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Section23 Films June 2013 Solicitations


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WTK



Joined: 28 Jun 2006
Posts: 4035
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:00 pm Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
And then you remember Another, Baby, Please Kill Me, Battle Girls, Demon King Daimao, Guin Saga, Kamisama Dolls, Medaka Box, Night Raid and Phi Brain all have dubs but aren't being released in other English countries. Meanwhile, Mayo Chiki and Waiting in the Summer are both being released in the UK and AU, but are sub-only.

Conclusions: We're back to the "Sentai is random" idea.

All valid point that you brought up. Battle Girls and Kamisama Dolls are both licensed by Madman Ent. (planned for DVD & BD).

IMO, you also have to look at 2013 patterns ever more closely (not saying previous years are irrelevant). We are seeing Hanabee (AU) releases released very closely to Sentai Filmworks (in some cases before).

- Bodacious Space Pirates, Part 1 (AU Release: Jan 9th; US Release: Jan 8th)
- Inu X Boku Secret Service (AU Release: April 3rd; US Release: April 9th)
- Bodacious Space Pirates, Part 2 (AU Release: March 6th; US Release: March 5th)
- Hiiro no Kakera S1 (AU Release: April 3rd; US Release: April 16th)
- Hakuoki OVA: A Memory of Snow Flowers (AU Release: May 1st; US Release: April 23rd)
- Kids on the Slope (AU Release: May 1st; US Release: May 7th)
- Dusk maiden of Amnesia (AU Release: June 5th; US Release: June 4th)
- Mysterious Girlfriend X (AU Release: June 5th; US Release: June 11th)

There is also Maiden Japan's Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (AU Release: March 21st; US Release: April 2nd).
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9809
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:35 pm Reply with quote
Just because someone is a collector doesn't mean they have unlimited resources. The more the avarage show costs, the less they can collect. It is one thing to cope with higher costs and another altogether to wish for them.

You have stated several times that you want higher prices. I don't see the advantage. I assume that the R1 companies know better then we do the price at which they can make a profit. The only result I see to much higher prices is that it would price more people out of the market and hasten the end of physical media. I don't count that as an advantage.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:50 pm Reply with quote
On the collector issue, to me collecting means having a lot of something. For example, I would not call a stamp collector someone who owns 15 stamps. I imagine a "Collector Extraordinary" is a hardcore, above average collector.

On the matter of higher prices, Carl Macek said on the ANNCast that lowering prices does not mean more sales automatically. He also said something along the lines that anime collectors will pay high prices because they have already committed (convinced themselves) to buying. I agree with him.
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Sailor S





PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:16 pm Reply with quote
angelmcazares wrote:
On the matter of higher prices, Carl Macek said on the ANNCast that lowering prices does not mean more sales automatically. He also said something along the lines that anime collectors will pay high prices because they have already committed (convinced themselves) to buying. I agree with him.


I'm pretty sure he never said that raising them would lead to more sales either. Lowering prices may not bring in enough extra purchases to make it worth while, but raising them would certainly price more people out. If they thought the number of people who refused to pay an increased price was such that they could do it and make a larger profit than what they are now, I'm sure they'd already be doing it.

Also, if you're thinking that what I have listed in my profile here is the sum of everything I've watched or read or purchased related to this hobby, then you're sorely mistaken. I don't keep this updated at all, and I'd rather use other sites for that anyways.

But anyways, this is getting way off topic, so that's the last I'll say about the subject.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:34 pm Reply with quote
Sailor S wrote:
[If they thought the number of people who refused to pay an increased price was such that they could do it and make a larger profit than what they are now, I'm sure they'd already be doing it.


If you are saying why companies are not selling anime at high prices already if they can get away with it, I frankly think that companies like FUNi and Sentai are scared about the public backlash.

Just look at Aniplex USA. Every time they price something over $100, the massive whining begins. Interestingly, the fact that Aniplex USA is still on the market probably means that it is possible to survive and profit from selling pricier anime.

[I was not sure if you did not want discuss high pricing either. Feel free to not reply]
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:42 pm Reply with quote
angelmcazares wrote:
Just look at Aniplex USA. Every time they price something over $100, the massive whining begins. Interestingly, the fact that Aniplex USA is still on the market probably means that it is possible to survive and profit from selling pricier anime.


I'm really mystified why people like you who know nothing and understand nothing about anime distribution bother to post your drivel.

Do you get that AoA is a tiny, 5 person operation that has very low overhead? Do you understand that AoA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aniplex which itself is owned by Sony? Do you understand that this situation shields AoA from market realities that completely independent companies like Funi and Sentai are not? No, huh. Pity. I now return you to your regularly scheduled ignorance.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:42 pm Reply with quote
@ angelmcazares
What constitutes a collection is up to the collector. Neither you nor I can tell some one their collection is not big enough.

As I said, higher prices limit the ability of people to persue their collection. While lowering prices will not necessairly improve profits, raising them greatly will not necessairly do so either. You could price too many out of the market. The best price point is something that varies from show to show. What works for one company will not work for others selling different product. I firmly believe that it is up to the individual companies to determine the appropriate price point. They do not need suggestions from us. I'd be upset at your call for higher prices if I thought anyone was paying attention.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:56 pm Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
I'm really mystified why people like you who know nothing and understand nothing about anime distribution bother to post your drivel.


