Gingas Finnish popularity

[FoxxTrott]

Hello! I was wondering What caused Ginga to gain so much momentum in finland

[Phalene]

I have no idea! As a kid we always watched GNG anime from VHS and later on I read the manga. When I and my friend were under 13, we used to sneak into their TV room to watch GDW anime, since it was age rated to over 13 I don't know where it came from, but it was a huge thing when we were young. Somehow it is not found that great among youngsters these days and most people just find it good because of the nostalgia. I thought the popularity was slowly dying away, but it would be weird to publish The Last Wars and Boku no Weed in Finnish if it wasn's popular but to be honest, I'm the only grown up I know to be that interested in Ginga

[YamaDora]

The popularity of the series in Finland definitely takes back all the way in late 1980's/early 1990's when the VHS version of GNG was first released. Many kids from that era (myself included) grew up while watching those tapes, and the dramatic story definitely made an impact on those kids. I've heard some stories, and they're all pretty similar: watched the VHS tapes, loved the story, grew up and found out more about the series, joined online communities and so on...

Takahashi himself have speculated that it is because of how similar Finland and Japan are in nature, and I guess that can be a big factor too.

[Phalene]

Takahashi himself have speculated that it is because of how similar Finland and Japan are in nature, and I guess that can be a big factor too.

That is so true! I worked as a waitress in a hotel that mostly hosts tourists from Asia, and I saw a ton of Japanese people. We always enjoyed to host them, and there seems to be some kind of relationship between our countries! We really enjoy their manga and most international Finnish bands make a good start in Japan

[FoxxTrott]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

[Phalene]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

Good to have you with us! It's great that the community keeps expanding. May I ask where you are from? And yes, Ginga must be one of the only actual show with dogs as main characters, if we don't count paw patrol

[FoxxTrott]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

Good to have you with us! It's great that the community keeps expanding. May I ask where you are from? And yes, Ginga must be one of the only actual show with dogs as main characters, if we don't count paw patrol

Thank you I am from around Ohio and that is true there is not a lot of true shows about dogs it's strange to think about considering there are more dogs in the world than people

[Phalene]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

Good to have you with us! It's great that the community keeps expanding. May I ask where you are from? And yes, Ginga must be one of the only actual show with dogs as main characters, if we don't count paw patrol

Thank you I am from around Ohio and that is true there is not a lot of true shows about dogs it's strange to think about considering there are more dogs in the world than people

What a fun fact! how odd that our ginga addiction is so well known in there I once visited Cincinnati!

[FoxxTrott]

Good to have you with us! It's great that the community keeps expanding. May I ask where you are from? And yes, Ginga must be one of the only actual show with dogs as main characters, if we don't count paw patrol

Thank you I am from around Ohio and that is true there is not a lot of true shows about dogs it's strange to think about considering there are more dogs in the world than people

What a fun fact! how odd that our ginga addiction is so well known in there I once visited Cincinnati!

It's probably my fault because I talk nonstop about Ginga! I hope you enjoyed Cincinnati

[Wolpard]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

We definitely do have anime on American TV its just usually targeted at an older audience! Adult Swim has a whole block dedicated to anime (Toonami) and they have historically been known to showcase anime on American TV. And there are some things like Dragon Ball that were aimed at kids in the US, which is perhaps more comparable since Ginga was advertised to kids when it was first released in Finland. (And the Pokemon anime, like you also mentioned.)

[FoxxTrott]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

We definitely do have anime on American TV its just usually targeted at an older audience! Adult Swim has a whole block dedicated to anime (Toonami) and they have historically been known to showcase anime on American TV. And there are some things like Dragon Ball that were aimed at kids in the US, which is perhaps more comparable since Ginga was advertised to kids when it was first released in Finland. (And the Pokemon anime, like you also mentioned.)

Was gng or gdw ever aired in America I'm thinking probably not but I'm not sure also I forgot about dragon ball it's been a while

[Regnant]

This is all so very interesting thankyou for sharing sadly I did not get to grow up with any anime unless you count Pokemon for some reason anime never seems to make it to American TVs I discovered ginga just recently through trying to find dog shows not like the showing of dogs but shows with dogs as their main character I'm hoping for my bday which is on August 12th I can get my hands on some merch that's how I discovered how a good deal of the merch is from finland

We definitely do have anime on American TV its just usually targeted at an older audience! Adult Swim has a whole block dedicated to anime (Toonami) and they have historically been known to showcase anime on American TV. And there are some things like Dragon Ball that were aimed at kids in the US, which is perhaps more comparable since Ginga was advertised to kids when it was first released in Finland. (And the Pokemon anime, like you also mentioned.)

