Forum - View topicNEWS: NIS America Licenses Toradora! as Its First Anime
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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Similarly, I remember when the only way to buy the LEXX movies on VHS was the American rental copies which went for something like $80 each. |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I remember having to give Blockbuster an $80 check so I could rent movies. Used VHS tapes weren't all that cheap. God, people are so spoiled now.
But I am amazed this thread is still going strong |
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dragonrider_cody
Posts: 2541 |
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Blockbuster's revenue sharing deal was actually the first to be done. This was before Netflix even existed, and it was what was accredited with them eventually claiming 50% of the home rental market at the time. The deal was inked to help boost Blockbusters available cash flow and increase the amount of copies they were able to acquire for their stores. This allowed them to have more copies of new releases, but spend less cash up front. It probably wouldn't have been too hard for them to do, as at the time they were still sister companies with Paramount, who was the first on board with it. Plus, the deals were ultimately more profitable for the studios as they would continue to get revenue throughout the life of the DVD, as opposed to just an upfront fee. But like I said, I don't know if their revenue sharing deal still applies to their online rentals or not. Though in the case of the Weinstein Company, since those title are exclusively through Blockbuster, I imagine their still must be some sort of deal in place. After all, if they didn't have some sort of deal in place, the studios would likely be going after Blockbuster as well. For a little bit of reference, and in regards to the lawsuits I talked about earlier: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-85409298.html . You can also read about their business model on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_Inc. . |
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LordRedhand
 Posts: 1472 Location: Middle of Nowhere, Indiana |
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Sorry using my "Grim Science" there, I wasn't really referring to the series in so much as market position. As presumably if Toradora was a "strong" series it may have other different factors or qualities being added to it (like a dub, good art box, art book or other features.) So far the only known factors are a.) Relative anime distributor new comer NISA owns the license and b.) Is likely to be sub-only. Which is concerning in so much as that other anime distributor companies didn't pick it up, it's natural to ask why? And the other question still stands "Why should I buy show X from NISA when I could get show Y from Nozomi?" As to the Funimation poll, don't put too much stock in it. As keep in mind that there is very likely a portion of that 2,000 respondents your estimating that would not buy it sub-only and in fact maybe here expressing their "anger" about the issue, as Funimation is doing all dubs for their shows, they could have been voting for that show just for that reason. How many? Who knows? But it is reasonable to assume "Quite a few of them." considering they took the time to fill out a poll from a company that is dedicated to doing dub work in addition to sub work. |
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TJR
Posts: 223 |
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I think Toradora is kinda stuck in the middle. The series is new and wildly popular in Japan, which significantly raised the cost of the license. It enjoyed massive fansub popularity. However, Toradora is also unlikely to have wide enough appeal to justify the cost of the license (and it isn't as big as Clannad or Kannagi, which were clearly number one picks when it came to niche, expensive licenses from 2008), let alone a dub. By and large, even the niche publishers are staying away from these types of shows. Both Sentai and TRSI focus on licenses that weren't so successful in Japan (with a few exceptions). |
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LordRedhand
Posts: 1472 Location: Middle of Nowhere, Indiana |
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Which if true that Toradora's license costs more than usual would make it more of a riskier investment (Thus a potential for a greater return.) But it would have to be considered a Star for it to be worthwhile, and if it's in that middle ground area that moves it closer to being a dog. (Stars you want to raise up and stabilize into what some call an evergreen title or cash cow as others would put it. A dog is something you put down/take out to the dog house/ or to the farm as it were. Business wise you want a balance of stars, cows and maybe some bonds, dogs you want to drop as quickly as you can.)
So as I said we shall see. |
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ragnawind
Posts: 68 Location: Florida, USA |
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If this series was dubbed, I would definitely watch it, but it appears that all of NIS America's releases will be sub-only. If that is the case, then I will most likely not purchase any anime that they license. I would rather watch something in my own native language. If you want to watch anime subbed, it would be better to just read the manga instead, in America, since you would most likely be reading anyway if you were watching something in a language you don't know and it has subs.
