History Main / OtakuOClock

* The original ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'' TBS shorts that aired between 2016 and March 2018 would air late at night alongside other adult-oriented.

* The original ''Anime/Aggretsuko'' TBS shorts that aired between 2016 and March 2018 would air late at night alongside other adult-oriented.

** Oddly enough, ''Anime/HunterXHunter'' (the 2011 version) oddly enough started airing at ''10:55 AM'' on Sunday morning, despite being one of the most violent mainstream {{Shounen}} manga out there. [[{{Bowdlerize}} It was still censored]], but it was still quite violent for its timeslot, hence moving to Tuesday Nights 25:30/Wednesday Mornings 1:30 AM for the last portion.

{{Anime}} aired from around 11 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning, occasionally indicated by the odd-looking "22:00-27:00" notation. They are almost universally watched by an [[{{Seinen}} older male audience]].

{{Anime}} aired from around 11 p.m. until the wee hours of the morning, occasionally indicated by the odd-looking "22:00-27:00" notation. They are almost universally watched by an [[{{Seinen}} older male audience]], and often mocked by any shows aired earlier.

* Despite being a {{shoujo}} series, the first season of ''LightNovel/MariaSamaGaMiteru'' aired at OtakuOClock, while the second aired on a more intuitive Sunday morning timeslot. Aside from testing series potential, this was probably a safety device to see [[SubText how far they were allowed to go]] and because the producers are well aware of the net created by its PeripheryDemographic loyalty. After a "third season" of [=OVAs=], the fourth season again aired at OtakuOClock.

* ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'''s first season was on a Sunday morning kids' show time slot, but the second season moved here. Perhaps because of all the references and otaku nature of the show.

** Oddly enough, ''Anime/HunterXHunter'' (The 2011 version) oddly enough started airing at ''10:55 AM'' on Sunday morning, despite being one of the most violent mainstream {{Shounen}} manga out there. [[{{Bowdlerize}} It was still quite censored]], but it was still quite violent for its timeslot, hence moving to Tuesday Nights 25:30/Wednesday Mornings 1:30 AM for the last portion.

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'' aired at 12:00 AM time slots. Many people questioned why due to its kid friendly content until the [[DarkerAndEdgier second cour]] from Episode 15 onwards which included more swearing, HeroicBSOD and a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking living nuke trying to destroy the world]]. The reason why it was aired at 12:00 AM was because it had no other timeslot to air.
* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' originally aired at 1:25 AM on TV Tokyo. The show, however, is kinda family-friendly with the [=ADV=] Films DVD's giving it a "TV-PG" rating (aside from Mr. Kimura being a {{Ephebophile}} and a few swear words).

* The [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]]'s Ani-Monday block ran from 10PM to midnight Eastern time. They adjusted it for time zones for the standard channel but not the HD channel, so on the west coast you could see it at 7PM, potentially averting the trope. It was relocated to Tuesdays in January 2011.

* Despite being a Shonen Jump series, ''Manga/ShokugekiNoSoma'' was determined to be too risque for a daytime slot, therefore aired at 2:30am on MBS.

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' airs at 12:00 AM time slots. Many people questioned why due to its kid friendly content until the [[DarkerAndEdgier second cour]] from Episode 15 onwards which included more swearing, HeroicBSOD and a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking living nuke trying to destroy the world]]. The reason why it was aired at 12:00 AM was because it had no other timeslot to air.

[[folder: Japan]]

* ''Anime/CodeGeass''' first season aired at 25:25 (1:25 AM), which apparently allowed them to get away with [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath bloody]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath violence]], swearing, [[spoiler:a girl [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbating]] with a table corner, and the massacre of a stadium full of people]]. The fact that the second season aired at 5 PM on Sunday, a timeslot typically reserved for news programming, required them to drastically alter the plot.

[[folder: Other]]

[[folder: Fictional Works]]

* Content concerns are a big deal, as in most other countries. Otaku O'Clock shows tend to be on the more [[{{Gorn}} violent]] and/or [[{{Fanservice}} sexual]] side in terms of content. Such shows have been aired in prime time before, but not to universal acclaim; in particular, there was large public outcry in 1995 when ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' aired in the dinner hour. In spite of the post-{{Watershed}} timing, though, many of these shows will still be {{censor|shiptropes}}ed or [[OffModel otherwise poorly executed]], at least partly [[MoneyDearBoy to convince the otaku to buy the DVD/Blu-Ray]].
* And in this era of [=DVR=] technology, it doesn't really matter when you air the program anyway; the fans will record it or stream it. Where the show isn't aired, {{fansub}}s will provide the show.

This is common in Japan for several reasons, even if it seems like a weird time to broadcast a show that's trying to make money.

