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Funico - What Does it Mean?


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tmsidr



Joined: 16 Sep 2008
Posts: 26
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:55 pm Reply with quote
I doubt that this is good news for non-English speaking countries because Funimation probably won't care about getting worldwide streaming rights like Crunchyroll sometimes did. I don't want to watch stream-rips all the time or play around with proxies Anime hyper. Well, there are still fansubs...
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:57 pm Reply with quote
The one drawback I see to this deal is Funimation's devotion to putting dubs on all their releases. This makes many series uneconomical to release that might do acceptably as cheaper (for the manufacturer) sub-only releases.

I've long considered it bad news when Funimation decides to stream a series (like Tatami Galaxy) which I would love to own on home video, but which I doubt would have sales that would justify the expense of producing a dub.

You're probably right that it's bad news for CrunchyRoll (unless CrunchyRoll teams up with someone like Viz --- I suspect Naruto and Bleach are CrunchyRoll's cash-cows that pay for a lot of other titles).
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:02 pm Reply with quote
dm wrote:
The one drawback I see to this deal is Funimation's devotion to putting dubs on all their releases. This makes many series uneconomical to release that might do acceptably as cheaper (for the manufacturer) sub-only releases.

I've long considered it bad news when Funimation decides to stream a series (like Tatami Galaxy) which I would love to own on home video, but which I doubt would have sales that would justify the expense of producing a dub.


That's a question that has to be asked. Technically, FUNimation and Niconico are treating Funico as a seperate entity, with Niconico streaming the titles it licences and FUNimation distributing them on home video, though what this entity licences seems to be a group effort between the two companies.

So what happens if Niconico wants to stream a show that FUNimation doesn't think would do well enough to warrant a dub? Does FUNimation simply dub it, does FUNimation have the ability to say "no" to a potential license (and vice-versa, of course, but why would Niconico say "no" to a license?), or does FUNimation bit the bullet and distribute a sub-only release? They could technically defend that it's not a FUNimation release, but rather a Funico release, so in a weird way it might not tarnish their "always dub" image.
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wandering-dreamer



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 1733
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:30 pm Reply with quote
The part about titles on CR being very unlikely to be licensed bit made me wince a little, there are some titles on CR that I adore (such as Natsume Yuujinchou) and, while I had guessed by now Funi doesn't want to license it, it does make me worried that some titles I like will never get licensed. Also makes me wonder how this will hurt other companies, will they only be able to get the scraps and go under as a result?
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minakichan





PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:33 pm Reply with quote
Is Crunchyroll really in that much trouble? I was under the impression that most CR titles don't get licensed by Funi anyway.

It WOULD be nice to not have to pay another $60 for Nico2 on top of Crunchyroll, but watching anime with Nico comments is a totally-worth-it experience. I do have faith that as something of a repeat innovator, Crunchyroll of all companies would be able to find some way to be competitive.
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Bored_Ming



Joined: 17 Jun 2009
Posts: 242
Location: The Edge of ......
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:49 pm Reply with quote
Japanese animation companies not licensing with both NicoNico and Crunchyroll would be a loss in my view. Going with a single source streaming model seems to abandon the distribution power of the internet. Just because I watch a stream on Crunchy does not mean I won't buy a physical product from Funimation. I do know that NicoNico and Crunchy may not like the competition of streaming the same title. But they could just offer different experiences. If you dont mind lower quality for cheap go with Nico. If you want the high quality HD and don't mind paying for it go with Crunchy. The show then hits a wider market and "may" have a chance at more physical sales.

Plus you capture the HURR DURR Nico only or Crunchy only fans....

