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Hey, Answerman! - You, The Viewer


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GhostShell



Joined: 25 Jan 2011
Posts: 1009
Location: Richmond, B.C., Canada
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:27 pm Reply with quote
In regards to your answer to the question pertaining to a line being drawn between a failing of a show and a failing of a viewer...well said!

Quote:
old stuff doesn't sell


As for old titles not selling, me thinks it would depend upon the title and how old it was. Gasaraki will soon be re-released (if it hasn't been already). A few months ago I picked up the re-release of the Galaxy Express 999 and Galaxy Express 999: Adieu movies. I also have a hunkering to see the Star Blazers series and would buy them, if I could find them at a decent price. I think there's certainly a market for old titles, but not necessarily a big one. And that market might even grow as anime fans get older.
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st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:29 pm Reply with quote
Eh hehe my answer was published. Maybe I should've added that the only reason Wandering Son is the runner up is because I don't think the art's as pretty as Bride's Story. Still a gorgeous release though. Some interesting questions this week, as well. I'd never really thought of the whole back catalogue thing being much of an issue.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:06 pm Reply with quote
Placing blame usually depends on which group some one belongs to. If they are some one who understood the show, then it'll be the other viewer's fault for being confused. If a person doesn't understand the show then it's the show's fault for being incomprehensible.
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burnpsy



Joined: 25 Aug 2011
Posts: 116
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:16 pm Reply with quote
Old stuff doesn't sell? That's not necessarily true. Look at how ridiculous Sailor Moon's sales have been...
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:23 pm Reply with quote
Old stuff may not sell but nostalgic stuff definitely does. In that case there's already an established fanbase that will eat it up. If you bring over some old show that's never been out here before you don't have that.
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bj_waters



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 234
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:26 pm Reply with quote
"Grand denoument"? "Eloquently waxes rhapsodic"? I feel like you're making fun of me, Brian. I mean, I guess my answer is longer and more heavy-handed than the rest, but really?

And by the way, the title at the end of my statement was meant to be spelled "St&rs."

burnpsy wrote:
Old stuff doesn't sell? That's not necessarily true. Look at how ridiculous Sailor Moon's sales have been...


I think Brian has said before that massive franchises like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and Evangelion will always sell. They're the exception to the rule.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4563
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:37 pm Reply with quote
The thing I really hate about being an anime DVD collector in general, especially since as Brian noted the print-on-demand service really wouldn't work for it, is that stuff manages to fall out-of-print so freaking fast, often with little to no warning. For instance, I had watched about half of Ghost Stories streaming on ANN a few months ago, and I decided I'd try to watch a few more episodes the other night. I swiftly discovered that ANN didn't have the series up anymore, and in a short while, I figured out that it had somehow fallen out-of-print without me even noticing. Hell, RightStuf had a little over 20 copies of the complete series set when I looked that night, but they had all magically disappeared by the next day. Now I'm stuck having to scramble around and buy the singles.

Long story short? If we can't have print-on-demand, can we at least have distributors give out the periodic update saying, "Okay, we're losing the rights to this series soon, so if you still need to buy it, do it now"? Sentai did that for the Eva thinpack, and I know AnimEigo has done it in the past too, so it doesn't seem like too much to ask.
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ss-hikaru



Joined: 16 Nov 2010
Posts: 269
Location: Western Australia
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 8:22 pm Reply with quote
Haha that first question immediately made me thing "Mawaru Penguindrum". I do not get that show AT ALL. And hence am not really enjoying it. Waiting for my mind to be blown but since I'm too stupid to notice symbolism and what not I think I'll just end up scratching my head in confusion after its all over.

I was going to answer the answerfans question with Itsuwaribito but then remembered that was released in December last year. Good series though! Answerfans reminds me that I still haven't picked up a lot of the new series I meant to this year, including Wandering Son...gotta get onto that...next RightStuf sale Anime hyper
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:07 pm Reply with quote
At times, it is for the best to confuse the viewer, like when building suspense or tension. As long as the show is logical and internally consistent, then it is fine. It is only when characters start acting out of character or events happen with no reason or cause, then it is the bad form of confusion.

Quote:
What's wrong with good old fashioned American books and comics?

Let me count the ways:
1) Superheroes. They're boring. They're all the same story.
2) Spandex, tights, capes and wearing your underwear on the outside are all impractical and, frankly, lame.
3) Rob Liefeld.
4) Insanely complex backstory with lack of continuity, coupled with the fact most the characters where created 40 to 80 years ago.
5) Retcons.
6) Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code Authority
And I could go on. But basically, anime/manga offers me a type of story I can not find in America. And I find the art style of anime aesthetically pleasing, and so I want to emulate it. And if I win the lottery or oil starts seeping into my basement (sadly, the only thing that seeps into my basement is radon), I would quit my job and start up a web comic, with manga influenced art. But I wouldn't do it to make money, and I wouldn't do it for any market either.
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:48 pm Reply with quote
And here comes the [expletive] weeaboo partol. Rolling Eyes

"Bargh! Superheroes!"