* The children's network ''Qubo'' had a block called "Qubo Night-Owl," which played episodes of old Filmation cartoons.
* Preteen male-oriented cable network ''Creator/DisneyXD'' broadcasts a block simply named "The Anime Block" every Saturday morning which includes shows such as ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', ''Anime/BeybladeBurst'' and ''Anime/YokaiWatch''.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToadPatrol'' was aired by Toon Disney in the wee hours of the morning when it's target audience was asleep (one timeslot was 5:00 AM) despite being a kids show (the dark undertones might be why the Mouse put it in such a timeslot).
* This might be the reason for early morning or middle of the night airings of older shows on some TV networks (for example [=Nicktoons=]).
* Creator/{{HBO}} made its ''WesternAnimation/{{Spawn}}'' adult animated series with the intent of airing it in this kind of time slot, and Todd [=McFarlane=] ended up using the freedom that the time slot gave him to make the kind of show that ''could'' only be shown late at night when kids were asleep.

* Creator/{{HBO}} made its ''WesternAnimation/{{Spawn}} adult animated series with the intent of airing it in this kind of time slot, and Todd [=McFarlane=] ended up using the freedom that the time slot gave him to make the kind of show that could only be shown late at night when kids were asleep.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToadPatrol'' was aired by Toon Disney at 1:00 in the morning despite being a kids show (the dark undertones might be why the Mouse put it in such a timeslot).

* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' originally aired at 1:25 AM on TV Tokyo.

* ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'' aired at 1:30 AM time slot.

* An early version of Otaku O' Clock relates to different reasons in the years before anime was mainstream in the US. During its initial 1985-1986 runs, ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' was shown mostly during the early hours of the morning such as 6:30 or 7:00 am, along with many other syndicated import shows. This was believed to be due to the tendency for parents to still be asleep and unaware of the mature content of what was supposed to be "just a cartoon". It should be noted that ''Robotech'' was originally broadcast on NBC affiliates before their SaturdayMorningCartoon lineup, which at the time usually began around 8:00 am. At that time, NBC broadcast an annual primetime preview special giving glimpses into the season's soon-to-start Saturday Morning Cartoon lineup, particularly highlighting new cartoons. Robotech was not mentioned in the fall 1985 special.

** This actually happened to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork quite a few Anime]] that tanked in ratings. ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', ''[[Anime/ZoidsChaoticCentury Zoids: Guardian Force]]'', ''Anime/IGPXImmortalGrandPrix'', and ''Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight'' all got similar treatment.

* This is the theory behind Creator/AdultSwim, which broadcasts nightly from 8 PM and 6 AM and devotes Saturday nights to anime (since May 2012 under the revived Creator/{{Toonami}} brand).

** And their revival of Creator/{{Toonami}} took the place of their own anime block.

* Preteen male-oriented cable network ''Creator/DisneyXD'' broadcasts a block simply named "The Anime Block" every Saturday morning which includes shows such as ''Anime/Pokémon'', ''Anime/BeybladeBurst'' and ''Anime/YokaiWatch''.

* Content concerns are a big deal, as in most other countries. Otaku O'Clock shows tend to be on the more violent or sexual side in terms of content. Such shows have been aired in prime time before, but not to universal acclaim; in particular, there was large public outcry in 1995 when ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' aired in the dinner hour. In spite of the post-{{Watershed}} timing, though, many of these shows will still be {{censor|shiptropes}}ed or [[OffModel otherwise poorly executed]], at least partly [[MoneyDearBoy to convince the otaku to buy the DVD/Blu-Ray]].

* This is the theory behind Creator/AdultSwim, which broadcasts nightly from 8 PM and 6 AM and devotes Saturday nights to anime.

* Content concerns are a big deal, as in most other countries. Otaku O'Clock shows tend to be on the more violent or sexual side in terms of content. Such shows have been aired in prime time before, but not to universal acclaim; in particular, there was large public outcry in 1995 when ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' aired in the dinner hour. In spite of the post-{{Watershed}} timing, though, many of these shows will still be {{censor|shiptropes}}ed or [[OffModel otherwise poorly executed]], at least partly to convince the otaku to buy the [=DVD=]/Blu-Ray.

* In Australia, anime is most prevalent on public children's channel Creator/{{ABC3}} where it airs in a block at the latest point on the channel's run on Saturday (''Anime/AstroBoy'', ''Anime/DeltoraQuest'', ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', and other kids shows). Being a children's channel, however, [=ABC3=] stops at 9pm. Otherwise, anime airs at either seven in the morning on a commercial channel (''Franchise/YuGiOh'', ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' and other kids' programs) or around midnight on the multicultural channel {{SBS}} (the collected works of Creator/HayaoMiyazaki, ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' and so forth).

* ''InvisibleGirlEa'' (Toumei Shoujo Ea) was shown during this timeslot, although it is a live action series (but based on a game).

* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' airs at 12:00 AM time slots. Many people questioned why due to its kid friendly content until the [[DarkerAndEdgier second cour]] from Episode 15 onwards.

** ''CuteyHoneyTheLive'' had a 1:00 AM broadcast time.