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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I completely agree. Especially when Sentai licensed Gintama. If I truly wanted to read, I'd read the manga. Which I have and I must say its exceptional. The characters are just so hilarious, its truly a joy to read. I intially watched Toradora with subtitles, but if a english audio was a option, I would have watched the series with a English audio track. I've actually read the Toradora manga and although I really did enjoy the manga, the anime is slighty better. But in the end, I don't blame or think otherwise of NIS. They have licensed some exceptional games and they really work hard to make them as excellent as they are. Yes I would have bought Toradora if there was an English dub, but I'll still suport NIS by purchasing their video games. |
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ragnawind
Posts: 68 Location: Florida, USA |
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Even if they did only release the anime in subtitles, I would still support them with their games, as well. I just wouldn't help support them with their anime, since I don't really like watching something that I can't understand what I am hearing. Also, subtitles usually distract me from watching the actual show. Sometimes, like if I am doing something else while watching a show, I would rather be able to at least hear it rather than miss out on what is going on and after to watch it again to understand it. An example of doing something else while watching, would be eating. Also, if they dub the games, but not the anime, it wouldn't really be fair here in the USA. |
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Teriyaki Terrier
Posts: 5689 |
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Same here, I've been purchasing NIS games even before I started watching anime and reading manga. But another problem with subtitles is that sometimes they are so small, its a challenge for those with glasses or poor eyesight to see. My eyes aren't nearly as good as they once were and small letters are really challenging to read. But despite the fact subtitles are more often hard to see than not, in my opinon a licensed anime without an english audio isn't worth watching. Although not every series has a manga, but if I truly wanted to read, I'd read the manga. I don't really care if a video game doesn't have English audio,(though its certainly a plus) its not that important. As long as the game is interesting and such, its fine. But that isn't the case at with anime. I know only a couple of Japanese words, but I don't understand the language and I sure can't really speak it without sounding oddly. I'll never quite understand how those who know even less japanese than me only state its better, despite not knowing what is said without the help of subtitles. Half of time, subtitles aren't even correct or may be completely made up all together. But more than that, I don't understand why some subtitle only fans state, to the point of unhealthy obessesion claim one way of watching is better than the other. Maybe, just maybe Toradora will have an English audio in the future. But the way the recession is and how the anime market is doing, I don't think that will happen or its going to be several years. I am a patient man, but I've noticed some of the newer anime fans aren't always. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Personally, I'm happy for sub-only releases. For instance with Gintama, the MSRP is $39.99 as opposed to One Piece which is MSRP $49.99 or Soul Eater which is MSRP $59.99
I really don't care about dubs since I don't watch them other than on rare occasions so I'd happily pay $10-20 less MSRP for sub-only sets. I doubt I'm the only one with this viewpoint as well. |
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ragnawind
Posts: 68 Location: Florida, USA |
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The price differences are mainly due to number of episodes for the series and popularity of the series. EDIT: If they do sub releases this year, but are able to dub them next year or the year after, I will start purchasing the DVDs with the dubs included to help support them more. I would also be looking forward to what they plan on licensing next if they can afford to dub them as well. |
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Sarkozy
Posts: 132 |
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Not at all. It's all about license fees, paying for English dubs and other production factors. Using Megiddo's and adding my own to the mix example: $39.98 - Gintama (sub-only), 13 episodes x ? $39.98 - Sgt. Frog (bilingual), 13 episodes x ? $49.98 - One Piece (bilingual), 13 episodes x ? $49.98 - Glass Mask (sub-only) [not the best example due to ep count, I know], 26 episodes x 2 $59.98 - Soul Eater (bilingual), 13 episodes x 4 $59.98 - Ghost Hound (sub-only), 11 episodes x 2 The price difference usually comes from paying for English dubs, US production costs and the licensing fees. It's never been about popularity and number of episodes. Never. This and other proof can verify it. |
