Late night anime
Encyclopedia
is a term used in Japan
to denote anime
television
series broadcast late at night and/or in the early morning, usually between 23.00 and 4.00. Sometimes the scheduled times of such broadcasts are advertised in a format using an hour greater than 24 (i.e. "25:30" or "26:00" – signifying 1.30 and 2.00 in the early hours of the morning).
or a teenage to young adult audience. One of the purposes of the late night broadcast is to promote DVD
s or associated merchandise that are planned for release in the future. Other than original stories, many anime are based on manga
, novels
, or video games. The genres that tend to be preferred by anime fans include romantic comedy
, slice of life story, action
, or sci-fi, but there are exceptions. Most series are broadcast for 3 months or 6 months with 12 to 13 episodes for each block of 3 months. With the exception of NTV
programs, few titles have longer than these broadcast times.
In most cases, a production committee (a group of several related companies) buys a time slot from a TV station. This process is known as brokered programming
, and is similar to how infomercial
s are broadcast. Therefore, unlike ordinary programs, production companies are sponsoring companies as well. This way, TV stations can fill the time slots with low viewership, while production companies can advertise their products (anime DVDs) at a lower cost. Since a production’s purpose is to promote the title to fans, low ratings
or a lack of sponsors is of little concern. Consequently, the number of late night anime is increasing. The fact that they rely on the sales of DVDs means that these anime are virtually the same as OVAs, except that they get a chance to be promoted. This is why "pure" OVA series have decreased rapidly.
Extras, like commentaries by the cast or production staff may also be added.
Such alteration often happens for television series, but this tendency is especially prominent for late night anime, because:
and UHF
stations as well. However, not all are broadcast nationwide. Tokyo
, for instance, has 49 late night anime series being broadcast. In Okinawa, only 3 of them are on the air.
In many cases, the title is broadcast only in the area of the station producing the anime (which, in most cases, is Tokyo). In other cases, they are only broadcast in Tokyo, Osaka
, and Nagoya. UHF anime
tends to be broadcast in Osaka, Nagoya, and Kantō region
, but not in Tokyo. There are some titles that are broadcast nationwide, but such cases are the exception, not the rule. In other areas, variety shows with local tarento
are often popular, making anime's entry difficult. This is especially the case in Hokkaidō
, where Yo Oizumi
and his program
are extremely popular.
If a household has access to satellite or cable television
, the situation becomes a little better, because anime oriented stations such as Kids Station
, Animax
, or AT-X
broadcasts many of those titles. However, their broadcastings are often weeks or months behind the first run. Moreover, satellite and cable television are not as common in Japan when compared to the United States
.
. Sennin Buraku was from the longest running manga ever, still published in an adult magazine called Weekly Asahi Geinō
. Lemon Angel was an adult anime
that is a spin-off
of the adult OVA Cream Lemon
. Super Zugan was from a manga about mahjong
. Those titles received some attention, but remained single experimental programs.
The title considered to be the true pioneer of late night anime is (1996) on TV Tokyo
. At the time, several late night radio
talk shows hosted by various seiyū
were popular. As a genre, those programs were called "aniraji", the abbreviation of anime and rajio (radio). TV producers thought that if anime-related radio programs on late night can be popular, then anime TV programs on late night should work too. The result turned out as they wished. Because of this, TV Tokyo continued their late night time slots. In 1997, the time slots were expanded, and they became the basis of the "late night anime" that we now know. At the time, following the immense success of , the number of produced anime rapidly increased. Many of those titles came to late night slots. Nippon TV also started their late night anime with .
In 1998, Fuji TV restarted their late night anime. Also, BS satellite station WOWOW
started their block with the complete version of , which had been incompletely broadcast in TV Tokyo's evening time slot.
The first UHF late night anime, Legend of Basara (Rejendo obu Basara), started that year as well. However, the true rise of UHF anime came with (2001). In 2001, BS digital station BS-i
began their time slot with , making the cute title one of its killer contents.
