Forum - View topicNEWS: CEO: Bang Zoom to Cease Anime Dubbing in 2011 Without Fan Support
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Reibooi
 Posts: 394 |
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Last I knew Bang Zoom DOES do all the things you listed. He never said they would shut down. He said they would stop doing Anime. Why put money into dubbing a medium that's not giving a return. That's the problem here. Not that they put all their eggs in one basket. The fact of the matter is that if everyone who watched fan subs of shows that have already been licensed just stopped doing that and bought a DVD or 2 the industry in the US would be ALOT better off. I can't tell you the amount of friends I have that watch nothing but fan subs of shows that have been out in the US for years and never ever buy a single disc. I don't like fan subs in any way but I can at least understand wanting to see something not released in the US. However just watching stuff online when you are clearly a anime fan when you could be supporting the industry by buying just a few DVD's is retarded. |
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GWOtaku
 Posts: 678 |
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Now, wait a sec. I subscribe to CR. I like CR. It could be better still, but they have some good shows. How do you know they're turning a significant profit? Also realize that all of their stuff is subtitled.
Well, Funi and Viz are doing exactly that. Vampire Bund, Baka and Test, House of Five Leaves, Tetami Galaxy, Naruto, Inu-Yasha Final Act. All recent examples. Bandai and S23/Sentai are mostly doing well to stick around (and to rebuild, in S23's case. It's interesting that Golgo 13 is being released dubbed from the get-go). No, the majority of anime in a given season are not simulcasted yet. Then again, streaming anime only started its dramatic growth as recently as very early 2009. Just over a year + some change, in other words. Given that, I don't think the progress should be written off as unimpressive. As for how much money all that free streaming makes via ad support? Who knows. Well, maybe Bang Zoom's CEO does, since he's in the industry. He's in a much better position to know than you or I are. Long story short, yeah. The best way to support the industry is still buying DVD's. Last edited by GWOtaku on Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mikedfd2k
Posts: 2 |
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The entire industry isn't going to fizzle out just the american dub industry. Which personally i coudln't be happier about.
[Edit: Please don't troll. You're not adding to the conversation, and simply making a pointless one-liner you have to know will attract harsh response. If you want to make a case about why you feel this way and why you think this is how it will happen, then so be it. - Keonyn] |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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I'm not surprised by this news. Bang Zoom was a regularly used studio by Geneon and Bandai, one of which is toast and the other now thinks sub-only is best. They've probably lost a lot of business, little of which can be made up. Even if they want to branch-out more, the gaming world has started to shift toward cheap and easy to make "casual" games and commercial VA work tends to involve completely different studios and people than anime/game work. Everyone's hurting right now too so it's not like there is a long line of new clients waiting outside Bang Zoom's door. |
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firedragon54738
 Posts: 3113 Location: wisconsin |
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Sigh what the fudge is going on I try to buy more anime but I dont have the money to buy a lot and its getting harder to find a good title in the few stores that carry any anime. Even the few Best Buy store that even carry anime only have a few titles and who can keep buying it online every time the shipping will kill you every time. Maybe time to move to Japan before anime dies in the US
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NegativeZero
Posts: 94 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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The big boom of last decade is well and truly over, and anime is transitioning back toward being more of a niche audience again. And that niche audience is a lot more tolerant toward watching stuff subtitled. Dubs are extremely expensive to make and only shows which are guaranteed to sell well - especially if there may be TV syndication on the cards - are going to be profitable to dub.
