Forum - View topicNEWS: Funimation Negotiating to Acquire Geneon Titles
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Demontaco
 Posts: 14 |
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i am quite happy to see Funimation as the front-runner for acquiring the Geneon licenses. I dont think Geneon had any of my older favorites, but they were the ones releasing Zero no Tsukaima (The Familiar of Zero), and a few others i recently saw. I think Funimation is easily the best dubbers out there, and ADV is a close second, which is also promising.
Maybe the Fall of Geneon won't be so bad for the industry. If licenses are being sold at "firesale prices" (thanks to whoever i'm quoting there), maybe when we buy the DVD's, we can also get "firesale prices." maybe a bit too optimistic, but a man can dream, can't he? |
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5633 Location: Southern California |
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Way too optimisic! 
It really depends on how far the previous group had gotten in dubbing. But that's only one factor. I can't name (and don't even know) what all the other factors may be. All we can hope it that the title will be released. I like both sub and dub, so if an English dub isn't produced for the episodes that are left over, I certainly will not mind. |
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Sam-I-Am
Posts: 121 Location: Midwest US |
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If a studio takes over a series that was being dubbed in another location, there's a couple of options that immediately spring to mind.
First, simply fly the actors to the city the in-house studio is located in. You'd want to schedule things differently to maximize the actor's time and the cost of the plane ticket, but it can be done. Example: Vic Mignogna seems to have recorded parts in nearly every studio on the continent. Second, fly the ADR director and maybe the sound engineer to the city most of the VAs live in, and rent time at a studio there. Bring the audio files home when you're done, and edit as normal. The third option would be to recast with local actors, but most studios these days seem to go to whatever lengths are needed to maintain continuity in casting, so that's the least likely path. As for 'downward pressure on pricing', I read that to mean that series will cost less to license (although production costs will be unchanged), so there will be a) more profit per title, b) lower disc price, c) more funding available for marginal titles, or d) a mix of the above. I doubt disc prices will drop, though. The flip side is that lower per-episode licensing numbers means less money is flowing back to the producers, but then again, if the lower pricing allows more smaller shows to be bought, the production studios might see more revenue from the non-blockbusters. The result might well be the same amount of money changing hands, but a different distribution pattern. |
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Lanisatu
 Posts: 65 Location: Vaughan, Ontario, Canada |
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This reminds me... what will happen to existing television deals that Geneon had in place? Will they still be valid? I'd heard before that one of the Hellsing series was a part of the deal Geneon made with G4 Tech TV Canada -- if Hellsing goes to Funimation, does this mean the deal has to be re-worked (which wouldn't be surprising), or will G4 have to go back to the beginning of negotiations with Funimation (or whomever) in order to get the rights for the same property? I am curious about what G4 Tech TV Canada will do in general now with "Anime Current." They've already decided to cut back the block, but what shows can we expect to see in the future (and from which companies)? Will they go for an exclusive/ sponsored deal as they had with Geneon previously? G4 had the rights to air ADV's RahXephon, but didn't air it on their regular channel, and instead chose to offer it on-demand. Perhaps there will be more opportunity for ADV content to be broadcast regularly. Personally, I'd like to see a variety of shows from multiple companies. But I'm not sure that G4 is particularly confident in the Anime Current block anymore. As far as dubbing options go, I suspect that Funimation would go for the most cost-effective option, which could vary depending on the property in question. I don't think it would be out of the question to consider outsourcing the voice recording to places like Ocean Studios. And, if airing in Canada is a concern, they may want to use some Canadian recording studios like Ocean from time to time. |
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bglassbrook
 Posts: 1243 Location: Gaithersburg, MD |
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Just a damn fine line that bears repeating.
With Geneon sitting on Hellsing Ultimate, and anybody in their right mind wanting to end up with it on their list (MB might even bother dubbing it if they won,) chances are they are gonna have a strong leverage point to negotiate for making sure their catalog is split up as little as possible to get the job done with the highest return in the least amount of time. As such, wake me when the ink starts drying. |
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joshuafer
 Posts: 262 |
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Personally I am hoping they snag black Lagoon, I want to see more gun fighting and swearing ! I had read somewhere that the studio that did the english dub was going to finish dubbing the series, so they must have the dub done alkready, if what I read is true. Hellsing is second on my list, although Alucard seems pretty much unkillable heh.
