Multiple Demographic Appeal: Difference between revisions
m
clean up
m (update links) |
m (clean up) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
Line 14:
* [[Token Romance|Romantic subplots]]
If
See also:
Line 27:
* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' is one of the ''classic'' examples of this when it comes to manga & anime; while it was technically a [[Shonen]] fighting series, it had plenty of [[Mr. Fanservice|cute guys]] in addition to the girls, a lot of interesting history-based backstory and plot, generally fascinating villains and a pitch-perfect mix of humor and drama. This led to it shattering ratings and sales expectations in Japan since ''everybody'', regardless of age or gender, seemed to love the hell out of both the manga and the show. This also led to it doing ''fantastically'' well overseas, with the U.S. being practically the only country to ''not'' run the show several times. In Latin America and Asia the show was beloved, however, and ''still'' gets run occasionally.
* ''[[Saiyuki]]''. Action? Check. Comedy? Check. [[Ho Yay]]? Check. Bishounen? Check. And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
* According to a demographic report accidentally released and posted on the Net, ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]'' appealed to both girls aged
* ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]'' has [[Humongous Mecha]], samurai, a female protagonist, and a [[Love Triangle]]. The appeal to both genders is such that there's both a shoujo manga spinoff ''and'' a shonen manga spinoff.
* At least part of the massive popularity of ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' has something to do with the fact that it combines light high school drama, [[Sitcom]]-like comedy, sci-fi and something resembling a love story or an unconscious [[Unwanted Harem]], along with dashes of mystery, musical, [[Genius Bonus|maths and physics fanservice]] and wacky misadventures, with a strong-willed (and cute) female lead opposite an affable and [[Deadpan Snarker|extremely relatable]] male lead. Like ''Escaflowne'', its appeal spreads across both genders.
Line 39:
* ''[[Figure 17]]'' includes both sci-fi action and nostalgiac slice-of-life drama, but weighed much more heavily towards the latter. (Whoever made the trailers [[Never Trust a Trailer|seems not to have realised this]]).
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' actually does an omake comic lampshading this fact and speculating that the reason might be the lack of "typical" Shonen themes. Other reasons probably include [[Mr. Fanservice|Roy and Ed]].
* ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is often touted as one of the rare Shonen series that has equal numbers of male and female
** This is true of pretty much anything by [[Rumiko Takahashi]], who packs her works equally full of intertwining relationships and romantic entanglements as of action, bawdy humor, and plenty of [[Fan Service]] for both sexes.
* Examples of Multiple ''Fanservice'' Appeal can be found in ''[[Change 123]]'', not only in the context of the manga itself (through the female protagonist having [[Multiple Personalities]]), but also in a [[Show Within a Show|cosplay movie within the story]], where viewers, during the movie premiere show, comment on various "assets" of the female protagonist and, when she takes off her helmet and the fact that she also [[Meganekko|has glasses]] shows up, one of them says: "They've got all the bases covered with this one."
Line 46:
* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' is a [[Shounen]] series with a pair of [[Official Couple]] leads and plenty of pretty girls ''and'' boys, not to mention as heavy of a focus on relationships as there is on action. To top it off, the manga version throws in some sci-fi elements in with the supernatural thriller action.
* ''[[Hell Girl]]'' is another [[Shojo]] series with a male following.
* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' simultaneously manages to draw in the history geeks, the [[Yaoi Fangirl
* Why do you think ''[[Code Geass]]'' is so [[Troperrific]]? You've got all [[The Beautiful Elite]], a number of whom are Fetish Fuel Station Attendants and engage (canonically and fanonically) in any and all Yays you can possibly think of; [[Humongous Mecha]] that are used in furthering the [[Gambit Pileup]] and [[Mundane Utility|making giant pizzas]]; and basically a show that traverses the [[Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness]] round and round, sometimes in [[Mood Whiplash|one episode]]. It's everything you could ask for in an anime epic.
** That's not even counting the spin-offs, the games, and the [[Crowning Music of Awesome]].
Line 55:
* ''[[Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai!|Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai]]'' is not only suited for all demographics, the publisher ''demands it to be for all demographics''; this series of [[Light Novels]] about a young man suddenly finding himself as the legal guardian of his three nieces has spawned ''six'' manga adaptations, two for each demographic: 2 [[Shounen]], 2 [[Seinen]] and 2 [[Shoujo]].
* ''[[Brigadoon Marin and Melan]]'' focuses on a young teenage heroine who has to struggle through some of the usual problems of growing up, surviving seventh grade, and falling in love. This might suggest a female audience which likes [[Slice of Life]] with equal parts comedy and drama. But wait! There are fighting robots with swords! There's a serious science fiction plot that occasionally verges on fantasy. And there's fanservice, including an unfortunate amount of lolicon fanservice. Who was this series for, anyway?