I'm no industry expert, so I know I may be talking out of my ass. So, someone with more knowledge can feel free to pick apart my view. But it just seems like a miss to go only one or the other.
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Kimiko_0



Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 1796
Location: Leiden, NL, EU
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:51 pm Reply with quote
I worry how this will affect European anime fans.
More streaming means fewer anime will get DVD or BD releases, which means we won't be able to buy them without bankrupting ourselves on Japanese imports. We don't benefit from more streaming at all if it is available only in N-America (or only in natively English-speaking countries).
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neocloud9



Joined: 06 Oct 2008
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Location: Atlanta, GA
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:53 pm Reply with quote
NicoNico managing the streaming, letting Funi focus on its DVDs... That sounds great to me. I'd love for us to get more home releases, I'm not really into the whole streaming thing.
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J3N0V4



Joined: 01 Feb 2011
Posts: 133
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:59 pm Reply with quote
Not sure if want but it'll probably be America only so it doesn't matter
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:04 pm Reply with quote
So what's happening to the previously announced Funimation streaming plans with HD and pay option? The nice thing was that Funi (and CR) has streams from video releases as well, which benefits from the occasional animation cleanup and removal of any censoring.

Will their current video portal be moved to Funico?
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tuxedocat



Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 2183
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:15 pm Reply with quote
Actually, I think that Crunchyroll will be fine due to their live-action drama section. I know more people who subscribe for the drama series and don't even touch the anime.

That, and the fact that they seem to have deals already in place, or ones that they could explore further. Like Viz and Kadokawa, perhaps? Crunchyroll already has an advantage in existing, consistent, traffic and numbers, so I doubt production companies will be instantly writing them off.

Not that I have a problem with the Funico partnership. I support this kind of thing and will get a premium subscription like I have with both Crunchyroll and TAN. That said, I'm only likely to watch 2 or 3 shows per season to completion, and Last Exile is probably the only show I might actually buy. Most of the shows listed with this announcement don't interest me. I seem to be buying less from Funimation lately just in general. Both Funimation and niconico, out side of a show or two, have not been giving me much content to my liking.

@wandering dreamer - I also am sad about the attitude Funi has about licensing Crunchyroll streaming shows. Most notably Natsume Yuujincho. I still have hopes that someone like S23, NIS, or Nozomi will pick it up. Funi's attitude about it actually kind of pisses me off, and makes me even more hesitant to support them with DVD purchases.
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mediaright



Joined: 06 Jan 2009
Posts: 33
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:42 pm Reply with quote
I look at it from a production and feature angle.

I worry about NicoNico...their platform is...not ideal for American audiences. Comments streaming over your video, by default, is NOT something I think appeals to American viewers. Their interface is not intuitive...which presents issues when you want to find that "off" button. They'll need to fix that or loose viewers to CR. Maybe Funi can help here. They've been building a streaming/social network for the last year (I wonder what happens to that now).

And I also worry about the LA releasers and studios. Funi has had a good track record for production, for subs, for dubs, and the DVD release itself. BangZoom, and Bandai, and etc...have not. LA dubbing houses still suffer having bad directors. Great actors, but the dubs are almost always average to ok at-best. That's not how you win over people. The level of Americanization on LA based subs is also an issue. DVDs too. I'm surprised my Bandai disks don't ship in a ziplock baggie they're so poorly made.

So in-short, NicoNico needs to shape up their player and LA production needs to kick up their game, for good.
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Zilan



Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 167
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:05 pm Reply with quote
Ya until NicoNico lets me view their videos in full screen mode I'll continue watching stuff on CR and downloading fansubs. This is a step back. Until NicoNico can get their shit together this is bad for the anime industry.

Also NicoNico is a Japanese company. Be ready to have the JP business model forced on you. As in paying out the ass for table scraps.

What a crappy day for anime fans.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:12 pm Reply with quote
Kimiko_0 wrote:
I worry how this will affect European anime fans.

It is most likely that business will remain as usual in such a region, by which I mean to posit that the comparative use of legal and illegal online sources will not change significantly. It remains to be seen whether Funimation's reported intentions to stream internationally will amount to anything more substantial than they did in the summer of 2009.
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SeigiNoSenshi



Joined: 28 Oct 2008
Posts: 166
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:57 pm Reply with quote
minakichan wrote:
Is Crunchyroll really in that much trouble? I was under the impression that most CR titles don't get licensed by Funi anyway.


The way I see it is that everything that Crunchyroll has for this season is literally the scraps Funimation passed up mostly due to other companies already having rights to them or obscure series with difficult selling points/unlicensed Jump titles


Last edited by SeigiNoSenshi on Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:59 pm; edited 2 times in total
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