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Hey, Answerman! [2010-02-05]


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roxybudgy



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 129
Location: Western Australia
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:17 pm Reply with quote
ABCBTom wrote:
Additionally, now I have no right to say "I hope Funi licenses Kimi no Todoke, so I can have a dub". If you don't buy Big Windup, you're telling the industry "Please don't license Cross Game". If you don't buy Lucky Star, you're telling the industry "Please don't license K-On". If you don't buy Macross, Dirty Pair, or City Hunter, you're telling the industry "Don't bother with anything before 2000." And then this information is passed along to
the Japanese studios in the form of financial results and licensing fees, or the lack thereof.


When I bought Lucky Star collection 1 and 2, I did so because I wanted to watch Lucky Star. Whether K-On or Doraemon gets licenced because I bought Lucky Star DVDs means nothing to me. The same goes for the $4000+ that I have spent on over 50 anime titles over the years. I buy DVDs because I want to watch that particular title, not because of some "let's support the industy!" ideology.

I love comedy anime, half of my anime DVD collection is made up of comedy series or series with a significant amount of humour in it, but I haven't purchased
(nor have I downloaded) Cromartie High School because I'm not interested in that particular series. Oh noes! I just asked the licencing companies to stop licencing comedy series! And if the licencing companies did stop licencing comedy series because sales are low, I'm just going to go spend my money on non-anime comedy series.

Now I'm not saying that sales figures are meaningless, I think that it's simplistic to just assume that anime fans don't want sports anime just because one title doesn't sell well. There are many other factors that may result in low sales, and lack of interest is just one factor. It could be that people just didn't know about it, or maybe it cost too much, or maybe it wasn't widely available, or maybe that particular title alone just wasn't interesting.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:51 am Reply with quote
Regarding the intros not having sound effects, it reminds me of the Fantasia parodies I sometimes saw. It always bothered me seeing them because, with few exceptions, there would be sound effects added in. I noticed a lot of American cartoons have no sound effects in their intros as well...which makes it odd that sequences that should not have sound effects have them and sequences where it's okay to have sound effects don't.

Dark Elf Warrior wrote:
Aqua was mainstream because of they're song "Barbie Girl", but there are many today who now hate the song, and make fun of Aqua.


It got to the point where the Barbie commercials nowadays have jingles to the tune of "Barbie Girl." It felt surreal when I first saw these commercials, an anti-materialistic parody song incorporated into the mega-franchise it's making fun of.
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ljaesch



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 299
Location: Enumclaw, WA
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:24 am Reply with quote
Re: Aqua

The even more amusing part is the fact that Mattel sued the band over the song, claiming the song defamed the doll. Mattel even took the case all the way up to the Supreme Court (where it was tossed out in 2002; when it was dismissed, the judge ruled, "The parties are advised to chill.")

So yeah, after all those years of fighting the song, it's rather hilarious that Mattel ended up using the song to sell the product.

leafy sea dragon wrote:


Dark Elf Warrior wrote:
Aqua was mainstream because of they're song "Barbie Girl", but there are many today who now hate the song, and make fun of Aqua.


It got to the point where the Barbie commercials nowadays have jingles to the tune of "Barbie Girl." It felt surreal when I first saw these commercials, an anti-materialistic parody song incorporated into the mega-franchise it's making fun of.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:29 am Reply with quote
roxybudgy wrote:
ABCBTom wrote:
Additionally, now I have no right to say "I hope Funi licenses Kimi no Todoke, so I can have a dub". If you don't buy Big Windup, you're telling the industry "Please don't license Cross Game". If you don't buy Lucky Star, you're telling the industry "Please don't license K-On". If you don't buy Macross, Dirty Pair, or City Hunter, you're telling the industry "Don't bother with anything before 2000." And then this information is passed along to
the Japanese studios in the form of financial results and licensing fees, or the lack thereof.


When I bought Lucky Star collection 1 and 2, I did so because I wanted to watch Lucky Star. Whether K-On or Doraemon gets licenced because I bought Lucky Star DVDs means nothing to me. The same goes for the $4000+ that I have spent on over 50 anime titles over the years. I buy DVDs because I want to watch that particular title, not because of some "let's support the industy!" ideology.

I agreed with everything ABCBTom wrote except that little part. My line of thinking on this subject mirrors roxybudgy exactly. I buy anime I want to watch, not so that some other show has a chance. I've actually never bought anime to support the industry. I buy it because it's a product for sale and that's what you're supposed to do. Did I used to watch fansubs? Hell yea, but once I bought my first boxset, there was no need to go back.

If the industry wants to connect those dots, fine. I, personally, don't see how they line up, but that doesn't matter. I'll just keep on buying what is licensed that sounds good and let other fans clamor and hope for other shows to brought other so they can be the ones to be disappointed.
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ABCBTom



Joined: 10 Sep 2009
Posts: 183
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 12:41 pm Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
I agreed with everything ABCBTom wrote except that little part. My line of thinking on this subject mirrors roxybudgy exactly. I buy anime I want to watch, not so that some other show has a chance. I've actually never bought anime to support the industry. I buy it because it's a product for sale and that's what you're supposed to do. Did I used to watch fansubs? Hell yea, but once I bought my first boxset, there was no need to go back.

If the industry wants to connect those dots, fine. I, personally, don't see how they line up, but that doesn't matter. I'll just keep on buying what is licensed that sounds good and let other fans clamor and hope for other shows to brought other so they can be the ones to be disappointed.


