Cartoon Lovers can't get enough Anime
Successful Animators Create Anime with an American Twist
The unique part about Nickelodeon's cartoon titled Avatar: The Last Airbender is that its creators are from the U.S. Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are veteran animators who previously worked on the funny cartoons "Family Guy" and "King of the Hill." These design school graduates liked the Japanese anime style and wanted to expand on it.
Realistic Cartoon Characters a Hit with Audience
Apparently, both men were already into yoga and the martial arts, and they decided to make this action cartoon as realistic as possible. They brought on a kung fu instructor as a consultant and hired a Chinese calligrapher to render any writing on the show. The realism of the cartoon characters probably contributed to their immense popularity. During the first half of 2005, Avatar was the most popular show among boys 6-11, and it regularly received the most viewers between the ages of 2-11 in its regular time slot.
According to a New York Times article, Nickelodeon is trying to capitalize on the success of the Avatar with a line of cartoon character toys including trading cards. Anime trading cards became immensely popular when they were introduced in conjunction with the cartoon Pokeman.
Source
New York Times