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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porcupine,
Cardcaptors finished out. Maybe not on Saturday. In this market it had switched to the after school slot around 4pm so I had to set the vhs to catch it, but they did finish out the story because they never got that far on the dub dvd release. It was around the holidays-I swear mid-December, but maybe January the year they finished out. Bobobo did most certainly finish. The dvds didn't. So yeah, another title I've been left hanging on (along with BTx) ADV's Manga line is sort of an excellent example of their problems--they seem to go a bit overboard. Del Rey, a book publisher, eased into manga with less than a dozen titles (more like 6 or 8, wasn't it?) ADV dove in with lots of fanfare about licensing 50 titles when they were an anime company, not a book publisher. (That big Texas attitude? Who knows?) When I read about it (here?) I thought it was a mistake-they know anime-so the failure was expected, though I thought they'd get a bit further with the titles. They announced at Comic-con they were reviving the manga line, then they hit all this turtle-mode (pull back into shell) so who knows if it'll happen? Maybe they need to just focus on anime & not movies & toys & books & cds & shirts. So I do believe you can trust Funi to complete the titles they do pick up. One would think they're getting them for a decent price. One can hope MB scoops up some more after Funi picks over what they want. (Like any going out of business sale--the prices drop the longer one waits, but a lot of the good stuff is gone) I don't see Geneon abandoning the titles. Hellsing Ultimate making it to tv broadcast? I was amazed. Kyo Kara Maoh on tv? The titles are getting tv exposure which makes them desirable. Geneon is doing something, even if they aren't selling the dvds. |
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KabaKabaFruit
 Posts: 1871 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba |
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Thinking about it, FUNimation acquiring all of Geneon's properties would wind up turning into a case of putting too many eggs in one's basket. FUNimation could deal with some of the more recognizable properties but may sit out on the other ones or probably not know how to properly advertise the other ones. And even if they did, it could be quite frustrating when you're dealing with a whole mess of titles at once.
If anything, I think it would be wise for FUNimation to take the acquisition process one step at a time. Start off with the more recognizable properties like Hellsing Ultimate and Story of Saiunkoku and gradually work down from there to the next title that can be effectively promoted and be a surefire seller to the fans.
Possible...but if there is a lot of fan outcry to keep the current VAs in the show, FUNimation could reconsider. Lord knows how much they would be crucified by the fans if they dared to recast the New Generation Pictures cast for Hellsing Ultimate. To Porcupine: Porcy, I can understand where you're getting act. A couple of years back, I purchased FUNimation's singles of the first season of Dragon Ball Z. At the time, I was damn relieved of the fact that FUNimation was finally releasing the Saiyan Saga completely uncut for the first time ever. Sure, there were issues like missplaced credits and no next episode previews but that didn't matter to me. I loved what I had and bought every DVD with the box and the collectible figures. A year later, I hear reports about FUNimation cancelling the DVDs to "low" sales as a result of people's "refusal" to buy singles and the fact that everyone had already watched the first two seasons uncut on Cartoon Network. When the reports were confirmed, I was livid. I paid approx. $400 Canadian for the 9 volumes ($34.99 plus GST plus PST for a single) plus both boxes and figures. Four hundred dollars is a lot of money when you're paying for anime and I was on a fixed budget at the time. I felt backstabbed and betrayed by FUNimation. When FUNi announced that they would re-release the entire first season in widescreen format for $40-$50, I felt it was a major slap in the face to me as a FUNimation fan and as a loyal consumer in general. Do I want to bomb FUNimation for what they did? Part of me wanted to at the time but I knew it wouldn't prove anything. Even complaining and suggesting ways for FUNimation to release the last three volumes of the first season singles were to no avail. In the end, I decided it was just better to not buy anything Dragon Ball related from FUNimation ever again. However, that doesn't mean that I won't buy anything from FUNimation period. They still have a variety of other titles that I'm interested in and could consider buying. The whole point of my post is that if the company screws you over, it won't do you any good to demand that they die right then and there and refuse to buy any of their properties. If you want to go back to watching fansubs of their shows, then I can't stop you. However, I'm just suggesting that one screwjob doesn't lead to another. That's all. Sorry for the long winded post. 
To Lanisatu: Lani, I've noticed your post about how Sailor Moon was very popular in Canada and that it's popularity is a big reason to have it relicensed. The thing is...English Canada does not have its own anime video distribution and licensing company. Even if they did do distribution, it would be basically through American licensors since they're the ones in charge of licensing shows for R1 broadcast. And let's say for the sake of argument that English Canada does have its own separate region. They would most likely sublicense shows from American licensors anyway if Australia is any indication. Why have two english dubs when you can settle for one already done? Let's also take into account that Toei would want to see a successful TV deal on American television. If the corporate opinion is of the fact that magical girl shows have no chance on American Television, FUNimation may be reluctant to do the license. I'm not saying they won't but they may be reluctant if there is no surefire chance that it will succeed. Never mind how popular the show is in Canada. It's an unfortunate matter that really pisses me off as a Canadian anime fan. Then again, I could be wrong in my hypothesis. If Jesse Betteridge or any other fellow ANN member knows better, feel free to correct me. I apologize for my essay long post. 
