Ask John: Is There More Ruin Explorers?

Question:
Ok, this lovely little series (Ruin Explorers) has caught my attention so much that I’m dying to know if there is more to Ruin Explorers. I have both tapes and I love them both and I gotta have more… are there more of these in Japan or is this it?

Answer:
The answer to this question could actually be applied to many different shows that I receive questions about, including Ruin Explorers, Iczerion, Dragon Half, Giant Robo, Ranma, Sailor Moon, Tenchi, Dominion, et. al. Anime fandom in Japan is a bit different than it is here in America. The majority of Japanese viewers maintain a strict ideology of out-of-sight-out-of-mind. For the most part, when a series goes a year or more without any new episodes being produced, the odds of more episodes ever being produced are very slim. Many shows that are popular in America, for example Gunnm, better known as Battle Angel, did not gain mass popularity in Japan; therefore no new episodes were produced. Shows also sometimes get limited runs for budgetary reasons. Many of the shows that are popular in America, including those that I’ve listed above, ended in Japan several years ago. In the interim, no new episodes have been produced for any of these shows, nor are any new episodes on the horizon. Among the very few exceptions are Lupin III and City Hunter, which get one new TV movie annually. Otherwise, older shows typically don’t get new episodes in Japan until they’re old enough to have nostalgia value. Examples of this include the re-makes of Gatchaman and Hurricane Polymer, Dirty Pair Flash, Eighth Man After, and Cutey Honey F.