I did not know that only experts (like yourself) were allowed to post in these forums. Sorry for only being a fan and not having a Ph. D. in Anime (like yourself). I am amazed that an expert like yourself is willing to reply to this lowly anime fan.

Listen everyone, if you have any doubt about how the anime industry works, just ask Blood-. Zac and Justin do not know jack compared to this person.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:10 pm Reply with quote
I'll admit that the only information I have on how the R1 anime industry works comes from ANN, but you don't know any better yourself. I think it is up to Sentai to make their own business decisions. They either know what they are doing or they won't be in business long enough for it to matter.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:36 pm Reply with quote
Well, either that or some people are way too touchy about the possibility of the rest of the R1 distributors getting ideas from AoA. Could also be a bit of each.
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Gatherum



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 773
Location: Aurora CO
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 12:12 am Reply with quote
For fudge's sake, the both of you are acting like children.

Blood-, your knowledge is admirable, but the way in which you express it is not. I care less than you do about censoring oneself, but that doesn't really change the fact that you sound like an enraged toddler throwing a hissy fit whenever you post. Do what you will; just know that nobody is impressed by it.

angelmcazares, the moderators are not your personal army and while they may or may not come through on your publically-stated hopes, airing them in public may as well be a coy way of saying, "All right boys, you know what to do." Just sayin'. PM them or something.

My god.


Last edited by Gatherum on Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:46 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I expressed myself in a very irritated and annoyed way. i'm really tired of posters who don't know even basic things about anime distribution when they start making insupportable statements. Other posters had already engaged with angelmcazares and the message wasn't getting through.

But at least angelmcazares admits he/she has learned something. Let's see if that sticks.

@ Polycell - I have exactly ZERO concern that either Funi or Sentai will ever follow AoA's pricing model. The only way that model is sustainable in NA is if an operation happens to be in AoA's current situation.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 9:56 am Reply with quote
WTK wrote:
It's hard to this claim seriously unless you talked to David Williams directly or have some sales numbers to back up it up.


It's logic applied to a production standpoint; Different cases, different lables, different formats, it's cheaper to pick a release and produce more of it {with overstock of one type} than split the difference between the two. I'm not looking into as "BD cuts into DVD sales" or the reverse but the overall picture of making a physical release cost effective as possible.

Eventually, I imagine they'll switch over to all BD releases, maybe {for that one, I would have to see the small print on their licenses} but I remain fairly confident in my initial assessment - a cheap release is a cheap release after all, and unlike Funimation, their business model seems to have little or no room for follow-up editions beyond multiseason and complete collections. For Tari Tari, this is it.

It is strange as I believe the HC anime sub collector would be the ones most likely to have the BD format as their preferred collection format already.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 12:52 pm Reply with quote
This is an honest comment from me to Blood-.

If I understand it correctly AoA is in a unique position, unlike other R1 distributors like Sentai and FUNi, because they are backed by its parent company Aniplex. I understand how that situation allows AoA to sell anime at higher prices. If this strategy backfires, Aniplex Japan will bail them out.

As far as Sentai and FUNi, they have to be very careful when licensing, producing and pricing the anime they distribute. If they screw up, they do not have a powerful parent company to fall back on. I understand the concept that selling products at the cheapest price possible should increase the amount of products sold. That makes sense and all. But does this strategy work with a niche industry like the R1 anime market?

I have been really involved with the R1 market (buying) in the last three years and have informed myself all I can about how this market works. I have heard that the anime market was doing great in the earlier 00's but collapsed between 2006 and 2008. But how big was the market before the collapse? How many people bought 20+ products of anime a year? I am going to give a hypothetical number, 20,000. After the collapse, let say, the market was reduced to 8,000.

I also have heard that the market is doing better (or has at least stabilized) since the last three years. But my two biggest concerns with the R1 market are if the market has shrunk even more, kept at 8,000 of if it has actually grown. My other concern is if the current pricing schemes of Sentai and FUNi (which I am assuming control at least 70% of the R1 market) are going to allowed them to survive and help to strengthen the market.

I know that I often advocate for higher pricing, but I do it out of those concerns. If someone from the future traveled to this time and told me: don't worry in 2025 Sentai and FUNi still exist and are strong companies able to sell anime at $50 for a complete season, I would stop worrying and bringing this up.

One last thing on Aniplex of America. Many are convinced that AoA was solely founded with the mission to screw R1 consumers with their high pricing. But I do really wonder if their pricing scheming is not all about price gouging, and they have found a different market strategy that might ensure the health and survival of R1 for many years.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 1:14 pm Reply with quote
@ angelmcazares - There's a couple of things about AoA that makes their pricing strategy work for them. One is what I've already said about the fact they are backed by a parent company (although it should be noted that doesn't give them a free pass. They still need to turn a decent profit or at a certain point the plug would be pulled. It's just that their current arrangement does shield them from the sort of immediate cash flow concerns that would govern a completely independent company.) The other thing they are doing is that, unlike Funi and Sentai, they make no effort to sell their products in b&m stores. Basically, you can only get AoA products from a handful of online retailers. This allows them to keep a skeleton crew of five people to run the whole operation.

It is not inconceivable that, at some point in the future, all anime distribs may have to change to a different pricing model. If fewer and fewer people are buying, then they'd probably switch to only servicing the hardcore collectors market. If that happens, we'll probably see dubs become scarcer and scarcer. Right now, I'm not seeing anything that indicates that is imminent. But, as always, it's impossible to say what the future holds.
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