@Malintex_Terek:
Is it really high-profile? To my knowledge none of the previous shows have been subbed and torrent traffic for Hakaba Kitaro (which is the only one to have been subbed past the first episode) is rather low…1.31 TB for SpoonSubs' most popular episode, six.
In comparison, a relatively low profile sub like Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji nets between 6~8 TB, a moderately popular, semi-high profile sub like D-Gray Man around 40-50 TB, a high profile show like Gundam 00 about 80-120 TB and a super-popular, extremely high profile show like Haruhi in the 300~400 TB range.
Even for anime companies who pick shows that do well for torrents, Kitaro is very low profile on the internet even though it's a joy for those who know about it.
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I finished 4+5, pretty sad I must say. I can't hear Fake Kitaro but I'm guessing he sounds exactly like the normal one, so there's no real way to tell them apart aside from the eyes...so I'm guessing the fake was created from Kitaro's lost eyeball. Somehow.
And Ratman, oh that guy deserved what was coming to him when Neko-chan got close. Ha ha ha..! :happy:
Episode one of the 2007 "Gegege" and the live-action movie was fansubbed as far as I know. The '80s version was subtitled for Hawaiin T.V. of that counts. But really even if it's popular in its homeland the thing is it's a little kids' show about Japanese demons, it'd be very hard to build a fanbase for something like that here. Maybe if it was put through a channel that's something besides what anime fans use, like Nickelodeon, but I don't need to tell you that's plenty tough. On the othe hand "Hakaba Kitaro" is something with more stylish and I assume bigger-budget animation, creepier and darker storyline and characters, is closer to the manga, and all these things mean it appeals more to the teen-to-adult audience that compromises the majority of anime viewers. And when I say higher-profile I don't necessarily mean it gets high fansub downloads. It's still based on a big series, it gets plenty of attention in Japan (last I checked it was one of the only late-night anime to make in the Top Ten anime ratings at least once), and above all it's just a great and unique series. Only thing missing is it's not popular in fansubs, which reflects why it probably won't be released overseas. Hopefully it can if Toei Animation gets its VOD service going, but it's still something that needs to make money even with the advantages over packaged media, especially since download-to-own still isn't that well-established. And I don't even think "Hakaba Kitaro" could get more viewers than even older Toei series like "Fist of the North Star"
Started watching episode 6 and the dark humor is in stark contrast to the sadness of the last episode, it makes me wonder how much the stories of Kitaro and his friends can develop. I still want to know where Fake Kitaro came from, my guess was it was a connection to the Vampire Tree burning. And I'm still hopeful that Neko-chan will come back, but probably only if another season gets ordered.