Fansubs probably are to 'blame' for it in the end, but there's also the Crunchyroll angle and the fact that a lot of the remaining R1 anime publishers aren't bothering to dub anything but their top-shelf material now too. If Bang Zoom's income was entirely dependent on dubbing anime then as harsh as it sounds, they were probably going to go out of business eventually anyway. |
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GWOtaku
Posts: 678 |
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You're happy about the idea of a lot of talented people losing their jobs? That's quite a classy first post, misspellings and all. Anyway, you'll be waiting for quite awhile since Funi still dubs consistently, as does Viz. And hey, I'm a guy that's willing to buy subtitle-only releases if that's what it comes down to. But that's not my first choice. Last edited by GWOtaku on Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Reibooi
Posts: 394 |
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I have my doubts that Crunchyroll is making any good amount of money. If what Justin said a few ANNcasts ago is anything to go by the last ton of shows that got simulcast that last few seasons in fact LOST money on CR which is why there are FAR less shows on there this season. As far as working with the Japanese producers. Well Funi is doing the best they can on that front however Simulcasts really only appease Sub fans. There is pretty much no way(at least at this point in time) that they can get a Dub airing at the exact same time as a show is in Japan. Sure it can be done with a OVA like Gundam Unicorn but when it comes to a TV series it's nearly impossible. |
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EvilTaxi
Posts: 27 |
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Bang Zoom! does a lot more than do localized dubs of anime. They also do voice-overs for games, American cartoons, commercials, and a host of other things. Like someone earlier said in this thread, they're just saying they're going to drop anime. |
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AJMkarate717
 Posts: 125 |
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Well, with the demise of the dub industry, the entire American anime market will be toast. And I hope you realize that the Janapese do get money from American licenses. Less money for the Japanese means that they will have less to spend on content. It's bad all-around. And besides, why would you be glad if the anime dubbing industry goes under? It's just a disadvantage for everyone if that happens... |
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JohnnySake
 Posts: 582 Location: Auburn Hills, MI |
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You got me there, you're definitely right. So, they'll continue on, but just not doing anime. Instead of broken eggs, it's more like spilled milk, or water under the bridge. I feel bad for them, and fans of dubs. Some sub only dvd's lead to dubs, look at Clannad. (can't think of the other one Section23 was gonna re-release with a dub.) So not all is lost. |
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Kyosuke_
Posts: 56 |
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Asking people to change their buying behavior is not going to help nearly enough -- you can't attack and change the psychology of your audience so easily, especially since so much of the audience grew up expecting things like anime for free.
As for dubs, maybe he means that it takes more money and resources to produce dubs as opposed to subs, and perhaps that current methods of monetization of anime are not enough to meet the costs of the dubbing business. I don't have any hard numbers on this, which would certainly help to understand the situation. Nevertheless, the onus is really on the industry to adapt to the situation. Otherwise, yes dubbing may die, at least for a while. I don't see subbing dying such a quick death. Anime as it exists in Japan may suffer somewhat, but it will survive. |
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animechaos
 Posts: 5 |
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Don't think these companies realize fans want their anime NOW, not a year+ after the original release in japan.
Personally I don't care if they're dubbed or not, I'm fine with subtitles. They either need to stream their content close to real-time in the same fashion as Crunchyroll or go back to 4 episode volumes that are released sub-only and extremely quick after the original airing. I've watched fan-subs of anime such as K-on and Railgun, both of which I would have been happy to purchase. The problem is: 1) Neither are licenced, or at least announced as such. 2) No news, speculation, etc., of the series. 3) Most folks, fans or not, that watch a series the 1st time through, very often don't watch it a second time. Thus no motivation to purchase it. Let me give this example from my own perspective as both a fan and businessman. I really want to watch "Railgun", but nobody has it licensed, no release plans, details, etc. So what will fans do? They'll watch it elsewhere. Now if there were plans to release the title shortly after the first episode aired.....there is a good chance fans will hold off for better quality products (and perks). In my case, if some company announced they had the title and planned blu-ray releases....I would have held off for the better product. Anime companies have to change the way they're marketing to the public. Right now they're playing the blame game not realising fans have limited patience. |
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domino
 Posts: 373 |
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I love the crunchyroll model and am a subscriber. I think it just has a lot of work needed. They should put DVD release info on the sides of the shows being played so viewers can at least know they CAN buy it. And they desperately need more simulcasts. I was subscribing just to watch Gintama, but now that that's over, not sure why I should keep my subscription active.
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Cyberlink420
Posts: 8 |
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Man...I'm spending more than ever before on anime each year, and yet the industry still can't catch a break...*sigh*
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