April 19, 2018
Family Gekijyo (weeks 1-2)
Family Gekijyo, the Japanese channel replacing TV Japan on Dish, didn't have a published program schedule when it launched on April 2 (the on-screen program guide works). After all, there was barely anything to schedule. But something is better than nothing, so let's discuss the something.
The first two weeks, Family Gekijyo (on Dish) ran episodes from a live action urban fantasy series and three "classic" anime series in a "creeping loop." Sunday saw coverage of a shogi tournament. Then back to the loop. Then a rerun of the shogi tournament Sunday afternoon.
Then back to the loop, now with reruns of the shogi tournament filling the late night slot. (By "creeping loop," I mean that every day, each series advances two episodes and loops again.)
Based on what I've seen and what's listed in the on-screen guide, here are the programs for the first two weeks (all half-hour shows except for the shogi tournament):
Zerotesters is clunky old space anime. Reiden the Brave is a clunky old mecha anime. Beeton the Robot is the best of the old bunch, a family comedy that's sort of "the same only different enough to keep us from getting sued" version of Doraemon.
Garo: Yami o Terasu Mono (lit. "Wolf Fang: Those who Illuminate the Darkness") is the third installment in the franchise, with a new cast and an "alternate universe" setting.
The special effects are "good enough." The martial arts sequences are impressive. Its biggest fault is taking itself too seriously, like Buffy with no sense of humor. And landing in the loop at random times doesn't make it easy to follow the story.
On the other hand, the episodes I caught three or four times did begin to make sense (that's actually a good way to study a foreign language).
It is not a kid's show. Well, it's a Japanese kid's show. The occasional winsome lass (it's not Game of Thrones either) appears in a Garo episode sans clothing. The "family" in Family Gekijyo is of the commercial variety—as any consumer of "young adult" manga and anime can attest—not the stodgy NHK version.
Even a kid's show like Beeton the Robot did a running gag in one episode that had a Betty Boop lookalike constantly falling out of her clothes (think Benny Hill). Highlighting that "advantage" without getting too crass about it could help differentiate Family Gekijyo from TV Japan.
As for shogi, I know practically nothing about it, so it falls into watching-
I can only hope the rest of Family Gekijyo's prime time slate is indeed "coming soon."
The first two weeks, Family Gekijyo (on Dish) ran episodes from a live action urban fantasy series and three "classic" anime series in a "creeping loop." Sunday saw coverage of a shogi tournament. Then back to the loop. Then a rerun of the shogi tournament Sunday afternoon.
Then back to the loop, now with reruns of the shogi tournament filling the late night slot. (By "creeping loop," I mean that every day, each series advances two episodes and loops again.)
Based on what I've seen and what's listed in the on-screen guide, here are the programs for the first two weeks (all half-hour shows except for the shogi tournament):
• 21st Ginga Shogi Tournament
• Zerotesters (1973-1974)
• Reiden the Brave (1975-1976)
• Beeton the Robot (1976-1977)
• Garo: Yami o Terasu Mono (2013)
Zerotesters is clunky old space anime. Reiden the Brave is a clunky old mecha anime. Beeton the Robot is the best of the old bunch, a family comedy that's sort of "the same only different enough to keep us from getting sued" version of Doraemon.
The special effects are "good enough." The martial arts sequences are impressive. Its biggest fault is taking itself too seriously, like Buffy with no sense of humor. And landing in the loop at random times doesn't make it easy to follow the story.
On the other hand, the episodes I caught three or four times did begin to make sense (that's actually a good way to study a foreign language).
It is not a kid's show. Well, it's a Japanese kid's show. The occasional winsome lass (it's not Game of Thrones either) appears in a Garo episode sans clothing. The "family" in Family Gekijyo is of the commercial variety—as any consumer of "young adult" manga and anime can attest—not the stodgy NHK version.
Even a kid's show like Beeton the Robot did a running gag in one episode that had a Betty Boop lookalike constantly falling out of her clothes (think Benny Hill). Highlighting that "advantage" without getting too crass about it could help differentiate Family Gekijyo from TV Japan.
As for shogi, I know practically nothing about it, so it falls into watching-
I can only hope the rest of Family Gekijyo's prime time slate is indeed "coming soon."
Related posts
Family Gekijyo
Family Gekijyo (weeks 3-4)
Family Gekijyo (weeks 5-6)
Labels: anime, dish, family gekijyo, fantasy, japanese tv, nhk, television, tv japan
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