Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

I’ve recently begun falling in love with someone dearly special to me. I am preparing to go to grad-school and in a few months I plan to get a part time job for more clinic experience and to finish up some pre-recs for school. The problem is that I have inattentive adhd and I’m worried about being off my game a little when I do because of this potential distraction. Does anyone have any tips for managing adhd while so excited? I notice it’s been difficult for me to want to do or think about anything unrelated to him besides working out and my puppy who relies on me to live and who I love as my own child.
P.S. I’m not yet on medication but I have an appointment with a psychiatrist in June/July (I forgot which exactly).

Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

Keep in mind that I live in a country with a good universal health care system, but in my opinion the administrative part works poorly, and as I think this is taking too long, I have come here to ask for help. Also, they have changed my doctor in the middle of the process, which has slowed everything down. (English is my third language, I'm sorry for my mistakes, or if my expressions are not correct).
28F, 1,61m (5'3''), 57kg (125lbs), I take one pill a month of vitamin D, I don't smoke, I drink very very rarely and I don't do drugs.
I first went to the doctor in mid-January for digestive problems. I have always been prone to diarrhea, but the last few weeks it had been worse than usual. A week later I had blood drawn and gave a stool sample. The blood was fine, but I tested positive for Helicobacter Pylori.
10 days of Pylera medication (120 pills) and 2 gastric protectors per day. I had some discomfort but within normal side effects. I was told that I had to wait a month from the end of the treatment until I was tested again to see if we had killed the bacteria. Two weeks after finishing the treatment I started bleeding every time I went to the bathroom. It wasn't red blood, but it wasn't black either. A dark maroon maybe (?) and with small clots. I called the clinic and they told me that unless it got worse I should wait and that at the test they would do at the end of the one month period they would also do a stool blood test. I bled for a week and a half and by the time the test came back it stopped. Obviously I was negative for blood in stool. Also negative for Helicobacter. But less than a week later I bled intermittently again for a couple of weeks.
Since then I have not bled anymore, but my digestion is bad, different from when I first arrived, but bad. I have the feeling that the medication has spoiled me more than helped.
I have a lot of gas. I have never burped unless it was from drinking a lot of carbonated drinks, but now I am burping a lot every day. My stomach is making noises almost every day. I wake up in the middle of the night with a very sore stomach and when I go to the bathroom it's just to fart, I can sit for half an hour waiting for it to pass. I can't go for a run, a quarter of the times I would go to the gym I cancel because I don't feel well or I do an exercise and I feel dizzy. I don't do abdominal exercises because I feel like everything gets too shaken up. Going out with friends has also reduced. I haven't found an eating pattern that feels bad for me, but I have a very varied diet. It's like until I eat I don't know how I'm going to feel that day.
After many appointments with my family doctor I have finally been given an appointment with the specialist, but it is for a month and a bit from now. June 28th (the appointment request was made on May 1st). I started with this in January, I know I don't need to go to the ER, but I'm tired and I want to get back to normal life without worrying if my stomach will react well that day.
Any help would be appreciated.

