Today, Sunday, July 31, 2022, is a sad day, as 17 years ago, what was then considered the best anime channel in the world disappeared: I'm talking about Locomotion. I'm starting a thread about this great channel that many of us still miss.
It all began on November 1, 1996, when Hearst Corporation and Claxon Interactive Group launched Locomotion Channel. Initially distributed by DirecTV, it was seen as a strong competitor to the then-current Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
One of the most striking things about the channel in its early days was Loco (the channel's mascot and first logo), who even appeared in commercials. She was well-known for her often gibberish and nonsensical remarks, which made her unique and funny.
In the early 2000s, the channel was moving toward a more mature image, so they decided to abandon the mascot (barely visible in the logo) and all references to children's themes. The channel would launch a website, which featured promos, photos, and channel IDs.
The heyday came between 2001 and 2003 with the broadcast of anime series such as Saber Marionette, Bubblegum Crisis, Oh my Goddess, Cowboy Bebop, Serial Experiments Lain, and the memorable Evangelion. Aika, Birdy the Mighty, and others aired on Japanimotion's Saturday slot.
There was also room for unconventional animated series such as: South Park, Duckman, Bob and Margaret, The Head, The Critic, Ren and Stimpy, Dr. Katz, among others, targeting viewers between 16-45 years old.
The channel had a Sunday Replay block, rerunning the best episodes of the channel's flagship series, including South Park. If you're wondering, there was never any hentai. In fact, Sakura Mail was the closest thing to it, being a fan service series.
Locomotion was a platform for promoting artists through experimental video animation spaces, such as Fracto and LoveVision. The Argentine band Miranda! even toured the channel and the Secsy Discos label several times.
Here's a small sample of what Fracto (and later LoveVision) was all about: an audiovisual project that combined graphic design, music, video editing, and photography. Way ahead of their time and visionary!
A video I remember very well is this song by the Brazilian group Golden Shower, which features an iconic car race. Total control. You might notice a very special one among the competing cars, which will take you back to 1955.
Another fascinating video is the one for the song Pure Essence - Dance Republic, which was used in a promo for Saber Marionette J to X. The one you see in the video is a recreation of the original with the full song.
Here is the original promo for Saber Marionette J to X with the song Pure Essence for TV release (sometimes I watch that promo with my eyes half-closed or blindfolded to imagine it's 2002, I'm 14 and locomotion still exists)
This promo for Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 leaves you with a curious final thought: corporations are the monsters of the future.
Interesting Locomotion commercials. Fortunately, there's a lot of archaeology about the channel on YouTube, the web archive, Facebook groups, and personal blogs.
This is a music video for the group Miranda! featuring their song "Bailarina." Yes, they're the same people who play Lolo's guitar! And no, the group's lead vocalist is NOT and was NOT gay, although it was quite inclusive and daring at the time.
The bizarre content and commercials were the channel's strong suit, as no other channel was as controversial, to the point of including warnings based on the program you were about to watch, and even making you think. Here's a sample:
The channel had an online merchandise store called Zen-Mall (similar to Miniso) that sold clothing and everyday items under its brand. The products came from a Japanese subsidiary called Mandrake.
Locomotion ran contests like Valentine's Day and Isi Moni, where they paid viewers $1,000 to answer a trivia question. It's striking that a monkey, a man with a Fidel Castro look, and beautiful women are on a tennis court.
It was such a special channel that it had letterhead, bookmarks, mentions, and TV guide advertising. Locomotion let you keep promos, IDs, wallpapers, images, animations, and other channel elements; you could literally hold it in your hands, at all times.
A risqué commercial by the Locomotion Underwear brand deserves special mention, in which a schoolgirl modeled a pair of pantyhose after a difficult day at school.
In case you're curious who the girl in the ad is, she's a Brazilian tattoo artist named Mariana Gagala. If you're lucky and in Brazil, you can book one of her services to meet her and reminisce about her time at Locomotion.
