Is the US screwed on Zoids Wild? (EDIT: No.)

Zeether

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I'm just wondering since there's no simulcast and the chance of a TV broadcast might be slim if there's no place to sell the toys here thanks to the TRU closure...
 

Daikun

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Viz lost the rights to the Zoids franchise years ago.
Until someone reacquires the license, we won't see anything Zoids for a long time.
 

Takao

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Viz lost the rights to the Zoids franchise years ago.
Until someone reacquires the license, we won't see anything Zoids for a long time.

There is no reason to suggest getting Zoids Wild is contingent on re-releasing the earlier shows. They're not in continuity with each other, nor are they from the same production committees.
 

DragonKnightGX

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I'm just wondering since there's no simulcast

That means nothing to kids anime's chances of coming here. Look for example, Yo-Kai Watch had no simulcast and it came here. It's just that kids anime is never simulcasted for whatever stupid reason.
 

Light Lucario

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That means nothing to kids anime's chances of coming here. Look for example, Yo-Kai Watch had no simulcast and it came here. It's just that kids anime is never simulcasted for whatever stupid reason.

I think it's because the target demographic for those anime aren't really interested in watching the subbed version. Shows like Pokemon and Yo-Kai Watch aren't really marketed the same way other anime series that get a simulcast release. The only exception I can think of right now is with the current Yu-Gi-Oh! series since it has a simulcast. It helps that there was a strong demand for legal subs for years, the subs on Crunchyroll before the simulcast started were successful and it takes them way too long to get the dub airing anyway.

As for Zoids Wild, I'm hoping that it can get some kind of release here. Since it is going to be a toyetic series, it could work nicely on Disney XD. I don't know if they do need another company to get the Zoids license before getting that series, but a re-release of the other series would definitely be nice either way.
 

Gold Guy

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Oh, cool. Since I doubt Discovery Family would air Zoids, I wonder where Hasbro will try putting it. I'll be happy with anything but Cartoon Network.

I suppose Kids Click is a possibility.
 

Light Lucario

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That's pretty cool news. At least we might be able to see this Zoid series in the U.S. Since it's a toyetic series, maybe Disney XD would be interested in picking it up. They could incorporate it with their Anime block that they have with Pokemon SM, Beyblade and Yokai Watch. That would be neat.
 

Gold Guy

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I can't believe I forgot XD, and since Beyblade is also a Hasbro property, we know that the two companies have worked together before.
 

Takao

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Hasbro Studios doesn't distribute any of the Beyblade shows. I wouldn't look at that as an indication of where this might go. Though, if Zoids Wild were to land on Disney XD, the channel would then have a quartet of OLM produced series (Beyblade Burst, Pokemon, Zoids Wild, Yo-Kai Watch).

Stretch Armstrong seems to have been a flop, but who knows if that'll dissuade Hasbro from releasing more with Netflix.
 

DragonKnightGX

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First non-mon kids anime pickup since Tenkai Knights! I'm excited!
Maybe Nick or Nicktoons is possible considering Hasbro has already started a partnership with them through Power Rangers and Top Wing?


now if Hasbro gives me juerupetto or rilurilu I'm set
 

Light Lucario

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I doubt that they'd put this series on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons would be a terrible place to air any anime. We'd be really lucky if they bothered to air the whole series. If they don't have any other options besides Nicktoons for a TV deal, they're better off putting the series on Netflix or Hulu instead. At least more people would be able to see it that way and they wouldn't have to deal with a channel's terrible scheduling decisions.
 

Gold Guy

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Yeah, NickToons would be almost as bad as Cartoon Network - maybe worse, since at least CN doesn't skip whole seasons.

XD is still my favorite bet right now, since most of their anime get promotion, good time slots, and even repeats. Netflix would be good too, though, since they probably wouldn't require any content edits.
 

Light Lucario

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Nicktoons is definitely worse than Cartoon Network. At least Cartoon Networks usually airs all of the episodes they pick up and it doesn't take them forever to air just one season. Not to mention most cable plans have Cartoon Network while Nicktoons isn't as common by comparison.

Airing the series on Disney XD would also mean that it would be available on their website and On Demand. I don't think that they'd get the rights air the other Zoids series like they did with Pokemon and Beyblade. I'm not sure if they were picked up by another company, but the thought of Zoids getting any kind of attention like that is pretty neat.
 

Takao

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Hasbro, like all toy companies, is looking for the largest audiences for their content. They need to cast a wide net because only a fraction will ever buy the merch. Nicktoons is more or less Discovery Family-tier. While Hasbro is (surprisingly) still supplying new programming to the latter, I'd like to think Zoids wouldn't be a candidate for that death sentence.

If they're going for linear, it should be between Cartoon Network and XD. Hasbro clearly has no issues with CN's death slot treatment, as Transformers: Robots in Disguise and Cyberverse have shown. Even at 6:30 AM on Saturday with no promotion, Cyberverse is pulling 2-2.5x the viewers of the most watched XD shows are. Plus, CN lets them upload full episodes onto YouTube. In XD's favour is a more engaged broadcaster, who wouldn't immediately give them the cold shoulder and have the right content mix to build Zoids up. On CN, Zoids would be at best partnered with Cyberverse. The rest of their programming lineup just doesn't gel thematically or stylistically. On XD, it would probably air alongside Beyblade, Pokemon and Yo-Kai Watch. The negative is obviously a far lower immediate linear audience and likely a period of VOD exclusivity on Disney's services.

Netflix (theoretically) has huge reach, but its issue is that so far there hasn't been a huge kids merchandise property born from that. For whatever reason, that platform just isn't translating into big sales at the cash register. The Voltron toyline met a largely muted response. No one cared about Popples or (seemingly) Stretch Armstrong. I've also read that international retailers aren't as eager about properties that are Netflix-only because of a lack of local marketing support. A distant broadcaster like CN might not run any direct commercials for Cyberverse as a TV show, but they'd run commercials for the toys or a contest. With Netflix, you just get the show and then you're asking kids to follow the brand's online footprint.

Unless they plan on extensively repackaging the material, I don't think debuting on YouTube would be the right idea for Zoids. It seems difficult to get kids to stay engaged on there. Look at the video views for Mecard on Mattel's channel. They started off huge, thanks to Mattel buying pre-roll video ads, but then fall off a cliff. The most recent episode has 85k views almost two months later. That's the kind of viewership Yo-Kai Watch, the least popular of the XD anime, gets on a bad week just in the US. Worse off, those Mecard YouTube view counts are pretty much the entire Anglosphere minus Australia. Similar story for BattleClaw, which Mattel also launched through YouTube last year. It's odd, too, since Mattel has had success with this strategy with girl-focused brands like Barbie and Monster High. But then, those were already popular before online VOD became such a big component.

The VOD platforms are still growing at a high rate so what I wrote now likely won't be applicable to the future. The question is if Hasbro feels now's the time.
 

Takao

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An English dub of Zoids Wild debuted on Cartoon Network Philippines last weekend:
 

KeldeoKitty

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I never been a fan of Zoids before but this looks pretty cool from what I’ve seen of the Hasbro trailer. Maybe it’ll come out in Discovery Family.
 

AdrenalineRush1996

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I never been a fan of Zoids before but this looks pretty cool from what I’ve seen of the Hasbro trailer. Maybe it’ll come out in Discovery Family.
Given what Discovery Family has become, I doubt it. I think it will likely be on either Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon or Disney XD.
 

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