Sega of Japan deserves all the criticisms for their idiocy of overtaking the dictatorship of the wider Sega company and running the company down because they tried to manage the global markets without understanding the cultures behind them and basing their actions upon the tastes of the Japanese market. On top of putting their eggs in one baskets and obsessively trying to make the Saturn king of Japan's console industry................
However there's a gigantic misconception on the internet by understandably P$!%ed off Western gamers that Sega of Japan's boneheaded run of the company is some unique kind of stupidity unmatched in history.........
Actually there's bad news and its that this is actually a big problem in the Japanese business world especially among companies that are domestic giants such as Konami.
And I'll start with one of my favorite franchises. Mobile Suite Gundam.
Back in the late 90s and early 2000s the most recent iteration of the franchise Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired on the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. And to say it was a massive success. It was easily Toonami's most watched program after Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and there would be profitable sales of Gundam Wing figures in American major retailers like K-Mart and kB Toys during the show's run. There was more demand for further Gundam content. Easy pathway to creating a juggernaut in the anime industry in America right?
Well the immediate followup to Gundam Wing was....... The original Gundam. Form the 1970s. I'm not kidding. The studios that makes Gundam Sunrise made this choice.
Massive gigantic bomb in America. Even Toonami's less popular programs like Ronin Warriors hard much higher viewerships.
The show's reason for flopping was that the original Gundam looked just so outdated with its animation being 70s flair. The original Gundam is actually superior to Wing in almost every other way especially the overall plot...... But the animation looked so old nobody wanted to watch it.
Why did Sunrise choose to follow up Wing which was their latest installment just before Turn A which was actually running in Japan during the same time Toonami was airing Wing in America?
In Japan the specific continuity the first original Gundam series follows, the UC timeline, is the handsdown most popular canon. The first two sequels Zeta (the Gundam series with the highest ratings ever in the history of the franchise within Japan) and ZZ formed a trilogy with the original Gundam of interlinking stories that culminates and concluded most the unresolved arcs in the original Gundam along with a slew of entwined movies and OVAs (think miniseries in Western terms). Basically the UC timeline is so big in Japan that we still get new stories every couple of years focused on specific characters, incidents, and so much more as well. Ask the general populace about Gundam and its the robot suits and characters of the UC timeline such as Amuro Rey and the Zaku robots and the that they immediately picture in their heads when they think Gundam similar to how the vast bulk of Star Wars fans below 16 always associates the franchise with Luke, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Obi Wan, and Anakin/Darth Vader and the iconic scenes are teh Death Star onscreen and lightsaber fights.
So in Sunrise's head, not only was the first Gundam a guaranteed success in America but that they had to follow it up with it because the UC is the heart and soul of the entire franchise. The studios sincerely believed that with the original Gundam's even better and more complicated storyline that crowds will flock to watch it every weekday on Toonami...........
Failing to realize that a prime part of what made Wing so impressionable on Western audiences was the visuals of space battles and the awareness of the mobile suits in action. The complicated story of Gundam Wing (for the standards of Western animation on TV was definitely a component that made kids stick to the end but what attracted them in the first place was awesome onscreen actions like Heero escaping capture and knocking out a bunch of men on the way with kicks and piloting the Gundam for the first time to demolish tanks and humvees and a division of soldiers within seconds.
Sunrise did not get this point. They mistakenly assumed that teens and children in the West would have understood the original Gundam's anti war storyline entwined with lots of politics and drama was something that was darn complicated for an American 12 year old to get. They failed to get that the West's TV animation scene was extremely tame hell mainstream afternoon Network Television overall even live action was pretty much PG in content and something like Gundam was definitely pushing it for timeslots for minors including teens. That issues like killing children in a mass bombardment with permanent arm crippling even decapitation was only started to be accepted on afternoon teen soap opera and Saturday morning cartoon timeslots.
That it was pretty tame (by modern standards) live action shows with lots of cool visual action that was bloodless and usually PG like Hercules The Legendary Journeys and its sister spinoff Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that the teen range was watching in addition to laughably corny stuff (but still having cool colorful onscreen effects) like GI Joe making the center of children's animation.
When the original Gundam flopped Sunrise took around 2 years to realize their mistake and released G Gundam. An incarnation of the series around the premise of Robots dueling each other in a tournament of gladiatorial fights. Thats an understatement G Gundam takes the whole premise to another level by making the Gundam robots fight with the speed, fluidity, and magical abilities of Dragon Ball Z. Kung Fu with giant Robots.
But the damage was done. While G Gundam did a hell lot better than the original Gundam, interest in the franchise has waned by then and in turn merchandise sales which Sunrise makes its bulk profits from were nowhere as profitable in America as Wing was. When Sunrise attempted to bring over their newer series such as Seed (which was massively popular in Japan even far more than Gundam Wing and G Gundam which already were considered hits by the studios) it was canceled from the maintime slot shortly afterwards and the ret of the series was put on death slots. The momentum had ceased. And not helping was that by that point other mech anime such as FLCL also aired on Toonami and fellow rival franchises like Zoids were begin imported.
Basically by now Gundam had looked generic to the Western audience esp Americans. The next wave of new anime fans in the 2000s was a disadvantaged market because the novelty of Gundam Wing being the first mech anime was not there for future Gundam installments. Gundam has fallen so out of the anime Zeitgeist that whatever we got in the future aired on lesser known channels like Color TVs or came in DVD releases if not even localised at all only being available on fansubs.
The worst part? When Gundam Wing ended its run on Toonami, Turn A Gundam, their newest incarnation with even better animation and just as much awesome moments of one giant mech destroying a an army of other mechs in addition to divisions of tanks and infantry, had just finished airing in Japan. By all logic it should have been a no brainer to snatch this as the followup to Wing right?
But not to Sunrise because Turn A was one of the lesser popular incarnations at that point. Because the UC was so the face of the franchise in Japan so it must succeed in America and the rest of the world no?
Does this sound familiar? Simply to put Japanese companies have a gigantic issues of failing to realize that what succeeds in Japan is not applicable elsewhere. And that given the chance to they'll even try to micro manage even something as loose in concept as franchise licensing in other countries.
OK thats an exaggeration I just said but my point ist he horrible mishandling of the Sega Saturn outside of Japan isn't really some 1 in a billion lottery ticket level of stupidity. Sega of Japan's screwups is actually quite typical of companies that succeeded domestically but never did anything in other markets that then decide to expand to outside markets beyond Japan. The Gundam example was so already long that I don't feel like typing anymore but boy oh boy there are a gazillion examples you can find if you do your googling from Konami's early mishandling of the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG as well as their shift to focusing on Pachinko and Pachislot much to the dismay of Western gamers esp fans of MGS and Silent Hill. And so much more.
Simply Sega of Japan isn't uniquely stupid. Its a perfect symptom many issues of the business world in Japan.