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LydiaDianne
Posts: 5633 Location: Southern California |
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Good point. But taking your idea and running with it a bit...Acquiring those shows that are almost finished i.e. Kyo Kara Maoh! and releasing those. Then moving on to the shows that were just starting out i.e. Story of Sauunkoku and Shonen Onmiouyji (sp!). THEN moving on to non-released titles that had been previously announced. Regardless, I think Funi needs to tread cautiously and carefully. |
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Porcupine
 Posts: 1033 |
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For one thing, ADV and/or Geneon USA are not necessarily doing what is best for themselves. They are only doing what they think is best for themselves, but they are stupid. I believe Funimation's owner, earlier in this thread, was quoted as already having accused them of doing stupid things in the past which have caused problems for the industry overall. I personally accuse them of doing even more stupid things beyond what he did. But still, "everyone should do what is best for themselves" could reasonably be extended to "everyone should do what they think is best for themselves" which would include stupid actions. Although that's not what I said earlier I wouldn't be averse to saying that either. Looking at things that way, then ADV and/or Geneon USA are still doing the thing that should be expected of them (because they are stupid). At the same time, the masses are overall performing uncontrolled levels of piracy, which is expected of them too. And now the industry may be collapsing because of it. So what? I never said there was a law against that. That's just the outcome of everyone doing what is expected of them. There's no inconsistency. Now, if you don't want the industry to collapse, one way to go about it would be to remove one of the above two problems. But the second problem is impossible to reverse through discussion. Even if you think that the masses are stupid, there is almost no way to change the thinking of the masses short of mind-control. But there are ways to change the first problem because they are an entity comprised of less individuals. Either convince ADV and/or Geneon USA that they are behaving stupidly and have them reform (which is too late already for Geneon USA). Or "destroy" them (or let them die naturally) and hopefully replace them with something better. Destroying them sounds fine to me since I've labeled them as my enemy. Enemies should be expected to fight. At the same time, I'm also an advocate of solving the second problem through the use of physical force, which is possible, but the government is unwilling to do it.
But I should point out that I still supported Funimation in the past even when they made mistakes. But this is already ADVision's second or third humongous blunder in recent years so for them I guess I've adopted the "demand they die" approach.  Similarly, I was pissed with Geneon USA (over Fate/Stay Night) even before they died, so for them my thoughts were "haha you fools died, you deserved it". By the way I've never watched downloaded fansubs before because I don't like the quality, so for me the choice was not made lightly.
Richard J, yeah overall agree with you, so for now I wish Funimation the best of luck. Maybe I'll still buy Negima?! from them when it comes out. I probably won't buy Lucky Star from Bandai though, I feel a little more unsafe with them. penguintruth, believe me I was not looking forward to any of this. And after Geneon USA died, I said "Maybe I'm gonna start pirating everything from now on" but I didn't. But now that the issues of uncertainty with ADVision have arisen, I decided that now's the time for me. |
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indrik
 Posts: 365 Location: yonder |
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I would argue that using the current (popular, from what I can tell) dub cast would be the cost effective option, from the point of view that it's a known commodity that already has a following. I don't have any idea of the contractual difficulties involved, though, so who the heck knows. But having heard that Ocean (I think?) finished the dub for Black Lagoon (I think?) it might be more cost effective to just buy an existing vocal track in that case than record one. But again, I have no idea what I'm talking about, just guessing. Using an in-house group does sound like it would be cheaper than buying somebody else's product, if you've already got groups you work with. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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I hope you understand that this attitude irritates a lot of people around here, and your constant demands that companies be put out of business because they did one or two things you didn't like comes across as frankly very, very arrogant. You tend to behave as though you believe your personal opinions and actions have a massive amount of important impact on the way these companies do business; if Funimation does something you don't like, you come in here and make some "proclamation" that you'll never buy their DVDs again and you hope the building blows up and everyone dies or loses their job. It's a hopelessly negative, angry viewpoint, and you tend to restate it over and over and over and over again in every thread related to the industry. Only a few days ago I asked you to please find something else to post about because you've been effectively derailing these threads by posting this "I hope these companies die for doing things i don't like, can't wait to dance on their graves" nonsense again and again, and then there are pages and pages of people arguing with you and it becomes less about the actual event and more "let's all argue with Porcupine's unrelenting, hateful negativity" than a meaningful or productive discussion. When I initially asked you to cool it, you agreed, but apparently that didn't last very long. So I'm asking you again. If I find myself asking you again after this, I will consider temporarily removing you from this community so you can cool down elsewhere. It's not that your opinions are not welcome here, or that I'm attempting to "censor" you, but you have stated your admittedly incendiary take on the way the industry "should" operate to please you time and time again. We know what your take on it is at this point. |