In 2002, Fuji TV increased the number of programs that they broadcast. However, they did not value the otherwise filler programs with nearly zero ratings. Schedules of their late night anime became extremely unstable. For instance, when a program was on air at 2:25 A.M., the next week it was on air at 1:55 A.M. The week after, it was not broadcast, and the next week, 2 episodes were shown at 3:05 A.M. An extreme case was the last week of Kanon
, for which they broadcast the last 3 episodes in a marathon. Anime fans heavily criticized this attitude, and production companies began to avoid broadcasting on Fuji TV. The number of late night anime on Fuji TV has decreased, and in October 2004, it completely disappeared. However, from April 2005, they started the time block called Noitamina
, the block aimed for a young adult female
audience, who otherwise would not watch anime. However, non-Noitamina anime, such as , still do not get a proper screening.
, NHK Educational
NTV
tv asahi
TBS
TV Tokyo
Fuji TV
. The only clear rule is that they cannot show sexual organs. However, they do have many tacit understandings of self-restriction. Bare breasts, for example, are difficult to broadcast on prime time.
TV Tokyo once broadcast radical programs such as Evangelion during the evening. However, in 1997, they had "Pokémon-shock", the incident that caused many children to feel ill by watching the Pokémon episode that contained many flashing lights. After the incident, TV Tokyo's self-restriction codes became much more strict.
Now, TV Tokyo and Fuji TV are said to be extremely strict on sexual descriptions. Naked bodies are censored, and female underwear
are censored as well. Even when a female character with a mini-skirt jumps, her skirt does not whip, which is often ridiculed by fans. These censorships on VHFs have become one of the primary reasons of the rise of UHF anime.
, Blu-Ray or legal Internet streaming releases. Anime series which have been aired at late night in Japan may be aired at more convenient times in other countries, be it on free-to-air
or paid channels such as The Anime Network or Animax
.
Some mainstream titles which are aired either at daytime or prime-time in Japan may end up in late-night slots overseas due to stricter local television regulation. Examples include popular titles such as Bleach
and Fullmetal Alchemist
which were aired in the evenings in Japan, but at late night in the United States. In Hong Kong
, Dragon Ball Z was deemed as "mature" and aired in the weekend midnight slot, although it was considered appropriate for young viewers elsewhere in the world including Japan and the US.
including Tokyo, the major nationwide network stations broadcast on analog on the VHF
channels. The "independent" stations established to provide prefecture-specific programming broadcast on the UHF
channels. They are members of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
. In Osaka the situation is similar with exception of TV Osaka
. (Note that all the Japanese terrestrial television are switching to UHF digital. In 2011, all analog transmissions on both VHF and UHF are scheduled to close.)
However, because these UHF stations are obscure, they do not have strong restrictions. Also, their time slots were much cheaper than those of VHF stations. Avoiding strict restrictions by a nation-wide television network, and avoiding random scheduling by Fuji TV, many anime, especially those with a lot of fan service
, began to be broadcast on UHF stations. This even more obscure method still proved to be fairly effective, and UHF anime time slots continued to expand, especially from 2001. In 2006, if UHF stations are to be treated as one network (which they are not), it now broadcasts the largest number of late night anime (16), even more than TV Tokyo (8). However, many shows suffer from lower budgets compared with VHF shows.
Because of loose self-restriction codes, many of the titles contain sexual or violent expression that is impossible to broadcast on VHF stations. Examples include Rizelmine and . (The latter title, however, was still heavily edited.) Nevertheless, as UHF anime continue to expand, they recently have more varieties. Shōjo
titles such as are now also broadcast. , a show which can be watched by young children, is a UHF late night anime, too. As became a huge hit, UHF late night anime has lost the "cheapest, but the most obscure option" description.
Similar tendencies can be seen in other channels as well, such as WOWOW
, BS-i
, and CS
channels on SkyPerfecTV!. It is notable that AT-X, a pay-channel on SkyPerfecTV!, broadcast Elfen Lied unedited. It is on WOWOW and BS-i, as well as other CS channels that the rest of Asia who can receive their signal gets a view of these UHF anime.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to denote anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series broadcast late at night and/or in the early morning, usually between 23.00 and 4.00. Sometimes the scheduled times of such broadcasts are advertised in a format using an hour greater than 24 (i.e. "25:30" or "26:00" – signifying 1.30 and 2.00 in the early hours of the morning).