A 62,000-square-foot medical office building located at 8050 East Main Street in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, was recently acquired for $22.8 million. The property includes laboratory and testing facilities and was sold for $367.74 per square foot.

Summary of transaction details:

• Property Type: Medical Office
• Transaction Amount: $22,800,000
• Address: 8050 East Main Street
• Market: Reynoldsburg
• Acres: 5
• Buyer: Jon Hammes - Hammes
• Square Footage: 62,000
• Price per Square Foot: $368

Hammes, a Milwaukee-based company, acted as the buyer in the transaction. They acquired the medical office building from a group of physician investors. The property, situated 14 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, adds to the company's portfolio with its specialized medical facilities.
Learn More: Hammes Acquires Medical Office In Reynoldsburg For $22.8M

Hi 😁 Just got home from running around all morning. I got up, took R to the bus stop, came home and immediately was on the phone with a client for an hour 🤦🏼‍♀️. Rushed to take a shower and get to my massage appointment with my favorite chic. She did EXTRA AWESOME today. Ran to the office. Had to go fix someone else's insurance and now I'm finally home with a few hours to myself before I have to get up and go pick R up. I had a taco for lunch. I'm soooooo beyond ready for a nap. I'm still tired from yesterday. I got a little pink, but it's tan now.
R had his 3rd swim lesson yesterday. He is showing huge improvement, but I think yesterday kicked his ass. She worked him hard. He has now been introduced to 3 out of 4 strokes. Butterfly is last. So far he seems to be the best and backstroke and isn't too bad at breast stroke for only doing it one time. We are skipping next week, because the lady didn't want to do a lesson on Memorial Day so he will go back again the week after and then I believe he's done with it. I'm not sure if he's going to stick with it, that's what this trial is for. I think he could be really good at this though. He's like me. Naturally well rounded at anything he tries. Not necessarily the absolute best, but reeeaaalllly good. I think he could be a track superstar if his head was in it. I couldn't believe the shit he was doing.
I am on a mission for a big citrine cluster rock to add to my table. I have been finding some pretty cool pieces but I don't wanna pay the ridiculous prices. If I keep it up I'm gonna need a bigger table.
Omg the tax lady just called me back. I got THE best news ever. I am getting a refund instead of having to pay. AND she said she going to go back and redo my last TWO years of taxes and I will get a refund AND get back all the money I paid in. So at the end of it all I will probably get back over a 10k check. I am soooooo relieved about this. I should have found her years ago. She said there were so many things he fucked up and wasn't making sense AND she said I can claim all those medical bills and even the sales tax on my car! Like holy shit. Why the hell didn't anyone else tell me that? The good news is that I will get this refund soon. The amendments might take 6 months but you know what? That is perfectly fine by me. I can track it and then wake up one day with a huge chunk in my account. I knew something was sketchy about paying in all that money when I was filing single, head of household with a dependent and all of those write-offs. I just didn't know where else to go and who else to trust. Thank God the dude in my office recommended me to her. I am keeping her forever! I just have to dig up a few papers but that's fine too. I am almost positive as to where I have everything. Soooooooooooo stoked 😁😁😁
On that note, I need to nap like I said I was going to. I miss you something fierce and I love you beyond measure or explanation. I will talk to you soon, my love. 😘😘 Always and forever, I love you more.
PS: Send me a picture pretty please 🥺 🙏🏼