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ragnawind
Posts: 68 Location: Florida, USA |
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One thing about the prices about Soul Eater bilingual. They are 60USD for 13 episodes in america, but they are 40USD for about 4 episodes in Japan. To purchase that sub only from Japan for the amount of money Funimation sells it for would cost about 120USD. Adding a dub doesn't harm the price. America is actually able to sell anime cheaper than Japan does. Here is Soul Eater Volume 1 containing episodes 1-4 on Amazon in Japan. Amazon is usually always cheaper than retail:
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.jp%2F%25E3%2582%25BD%25E3%2582%25A6%25E3%2583%25AB%25E3%2582%25A4%25E3%2583%25BC%25E3%2582%25BF%25E3%2583%25BC-SOUL-1-DVD-%25E4%25BA%2594%25E5%258D%2581%25E5%25B5%2590%25E5%258D%2593%25E5%2593%2589%2Fdp%2FB0018O3OAK%2Fref%3Dsr_1_fkmr1_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1267219547%26sr%3D8-1-fkmr1&sl=auto&tl=en This means that even if a series is released with a dub, it will cost about half the price in America as it does in Japan. Ghost Hound Volume 1 in Japan costs 74.88USD, while in America it is being sold for 60USD. It is still sold cheaper in America. The difference in price seems to be a 20% or so difference if it has no dub. This is only a difference of around 12USD, which is an insignificant number when it comes to money in the US. It also appears that Ghost Hunt has 3 episodes per DVD in Japan at 74.88USD for only 3 episodes. For the first 11 episodes in America it is about an 80% difference in price to have 11 episodes a disc. I just researched more into it, most of it seems to be a proprtion depending on the number of episodes released in the sets in America and whether it has a dub or not. The more episodes in a set, the greater the discount from the original DVDs in Japan. Then, the dub is only about 10USD added to the DVD. In all honesty, an extra $10 USD for adding an english dub to a series for purchasing the DVDs is a good trade for the money. Many people don't like dubs and therefore prefer the sub, while others prefer the original Japanese version. Those who prefer the Japanese version because it is the original, can't actually claim that since it would only be the original if you watched it in Japanese with no subtitles. That would be the official way to watch it because it is the original. If it has subtitles on it, it cannot be claimed to be preferred due to it being the original. Also, I like the english voice actors, even those than many people say are horrible at voice-acting. Actually hearing what is being said usually helps you understand something better, rather than just reading it. You only understand what you hear if you know what it means in the language. Many people also say that in english dubs, the voice actors speak, basically, with no emotion. I completely disagree with that statement. They also say that they can hear the emotion in the original japanese audio better than in the dub, since they believe the dub voice actors don't speak their lines with emotion. Everytime I have seen an anime in english, I usually try to watch the first episode in Japanese, and in many cases when I have, I didn't hear much emotion or enjoyment with voicing their character. When I watch the dub, I can usually hear the emotion in the voice and notice that they usually enjoy voicing the character that they are voice-acting for. Most Japanese dubs that I have heard have had little to no emotion at all, even when the time came to have a certain emotion in their voice. I also feel that the English voice actors enjoy their work more than the japanese. If the japanese truly enjoy voicing the characters that they do, they should prove it in how they voice act. There were only a few Japanese voice actors in some series that I felt actually enjoyed voicing the characters that they were voice acting for. I can usually tell through someone's voice whether they enjoy something or not by how the speak, etc. Everyone is welcome to have their own decision, though. Also, as I said before even if I don't purchase any of their anime now, I will still support them by purchasing their games when I see something I am interested in. If they come back and dub these series in the future when they have the money, I would be glad to support the company through purchasing their anime as well. Also, as long as something is wanted enough by the fans, money will usually be no problem to pay an additional 10USD for a dub. There are a lot of fans that would like to compare the japanese dub to an english dub and discuss with others what the noticed between the two and how they liked and disliked both. Note: Please DO NOT respond to this post, unless you read the post in its entirety. I am asking this, since most people who responded to my posts obviously haven't thoroughly read the posts all the way through. |
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