I’ve spoken before about manga seeing their English releases cancelled but it’s quite different when a series, anime or manga, sees their release in Japan cancelled. When it comes to anime, it can be a little nebulous about when something is cancelled but I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some anime and manga series that ended up getting cancelled, some of which may prove quite surprising.
Considering the sheer size of the Gundam franchise, which grossed nearly $1 billion last year, it may shock some of you to hear that the series that started it all, Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979-80, was originally due to run for 52 episodes but suffered from poor TV ratings and ended up having its episode count cut to 43 episodes. While a trilogy of compilation films revitalised the franchise, eventually resulting in Gundam becoming one of the most valuable intellectual properties in the world, it’s always surprising to remember that this titan of anime started out as a ratings failure which resulted in its cancellation.
Continuing on with other major anime franchises, the original Lupin the Third anime, which aired in 1971-72 and is sometimes referred to as Lupin the Third Part I, struggled in ratings and even having then unknown but now legendary anime directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata take over as directors couldn’t prevent the series from getting cancelled. However, reruns proved popular and the franchise ended up getting a second chance in the form of Lupin the Third Part II which ran from 1977-80 and whose final episode ended up becoming one of the most watched anime episodes of all time and, since then, the Lupin the Third franchise has continued to see success, now spanning numerous TV series, TV specials, films etc.
Turning our attention to manga, it’s interesting to note that cancellation is very commonplace, I would argue more so than in the anime industry. Most manga magazines have a reader survey which is used to gauge the popularity of on-going manga. Should a manga prove to be consistently unpopular, cancellation will soon swiftly follow. Even just looking at Weekly Shonen Jump, numerous manga end up getting cancelled within only a few volumes. Even some of the most popular mangaka of all time have had their series cancelled with Masashi Kishimoto’s Karakuri and Tite Kubo’s Zombiepowder being two notable examples.
Knowing my obsession with the works of the legendary Osamu Tezuka, it’s incredible to see that even the man hailed as the “God of Manga” could see some of his series get cancelled. The most surprising example to many would probably be his manga Dororo which ran from 1967-68 before being cancelled and getting a final chapter the next year in a different magazine. Despite this, Dororo has seen two anime adaptations, one in 1969 and the other in 2019, a live-action film in 2007 and even a video game in 2004!
There are so many anime and manga that have been cancelled over the lifetime of their industries and I’ve only really touched upon several examples that were cancelled and somehow proved successful later on either as a popular franchise or as a stepping stone in a popular mangaka’s career. Let me know your thoughts on these several anime and manga that were cancelled, other examples of anime and manga that were cancelled that you’re aware of, whether you were ever following an anime or manga when it ended up getting cancelled and any other information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!