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One more time! Anime fans choose the series they’d most like to see rerun on TV

Casey Baseel Dec 20, 2014
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One of the really big differences between Japanese and American broadcasting is the relative lack of reruns on Japanese TV. With four, roughly 13-week seasons a year, and not nearly the plethora of channels available in the U.S., Japanese TV series, anime included, tend to chug straight from start to finish, and once they’re done, if you want to see an episode again, usually your only choice is on DVD or Blu-ray.

Once in a while, though, smaller carriers will pick up a series for rebroadcast after it’s finished its initial run. It’s a rare occurrence, though, so a recent poll asked anime fans which series they’d most like to see shown on TV one more time.

Japanese website Charapedia posed the question to 10,000 fans. Youth trends tend to dominate anime, and 86.9 percent of respondents were between the ages of 10 and 29. The male/female split, on the other hand, was fairly even, at 46.9/53.1 percent.

Let’s take a look at the top 20 responses:

20. Sailor Moon

Even though its reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal, still has new episodes coming out, a lot of fans are ready for a repeat of the franchise’s first anime adaptation.

19. Attack on Titan

Going from a venerated classic to a new favorite, as well as from moonlight and roses to blood and guts, it seems there’s just no stopping the Titans.

18. Kateikyou Hitman Reborn!

Truncated to simply Reborn! for English release, apparently no other anime has quite scratched viewers’ pistol-packing baby itch since the series went off the air in 2010.

17. A Certain Magical Index

Looks like the first animated version of a certain multimedia franchise about superpowered high schoolers has a lot of fans.

16. Ojamajo Doremi

Sure, little Doremi may not be particularly gifted in magical aptitude, but it’s hard to hate the little witch with a face as cute as her name and pastel wardrobe.

15. Fullmetal Alchemist

The anime’s two principal alchemists, brothers Ed and Al, are both eminently likeable yet experience numerous painful tragedies during the series. And yet, fans would be happy to watch them go through it all over again.

14. Angel Beats!

Maybe rewatching this story of teens who died young and find themselves stuck in purgatory will somehow make up for it being cut down from its originally planned, longer script to just 13 episodes. Or maybe people are just looking for a way to kill time until the long-awaited Angel Beats! visual novel is finally released.

13. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

After a brief stint as the center of the anime world, Haruhi, a schoolgirl who unwittingly has the power to alter reality, all but disappeared from the otaku consciousness after the aptly named follow-up film, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Now, just as leading man Kyon did, fans seem to realize they want her back, maybe to help them gear up for spin-off The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, which is set to premiere next year.

12. Free!

Like Attack on Titan, Free! doesn’t seem as though it’s been off the air long enough to have people ready for a repeat viewing. The series’ first season ended in September of 2013, and its follow up, Free! Eternal Summer has only been off the air for three months. But hey, for some people, you can never have too many scenes of swim club boys with rock hard abs, even if they’re the same scenes you’ve seen before.

11. Haikyu!!

Swap swimming for volleyball, and most of what we said about Free! applies to Haikyu!!, another high school sports series with a huge female fanbase that just finished in September.

10. Slam Dunk

Basketball series Slam Dunk is also a high school sports story, also with a large female fanbase, and also just ended in…oh, wait, 1996. Okay, this one seems like it’s due for some reruns.

9. Durarara!!

Durarara!! has something in common with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in that some of the credit for its spot on the list goes to the fact that it has a continuation set to start airing in January, and no doubt fans could use a refresher course on the huge cast and multiple intersecting plotlines that creator Ryogo Narita has worked into the story. Although if we’re speaking from personal preference, if the anime world wants to bless us with two Narita anime airing simultaneously, we’d rather have a continuation to his magical mobster series set in the 1930s, Baccano!

8. Digimon Adventure

In an upset, Digimon makes the list, while Pokémon doesn’t. Credit the associated good vibes from Digimon’s feature films, helmed by acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda, who’s got a new project of his own in the works.

7. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Like Fullmetal Alchemist, this one isn’t an easy watch, as the most talk-about magical girl anime in years goes to some very dark places. Sometimes, though, it’s inspiring to see characters try to climb out of the dark pits fate throws them into, or compelling to watch what happens when they hit the inky bottom.

6. Love Live!

With nine central characters of varying looks and personalities, just about any otaku can find one to latch onto and idolize, securing the School Idol Project a perch near the top of the list.

5. K-On!

Years before the School Idol Project, there was the rock band Ho-Kago Tea Time, made up of the four principal schoolgirls of K-On!

4. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

A rerun of this alternate history series chock-full of mecha combat, political intrigue, and character designs from manga production team Clamp would give viewers another chance to witness one of anime’s most memorable deaths.

3. Clannad

The bronze medal goes to Clannad, adapted from the visual novel by video game developer Key. Clannad’s mix of subtle supernatural elements, coming-of-age milestones, girls with blank expressions, and above all, unabashed ruminations on the importance of family was a huge hit with male respondents, with roughly twice as many votes from men as any other anime. On the women’s list, though, it failed to crack the top 10.

2. Gintama

On the flip-side, Gintama topped the poll among women, but only slid in at number ten for guys. That said, the tale of self-serving samurai Gintoki still managed to snag enough votes to be the overall runner up.

1. Cardcaptor Sakura

Unlike the more divisive Clannad and Gintama, Clamp’s magical girl anime performed well in all demographics, ranking number three with men and number two with women. It was also the top vote-getter among fans 20-29 and second for fans 30 and above. Surprisingly, it even finished second with respondents aged 10 to 19, a group whose members would have been, at the oldest, just five years old when the anime’s initial run wrapped up in 2000.

Still, its youthful optimism, cute artwork, magical battles, and rich backstories gave Sakura a broad enough appeal to capture not just the magical Clow Cards, but a lot of viewers’ hearts, too.

Sources: Charapedia via Jin