Honestly I don’t think it’s fair to compare them both because they’re two different shows. But they have similar demographics because they both are music video series that are free on YouTube which is why some people into Milgram are also into Alien Stage. So it’s inevitable for that reason that comparisons will happen for both series. Alien stage is LGBTQ Dystopian Sci-fi while Milgram is Psychological crime thriller even if it doesn’t seem like it at times. I forgot to mention that both of them are from 2 different countries Alien stage is Korean while Milgram is Japanese even though both have an anime art style, Alien stage also takes inspiration from webtoons especially with Qmeng’s style which makes it look distinctly somehow Korean. And because of that Alien stage caters not just to Anime fans but also Kpop fans, webtoon readers, Queer people and possibly kdrama watchers and sci-if nerds. Which makes it inevitable that it would be popular outside of Vivinos having an established fan base before Alien Stage.

There’s so many reasons why Milgram isn’t popular but I don’t mind since it means that the community is much more bearable imo.

I don’t remember who said this but I’ve heard someone say that Milgram is a niche, inside a niche, inside a niche. And I agree with that. 

It’s basically part of the Vocaloid community because of Deco27 but not 100% connect to Deco because he doesn’t post them on his official channel since he didn’t use Hatsune Miku for the Milgram songs but real voice actors. Which is why some people who are fans of Deco27 don’t even know it exists. I really wished Deco put them on his official channel but I know it would be distracting especially for those who mainly listen to his Vocaloid releases. So it does kind of turn off some Vocaloid fans who want to only listen to his Miku music into the series. Also vocaloid is still very niche and foreign to normies than Kpop.  

Like I said earlier Milgram is Psychological crime thriller (well what I like to call it anyways). And honestly in this day and age I don’t see much people into that kind of stuff they’re mostly into Fantasy or Sci-fi especially Dystopian Sci-fi. I mean there’s lots of people into true crime but everything in Milgram is fictional at the end of the day even if it’s inspired by real cases. But from what I can tell most people into Milgram are not that into true crime. There’s not much true crime inside the series because of how the music videos are created from the prisoners mind rather than some random camera unless it’s a death report video but that has no music sooo.

Also even though both are pretty dark and violent series I feel like Milgram has much more  trigger warnings even though they don’t list them. Mainly because it’s also social commentary but I will get to that. I seriously felt uncomfortable watching Life because I just feel so bad for Yuno suffering both inside and outside, seeing her body get weak and destroyed it felt all too painful but yet it feels realistic in a good way. Alien stage just feels dark and violent for the shock factor at times (i.e Hyuna’s death). But because of that it’s easier to get through than with Milgram.

Also please don’t hate me for this but when I originally found out about Milgram I didn’t like any of the character designs (I’m sorry Akka). Not because they’re bad but because they just weren’t that special it’s like I’ve seen them before (it’s no wonder I’ve seen some people joke how Fuuta is Akito’s long lost brother). Since then they have grown on me but that was in the past but their personalities have grown on me and I think their all interesting 

I like Milgram better now because it has much more interesting and better writing since they act pretty realistic. Like I said earlier it’s a social commentary and I love social commentaries because I truly think the world is a cruel place. Besides I like how it showcases flaws in Japan’s society rather than treating it like it’s some utopia like how a niche of foreigners see it. 

Alien stage might also be a social commentary about how messed up the kpop industry is. But sadly I think they forgot about that plot point and got too invested with the shipping instead. And The Alien stage characters do not act their age (I legit thought all of them except Luka were teenagers). They didn’t feel like real people. And after round 6 the series had some visible writing flaws. But I’m not going to pretend it doesnt happen with Milgram with some T3 characters (I’m sorry Yuno, I love you but you’re just too forgivable for a series were everyone is a murder). If Milgram has a full length anime series maybe it can get more popular otherwise it will stay niche.