3+yr long hauler.
I’m just leaving a Rhuem appt I knew would be a waste of time going in, but despite no real improvement over the years I remain hopeful someone somewhere one day will say the magic words.. OMG! I know exactly what this is and exactly what to do about it! #wishfulthinking _O_/
This was obvs not the case today. My biggest question is do I take the time to find another Rhuem, either more well versed in long covid research (when asked if she works with long covid patients her response was no with a side eye) or just a better all around communicator- she just kind of listens to me talk, types, tells me she’s going to order some labs and leaves the room.
If there’s not much a Rhuem can do with us, I’m not sure if it’s worth the time.
Background of you’re interested, totally skip it and answer if not!
I tested positive for autoimmune in 2017 with no specific “type” diagnosed. The only guidance I was given was reduce stress, consider vegetarianism (I already late minimal meat and transitioned to pescatarianism shortly after diagnosis), and begin to make changes that allowed me to honor my fatigue vs push thru which is all I’ve ever known.
Fast forward to March 2021 and I got Covid just before vaccines were released. Wasn’t hospitalized but I was a zombie for months, began to come to and got walking pneumonia in July and have never been the same since.
Fatigue, pain, brain fog were the biggest issues, followed by 5 million other symptoms. I’ve seen drs in SoCal and St Louis at the Wash U long Covid clinic, genetics, ENTs, Nuerogist, tested for POTS, MCAS, Nueropathy (tested positive for small fiver Nueropathy). Gone through all the therapies- speech, occupational, physical, therapy therapy, acupuncture, medical massage therapy, infrared saunas, meditation, take LDN (which did mark some improvement as did pacing techniques I began last summer) during short term disability leave) so increased baseline but then just hit a plateau. Fatigue, fatigue, more fatigue, and pain are the 2 biggest remaining issues. Ive seen significant improvements in basic communication brain fog that I maintain until I push too hard at anything.. cognitive or physical, still have to re-read intensive text including most of the material on long covid research).
At present I don’t feel like anyone’s left me with a treatment regime, realistic next steps, set expectations etc. so you go, you talk, you float until you go and talk again.
The Rhuem ordered another work up of the same panels she ordered upon my initial visit. ANA stuff. Previous panel results indicated lupus and sjogrens but it stops there- indicated, not diagnosed. which I’m ok with if long covid is what’s causing those markers. But no one says that either. I’m no longer working and my insurance runs out in Sept so I’m more pro tests than anti at this point since it’s gonna get a little funky in a few months.
Anyway.. I’m exhausted lol. Thanks for listening, and for all of your posts, questions, explanations, and support of each other on this platform. It gives me life, literally. And I’d be so alone without these communities of like minded individuals trying to live their best lives despite every effin obstacle being thrown in our path! We are awesome and we deserve more, more of everything, consideration, support, accommodations, accessibility, funding, research, guidance, truth, communication, follow up, time, money, peace of mind, empathy. I would keep typing but I must nap now. Love yall