* [[One Piece]] has a noted (and creator-acknowledged) appeal to females. Female appeal created [[Ensemble Darkhorse
* ''[[Blue Exorcist]]'' has plenty of appeal all around. There's plenty of action and fantasy with exorcists and demons running around. Plus, there's a bit of a subtle romantic sub-plot with Rin, Yukio, and Shiemi. The cast includes a decent number of Bishounen: [[Screw Destiny|Rin]], [[Badass Bookworm|Yukio]], [[Your Mileage May Vary|Mephisto]], [[Your Mileage May Vary|Amaimon]], and a few others. So far, we have two Bishoujo: [[Dojikko|Shiemi]] and [[Tsundere|Izumo]]. And then there's [[Ms. Fanservice|Shura]] of course. No wonder this series is rising in popularity rather quickly...
* ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' is, according to its creators, a [[Seinen]] geared towards those with some interest in more Western media such as comic book [[
* ''Black Butler''. Although published in a Shonen magazine, it has very Seinen themes (violence and gore, murder, pedophilia and the main characters are villains, among others) and a ''lot'' of [[Ho Yay|subtext]] with art resembling that of a [[Shojo]] series. Nonetheless, the fight scenes and premise (a [[Deal with the Devil]], etc) are fairly common to Shonen series.
* Just about anything drawn by [[CLAMP]], or adapted from something drawn. Best example being [[Cardcaptor Sakura]]. [[Magical Girl]] - Oh, so the series is aimed at young girls? Check. [[Bishounen]] - Older female fans. Okay. [[Ho Yay]], [[Les Yay]], [[Yuri Fanboy|Yuri Fandom]] - ''What?''
Line 66:
** Which would also work for ''[[The Smurfs]]'' if people didn't automatically associate them to the [[Animated Adaptation]] that drops most of the slapstick and social satire.
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'': Good for the kids via the beautiful art and the many imaginative storylines (Snow Goons, Cardboard Box, etc.), and great for adults with social satire, philosophical ponderings, and Calvin's large vocabulary, as well as jokes that kids aren't going to get, leading to many a [[Late to the Punchline]] moment as they age.
* The [[Dark Age]] of Comics can be seen as a deliberate choice by publishers to focus ''only'' on the older section of their audience demographic, sacrificing the
Line 99:
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' is becoming a fusion of soap opera and gory medical drama. The sometimes-labryinthine relationships between characters is balanced by the "Oooh, that man's testicle just exploded" moments. This phenomenon becomes even worse when taking into account ''House'' fanboys versus... less committed fans.
* ''[[Supernatural]]'' has a bit of everything. Fanservice for absolutely everyone, gore, awesome music, comedy, angst, urban legends and a decent myth-arc to boot.
* The creators of the 60's ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' series did this deliberately. The [[Silver Age]] was in full swing in the comicbooks, so the producers adapted it to TV so that children 10 and under would watch because Batman was a cool
* So...let's have Chris Barrie, who has an [[Red Dwarf|established fanbase]] and his own personal [[Mr. Fanservice|estrogen brigade]] and give him a supporting cast that includes his sexy, snarky [[Number Two]], a pair of hot [[Yaoi Guys]] who run around in shorts and a cute [[Genki Girl]] with an [[The Gunslinger|enthusiasm for firearms]]. Now let's make the comedy a blend of [[Work Com]] humour, absurd surrealism and [[Black Comedy]] about death, suicide and pill-popping...yeah, it's not surprising the BBC extended [[The Brittas Empire]] for two seasons past its planned five.
* Although not at blatant as some others, ''[[Power Rangers]]'' is starting to go this way. They've brought back actors from the first few season (who the intended kid's demographic won't recognize) and did quite a few callbacks in RPM (that younger kids wouldn't know about) and there is a rumor that they're trying to get [[Super Sentai]] to ditch the costumes for something a little less hokey (Namely switching them from Spandex to a more subdued material, possibly leather like the ''X-Men'' films.) They may not be trying to catch both markets (kids and the nostalgia set) but they're at least acknowledging them.
Line 107:
* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'': Humour that nerds would enjoy, romantic subplots and [[Fan Service]] for both sides.
* ''[[The Sopranos]]'': The mafia action appealed to fans of mob movies (up to and including actual mobsters), the well-realized characters and drama appealed to fans of family dramas, the excellent acting, directing and production values appealed to film lovers, the excellent soundtrack appealed to rock lovers, the wry wit and middle-aged characters appealed to older audiences, and the complex themes appealed to intellectuals.
* ''[[Good Luck Charlie]]'' tries for this. The creators worked on a show that would appeal to the whole family (as opposed to Disney's usual attempt to appeal to young girls or boys), which is seen in the lack of a "gimmicky" premise. It has [[Parental Bonus
* ''[[True Blood]]'' has attractive characters of both sexes, fantasy, love triangles, even some gore... the list goes on.
