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NEWS: ADV Films Reportedly Suspends 4 DVD Titles Indefinitely

Suffice it to say that if Kanon #6 ever does come out it will be the last single volume release that I ever purchase from ADV, because I no longer have an iota of trust in their ability to finish what they start and deliver what they promise. Call me when the complete box set comes out - until then I'll be hanging on to my cash. And if by chance Kanon #6 is not released, then Kanon #5 will be the last thing I ever purchase from ADV. Assuming, of course, that they are actually still in business a few weeks from now.

The fact that ADV is in talks for 23 more titles means that they are still somewhat alive today.

Daimao Raki wrote:

The fact that ADV is in talks for 23 more titles means that they are still somewhat alive today.

But I don't care about the 23 other unnamed titles, I care about these titles. I want the my Kanon, my Shattered Angels, my NHK and all the rest!

Honestly, ADV got through the rough spot they had at the beginning of the year, I'm sure they can get through this. Compared to the crisis they managed to avert earlier where practically half their catalog got yanked, this is absolutely nothing. While this is frustrating and is more evidence of an industry in decline, I doubt it'll be the death knell for ADV. What I do predict, however, is an AD Vision which is dialing back their industry role a number of notches. They are not the swollen-headed anime industry goliath they were of the post-Eva era, where they ran about licensing anything that popped out of Japan.

ADV is going to have to face facts, concentrate on a few core series, and not attempt to reach beyond their means, and for the most part, it seems like they know where they should be going and are heading in that direction. The one mistake they've made is that they haven't had the guts to come out and tell their customers that "Yep, we made some mistakes. We're not going away, but things are going to have to be cut back for a while. Starting from now we're going to concentrate on doing a few things well instead of a lot of things poorly." It takes a lot of guts to stand up and tell people that you can't deliver on your promises, but ADV needs to do it, before they lose the respect of most of the fans.

VORTIA wrote:

Honestly, ADV got through the rough spot they had at the beginning of the year, I'm sure they can get through this. Compared to the crisis they managed to avert earlier where practically half their catalog got yanked, this is absolutely nothing. While this is frustrating and is more evidence of an industry in decline, I doubt it'll be the death knell for ADV. What I do predict, however, is an AD Vision which is dialing back their industry role a number of notches. They are not the swollen-headed anime industry goliath they were of the post-Eva era, where they ran about licensing anything that popped out of Japan. ADV is going to have to face facts, concentrate on a few core series, and not attempt to reach beyond their means, and for the most part, it seems like they know where they should be going and are heading in that direction. The one mistake they've made is that they haven't had the guts to come out and tell their customers that "Yep, we made some mistakes. We're not going away, but things are going to have to be cut back for a while. Starting from now we're going to concentrate on doing a few things well instead of a lot of things poorly." It takes a lot of guts to stand up and tell people that you can't deliver on your promises, but ADV needs to do it, before they lose the respect of most of the fans.

true words
unlike the rest of us, your very calm and have thought this over quite a bit

i sure hope your right, im still having a hard time accepting all that happened tonight

ADV is going to have to face facts, concentrate on a few core series, and not attempt to reach beyond their means, and for the most part, it seems like they know where they should be going and are heading in that direction. The one mistake they've made is that they haven't had the guts to come out and tell their customers that "Yep, we made some mistakes. We're not going away, but things are going to have to be cut back for a while. Starting from now we're going to concentrate on doing a few things well instead of a lot of things poorly." It takes a lot of guts to stand up and tell people that you can't deliver on your promises, but ADV needs to do it, before they lose the respect of most of the fans.

VORTIA wrote:

ADV is going to have to face facts, concentrate on a few core series, and not attempt to reach beyond their means, and for the most part, it seems like they know where they should be going and are heading in that direction. The one mistake they've made is that they haven't had the guts to come out and tell their customers that "Yep, we made some mistakes. We're not going away, but things are going to have to be cut back for a while. Starting from now we're going to concentrate on doing a few things well instead of a lot of things poorly." It takes a lot of guts to stand up and tell people that you can't deliver on your promises, but ADV needs to do it, before they lose the respect of most of the fans.

I'd like to second this (or third or fourth it as the case may be).

I also don't think this is a NEW problem. Nor do I think this is one of ADV's MANY little problems. ADV had one HUGE problem at the beginning of the year when their financial backing bailed on them (thanks Sojitz). A problem like that takes a LONG time to fix. Most of the other problems since then are just the fallout from that one big problem. Plain and simply, ADV can't (re)negotiate licenses and produce DVDs, manga, or anything without money.

I also find it rather frustrating watching people arrogantly state ADV needs to develop some business sense, while at the same time complain that they should be obligated to re-license and release the last volume(s) of some of these series no matter what. The only explaination I can think of that makes any kind of sense is that the Japanese companies are asking for more in liscensing fees on those titles than ADV could hope to earn back with a single volume left to release. Why would ADV spend and lose money on that when they could spend the money on an other series for which they could release 3-6 volumes and make a profit? That's just the way business works sometimes. Show me any company that will knowingly develop a product when they know they're going to take a loss on it.

Being disappointed about this is fine (I mean it IS disappointing), but the outrage I'm seeing here is ridiculouse. You think ADV WANTS to stop releasing these titles? That wouldn't make any sense. They probably have boxes of some of these DVDs (Welcom to the NHK #5 for sure) sitting waiting to ship to retailers. DVDs they spent a good chunk of money to produce. DVDs that will now not make them a single penny (will they be obliged to destroy them in a case like this?). I'm sure they're doing(did) everything they can, within reason, to release these titles because even just making a little more than the cost to re-license these titles is more than they make just letting them sit.

Honestly, when this is all said and done and ADV gets itself back on it's feet, I will feel MORE secure buying their products. Without an investor backing them, it means they will have full control over the licenses they negotiate, which should completely eliminate the likelyhood of a recurrance of the problems we've seen with them since the start of the year. (Of course, my fear is that they'll be forced to find themselves a new investor if they want to stand a change at licensing the EVA movies)

Sorry for the long post. It's a lot more than I expected (or intended) to write.

Good thing I watched those shows long ago