I am a 25 y/o F and he is a 27 y/o male. Backstory my ex-boyfriend and I broke up a while back after dating for 2 years due to a unique situation with his child and his life. Backstory my ex found out shortly after we started dating that his 1 year old child with his ex had severe cerebral palsy (non verbal, non mobile, severe problems swallowing, cognitive disability) I was very accepting and understanding of the situation and loved the child like my own (in respect to her mom ofc).
It came out later down the line that the mother of his child purposefully hooked up with him to get pregnant without his knowledge after being told that her uterus was incompatible with life and that the child would be severely disable. She was told to medically terminate and she did not tell him this during the pregnancy and hid it completely.The even more frustrating part is that his child’s mother refuses to give her child proper medical treatment; ex. Refusing a feeding tube even though she needs one.
She has made our lives hell and has continuously tried to control us out of spite. It also important to note that she was verbally and mentally abusive to him for over 10 years and we actually had to attend therapy together to work through some of the trauma and emotional problems that stemmed from their relationship. I ended up breaking things off because I wanted to pursue my own future and move to another state and I felt like his child’s mother was refusing to give her child the proper tools to help her health because she wanted to stay in control of his/our life. He had also voiced that if he would have known this back then that he would have chose to leave and considers doing so even though his child is now 3.
After breaking up he approached me and said he wanted to pursue a relationship and move with me and get long distance rights to his child. So I guess the question I’m asking is what would you do in the situation from both his side and mine? I also would feel immense amount of guilt if I was the reason he moved to another state without his child?

I just brought my Cat back from the Vet because I needed some X-Rays of her Back. I had a Mobile Vet Home visit and she came back with a clean bill of health except that she is a bit sensitive pressing on her spine and that X-Rays are needed.
So I just took her for X-Rays but they had to give her anesthesia because she’s not the most cooperative Cat. Her spine is all good and in no need for surgery.
However, since she hadn’t pooped today before going to the Vet. So they prescribed some laxative for her and although I already administered her the medication, she’s not just dripping watery poop everywhere and I have to keep cleaning up.
But my question is, what can I expect from anesthesia recovery and giving cats cat laxative? The doctor told me she’ll be very quiet and low energy today. But is there anything else I should know?

not sure if anyone else has been feeling this way, but has anyone noticed a decline in their love of psych? im getting my MS currently in clinical psych but once i get the degree im doing a post bacc and going medical….i hope im not the only one who feels as though their love for the field has died :/

Have you ever felt uneasy using your bathroom? Or maybe you have a loved one who struggles with mobility issues, making showering an uncomfortable or even daunting task. Bathrooms can be the most hazardous area in a house, especially for seniors or people with disabilities. The risk of falling is particularly high when getting in and out of the shower, which is why many of us consider getting a shower chair. If you or someone you care about is looking for independence and confidence in the bathroom, finding the right shower chair is crucial.
In this post, we’ll explore the best shower chairs available, considering various needs and comfort levels. We’ll look at the features, pros, and cons of the top options, helping you make an informed decision to ensure safety and ease in your daily routine.

Recommended Shower Chairs For Elderly

Shower Chair	Features
Essential Medical Supply Height Adjustable Shower Chair	Padded removable arms, height adjustable from 16 to 20 inches, texturized seat with drain holes, rust-resistant aluminum frame, supports up to 300 pounds.
Medline Shower Chair Seat	Backrest and padded armrests, adjustable seat height from 16 to 21 inches, rust-resistant aluminum frame, supports up to 350 pounds, tool-free assembly.
Drive Medical 12011KD-1 Tub Transfer Bench	Adjustable backrest, reversible bench, extra-large suction cups, dual-column extending legs, tool-free assembly, supports up to 400 pounds.
ComfortAble Deluxe Shower Chair	Polyurethane padding on seat and armrests, bright blue color for visibility, rust-resistant aluminum frame, height adjustable, supports up to 310 pounds, lifetime warranty.
Dr. Kay’s Adjustable Bath Chair	Supports up to 350 pounds, non-slip feet, narrow design fits most tubs, portable and easy to disassemble, quick assembly, adjustable height.

