #1.

Yes, indeed, the "competition" is getting harder each day, but the only reason why we might not see DC reach #1 is because people nowadays are too fool to notice a great anime which actually deserves the first place.


EDIT:

US voice acting for anime is awful in general, but if they'd gotten better actors for Conan, and really put an effort into pitching it to the same demographic that it enjoys in Japan, they might just have had a chance.  Unfortunately, the usual incompetence prevailed.

So true. I think they didn't put much effort in dubbing Conan in English. I've been watching some CC episodes these last few months, the quality is obviously low compared to the Japanese voices/version.

[tantei okuoku]

here is my two cents about why it failed. 1 audience (no one will put it on prime time because its anime and in the minds of far to many anime is either for kids or horny idiots). 2 artwork (at the beginning) 3 Americans obsessed over CSI type shows rather then whodunit mysteries. 4 time slot. 5 it doesn't fit anywhere and people are scared by high episode count. 6 TMS messing with the first 120 episodes and maybe more.

as to what it would take to get CC on TV again. funi would have to give atleast a season to CBS, FOX, ABC, USA, and PBS (the highest chance of working, many people who like whodunit mysteries are older and would give DC/CC a chance despite the beginning animation)