After reviewing Shaman King, I was left wondering why it didn't seem to catch on despite modest popularity and it made me realise there are quite a few titles like that.
Shaman King
To bring up what's already been said quickly, Shaman King slotted in nicely among Shonen Jump's Golden Era, it filled the void left by Yu Yu Hakusho and Bleach was still finding it's feet.
What Happened?
Bleach found it's footing way quicker than expected making other Shonen Jump titles stand up and take notes but not one to let his series become generic, not helped by a poor end to the anime, Hiroyuki Takei pulled the plug and has only recently finished the ending and epilogue.
Medabots
A large staple of FoxKids' run of anime following Digimon gave it a decent amount of coverage and is one of the more fondly remembered dubs of it's day.
What Happened?
It's 2nd season bombed, anything after the Medabots tournament arc had out lived it's lifespan and what new they could've brought in failed to capture the imagination.
Tokyo Mew Mew
A very colourful magical girl show that at the time filled a massive void left by Sailor Moon with a very creative art style and a unique concept and likely inspiration for Precure.
What Happened?
4kids that's what; the hack job from 4kids killed Magical Girl anime in the west which it still hasn't recovered from.
Inazuma 11
Level-5's Soccer epic combined everything you ever wanted in a sports anime with some of the most spectacular choreography you'll ever witness.
What Happened?
It's lack of appeal to America mostly, also widely ignored in the UK then relegated to the old 3DS anime channel before being cancelled.
Negima
Ken Akamatsu's magnum opus, a spectacular series of wizards and fanservice with enough action to give Harry Potter a run for it's money.
What Happened?
Poor anime, a plot that got so stuck in it's own lore it forgot how to story and faded out when the Harry Potter film series ended.
Modern Gundam
Name any series post Gundam Wing and you got some of the best mecha anime at your finger tips
What Happened?
Gundam never had the same success as Wing or G Gundam in the west, this can mostly be down to being released at the wrong time or ignoring series that had no impact to begin with like X and Age.
Slayers
Best fantasy anime of all time and the greatest soundtrack of all time.
What Happened?
As much of a travesty this is, alot of Slayers short comings came from an era saturated by alot of fantasy anime, a battle it did win but got lost among other titles due to sci fi anime doing much better in the west.
Mermaid Melody
Looked at one point to be the one to succeed Tokyo Mew Mew and give the west another crack following modest sales in Europe.
What Happened?
This one still has me puzzled, what makes it even more so is the fact that the dub is finished and unreleased.
Beyblade
Competed strongly with it's rivals in the toy anime category and often got the better of it's rivals when most of them had already peaked.
What Happened?
After the original cast of Beyblade ended a strong three series run it was put to sleep before making a poor comeback with bland characters and a franchise that by then was already done.
Sonic X
Even at it's absolute worst form of games, Sonic X kept Sonic relevant in the early 2000s.
What Happened?
I've yet to meet someone who was really into Sonic X when it came out talk about it today without being on their back foot.
With the internet these days, it's much easier to pick out who succeeds and who doesn't but this topic may yet be revisted.