Line 122:
== Tabletop Games ==
* This is one of the reasons why ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' has so many different, highly distinctive factions. The [[Space Marine
** The setting as a whole also seems to appeal to two different kinds of fans, some of whom will never even paint a miniature. On the one hand, the desperate, eternal war in the grim, dark future appeals to the [[Maturity Is Serious Business]] mindset, as there can't be many settings much more scowlingly serious than the galaxy of ''40k'', but at the same time, the unflinching commitment to the ever-worsening gothic horrors of the galaxy - the hideous corruptions of the warp, the nine-foot-tall superhuman Space Marines in huge armour wielding artillery weapons one-handed, hyperspace travel with [[Hyperspace Is a Scary Place|a good chance of being eaten by demons]], everything about da Orks, the [[Humongous Mecha|colossal battle-cathedral mecha]] that look like [[Harry Potter|Hogwarts]] got up and stomped off with a chainsword the size of a battleship - mean more light-hearted fans love it for being so over-the-top.
** The gameplay of each faction is also designed to appeal to people who have completely different tastes. For those people who like to have to use cunning maneuver, speed, efficiency, and a bit of cleverness, there's the Eldar, Dark Eldar, and Tau. These armies tend to make other players scratch their heads in confusion as they ask "how do you use this screwy army?" For those who want to do something that vaguely mirrors actual military logic, there's the Imperial Guard, where you need your [[Tank Goodness]] to cover your [[Redshirt Army]] and your grunts to seize ground and get the tank killers out of the way. For those who like to just rush, put up a Tyranid 'Nidzilla list, a 'Nid horde, or Orks. Like a little [[Schrodinger Fu]] with massive beasts? Daemons. Marines are fairly balanced and appeal to those who want to play [[Elites Are More Glamorous|elite supersoldiers]]. Basically, however "deep" you want your strategies to get, and however aggressive you like to play, some force fits you.
Line 128:
== Theater ==
* [[William Shakespeare]], easily the mostly widely-performed playwright of all time and the most widely-read writer at least since [[The Bible]]. He has stayed popular for over four centuries, each generation claiming him all over again and reinventing him as their own. In his own day, he deliberately maintained
* [[Cirque Du Soleil]]'s success is largely built upon
Line 138:
** In fact, with the Wii, DS and software therein, Nintendo has taken advantage of this trope not only to bring itself back from the brink of the mid-2000s, but to re-establish itself as a dominant force in the video game market.
** Nintendo also has ''[[Pokémon]]''. Boys come for the [[Badass]] monsters and the battles, girls come for the [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|cute]] monsters and things like Contests, you have [[Tournament Play|the competitive players who breed for IVs and natures, EV train for a long time, and try to build the best possible team]], and then there's the wide variety of adult fans on [[Image Boards]] who have come in all generations, for countless reasons.
* In general, by implementing [[Dynamic Difficulty]] along with a ranking system and [[Bragging Rights Reward
* The different classes and playstyles of ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' seem to have an interesting side effect of being more accessible to fans of certain other games. ''[[Halo]]'' veterans apparently adapt well to the fast, jumpy [[Fragile Speedster|Scout]] playstyle, ''[[Quake]]'' arena players will find the [[Jack of All Stats|Soldier]] familiar, and ''[[Counter-Strike]]'' veterans can take advantage of years of honed skills as the Sniper.
** And outside of the first-person-shooter aspect of it, the [[Pixar]]-esque art and humor draws people in to those unaccustomed to normally serious games of this genre.
Line 169:
* ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Animaniacs]]'' have [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to every conceivable demographic.
* ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' is a show aimed at young boys, which is based on one of the most top-selling comics in the world, which was aimed at girls, featured main characters who are female, an epic story reminiscent of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', and has the name "[[Greg Weisman]]" attached to it. They made sure to cover all their bases.
* A recent ad for a ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'' DVD claimed that it was one of the most popular shows among boys ages
** [[Testosterone Poisoning]] and Estrogen Overload?
** [[Maturity Is Serious Business]].
Line 178:
** This is not actually quite true of Zim, and neither is the rumor about moral objections to the show; Zim had very high ratings and viewership, and the management didn't really have much objection to the content. The problem was that Invader Zim was just ''really expensive'' to make, and they simply were losing too much money on it.
* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' seems to be thriving on this. Sharing writers with ''[[Family Guy]]'' is a pretty clear sign.
* Almost any Nicktoon: ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', ''[[Rugrats]]'', ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', ''[[Ka Blam!]]!''. ''[[Angry Beavers]]'', ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'', ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'' and many more wre targeted for 6-11. However, the shows' [[Parental Bonus
* Every show in the [[DCAU]].
* ''[[Ren and Stimpy]]'', to the extent that reruns have aired on non-children networks like [[MTV]] and [[VH-1]].
Line 185:
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' is (or rather, was) primarily aimed at young girls, but clever writing, excellent humor and solid overall performance have earned it an audience among many adults. The show's creators acknowledge this, and work material for adults (not just [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]], but stories with their own meaning for adults) into the show.
** That, and some aspects of the show are more appealing to male viewers than you'd think, such as the most significant male character hanging out with a group of girls. (Especially since he has a crush on one of them.)
** The dark side of the trope rolled around recently,
{{reflist}}
| |||