Overview
Late night anime is targeted toward anime fansOtaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
or a teenage to young adult audience. One of the purposes of the late night broadcast is to promote DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s or associated merchandise that are planned for release in the future. Other than original stories, many anime are based on manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, novels
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
, or video games. The genres that tend to be preferred by anime fans include romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
, slice of life story, action
Action genre
The word action has more than one meaning in fiction. Action is one of the fiction-writing modes authors use to present fiction. The term is also used to describe an exiting event or circumstance.-Action as a fiction-writing mode:...
, or sci-fi, but there are exceptions. Most series are broadcast for 3 months or 6 months with 12 to 13 episodes for each block of 3 months. With the exception of NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
programs, few titles have longer than these broadcast times.
In most cases, a production committee (a group of several related companies) buys a time slot from a TV station. This process is known as brokered programming
Brokered programming
Brokered programming is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot commercials...
, and is similar to how infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s are broadcast. Therefore, unlike ordinary programs, production companies are sponsoring companies as well. This way, TV stations can fill the time slots with low viewership, while production companies can advertise their products (anime DVDs) at a lower cost. Since a production’s purpose is to promote the title to fans, low ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
or a lack of sponsors is of little concern. Consequently, the number of late night anime is increasing. The fact that they rely on the sales of DVDs means that these anime are virtually the same as OVAs, except that they get a chance to be promoted. This is why "pure" OVA series have decreased rapidly.
The difference between TV version and DVD version
When a late night anime is released onto video or DVD, they tend to have their contents altered or expanded, such as:- Improved animationAnimationAnimation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
quality - Scenes uncensored
- Completely new videos added, such as side stories or epilogues
Extras, like commentaries by the cast or production staff may also be added.
Such alteration often happens for television series, but this tendency is especially prominent for late night anime, because:
- Production companies may not have enough time, or a large enough budget, to make a higher quality series in time for television transmission,
- They often may want to include sexual or violent content that are restricted for broadcast on television.
- They have to add value for the DVD release, since they mainly rely on DVD sales.
Broadcast area
As of July 2006, there are 67 late night titles being broadcast, out of 95 total anime titles. This number includes those broadcast by satelliteSatellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
and UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
stations as well. However, not all are broadcast nationwide. Tokyo
Greater Tokyo Area
The Greater Tokyo Area is a large metropolitan area in Kantō region, Japan, consisting of most of the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tokyo . In Japanese, it is referred to by various terms, including the , , and others....
, for instance, has 49 late night anime series being broadcast. In Okinawa, only 3 of them are on the air.
In many cases, the title is broadcast only in the area of the station producing the anime (which, in most cases, is Tokyo). In other cases, they are only broadcast in Tokyo, Osaka
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto
is a Japanese metropolitan region encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Osaka in Osaka prefecture, Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture, and Kyoto in Kyoto prefecture. The entire region has a population of 18,644,000 over an area of 11,170 km²...
, and Nagoya. UHF anime
UHF anime
refers to the anime broadcast by independent stations generally located in the Kanto, Chukyo and Kansai regions of Japan, who are members of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations . Other common names for UHF anime include and...
tends to be broadcast in Osaka, Nagoya, and Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
, but not in Tokyo. There are some titles that are broadcast nationwide, but such cases are the exception, not the rule. In other areas, variety shows with local tarento
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...
are often popular, making anime's entry difficult. This is especially the case in Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, where Yo Oizumi
Yo Oizumi
is a TV personality and a stage actor based in Hokkaidō. He was born in Ebetsu and has been living in Sapporo since 1984.He first made a name in Hokkaidō-based TV variety series called “Suiyō Dōdeshō” and has been actively appearing on various media programs in Hokkaidō since then...
and his program
How do you like Wednesday?
was a Japanese television variety series that aired on the HTB network in Hokkaidō, Japan, and on other regional television networks in Japan. The program debuted on HTB on October 9, 1996. The series was one of the first local variety programs to be produced on Hokkaido; prior to this series'...
are extremely popular.
