
Animes on ABS-CBN are suddenly out of commission with the re-airing of classic adapted Japanese cartoons such as ‘Princess Sarah’ and ‘Cedie’. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN)
Hard-hitting animes on ABS-CBN are now a thing of the past.
With new seasons of ‘Naruto Shippuden’ and ‘Kuroko’s Basketball’ still months away from their premiere, ABS-CBN decided to re-air their popular 1990s Japanese adaptations of classic novels on the said block. This despite the fact that they have the backing of sister channel Hero to bring in new animes.
It is clear that Team Animazing, once a formidable rival to GMA’s Astig Authority block, is on the decline. And here are some reasons why.
It all started when ABS-CBN took advantage of ‘Princess Sarah”s renewed popularity on social media by re-airing the series in October. Then in a more desperate move, the Kapamilya network re-aired ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, ‘Cedie: Ang Munting Prinsipe’ and ‘Dog of Flanders’, much to the dismay of their anime fans.
Worse, ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ continued to air on the said block, even though it is clear no one is in the mood to watch the Nickelodeon icon in Tagalized and heavily edited form.
As a result, Astig Authority overwhelmed Team Animazing in the ratings, even though they were frequently criticized for re-airing old animes regularly. But Team Animazing’s problems go beyond low ratings.
Unlike Astig Authority, which runs for over three hours, Team Animazing is only given half of what the former is allotted. This leads to fewer programs, and worse, heavily edited episodes, which does not bode well with viewers and the anime community in general.
And if there’s anything the Kapamilya anime fans want to blame, it is the presence of Kris Aquino in the mornings. ‘Kris TV’, which is now airing for four years but is struggling for ratings, continue to be honored by the network thanks to Kris’ ‘ironclad’ contract demands.
Team Animazing’s recent slump is only one of several problems that concern ABS-CBN today. That said, for the Kapamilya anime community, it is unfair for ABS-CBN to not commit towards new animes.
What’s the use of Hero if ABS-CBN won’t do favors to their anime fans? This definitely makes no sense.