Types of Shower Chairs

Bariatric Shower Chair: These chairs are designed for individuals requiring a higher weight-bearing capacity, typically supporting up to 120 to 130 kg. Built to be durable and sturdy, bariatric shower chairs provide the necessary support and safety for heavier users. Occupational therapists often recommend them due to their robustness and reliability.
Standard Shower Chair: Standard shower chairs are dependable options equipped with rubber tips on the legs to prevent slipping. They feature a wide seat and offer good support, making them suitable for most users. While they might not have height-adjustable legs, this feature isn’t necessary for everyone. If the chair fits the user well, it’s a practical choice without the need for extra adjustments.
Folding Shower Stool: Compact and portable, folding shower stools have four legs with rubber tips for stability. These stools lack armrests and back supports, making them ideal for individuals who are generally mobile and don’t have significant limb impairments. They provide extra support and comfort during bathing without taking up much space.
Shower Chairs with Wheels: These chairs combine the stability of a standard shower chair with the convenience of mobility. Equipped with lockable wheels, they can be easily moved in and out of the shower area. This feature is particularly useful for those who need to transport the chair frequently. However, users should exercise caution on wet surfaces to avoid slipping.
Transfer Bench: Designed for individuals with significant mobility challenges, transfer benches offer an extended seating area with two legs inside the tub or shower and two legs outside. This setup provides a stable support system for entering and exiting the shower, making it easier and safer for those who have difficulty stepping over the tub or shower edge. Transfer benches are an excellent choice for enhancing the safety and convenience of the bathing experience.

How to Choose the Best Shower Chair

Weight-Bearing Capacity: One of the most crucial factors to consider when selecting a shower chair is its weight-bearing capacity. Various models are available that support different weights. If a higher weight capacity is needed, a bariatric shower chair is ideal, as it offers extra support and stability.
Height Adjusting Feature: Many shower chairs come with adjustable legs to accommodate different user heights. When choosing a shower chair, ensure it has an easy-to-use height adjustment feature. This is essential for achieving the right fit and comfort, allowing the user to sit and stand with ease and safety.
Chair Structure: Deciding between a stool and a chair is an important step in selecting the best shower chair. Stools are narrow, compact, and typically lack backrests, making them suitable for smaller showers. Chairs, on the other hand, offer more support with backrests and sometimes armrests. Consider the user’s needs and the available space in your shower when making this decision.
Seat Dimensions: The size of the seat is a critical factor. It should be large enough for the user to sit comfortably with some extra room to move. The user’s size should be proportional to the seat size to ensure comfort and stability. Measuring the width of the user’s buttocks on a flat surface can help determine the appropriate seat size.
Manufacturing Materials Used: The materials used in the shower chair are also important. Look for chairs made of rust-free materials, such as plastic and aluminum. Plastic offers comfort, while aluminum ensures the chair remains rust-free. Avoid materials that can rust, as they may cause harm to the user. A combination of plastic and aluminum often provides the best balance of comfort and durability.

Best Shower Chairs For Elderly

Essential Medical Shower Chair
The Essential Medical Supply Height Adjustable Shower Chair is a practical and safe option for bathroom use. With padded, removable arms, it provides comfort and stability, especially for those needing assistance getting in and out of the chair. The height can be adjusted between 16 to 20 inches, allowing for a customized fit. The large, texturized seat measures 13 by 16 inches and includes drain holes to prevent water buildup. The sturdy anodized aluminum frame is rust-resistant and can support up to 300 pounds. This chair is easy to assemble and has rubberized feet to prevent slipping, making it a reliable choice for seniors and individuals with mobility issues.
Medline Shower Chair Seat
The Medline Shower Chair Seat is a versatile bath seat with a backrest and padded armrests for added comfort and support. It features an adjustable seat height from 16 to 21 inches, accommodating various user needs. The chair can support up to 350 pounds, and its rust-resistant aluminum frame ensures durability. The legs adjust in one-inch increments for further customization. Assembly is tool-free, making setup simple and quick. The chair’s feet provide excellent grip, although there might be slight wobbling on perfectly flat surfaces.
Drive Medical 12011KD-1 Tub Transfer Bench
The Drive Medical 12011KD-1 Tub Transfer Bench enhances bathroom safety and accessibility with its durable blow-molded plastic construction and stable "A" frame design. The adjustable backrest and reversible bench make it versatile for various bathroom layouts. It features extension legs with extra-large suction cups for added safety and stability. The bench allows for easy transfers in and out of the tub, reducing the risk of falls. The adjustable legs can be raised or lowered in 0.5-inch increments from 17.5 to 22.5 inches. Assembly is tool-free and straightforward, and the bench supports up to 400 pounds. However, it may not be suitable for smaller bathtubs without careful measurement.
ComfortAble Deluxe Shower Chair
The ComfortAble Deluxe Shower Chair offers enhanced comfort and safety features, making it a premium choice for bathroom use. It features polyurethane padding on the seat and armrests, providing warmth and minimizing the risk of skin tears. The bright blue color aids visibility and prevents staining, making it ideal for users with visual impairments or dementia. The rust-resistant aluminum frame supports up to 310 pounds and ensures durability. The chair is height adjustable for optimal safety and comfort. Assembly is easy, and the chair comes with a lifetime warranty. Despite its higher price, the ComfortAble Deluxe Shower Chair’s blend of comfort, safety, and durability makes it a worthwhile investment.
Dr. Kay’s Adjustable Bath Chair
Dr. Kay’s Adjustable Bath Chair is a practical and reliable option for enhancing bathroom safety. It supports up to 350 pounds and features non-slip feet for secure placement. Its narrow design fits well in most tubs and walk-in showers. The chair is portable and can be easily disassembled for travel. Assembly takes about 10 minutes with clear instructions and no additional tools needed. The handles provide extra support, and the seat has drainage holes to prevent water pooling. The height is easily adjustable, allowing for a comfortable sitting and standing experience.