If a household has access to satellite or cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, the situation becomes a little better, because anime oriented stations such as Kids Station
Kids Station
Kids Station is a Japanese children's television channel showing animation and other cartoon material. Kids Station also airs some anime aimed at adults during the night, such as Narutaru, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Genshiken, Kujibiki Unbalance and "Rosario + Vampire". It is broadcast on...
, Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, or AT-X
AT-X (company)
is a Japanese anime television network owned by . AT-X, Inc. was founded on June 26, 2000 as a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Medianet, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of TV Tokyo. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo. AT-X network broadcasts anime via satellite and cable since December 24, 1997.AT-X is...
broadcasts many of those titles. However, their broadcastings are often weeks or months behind the first run. Moreover, satellite and cable television are not as common in Japan when compared to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The earliest late night anime titles include (1963–1964), (1987), and (1992). All of them were transmitted on Fuji TVFuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
. Sennin Buraku was from the longest running manga ever, still published in an adult magazine called Weekly Asahi Geinō
Weekly Asahi Geino
, often shortened to simply Asahi Geinō or , is a shūkanshi founded by Hirotomo Takei and published by Tokuma Shoten in Japan. It was first published under the title in January 1946, though the title and size were changed to the current one in October 1956...
. Lemon Angel was an adult anime
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
that is a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the adult OVA Cream Lemon
Cream Lemon
is an erotic anime series with some in-depth storylines and classic artwork. The first Cream Lemon OVA was released in 1984, though Cream Lemon was not the first hentai OVA...
. Super Zugan was from a manga about mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
. Those titles received some attention, but remained single experimental programs.
The title considered to be the true pioneer of late night anime is (1996) on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
. At the time, several late night radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
talk shows hosted by various seiyū
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
were popular. As a genre, those programs were called "aniraji", the abbreviation of anime and rajio (radio). TV producers thought that if anime-related radio programs on late night can be popular, then anime TV programs on late night should work too. The result turned out as they wished. Because of this, TV Tokyo continued their late night time slots. In 1997, the time slots were expanded, and they became the basis of the "late night anime" that we now know. At the time, following the immense success of , the number of produced anime rapidly increased. Many of those titles came to late night slots. Nippon TV also started their late night anime with .
In 1998, Fuji TV restarted their late night anime. Also, BS satellite station WOWOW
WOWOW
WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
started their block with the complete version of , which had been incompletely broadcast in TV Tokyo's evening time slot.
The first UHF late night anime, Legend of Basara (Rejendo obu Basara), started that year as well. However, the true rise of UHF anime came with (2001). In 2001, BS digital station BS-i
BS-i
is a satellite broadcasting station headquartered in Asakaka Gochome, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its channel name is BS-TBS . It is a member television station of Japan News Network.-Channels:*Television: BS-TBS is assigned BS161ch - 163ch....
began their time slot with , making the cute title one of its killer contents.
In 2002, Fuji TV increased the number of programs that they broadcast. However, they did not value the otherwise filler programs with nearly zero ratings. Schedules of their late night anime became extremely unstable. For instance, when a program was on air at 2:25 A.M., the next week it was on air at 1:55 A.M. The week after, it was not broadcast, and the next week, 2 episodes were shown at 3:05 A.M. An extreme case was the last week of Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
, for which they broadcast the last 3 episodes in a marathon. Anime fans heavily criticized this attitude, and production companies began to avoid broadcasting on Fuji TV. The number of late night anime on Fuji TV has decreased, and in October 2004, it completely disappeared. However, from April 2005, they started the time block called Noitamina
Noitamina
– "Animation" written backwards – is a Fuji Television programming block, devoted to anime, originally broadcast each Thursday night from 24:45 to 25:15 . It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male demographic...
, the block aimed for a young adult female
Josei
also known as or , is a term that refers to the target demographic of manga created mostly by women for late teenage and adult female audiences. Readers range from 15-44. In Japanese, the word josei means simply "woman", "female", "feminine", "womanhood" and has no manga-related connotations at...
audience, who otherwise would not watch anime. However, non-Noitamina anime, such as , still do not get a proper screening.