Thanks for the positive feedback, everyone. I think I should clear this up, since I don't think I did myself any favors. I don't buy titles "like" other titles I'd like to see, either. If I bought Kiss on My Deity and Blue Drop and To Love-Ru to send a message to Sentai to license Toradora, I would be crazy. I only buy the shows I want to see, as well.

So I'm not trying to describe an ideal system; it just seems apparent to me that this is how the system currently works. I didn't buy Hajime no Ippo because it seemed like a long show, and boxing isn't my thing. I didn't buy Slam Dunk because Toei botched the release. I did buy Big Windup, but let's say I didn't, only because I thought the main character was too annoying. All of that nuance is lost in the sales figures. The message is sent loud and clear that I hate sports anime, despite the fact that I would love to see Touch licensed.

I'd like to see a system like AnimEigo's with Kimagure Orange Road. Maybe people can place a pre-order for a Rose of Versailles box set, and if they get 2,000 or so preorders, they buy the license and produce the series. Probably a nightmare to actually run a system that way, but it would be more fair and more accurate.

Essentially, the basic point I wanted to make is that your vote counts in the marketplace, but that is your only vote that counts. Your devotion to a property does nothing. While I don't pre-plan every purchase in some grand scheme to drive the industry in directions that I would like to see, the choices I make matter. And not only in deciding what shows get licensed, but also what gets produced by studios in Japan who are looking for a new big international hit.
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dizzon



Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:03 pm Reply with quote
ABCBTom wrote:
I think I should clear this up, since I don't think I did myself any favors. I don't buy titles "like" other titles I'd like to see, either. If I bought Kiss on My Deity and Blue Drop and To Love-Ru to send a message to Sentai to license Toradora, I would be crazy. I only buy the shows I want to see, as well.


I think the majority of us understood you were not suggesting the purchase of titles regardless of personal interest for the sole purpose of trying to financially supporting THAT niche specifically. You don't have to buy every slice-of-life, fantasy, shounen ect. ect. but you should buy the ones you like, otherwise there is no incentive to license shows of the same ilk. Is it a flawless system? No, sometimes shows fall through the cracks, but if you don't buy the DVD/Blu-rays you don't get to complain about it.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:42 pm Reply with quote
ABCBTom wrote:
I think I should clear this up, since I don't think I did myself any favors. I don't buy titles "like" other titles I'd like to see, either. If I bought Kiss on My Deity and Blue Drop and To Love-Ru to send a message to Sentai to license Toradora, I would be crazy. I only buy the shows I want to see, as well.

Ah, thanks. I didn't mean to misunderstand you, but some people in the Talkback threads when a show is licensed go nuts with the "I MUST SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY!" talk and believe so strongly that them buying a show helps the chance of another show they really want get a deal.
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dizzon



Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:21 pm Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
ABCBTom wrote:
I think I should clear this up, since I don't think I did myself any favors. I don't buy titles "like" other titles I'd like to see, either. If I bought Kiss on My Deity and Blue Drop and To Love-Ru to send a message to Sentai to license Toradora, I would be crazy. I only buy the shows I want to see, as well.

Ah, thanks. I didn't mean to misunderstand you, but some people in the Talkback threads when a show is licensed go nuts with the "I MUST SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY!" talk and believe so strongly that them buying a show helps the chance of another show they really want get a deal.


Not to get into a whole "thing" here but if certain types of shows do well financially that greatly increases the odds of similar show getting licensed. If FUNi(for example) looks at their books and sees slice-of-life comedies they have previously licensed have under-performed that greatly decreases the odds they would pursue any similar titles.

Again, that's not to say or even expect someone to blindly chuck cash at every show that's similar to a specific show they themselves really enjoy, buy what you like because you like it and don't worry about everything else, but because anime is so small in NA every purchase does hold some weight.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:36 pm Reply with quote
I just hate how companies seemingly force a connection that's barely there. Lucky Star under performing shouldn't scare companies away from K-ON and the same goes for all the other examples ABCBTom gave. Sure they share genres, but they're different shows. Now Funimation not getting the second season or OVA to something like Big Windup because it underperformed makes sense, but I think it's a stretch to say Cross Game will bomb too simply because another baseball show didn't do well. It blows that anime is so small that every purchase does matter so much.

Note to Companies: It's not the genres, it's the shows.
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dizzon



Joined: 22 Sep 2008
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:10 am Reply with quote
The King of Harts wrote:
I just hate how companies seemingly force a connection that's barely there. Lucky Star under performing shouldn't scare companies away from K-ON and the same goes for all the other examples ABCBTom gave. Sure they share genres, but they're different shows. Now Funimation not getting the second season or OVA to something like Big Windup because it underperformed makes sense, but I think it's a stretch to say Cross Game will bomb too simply because another baseball show didn't do well. It blows that anime is so small that every purchase does matter so much.

Note to Companies: It's not the genres, it's the shows.


I get exactly what you're saying. In a perfect world every title would be evaluated on its own merits, but a business has to look for "Patterns of success" that would give them the best chance at revenue given their particular business model. That's the problem with this current state of anime contraction, fewer companies are willing to take a chance since the margin for error is so small, that's just the reality of the current situation, I can't fault a company for using a "formula" that consistently yields returns. I may not like it but I can't fault it.
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