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NEWS: Sentai Filmworks Adds Infinite Stratos Anime

dragonrider_cody wrote:

With Sentai back acquiring licenses regularly, NIS and Aniplex in the fold, and Media Blasters and Bandai getting back in the swing of things, no one really has a first shot at any show. They may have relationships with certain companies that give them advantages, and in some cases agreements that give them first look rights, but there is no one company that gets a first shot at everything. It still comes down to bidding on many shows and who's willing to offer the most money and the best terms.

Don't you think you're overstating things a bit? Sentai seems to by and large be sticking to cheap and smaller name licenses even if they are picking them up in quantity. I'd say Highschool of the Dead is the only recent exception to that. Media Blasters is a mess, struggling just to get the licenses they already have in order. I don't even remember the last time Bandai licensed something. NIS has picked up literally a few titles and it seems pretty clear that they only plan to do super selective and niche properties. It seems to me that although it's not quite as pronounced, the R1 industry is still very much the 'Funimation show'.

It's just in some cases Funi was the highest bidder, and in the case of HoTD, they weren't. If it was the case of Funi being offered every single show first, I doubt HoTD would have been the one they let go. I'm not objecting to the point that Funi is the largest in R1, I'm simply objecting to the over-simplication of the situation.

have also picked up some significant shows including HoTD, Xam'd, Appleseed, and Canaan.

I also mentioned that Bandai had a recent big pick up as well with K-on!, which was a fairly pricey title.

In all seriousness though, it seems Sentai is really quick to license things. Does anyone know how the series is doing in Japan? I'm curious to know.

dragonrider_cody wrote:

It's just in some cases Funi was the highest bidder, and in the case of HoTD, they weren't. If it was the case of Funi being offered every single show first, I doubt HoTD would have been the one they let go. I'm not objecting to the point that Funi is the largest in R1, I'm simply objecting to the over-simplication of the situation.

Well okay, to some extent that is fair enough. It's probably not the case that Funimation is outright given the ability to pick and choose what they want with zero competition. Still, I don't think you could say that anyone else is in a position to really make a serious bid on a show Funimation wants so it's a bit of a moot point.

Yeah, I'll grant you HotD. I don't know what to make of that. I think that's about literally the only license I've been surprised they didn't get though.

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have also picked up some significant shows including HoTD, Xam'd, Appleseed, and Canaan.

Both Xam'd and Canaan were late pick ups though. Those shows sat unlicensed for a fair while. I'm not sure what you mean by Appleseed.

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I also mentioned that Bandai had a recent big pick up as well with K-on!, which was a fairly pricey title.

What have they gotten besides K-ON? As for K-ON, it wouldn't surprise me if funimation didn't want it. It's an odd property. It's a huge hit in Japan so you know that it wasn't cheap to license. Yet, it's really quite untested outside of Japan. Sure, R1 is no stranger to otaku shows but it's pretty much always either ecchi, harem, or at the very least dramatic, key style moe. This new breed of K-on slice of life moe is actually pretty untested. The fact that it was apparently Bandai's best option for an expensive license does not exactly speak highly of their position.