Ask John: Can You Explain Anime Title Suffixes?

Question:
Why is it that Japanese anime and game companies continue to recycle old series and remarket them as something new with an “x” or “(insert compelling subtitle here)” added to the original title? The best examples are obvious in the game industry with series like Final Fantasy (what makes FF VII so different from FF VIII?). In the anime industry examples such as Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon S, Dragonball, Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT come to mind. These shows feature only minor upgrades in presentation, but the core story or idea remains the same. Is it due to a lack of creativity or just a quick way to make money?

Answer:
Especially in the case of anime, especially Western fans often tend to forget that anime is, first and foremost, a commercial product. Many doujinshi (fan produced manga) are created purely as a labor of love, and anime artists don’t earn enough money from their work to remain in the field if they didn’t wholeheartedly love anime and manga. Anime plots and character types are often recycled and revived in part because studios realize that what was popular once may be popular twice. With anime, though, the alteration of a title can have two subtly different meanings. A slight change to a title signifies a new version of a series, but may not always denote a revival. For example, the Sailormoon, Dragonball, Slayers, Oja Majo Doremi and Digimon series are each differentiated by a single letter or word added to the end of the main title. But these shows are not revivals or rehash of previous incarnations. These are continuing series with major turning points in the story or changes in broadcast season identified by a title change. We can think of these series essentially as single long, continuous series broken up into multiple parts. In the case of revisionist or revival productions such as Dirty Pair Flash, Cutey Honey F, 8th Man After and Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi 2 Shiki, the name change signifies that this version is a new interpretation of an older show- a shoujo version of a traditionally shonen title, a new continuity, or a revival.

There are several reasons behind updates and upgrades such as these. It’s not my intent to defend them, but simply to identify them. In entertainment mediums such as anime and video games, it’s natural for creators to invest production with a lot of personal consideration, and naturally for fans to become quite attached to particular franchises. Thus fans want to see more, and creators want to continue writing and drawing certain characters, but even the most ardent fans can become a bit complacent with time. A new name brings novelty and renewed appeal to a show. For example, Slayers, Sailormoon and Dragonball all consist of a single continuing story, but five seasons, each with a different title, or Dragonball, Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT seem more appealing than 200 episodes of Sailormoon or 500 episodes of Dragonball.

Furthermore, the continued use of a standard name creates a franchise recognition. Especially in the case of the Final Fantasy video games, the name “Final Fantasy” itself tells gamers that each game will be a high quality epic fantasy combining magic and science, intricate plotting and deep characterization. The use of a single recurring title generates continued sales revenue for a company, but also promises consumers a particular quality or style; therefore benefitting all involved.

Originality may be the genesis of growth and evolution, but there’s also something to be said for the value of the comfortable and familiar.