“Smiling depression” is a general expression used to describe high-functioning depression. It’s basically a non-clinical synonym for the “functional” aspects of dysthymia.
The term “smiling depression” refers to an individual’s effort to conceal their emotional distress from friends, family or colleagues, who they fear may become worried about them. By suppressing their feelings and hiding behind a smile, so to speak, those with high-functioning depression are able to put on a positive front and function fairly normally.
Some of the reasons why someone might conceal their dysthymia might include:

• To avoid becoming a burden to others
• To not appear weak
• To avoid drawing attention to their problems
• They honestly don’t believe they have a serious mental health issue

5 signs of high-functioning depression
Someone struggling with high-functioning depression still experiences many of the classic signs of clinical depression. However, this form of persistent depression has some unique features, including:

1. The symptoms of depression are less intense than major depressive disorder, therefore seeming more manageable.
   
2. The person is able to perform at work and maintain normal, healthy relationships, despite the mild depression.
   
3. In an effort to hide their true emotions from loved ones, they may struggle with chronic somatic symptoms, such as headaches and stomach distress.
   
4. The individual may self-medicate with a substance.
   
5. Even though the individual is able to complete daily tasks, everything they tackle takes a tremendous effort.
   

Any form of depression, including high-functioning depression, is difficult to live with. A treatment regimen involving a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy, as well as regular exercise and practicing mindfulness, may offer some relief.

Greetings. I just wrapped up my undergrad in Biology. I am not looking to apply this cycle, but the next one (2 gap years), and I was looking at what actions I could take to improve my application. These are my stats so far, but I also included the projected stats by the time I apply. I am currently studying for the MCAT and plan on taking it this summer. During the course of the next year, I plan on continuing to work at my two clinical jobs, getting more volunteer experience, and getting more shadowing experience. My hours will only increase during the application cycle too, so it will actually be higher by the time I get into medical school. My main concern is my lower GPA
General Stats - Low Income, first generation college student, immigrant (born in another country), NY resident - cGPA: 3.74, sGPA: 3.72 - Goal MCAT Score: 516
Paid clinical Experience - Nurse Attendant: 1120 hours (2080 hours projected by next cycle) - Medical Scribe: 131 hours (612 hours projected by next cycle)
Paid non-clinical experience - Wendy's Crew Member: 1,584 hours, Wendy's Manager (Leadership): 864 hours - Best Buy Sales Associate: 1,872 hours - T-Mobile Sales Associate: 1,200 hours
Leadership - Just the Wendy's Manager as I mentioned above
Clinical Volunteering - Hospice Volunteer: 53 hours (245+ hours projected by next cycle)
Non-clinical Volunteering - Crisis Text Counselor: 45 hours (237+ hours projected by next cycle)
Shadowing - 29 hours across 3 specialties (100+ hours goal by next cycle)
Research: - No Research :( I've applied for multiple research experiences, but I've either gotten rejected or told that I would need to dedicate 4+ days during the week and not get paid. This means I would have to quit one/both of my jobs which I can't afford to do since I rely on them for income. I'm still going to try to get some research before I apply by finding something that fits my schedule or getting a paid position, but there's no guarantee for now

Hey all, i live in SC. I had my daughter last week, for my entire pregnancy I was on incredibly low dose opiates. Prescribed by a pain clinic. It’s a medication I have been on for 8 years. Prescription has never changed. She had absolutely no symptoms when she was born. Her urine was clear of any and all drugs, but her poop came back positive. The doctors were incredibly happy with her condition she was perfect. But because I was positive This made them required to call DSS. Which I’m not angry at because I know it keeps the babies who aren’t cared for safe.
With that said….. I’m not sure what to expect. I’m terrified they’re gonna take her from me. Any advice?

