Forum - View topicINTEREST: Funimation President Talks Netflix's Evangelion Acquisition: 'We'd Do Better at Brand-Mana
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Psajdak
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I just wish someone would sub [expletive] entire original Pokemon series.
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5434 Location: Iscandar |
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To me it is interesting to hear that Netflix overpaid for Eva. It is a classic and super important anime, but it is too old and niche at this point. But I suppose good on Netflix for potentially trowing money away with this license; it saved Sentai and Funimation from bankruptcy.
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Cardcaptor Takato
 Posts: 4881 |
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If Funimation should be mad at anyone, they should be mad at Studio Khara for pointlessly holding up the license for Eva for all these years for seemingly no good reason.
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Luigithemetal64
Posts: 17 |
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Netflix sucks at service. They only care about having more content whether the shows and movies they have are good or not. Any show or anime Netflix has are more likely to get live-action adaptations that will never be successful. That's why Hulu is much better in terms of anime content. Funimation should really license Evangelion, not Netflix. At least with Viz Media, Funimation, Senpai, and Aniplex, their anime gets DVD and Blu-ray releases for people who don't have Internet to become a subscriber.
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Fluwm
 Posts: 897 |
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I didn't even know Netflix had -any- anime until last year. |
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Cardcaptor Takato
Posts: 4881 |
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All this begs the question why didn't Funimation buy the rights if they could have done it better? They certainly had enough money to spend on a Goku balloon and a Fruits Basket ad in Times Square and they have the backing of Sony now. Viz was able to license Sailor Moon without issue in spite of reports that the Sailor Moon license fee was also ridiculously high. So I'm not sure what was stopping Funimation this whole time.
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Morry
Posts: 756 |
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While asking the competition their thoughts on this is silly, he at least makes a good point. Both Amazon and Netflix have been questionable in their branding and marketing. Netflix has done markedly better, but that's largely due to investing in their own series, which we have no idea if they are succeeding or not.
Does anyone know of any Netflix series that have really made a splash? I think Violet Evergreen was the only one that came close to my memory. |
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fathomlessblue
 Posts: 350 Location: Manchester, UK |
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As people have already mentioned, there's a kernel of truth to what Fukunaga is saying in regards to the Netflix model cheapening the sense of anticipation, hype and even prestige that comes with simulcasting and deluxe physical releases, but it's hard not to read his comments as sour grapes from having such a prolific cash cow taken from him. Eva in particular is in little danger of fading into obscurity anytime soon. The show already has an incredibly strong fandom backing it, while the years in licensing exile has created a real sense of buzz among the uninitiated. If Fukunaga was really concerned he'd be bringing up examples like Sword Gai, Hero Mask, A.I.C.O or B the Beginning. Sure, none of those titles will end up regarded in the same breath as Eva, but the lack of marketing has led to them being completely swallowed by the glut of content even among anime fans. It seems Netflix's only jumps on promoting something after professional and consumer interest builds up hype for them, such as with Devilman Crybaby & Aggretsuko.
And at the risk of being selectively negative & skeptical towards Fukunaga, it's a little hard to take seriously calls to preserve the industry from someone with such a reputation for being so eager to sell his own company to the highest bidder, regardless of how it affects the consumer. We had it before with the Navarre fiasco, and now he could well be described as dismantling a current golden age within anime fandom by selling to Sony, leading to the inevitable breakup of the Crunchy-Funi partnership. Maybe I'm being a tad hyperbolic, but as a fan watching all this upheaval and backstabbing going on within the licensing scene, it's hard for me to have much sympathy towards his complaints. So yeah, the right concerns, but the wrong example by the wrong spokesman. Last edited by fathomlessblue on Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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MHAFMAB
Posts: 20 |
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I did say that I agreed, with them not knowing how to promote. And from what I personally have seen they didn't start getting serious with anime until this year. |
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johnnysasaki
Posts: 929 |
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hasn't been reported in the past that the reason the classic series remained unlicensed all these years was because Anno/Khara demands an amount that is too costly for an anime license?I think I recall Funimation themselves saying once they have tried to get the classic series but Anno/Khara said they would only license it again when the Rebuild movies were done(look at how well that went down...seriously,if these movies were that much of a priority,they would have had finished them by 2009 like they initially said...).
With Anno having control of the franchise's rights now,he probably requested some other demands that would be complicated for the anime distributors to comply,even for the big ones like Viz and Funimation,and Netflix likely was the only one willing to accept them |
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Friki del Mal
Posts: 80 |
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> better at brand management
Well, let's discover the greatest things Funimation has done at brand management inside and outside United States and Canada. 1. My Hero Academia: It's no doubt that MHA is very popular in US and Canada. Also, Funimation licensed the series and the movies to Latin America, but... who did all the brand management for that anime in Latin America? Crunchyroll and Konnichiwa Festival. Crunchyroll did all the dirty job to promote that anime and they did it very well. Practically all the events they did had at least one MHA poster. Konnichiwa Festival, on the other hand, bought the theatrical rights from Funimation and they did everything they can to promote in cinemas, even outside the Cinepolis spectrum (fyi, Konnichiwa Festival works almost exclusively to Cinepolis). If those companies had not kept an eye on MHA and let Funimation do the work, the series would not even have been exploited in the region. 2. The same happened with Attack on Titan. Crunchyroll did all the dirty job to promote it. All the Latin American fandom rejoiced when CR announced it. Also, Funimation licensed the live action movies... but years later, Funimation sold the rights to a local distributor. 3. Also, they tend to blackout several series. For example, SSSS.GRIDMAN, one of the diamonds of this season is blocked in Latin America, Europe and Africa. 4. Also, I can count all the series Funimation licensed for Latin America when they were in a deal with Crunchyroll. And now, when Sentai Filmworks started to sell stuff to Crunchyroll, all the series CR announced, all the series that we have in Latin America. Yeah, I'm proud Netflix took Evangelion. |
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SrkSano
 Posts: 205 |
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Evangelion is getting a brand new dub on Netflix. Personally I prefer subs over dubs in general, but the Evangelion dub was one of the good ones for its time. I particularly enjoyed Asuka speaking German here and there in the dub.
I wonder if Funimation got Evangelion if it would receive a new dub or they would leave things as they were. My guess is they would leave things be since Funimation has some of the old dub actors working on the new movies. |
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prime_pm
 Posts: 2338 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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I can't really feel sympathy on either side seeing as there isnt exactly altruism for either of them.
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DeTroyes
 Posts: 520 |
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Mr. Fukunaga sounds just a little bit salty about this. It sounds like he and Funimation had been gunning for Evangelion for quite some time, and are very disappointed in not landing it.
Which also makes me wonder when the licenses for Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell expire, because I'm betting Netflix is intending to snatch them up the moment they do. |
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Romuska
 Subscriber Posts: 802 |
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Oooooh I don't even know where to begin.
Fukunaga, Netflix got Eva the same way you get all of your licenses. WITH MONEY! At least Netflix has removable subs. Funimation doesn't even allow that on 80% of their blu-rays now making them essentially glorified 1st gen laserdiscs or VHS, which is ironic because that was the last time the show was released properly in North America. At least Netflix doesn't edit their films by needlessly removing text, replacing credit sequences, and adding additional titles screens! |
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