Do you people seriously not see that you are exactly the same as the idiots who dismiss manga because "blarg! It's all Naruto and Moe".

Quote:
Superheroes. They're boring. They're all the same story.


Cause lord knows there's no such genre in manga that uses a strict, established formula over and over again and also begins with an S.

Quote:
Spandex, tights, capes and wearing your underwear on the outside are all impractical and, frankly, lame.


I know. I mean...Batman is basically a Ninja for goodness sake. Why doesn't he wear something more practical...like a bright orange jumpsuit!

Quote:
Rob Liefeld.


Cause if there's one thing manga is known for, it's its stunning mastery of realistic human anatomy.

Quote:
Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code Authority


Cause lord knows Japan would never decide that comics are harmful to minors and need to be censored. Oh wait!
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:50 pm Reply with quote
Might wanna paraphrase it as *certain* old stuff doesn't sell, or, as someone pointed out, Discotek-not to mention Vertical-would be out of business.
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inuhime



Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Posts: 33
Location: Windy City
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:58 pm Reply with quote
Melanchthon wrote:


Quote:
What's wrong with good old fashioned American books and comics?

Let me count the ways:
1) Superheroes. They're boring. They're all the same story.
2) Spandex, tights, capes and wearing your underwear on the outside are all impractical and, frankly, lame.
3) Rob Liefeld.
4) Insanely complex backstory with lack of continuity, coupled with the fact most the characters where created 40 to 80 years ago.
5) Retcons.
6) Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code Authority
And I could go on. But basically, anime/manga offers me a type of story I can not find in America. .

Hey, not all American comics are that bad. Take The Walking Dead, for instance, or Scott Pilgrim. Heck, I'm quite partial to Alan Moore's From Hell. You just have to sift through the trash and you'll find some gems.
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CG-LOVER



Joined: 22 Mar 2010
Posts: 355
Location: East Lansing, MI
PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:49 am Reply with quote
Hmmmm, in regards to what is the best Western anime release in the past year, I am not sure that I can speak for anything that I have not purchased myself. So that's all I'm going to cover. And out of what I did buy over the past year, there are some considerations to take into account. Of course the quality of the show itself should be taken into consideration. But then there are other considerations like video quality, packaging quality, and the quality of the extras.

So after reviewing the releases of the past year that I purchased, I came down to three choices. 1st was FUNi's release of the Ga-Rei-Zero Limited Edition boxset. For one thing, this is a fantastic show, that easily makes it on my top ten list. Secondly, this release also marked FUNi's return to making artboxes and Limited Editions, so I'm very happy with the packaging. Still, I'm not the biggest fan of the cover art FUNi chose for the box, and there were some design choices that FUNi made which I would have changed.

My second possible choice was the Baccano! Limited Edition Blu-ray Box from Aniplex of America. I don't have to tell anyone that this is a great show, but as far as releases from Aniplex goes, it had a decent price tag on it too. In addition, the packaging is some of the best I've ever seen in an R1 anime release. I mean it wasn't in a sturdy artbox or anything but it was very visually appealing. And the video quality, I mean wow, it's probably the best Blu-ray upscale I've ever seen. All of that said though, it had a severe lack of extras and even though the show is great, it doesn't make my top ten list or anything.

So then there was one more option to consider, and this is the choice I am going with as the best release of 2011. And that is Funi's release of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood part 5 Blu-ray. It is by far the best show I saw in 2011 and Funi's release of it was pretty great. It had a nice outer slipcase with great artwork on it, as well as an interior case holding 2 discs with 2-sided reversible cover art. It also had some collectable postcards with even more artwork on them as well. The show itself also looked great in HD too. So yes, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 5 Blu-ray was definitely the best Western release of an anime that I purchased in my book.
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3489
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:08 am Reply with quote
Best release or re-release?

Revolutionary Girl Utena. Hands down. I'll see if I can get my thoughts of how much I love that series and the awesome release it got through Noizomi into a coherent review or not...
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kakoishii



Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 741
PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:18 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
Placing blame usually depends on which group some one belongs to. If they are some one who understood the show, then it'll be the other viewer's fault for being confused. If a person doesn't understand the show then it's the show's fault for being incomprehensible.

Wait, what? I'm sorry dear, but what you said made absolutely no sense. No really, help me out here.......
ikillchicken wrote:
Lots of stuff that made sense

If I could rep you ikill, I totally would right now. Don't you love it when blind otaku spew insults at a culture they are part of, but reject because it isn't "oh so foreign?" Boo, superheroes in those silly costumes they wear, why can't they be unique like Japan's giant robots and magical girls?
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