Okay, so next Saturday's schedule was shown full of Star Wars stuff, including (in Disapproving Hank Hill voice) "The Clone Wars", and at first I thought "Is it really April 1st already?" But no. It's not.
Really, [AS]? No anime at all?! Look, I understand that pretty much everyone has to lick George Lucas' Sarlacc Pit whenever he comes up with a new way to ruin his previous success, but I would have figured you guys would be the one entertainment entity exempt from those rules. He got Aaron Mcgruder, now he got you too?
Don't get me wrong- FatGuy and RoboChibo both do great spoofs on Star Wars... ya know, the kind of thing you might play from 9-12 on a Saturday. It works as solid, nerdy transition material for anime fans to watch while waiting for the beginning of that one magical night (well, morning really) of the week where we get to actually see anime on television again.
I'm pissed enough that you open with "Bleach", a show which is guaranteed to turn off anyone in your central comedy fan base who is thinking of experimenting with anime. Its too much forumlaic, repetetive, stereotypical DBZ shlock for the regular Badass American Person. Cowboy Bebop and GITS worked so well in the beginning because they both had themes which crossed over with common American genres. It was new and different but somehow relatable- hell, my uncle watches Ghost in the Shell, and he's one of those old guys who watches Law & Order all day! If you want to actually grow your anime viewership, then air stuff that your regular audience will enjoy more; don't just shove it to the back of the schedule. The underage kids who watch "Bleach" can DVR that crap if they have to.
I'm getting off topic. The point is, if you're going to spend a whole night on Star Wars, pick a different night. Some of us look forward to FLCL all week long.
Neil Patches Harris.