Ask John: Why Won’t Adult Swim Air Sailormoon Sailorstars?

Question:
For any other seasons of Sailormoon that hasn’t been yet seen on TV or unable to be bought at any anime store, don’t you think that the television network could work something out to put the series out at late night? Programs such as Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, where Sailormoon was watched before on Toonami?

Answer:
Unfortunately, no. There are two reasons why it’s highly unlikely that Sailormoon will ever air on Adult Swim. First, the Adult Swim program on the Cartoon Network is primarily intended for adult males aged 18-35. Typical mainstream adult males aren’t interested in watching an animated show intended for 12-16 year old girls. Schedule Sailormoon during Adult Swim would just be a marketing mistake for the Cartoon Network which I’m sure they’re smart enough not to make. Although there are probably plenty of anime fans that would love to see uncut Sailormoon broadcast on the Cartoon Network, the network itself is responsible to a far larger audience of mainstream viewers and corporate sponsors that aren’t interested in Sailormoon than a few hundred or perhaps even a couple thousand hardcore anime fans. The current issue of Anime Insider Magazine features an interview with Cartoon Network programming director Sean Akins in which Mr. Aikns states that although he’s aware that there’s a demand for shoujo anime on the Cartoon Network, the number of female viewers that watch such shows are “a drop in the bucket” compared to the Network’s audience for other types of programming. So the Cartoon Network airing Sailormoon would actually result in the network losing money, as fewer viewers mean fewer commercial sponsors and less revenue.

Second, Toei Animation of Japan would never allow Sailormoon to be broadcast in a late night timeslot. Sailormoon is one of Toei’s trademark, franchise titles with worldwide name recognition and market value. Sailormoon is synonymous worldwide with programming suitable for families and children. The fact that the final Japanese TV season of Sailormoon is not suitable for viewing by American children is why the Sailorstars series has never been released in America. Toei is committed to protecting the lucrative “Rated G” public image of Sailormoon at any cost, including preventing Americans from discovering first hand that Sailormoon Sailorstars includes nudity, gender uncertain characters and intense violence. Having any Sailormoon animation associated with a late night timeslot or a program called “Adult Swim” would result in viewers, parent groups, and film critics questioning and arguing the suitablility of Sailormoon animation for children viewers- which would result in decreased mainstream video and merchandise sales. The several thousand hard-core Sailormoon fans that would buy uncut and uncensored Sailormoon don’t outweigh the hundreds of thousands of consumers worldwide that would be shocked and offended by seeing “mature” content in a “cartoon” they had assumed was safe for children to watch.

There’s always a chance that Toei Animation will change its mind. And there’s still a chance that Toei will decide that an American uncut DVD only release of Sailorstars won’t attract enough notice to damage the kid-friendly Sailormoon reputation. But at the present time Toei Animation seems content to play “better safe than sorry” and keep the potentially controversial and offensive relegated to where only Japanese viewers have access to it.