In any case, the decision to air an anime series on Cartoon Network is reached months before its domestic release here, stateside. I want to say “several” months, but since that isn’t the case with every program, I’ll leave that statement as it is. If you’re talking about an anime such as MORIBITO or others, that entered western shores cold, as in little to no merchandising support ahead of time, then it’s merely a roll of the dice. In any case, if the future broadcast of a title is negotiated five to seven months ahead of time, there’s little else to rely upon other than the word network executives receive on behalf of the content distributor.

Unfortunately, some executives, such as Mike Lazzo and others, have vacillated over the years between appreciating the diversity that anime brings, and treating Japanese animation as a gimmick to acquire new advertisement.

So maybe the decline in viewership of low-rating series on CN isn’t because people are starting to lack interest but because that series just doesn’t mesh with the audience. If reruns of Cowboy Bebop — a series that is 10 years old — garner better ratings than the first episode of Code Geass, maybe this speaks to the comparison of quality between the two series, not the apathy of anime fans. If the anime fad in general has truly died down, these classic reruns would have similar or lower ratings than these newly broadcast series, but they do not, because people still like the older series. Personally, if a new series does not grab me by the first two episodes, I stop watching it — not because I’ve lost interest in anime as a whole but because I shouldn’t be forced to continue watching something that either doesn’t grab me, disagrees with me on a personal or moral level, or that I think could be executed better. There is a common misconception among those who aren’t familiar to anime that an anime fan will automatically like any anime series simply because it is anime, but this is simply not true. Even casual anime fans are as discerning about what anime they watch as non-anime fans are about their own viewing habits.

Given all of this, my question is: Who decides what series are shown on CN? And how to they arrive at this decision? Do they pick up what the North American fans are clamoring about, or do they nab something just because it was popular in Japan? If they’re basing their decisions purely on the level of Japanese popularity, that could be their first big mistake, as Japanese popularity never automatically equals American popularity. Or, god forbid, do they choose series based on the fallacious “anime fans will watch ANYTHING” supposition?

Seeking ratings percentages where anime equals original programming has never and will never be a smart business plan… Similarly, seeking a viewership return for nontraditional anime–such as MORIBITO–that paralells the succeess of more standard fare along the lines of INUYASHA or FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, is just as faulty an ideal.

Some of Adult Swim’s schedule changes are slightly ironic if not contradictory, since the sub-network has witnessed a dramatic decrease in ratings in a year-to-year comparison in all segments; not just for anime.