Was gng or gdw ever aired in America I'm thinking probably not but I'm not sure also I forgot about dragon ball it's been a while

The only official Ginga translation we ever got (before the new GNG next month) was the first 3 volumes of GDW. No dub/sub of Ginga ever besides fan translations

[Phalene]

We definitely do have anime on American TV its just usually targeted at an older audience! Adult Swim has a whole block dedicated to anime (Toonami) and they have historically been known to showcase anime on American TV. And there are some things like Dragon Ball that were aimed at kids in the US, which is perhaps more comparable since Ginga was advertised to kids when it was first released in Finland. (And the Pokemon anime, like you also mentioned.)

Was gng or gdw ever aired in America I'm thinking probably not but I'm not sure also I forgot about dragon ball it's been a while

The only official Ginga translation we ever got (before the new GNG next month) was the first 3 volumes of GDW. No dub/sub of Ginga ever besides fan translations

This is so crazy! How do they even think that it would gain popularity if they don't translate the things thank god the fan base is so wide and people help each other with these things!

[Regnant]

Was gng or gdw ever aired in America I'm thinking probably not but I'm not sure also I forgot about dragon ball it's been a while

The only official Ginga translation we ever got (before the new GNG next month) was the first 3 volumes of GDW. No dub/sub of Ginga ever besides fan translations

This is so crazy! How do they even think that it would gain popularity if they don't translate the things thank god the fan base is so wide and people help each other with these things!

Translations are EXTREMELY expensive, as in the tens to hundreds of thousands to just get rights (doesn't include translators, actors, distribution, advertising, etc). They won't try a translation of any series unless they think it will do well.

[FoxxTrott]

The only official Ginga translation we ever got (before the new GNG next month) was the first 3 volumes of GDW. No dub/sub of Ginga ever besides fan translations

This is so crazy! How do they even think that it would gain popularity if they don't translate the things thank god the fan base is so wide and people help each other with these things!

Translations are EXTREMELY expensive, as in the tens to hundreds of thousands to just get rights (doesn't include translators, actors, distribution, advertising, etc). They won't try a translation of any series unless they think it will do well.

Thank God for the generous and kind translaters who are doing it just from the kindness of their hearts I would have never been able to watch or read ginga without them

[Miles]

Takahashi himself have speculated that it is because of how similar Finland and Japan are in nature, and I guess that can be a big factor too.

Though isn't that also true of Norway and Sweden? Snow, forests, mountains, bears, etc.

Finland did have the manga translated and released, which didn't happen in any of the other Nordic countries. But it's a question whether that happened because the series was already so popular in Finland, or whether the manga is what helped make it so popular. Anyone know when the first manga volume was released in Finland, by chance?

[YamaDora]

Takahashi himself have speculated that it is because of how similar Finland and Japan are in nature, and I guess that can be a big factor too.

Though isn't that also true of Norway and Sweden? Snow, forests, mountains, bears, etc.

Finland did have the manga translated and released, which didn't happen in any of the other Nordic countries. But it's a question whether that happened because the series was already so popular in Finland, or whether the manga is what helped make it so popular. Anyone know when the first manga volume was released in Finland, by chance?

Ginga got popular here in Finland when a cut version of the series was released as a set of four VHS tapes back in 1989. The uncut version was released in 2003, and the first manga volume was released in 2010.

So Ginga was popular in Finland 20 years before the first officially translated manga volume came out.

[Miles]

That's interesting! Then yes, I would presume the series' apparent popularity resulted in the manga getting published, rather than the manga helping to make the series popular. So supplying something for an already existing demand rather than creating the demand.

I do think the other Nordic countries followed a similar timeline; VHS tapes released in the late 80s to rental stores, re-released for home video, DVD release, then uncut DVD release. Though none of the countries ever got a manga release (unfortunately).

[Arctic Ranger]

As a Finn I'll want to add my two-cents worth to this. Sorry if I'm repeating points.

I for one got to know Ginga in the aformentioned way, via the VHS-tapes. The stereotype of the time was that it's an animation, a kids cartoon and that's how such a violent and dramatic story came to be watched by children all over and in their native language to boot! There was nothing like it as a "kids cartoon," and probably never will be. The miracle of GNG to me is lightning in a bottle, the perfect mismatch of time, place and culture. I just can't see something like it being released these days for starters.

As such, it was seared into my mind for all my life, and I bet I'm not the only one in the least. This might sound outlandish and philosophical, but I'd say it has left a mark on the Finnish culture, or at least in culture relative to those who grew up watching it.

Also I'd definitely agree that the nature also plays its bit. It's something I have thought of independently as well. Japan and Finland are quite alike in many ways, and the environments for much of the story share a nice resemblance to that of the Finnish outdoors.

Guess I'll come back to what I said, it's lightning in a bottle. A very unique mismatch of time, material and culture that cemented its place in the minds of children in the 80-90s, and even 2000s as was my case.

[Fino]

I'm not from Finland but I recall reading once that the popularity of Ginga could be due to a similar background with working/hunting dogs. I can't really speak to how true this may be, but I did read it somewhere. I suppose Finland has a stronger history of hunting/working dogs than countries like America for example so the content is more relatable and familiar in some way. I could be wrong though.