The channel's visual identity from 2002 to 2004 was "the Lego era," featuring eye-catching commercials and IDs resembling Lego characters. Claxson sold his space to Corus Entertainment, and the channel was distributed in the region by PRAMER of Argentina.
The channel was in its prime, but what they didn't count on was that Argentina was coming out of its recession, which would complicate things later on. The final image change in 2004 gave the channel the nickname "Animestation," bringing a few new releases (postponed to 2005).
In 2005, Sony acquired Locomotion. The name and programming changes wouldn't be implemented until July 31st, the day Animax launched in Latin America. This was documented on the Frozen Layer forum (it's clear expectations were high).
Animax was loudly heralded as a revolutionary strategy promising 24/7 anime; however, as time went on, the essence that characterized locomotion—experimental animation, support for local artists, and merchandise—would disappear completely.
This promo appeared in magazines announcing the "New Television Order of the Allied Anime Front" and the imminent arrival of Animax. Anime fans welcomed Sony's leadership, but the joy would be short-lived for Animax worldwide.
This is how we saw the disappearance of Locomotion and the arrival of Animax. A peculiar signal shutdown, as it involved a countdown. This video suggests they got rid of the original mascot and that Locomotion was a dictatorial regime.
It's said that the last thing Locomotion aired was a LoveVision music video, and at 4:00 AM Colombia time, it ceased to exist. I didn't get to watch it end since the signal was removed from my cable system in 2004. It's sad not to have been there until the very end.
Legend has it that the sale of the channel as a result of the recession, served to help the programming of Magic Kids, which was another memorable Argentine channel (A jugar con Hugo, Nivel X, Kito Pizzas) which disappeared in 2006.
Although Animax attempted to inherit Locomotion's legacy, it failed. Since 2008, anime series have aired only in the early morning, while series, shows, and movies were broadcast throughout the day, just like its sister channels, Sony and AXN.
This caused the once glorious Animax to become a faded Sony Spin on May 1, 2011, which seemed only logical, since the channel was no longer the promised land of anime.
Sony Spin would be short-lived, as low viewership, lackluster programming (and poor management) led to its cessation of broadcasts on July 31, 2014 without any replacement, ceding the satellite space to Lifetime or H2 depending on the cable operator.
Sony gradually phased out Animax worldwide except in Japan, and curiously, it would achieve the long-awaited success in the anime market very late, with the acquisition of the streaming platforms Crunchyroll and Funimation until 2021-2022.
Locomotion attempted to become a streaming platform through the Team Loco project, launched in 2016 as an initiative by some former executives of the channel, coinciding with its 20th anniversary. The project sought crowdfunding, but failed to achieve its goal.
Although artists, musicians, and designers were successfully recruited, the nostalgia factor wasn't enough to attract the channel's teenage and young adult fans, making Team Loco a failure. Check out the project on their website if you'd like.
It's only logical that streaming platforms like Netflix and HBO Max have a vast catalog of anime series and are more sought-after. The Team Loco Facebook group, managed by the channel's former CEO, is a space for memories and nostalgia.
Here you can see the programming from 1996 and 2003, it seems like they were two different channels!
TV promos, anime guides and magazines of the time.
TV promos, anime guides and magazines from the time (2). It is worth noting that the channel existed in Spain and Portugal but was discontinued in 2003.
Of course I had t-shirts made for Locomotion's 10th anniversary back in July 2015, which coincided with a local anime event in my city: a cosplay pool party.
How can we forget this Evangelion promo that was creepy and even scary.
Hold on a little longer. The entire story of Locomotion in a video by YouTuber dvp89 (now known as La Oveja).
Locomotion's warnings
A reconstruction of the Canal warnings in the Lego Age
Some photos from the Isi Moni contest
One or another Wallpaper....
These beautiful postcards from Locomotion Girls
I'm closing this Locomotion thread. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, remember to follow me so you always receive quality threads on your TL. Use the unroll tool and follow @threadreaderapp to read everything on a single page. See you next time.