32M, 5'6" 195lb Current Medications: Concerta, vitamin D, testosterone inj Had labs done 2 years ago that showed elevated LFT's, provider ordered abdominal US, which showed a small lesion. Jump forward to last month, recheck of LFT's still elevated so he wanted a repeat US. Repeat US showed growth in lesion and suggested MRI to rule out malignancy. MRI results just came through, waiting for doctor to call. Just posting to get others opinions on them in the mean time. Thanks in advance!
Will post scan results below, though I do not have access to images.
Most recent labs results with lab ranges in parenthesis,
Bilirubin, total - 1.2mg/dl (0.2-1.0); AST 49 units/L (<=37); ALT 100u/L (<64); hepatitis work up all negative
abdominal US: IMPRESSION: 1. Two hypoechoic masses in the liver with internal blood flow, the larger measuring 2.2 cm and increased in size since 2022 when it measured 1.3 cm. Recommend liver MRI with contrast to exclude malignancy. 2. Diffuse hepatic steatosis. Narrative US ABDOMEN COMPLETE 5/7/2024 1:02 PM HISTORY: R79.89 Other specified abnormal findings of blood chemistry COMPARISON: Ultrasound 7/26/2022. TECHNIQUE: Grayscale and color Doppler ultrasound imaging of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, spleen, IVC and aorta were performed. FINDINGS: Hepatic parenchyma is coarsened and echogenic consistent with hepatic steatosis. 2.2 cm hypoechoic lesion in the superior liver which is indeterminate, previously 1.3 cm. Additional smaller hypoechoic liver lesion is noted. The gallbladder is normal. There is no wall thickening, pericholecystic fluid, sonographic Murphy's sign or cholelithiasis. No intrahepatic or extra hepatic biliary ductal dilatation. Common bile duct measures 3 mm in diameter. Visualized portions of the head and body of the pancreas are unremarkable. Both kidneys are present without collecting system dilatation. The right measures 10.7 cm in length and left measures 10.7 cm. The spleen is unremarkable measuring 11.7 cm in length. The abdominal aorta is normal in caliber throughout. IVC is patent. No free fluid. MRI: Impression IMPRESSION: 1. Single focal hepatic lesion with indeterminate imaging characteristics. Atypical hemangioma is in the differential, though tumor is not excluded given interval increased size and atypical imaging characteristics (T2 hypointense rim, lack of peripheral puddling of contrast). Options would include continued surveillance versus ultrasound-guided biopsy. 2. Diffuse hepatic steatosis. Narrative MRI LIVER W WO CONTRAST DATE OF EXAM: 5/14/2024 7:09 AM. CLINICAL INFORMATION: Liver lesion. TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar multisequence pre and postcontrast MR imaging of the liver. Gadavist 9 mL intravenous, without complication. COMPARISON: Ultrasound performed 5/7/2024 and 7/26/2022. FINDINGS: Normal hepatic size and contour. Diffuse hepatic parenchymal signal dropout on opposed phase T1 sequence. Single focal hepatic lesion in the left hepatic lobe measuring approximately 2.3 x 2.1 cm (5/13). Central mildly hyperintense T2 signal with a peripheral rim of hypointense signal. Early hyperenhancement, with persistent delayed enhancement, and hyperintense diffusion signal. No biliary dilation. Unremarkable gallbladder. Normal spleen size, without focal lesion. Unremarkable pancreas. No adrenal masses. Unremarkable kidneys. Symmetric nephrograms without evidence of enhancing mass or obstruction. Unremarkable stomach and duodenum. Normal caliber small and large bowel. No focal areas of bowel wall inflammation. Moderate stool burden. No adenopathy or ascites. Normal caliber abdominal aorta. Unremarkable IVC. No acute osseous findings.