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CCSYueh
Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Kaba-
I was buying those DBZ dvds also. What can one say? I tend to buy movies I like when they're released, Then they come up with the Director's cut. Or the super-delux anniversary edition. How many times was I expected to buy Dogma? I love it, but, hey, why can't I get the Director's cut the first time? I have about 2 shelves of individually purchased DBZ dvds. I know I paid more than what the boxes are going for. Yeah. I was perturbed I had 8 individual uncut dvds purchased when Funi pulled the plug so I basically wasted $150. Not to mention most of us had the dub box, so it's lots of money to re-buy these same eps. Look at the poor fools who will re-buy it in high def. Although I've bought a lot of movies on dvd that I bought a decade or so ago on VHS, so it's sort of unavoidable, isn't it? I was actually a bit more perturbed when it looked like I wasn't gettting the last Tactics after I supported Manga by pre-ordering every frigging dvd. And considering I paid $40 for that bootleg, I've invested quite a bit into a series I don't particularly rank as a top fav just in the name of being pissed at ADV (Like my spite them actually was more spite me). Yeah, I'd like to finish out KKM, though I was actually ok with ending where we were because the show had moved into close-down mode--repeating prior plot devices, etc. However, Funi picking it up also means a chance for Season 3 which I would be more hopeful about. Saiunkoku was nice & I'd love to finish it out (THough Geneon's box was scary & useless), but the title I'm probably most disappointed in not finishing is Shonen Onmyoji because it is so good & not at all what I expected when I started (bishie title like Fushigi Yugi or Saiunkoku) & it's one that maybe wouldn't be on Funi's radar to be picked up. And I loved Geneon's horror, so I'm not sure anyone will bring us stuff like Requiem from the Darkness or Samurai Horror Tales. Hellsing Ultimate is a given someone will pick it up. I am hopeful Geneon titles getting tv time will make them more desirable to Funi or someone else. As for ADV-they're fanboys. They probably possess more enthusiam & passion than business sense & so they seem to go more for stuff they'd like to see (like that Eva movie). Princess Tutu is a sweet story, but it is also not an obvious popular title so licensing something like that is more likely to fail. Everyone I know who saw it loved it, but I know I almost passed over it as a title aimed at little girls. Most girls grow out of that "I want to be a ballerina" by the age of 10. The mind boggles (mine does at least) at how all the jiggle ADV licenses can sell. Either they are selling or they aren't. If they are, it's no one's business why ADV keeps licensing them. ADV will go away if they fail to pay attention to their bottom line & license titles that don't sell However, the fansub situation is affecting stuff. That last news item posted here on the subject indicated people might be a tad surprized when the April titles were announced since the lack of money from North American licenses is apparently affecting the number of anime titles. This is also a given--the collapse of the North American Anime market wouldn't be the great wonderful thing so many downloaders seem to imagine it would be which again is why we should support the remaining companies. I imagine we will also see more titles that appeal to the Japanese market over titles to interest foreigners not unlike the older titles (early '90's). Don't imagine Geneon knew what was going on. Everything about what happened sounds more like the rug was pulled out from under them by the home office in Japan. It really sounds like they thought it was going to remain business a usual &, indeed, it may have had the whole deal (god, I forget-Mitsubishi? which company pulled out? too long ago to remember) not gone down as it did. The anime branch wasn't the only thing involved. This was a Corporation doing what corporations do--we had to buy a bunch of stock to meet our goal or this division we really believe in did poorly, so what can we cut to keep out bottom line looking good to stock-holders or the owner? I really don't think the American branch was rubbing their hands together, gloating over pissing off all the American anime fans by leaving dozens of titles unfinished. And this is something Funi gets to deal with being a part of a larger corporation. Yes, the anime branch is doing well, but IF the parent company set some new goal (to specialize in only selling.....baseball bats) , they could decide to cut Funi loose. Right now, that doesn't seem likely, but it is part of the problem of being a piece of a pie rather than the whole pie. One year everyone is diversifying, the next, sell off to return to one's core business. I can't hate Geneon USA right now. I feel they're as much victims as we fans are. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I agree that what happened to Geneon is tragic all around. I really hope that Funi will continue the series starting from where the series currently left off since I was in the process of collecting Karin, Saiunkoku, Black Lagoon, Hellsing, When they Cry, Rozen, and Shonen Onmyoji. I would hate to wait for the first few volumes release to catch up to where Geneon left off or even worse if they change the episode counts per disc so that the FUni versions don't match up to where Geneon left off. It would also be annoying if they sold these half finished series as complete box sets only although I think they have better sense than to do that.
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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If you're refering to Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, then yes they have finished dubbing it. In fact, it is actually currently airing on Canada's G4 Tech TV. |
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