Current tendencies of the major nationwide networks
NHK GeneralNHK General TV
is the main television service of NHK . It shows news, drama, quiz/variety shows, music, sports, anime and specials which directly compete with its commercial counterparts. It is well known for its nightly newscasts, regular documentary specials and popular historical dramas...
, NHK Educational
NHK Educational TV
is the second television service of NHK . It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also showing anime...
- NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
is the only public broadcastingPublic broadcastingPublic broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
station in Japan. They do not broadcast late night anime, except for reruns.
NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
- They mainly show anime designed for non-otaku audiences, but the titles still appeal to anime fans as well. Also, they show titles with many episodes, such as MonsterMonster (manga)is a seinen manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original between 1994 and 2001, and reprinted in 18 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted by Madhouse as a 74-episode anime TV series, which aired on NTV from April 7, 2004 to September 28, 2005...
(Monsutā). By starting and NANANana (manga)is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, serialized in Cookie published by Shueisha. The manga derives its title from the name of the two main characters, both of whom are called Nana. Nana Komatsu is a small town girl who goes to Tokyo to follow her boyfriend and...
, they now target female audiences as well.
tv asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
- They tend to broadcast at later hours than other stations (such as 2:40 A.M.) Many of their titles are original anime stories that are not based on other media. Their program can generally be watched by most people, without too much violence or fanserviceFan service, fanservice, or , is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want"...
. Examples include .
TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
- Some of their programs, such as or are immensely popular among anime fans.
- It is notable that some of the titles they produce are not broadcast on TBS, but on BS-iBS-iis a satellite broadcasting station headquartered in Asakaka Gochome, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its channel name is BS-TBS . It is a member television station of Japan News Network.-Channels:*Television: BS-TBS is assigned BS161ch - 163ch....
(a satellite channel affiliated to TBS) or on UHF stations. Such cases include and Fate/stay nightFate/stay nightis a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon, which was originally released as an adult game for the PC. An all-ages version of Fate/stay night, titled Fate/stay night Réalta Nua, was released for the PlayStation 2 on April 19, 2007, and features the Japanese voice actors from the anime series...
(Feito/sutei naito).
TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
- The weakest network station among them, TV TOKYO always had to explore programs for niche audiences. Such genres include financial news, travel, jidaigekiJidaigekiis a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
(samurai fiction), outdoors, pets, and anime. Among major network stations, more than half of the anime titles are broadcast on this channel. As such, their late night anime are abundant with wide varieties.
Fuji TV
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
- Because of the reason explained above, they broadcast the least among major network key stations in Tokyo, after NHK. See NoitaminaNoitamina– "Animation" written backwards – is a Fuji Television programming block, devoted to anime, originally broadcast each Thursday night from 24:45 to 25:15 . It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical young male demographic...
for detailed lineups.
Censorship
Japanese TV stations do not have a clear detailed system of parental guidelinesTelevision rating system
Television content rating systems give viewers an idea of the suitability of a television program for children or adults. Many countries have their own television rating system and each country's rating process may differ due to local priorities...
. The only clear rule is that they cannot show sexual organs. However, they do have many tacit understandings of self-restriction. Bare breasts, for example, are difficult to broadcast on prime time.
TV Tokyo once broadcast radical programs such as Evangelion during the evening. However, in 1997, they had "Pokémon-shock", the incident that caused many children to feel ill by watching the Pokémon episode that contained many flashing lights. After the incident, TV Tokyo's self-restriction codes became much more strict.
Now, TV Tokyo and Fuji TV are said to be extremely strict on sexual descriptions. Naked bodies are censored, and female underwear
Panchira
is an expression used by Japanese women to warn each other that their underwear is visible; the term carries risqué connotations similar to the phrase "your slip is showing" in English usage. The word is a portmanteau of and chira, the Japanese sound symbolism representing a glance or glimpse...
are censored as well. Even when a female character with a mini-skirt jumps, her skirt does not whip, which is often ridiculed by fans. These censorships on VHFs have become one of the primary reasons of the rise of UHF anime.
Outside Japan
Late night anime are also distributed worldwide, but some titles do not make it into the airwaves and are only available in DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Blu-Ray or legal Internet streaming releases. Anime series which have been aired at late night in Japan may be aired at more convenient times in other countries, be it on free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
or paid channels such as The Anime Network or Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
.
