Andy-Der Beginn des japanischen (Kinder) Fernsehens in Deutschland(The beginning of Japanese (children's) television in Germany)
Who doesn't
remember the 1990s? The Berlin Wall fell, the Iron Curtain disappeared, borders
often became a thing of the past. A time of bright colors, a time for optimism,
which also gripped the German television landscape. More stations, longer
airtime and new target groups.
While
television in Germany had been broadcasting programs for decades, first using
black-and-white devices and then later using color televisions, the television
market was heavily regulated until the mid-1980s. There were only so-called
public television channels, such as ARD and ZDF, which did not yet provide a
24-hour program. Then, under Chancellor Kohl, the television market was
liberalized and private television stations were founded. RTL (plus) and Sat 1
were the first non-state television channels, with many more to follow.
Dies führte seit den späten 80er zu einer starken Nachfrage, um unbesetzte Sendeplätze zu füllen. Mehr und mehr Fernsehsender wurden gegründet, die versuchten, sich von den anderen abzuheben und Alleinstellungsmerkmale zu etablieren. Zwei von ihnen waren Tele 5 und RTL2. Während sich andere Sender auf dem amerikanischen Fernsehmarkt umsahen – Transformers, Spiderman etc. –, schauten Tele 5 und RTL2 nach Asien, besonders Japan, mit dessen farbenfrohen und ungewöhnlichen Sendungen. Besonders im Kinderbereich war das Land der aufgehenden Sonne eine nahezu unerschöpfliche Quelle günstiger Unterhaltung. So kam u.a. Tokkei Winspector (leider nur) für ein Jahr nach Deutschland, Fußballanime wie Kickers und Captain Tsubasa, oder für Volleyballfans "Mila Superstar" (Attack No. 1). Während der Sportstunde haben sich viele am Tornadoball versucht, leider erfolglos.
This led to a
strong demand from the late 1980s to fill vacant slots. More and more TV
channels were founded trying to stand out from the rest and establish unique
selling points. Two of them were Tele 5 and RTL2. While other stations were
looking around on the American television market (Transformers, Spiderman,
etc.), Tele 5 and RTL2 looked to Asia, especially Japan, with its colorful and
unusual programs. The land of the rising sun was an almost inexhaustible source
of inexpensive entertainment, especially for children. Tokkei Winspector came
to Germany (unfortunately only) for one year, soccer anime like Kickers and Captain
Tsubasa, or for volleyball fans "Mila Superstar" (Attack No. 1).
During sports lessons, many tried their hand at the tornado ball, unfortunately
unsuccessfully.
Now, in the
age of the Internet, anime is a common part of the media world, not only in
Germany; but in the times before ADSL and fiber optic connections, before DVDs
and BluRays, these channels were the only source of the desire for big googly
eyes and youngsters (soccer talents) who, like Superman, seem to have been able
to fly through the air for hours.
When did you
first see something about Germany on television? Did it inspire you to learn
German and live in Germany?