Forum - View topicOniAi to FUNimation's first sub-only release.
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Mad Manga Massacre
Posts: 1197 Location: Canada |
|
||
|
http://funimation.tumblr.com/post/61603135291/some-very-important-information-about-our-oniai-release
I apologize if this has been posted already but I glanced at the first page of the forum and didn't see this news yet. Out of curiosity what are other people's thoughts on this news? If it means more shows being released over here on DVD I'm happy. Fingers crossed for a release of Tatami Galaxy and Rainbow. [EDIT: Reworded your title to sound smoother. -TK] |
|||
|
|||
Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25601 |
|
||
|
This thread will probably end up in the Retail section, but...
My reaction: I'm totally in favour of this. I think this means that titles that otherwise would get no release whatsoever (due to fears they wouldn't recoup the expense of a dub) will now have a shot. I also think this will help Funi's bottom line and I'm all for anime distribs being able to survive a very tough environment. Go Funi! |
|||
|
|||
|
Animegomaniac
Posts: 4287 |
|
||
|
I'm boycotting all Funimation releases due to the my "Don't release f****** streams!" stance. With Sentai, I buy dubs and dis sub only releases every chance I get but with Funimation, that doesn't work so...
Yeah, there are internet streams, there are "fandubs", illegal downloads and direct importation. Dub it or dump it. Here's an idea: If you don't believe in the product you're about to release, don't release it. |
|||
|
|||
|
Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25601 |
|
||
That makes zero sense. The reality is there are some titles out there that are so niche that they'd never make back the expense of a dub. There are people like me who are more than willing to buy a sub-only release which I consider to be infinitely preferable to no release at all. I really don't get this petulant, "if...if...if it doesn't get a dub it shouldn't be released at all, waah! waah!" |
|||
|
|||
|
SpacemanHardy
Posts: 2512 |
|
||
|
FUNimation starting to put out sub-only releases has me feeling equal parts optimism and nervousness.
On one hand, this will give them an opportunity to put out physical releases of some of their licenses that didn't do "all that hot". This might eventually lead to the release of stuff like The Tatami Galaxy, Rainbow, and many of their other forgotten shows. (Rainbow still needs a dub though, if you ask me...) Also, $29.99 for a sub-only combo pack is actually a very reasonable price. Sentai charges that much just for their DVDs, and theirs are barebones releases while FUNi's comes in a chipboard box with reversible covers. It's certainly a MUCH better deal than AoA's DVD-only releases, but you all already knew that. On the OTHER hand, this pretty much evens the playing field with the other licensing companies. With FUNi putting out sub-only releases, Sentai doing sub-only BDs, and NIS looking into getting things dubbed now, it's getting to the point to where almost no show is guaranteed or necessarily denied a dub anymore. And to some people, that's fine. But to the fans who prefer watching dubs, this could be bad news for that one show they really wanted to see get the dub treatment. The R1 game is changing again, just as it did a few years back when the bubble burst. And not all fans are going to be happy with it. True, some will "adjust", but I fear others will abandon the medium altogether if the changes are too drastic. For me personally, as a person who prefers to "wait for the dub", this isn't particularly good news, as I'm not the biggest fan of subtitles or of online streaming. And yet, it seems that more and more the only way shows are guaranteed an English track is if they do well on the legal streams. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what direction this decision on FUNi's part will take the industry. I'll be watching this unfold with cautious optimism. Also, here's a thought: The fact that FUNi is doing sub-only releases now brings up the possibility that they WON'T go back and dub Tales of the Abyss Or any of the other undubbed Bandai re-releases, either. Food for thought.. |
|||
|
|||
|
Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
|
||
|
I'm all for it if it brings out more releases (several of the series that I tend to enjoy aren't ones likely to get a dub - Chihayafuru, Tatami Galaxy, etc.)