Some mainstream titles which are aired either at daytime or prime-time in Japan may end up in late-night slots overseas due to stricter local television regulation. Examples include popular titles such as Bleach
Bleach
Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
and Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist
, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
which were aired in the evenings in Japan, but at late night in the United States. In Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Dragon Ball Z was deemed as "mature" and aired in the weekend midnight slot, although it was considered appropriate for young viewers elsewhere in the world including Japan and the US.
Rise of UHF anime
In Kantō regionKanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
including Tokyo, the major nationwide network stations broadcast on analog on the VHF
Very high frequency
Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
channels. The "independent" stations established to provide prefecture-specific programming broadcast on the UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
channels. They are members of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations
The , is a group of Japan's reception fee-free commercial terrestrial television stations which are not members of the major national networks that has flagship in Tokyo and Osaka....
. In Osaka the situation is similar with exception of TV Osaka
TV Osaka
is a TV station affiliated with TXN in Osaka, Japan. The mascot character is "Takoru-kun" .-Offices:*The headquarters - 1-2-18, Otemae, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan...
. (Note that all the Japanese terrestrial television are switching to UHF digital. In 2011, all analog transmissions on both VHF and UHF are scheduled to close.)
However, because these UHF stations are obscure, they do not have strong restrictions. Also, their time slots were much cheaper than those of VHF stations. Avoiding strict restrictions by a nation-wide television network, and avoiding random scheduling by Fuji TV, many anime, especially those with a lot of fan service
Fan service
, fanservice, or , is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want"...
, began to be broadcast on UHF stations. This even more obscure method still proved to be fairly effective, and UHF anime time slots continued to expand, especially from 2001. In 2006, if UHF stations are to be treated as one network (which they are not), it now broadcasts the largest number of late night anime (16), even more than TV Tokyo (8). However, many shows suffer from lower budgets compared with VHF shows.
Because of loose self-restriction codes, many of the titles contain sexual or violent expression that is impossible to broadcast on VHF stations. Examples include Rizelmine and . (The latter title, however, was still heavily edited.) Nevertheless, as UHF anime continue to expand, they recently have more varieties. Shōjo
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
titles such as are now also broadcast. , a show which can be watched by young children, is a UHF late night anime, too. As became a huge hit, UHF late night anime has lost the "cheapest, but the most obscure option" description.
Similar tendencies can be seen in other channels as well, such as WOWOW
WOWOW
WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
, BS-i
BS-i
is a satellite broadcasting station headquartered in Asakaka Gochome, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its channel name is BS-TBS . It is a member television station of Japan News Network.-Channels:*Television: BS-TBS is assigned BS161ch - 163ch....
, and CS
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
channels on SkyPerfecTV!. It is notable that AT-X, a pay-channel on SkyPerfecTV!, broadcast Elfen Lied unedited. It is on WOWOW and BS-i, as well as other CS channels that the rest of Asia who can receive their signal gets a view of these UHF anime.
See also
- UHF animeUHF animerefers to the anime broadcast by independent stations generally located in the Kanto, Chukyo and Kansai regions of Japan, who are members of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations . Other common names for UHF anime include and...
- :ja:深夜アニメ一覧 Japanese list of late night anime titles
- :ja:UHFアニメ一覧 Japanese list of UHF anime titles
Further reading
- 編集長がゆく!：“爆発する作品”をアニメに 「デスノ」の仕掛け人 日本テレ・中谷プロデューサー
- アキバ王に聞く—オタクカルチャーと秋葉原の関係（後編）
- 誰がキラーコンテンツを殺しているのか？ 第5回 日本のアニメは米国でキラーコンテンツになれるのか？（前編）
- 深夜アニメ
- NIPPON TV TO DISTRIBUTE ANIME ONLINE at activeAnime via the Wayback MachineWayback MachineThe Wayback Machine is a digital time capsule created by the Internet Archive non-profit organization, based in San Francisco, California. It is maintained with content from Alexa Internet. The service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the Archive calls a "three...
- Sci Fi builds late-night anime block
- Midnight is Primetime for Japanese Anime