For me, a dub is something that's a bonus, not a necessity. I'm not anti-dub - there are several series I've enjoyed the dub (Spice and Wolf, Baccano! - great dubs!) - but it's still only a bonus since I don't always end up watching the dub. The original Japanese tends to be how I first watch the series, and if I like it so much then I normally keep to it for rewatches. I'm a bit disappointed with the series that was chosen for the sub-only release though, because it's not one I'm going to buy so I can't support Funi's decision to try out sub-only releases. I'm sorry for those out there who do not support this decision, but I just see this as a potential good move for myself. |
|||
|
|||
|
Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6921 Location: Kazune City |
|
||
Funi's streams: low-res, hardsubbed, bitrate-starved, TV-censored versions. Funi's discs: SD or HD, softsubbed, somewhat better-encoded, uncensored versions. Yeah, they're totally the same thing. And it's not like dubs can't be streams, either. |
|||
|
|||
NJ_
 Posts: 3409 Location: Wallington, NJ |
|
||
Did they ever say how Tales Of Vesperia & .hack//Quantum sold for them? I would guess that those two were factors as to why they picked up Abyss & G.U. Trilogy (with the rest of Bandai's .hack shows). |
|||
|
|||
TsunaReborn!
 Posts: 4713 Location: Cheltenham UK |
|
||
|
I'm happy they are keeping their options open and are releasing new shows.
As Blood- stated in another thread if the subbed releases sell well a rerelease with a dub is always possible. Either way my guess is these sub only releases are of shows they wouldn't have released otherwise. So theoretically we wouldn't have had the show at all in a RA/1, from Funi anyway, so I my mind its all win win. 
|
|||
|
|||
Melanchthon
 Posts: 550 Location: Northwest from Here |
|
||
|
From the last Answerman we can estimate a 12 episode show costs 20K to license and process. The rest that follows is pure guess work, but should be scalable.
Let's account for overhead and other extraneous expenses and say it OniAi costs Funi 30k for the license, subtitling, video processing and packaging design. The discs are selling for $30, and let's assume the realtor takes a cut of $5 bucks per sale and printing and packaging costs $15, leaving just $10 profit for Funi per disc sold. In this sub-only case, Funi has to sell 3000 copies to break even (ignoring the costs for an unsold discs). Now lets say they dub the show. I don't have any good numbers for dub cost, and I know that Funi has it's own in house stuff, so they keep costs down. But let's estimate and say a dubbed release of OniAi would add 70k on top for a grand total of 100k. At the same price, then Funi would have to sell 10000 copies to break even. Now comes the marketing. If Funi estimates they would sell only 8000 dub copies, and a sub release would cut that market in half, then it makes sense to do the sub only. Now, of course, Funi could also raise the price of the release, to offset the dub cost, but increasing cost also depresses demand. If Funi increased their profit margin by $10 per release, they would only have to sell as half as many copies to break even, or in the previous case, 5000. The question then is how many customers would be lost with the price increase. Funimation has much better numbers than this 'back-of-envelop' calculation, and I'm sure they found this path to be the most economical (another reason maybe given the content of the show, they couldn't put it on Netflix or TV, which can be used to offset the cost of the dub). In any case, I am glad Funimation has finally seen the light of day. I, for one, am tired of having to subsidize dub costs when I never listen to them to begin with. |
|||
|
|||
walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
|
||
|
As always, sub-only gives company more room to enter into licensing and releasing older anime. I doubt that's FUNi's intention, but it's working well for Discotek and other companies.
|
|||
|
|||
marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
|
||
This is pretty much my stance too. Since I tend to watch the sub first, it takes an exceptional dub to make me switch because the voices just don't sound right to me, for whatever reason. So there are only a few shows that I do watch dubbed. Not having a dub makes absolutely no difference when it comes to what I'm buying. ... with the exception of the Tatami Galaxy because my one attempt to watch the fansubs convinced me that it needs a dub in order to keep up with the pace of the dialogue/narration. |
|||
|
|||
|
phia_one
Posts: 1663 Location: Pennsylvania |
|
||
|
I'm perfectly fine with Funi doing sub only releases since as other people have already said, it will increase the chances of shows getting released. I feel like this is the only way that Tatami Galaxy will be released over here.
|
|||
|
|||
|
Mesonoxian Eve
Posts: 1858 |
|
||
|
My only concern with this is an over saturation of cheap titles. I don't care how cheap they are, if there's not a market to buy them, then this could end up being one hell of an "oops".
To me, anime on plastic disk is like a toothbrush. I buy when I'm ready, but I'm not buying for the sake of a sale price. |
|||
|
|||
|
getchman
He started it Posts: 9192 Location: New Hampshire |
|
||
|
I'm happy with this. Unless the English dub is truly horrible (something like Bible Black), I really don't prefer one language over the other, and can easily watch both
|
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group