Forum - View topic

Answerman - Discs of Steel

And this is just with the partial funding of a release, dealing with authoring, packaging, translation, extras, etc. You are not dealing with funding the actual creation of a show. For that, look at Kick Heart (12 mins) and LWA2 (40 mins) for costs.

Purple: I see. But Cinedigm has to probably have deep pockets to get Sailor Moon.

The reason why it was pulled over is because it was too mutilated in the process of "Westernization". And now there is a distrust from their side even if an American company promises a faithful translation, without changing characterization or plot.

Don't forget that Funimation is on record trying rather hard to get the rights to Sailor Moon. It's just not happening at this time, on Japanese side of things. But, if they thought they were going to lose money, would they have bothered even to try? Sailor Moon is a holy grail for any older fan. I personally would buy it in a heartbeat if it was available.

The reason why it was pulled over is because it was too mutilated in the process of "Westernization". And now there is a distrust from their side even if an American company promises a faithful translation, without changing characterization or plot.

Please, Sailor Moon was mutilated as well in Italy and nonetheless the entire series is being released on dvd (bad dubbing and all). So respect for the original is certainly not the reason Sailor Moon is not being published at the moment in the US. The most probable reason is that TOEI wants a shitload of money and Funimation is not inclined to give so much for such an old series.

It's not like Toei doesn't want money. They know the show will sell in the US, but they've been sitting on it for years and earning absolutely nothing. I doubt they're just waiting for a better offer to come along at this point. They've been able to negotiate deals for their other big properties, and they've even been willing to compromise when big shows like One Piece don't pull in the numbers they'd like. It just seems odd that they'd take such a hard and irrational stance with Sailor Moon and not with their other juggernauts.

The fact that it's old isn't the problem. If Funi got their hands on Sailor Moon they'd make a killing.

It's not like Toei doesn't want money.

and they've even been willing to compromise when big shows like One Piece don't pull in the numbers they'd like.

I remember one article(can't remember where), where someone was visiting Toei's quarters, and they were visiting a room showcasing Toei's various properties. And Sailor Moon was confined to one tiny shelf...

merr wrote:

It's not like Toei doesn't want money. They know the show will sell in the US, but they've been sitting on it for years and earning absolutely nothing. I doubt they're just waiting for a better offer to come along at this point. They've been able to negotiate deals for their other big properties, and they've even been willing to compromise when big shows like One Piece don't pull in the numbers they'd like. It just seems odd that they'd take such a hard and irrational stance with Sailor Moon and not with their other juggernauts.

I don't know. Sometimes when I've read articles relating to Sailor Moon I've gotten a feeling Toei doesn't hold the franchise in a very high esteem. I remember one article(can't remember where), where someone was visiting Toei's quarters, and they were visiting a room showcasing Toei's various properties. And Sailor Moon was confined to one tiny shelf...
I'm probably imagining things though...

If Toei simply didn't CARE about Sailor Moon, then they'd just license the series to the highest bidder, take whatever money they can get, and not worry about what happens to the property afterwards.

I doubt they'd turn down the opportunity to make a quick buck off a show they don't care about, especially when US companies have been chasing the license for a decade.

It only makes sense if there's some extra difficulty involved with selling the show that makes the process of negotiating a new license not worth Toei's time.

Pokemon's clearly a shadow of its former juggernaut self, even over there. Yeah, the games still sell, but the franchise as a whole is currently the equivalent of the post-80s Transformers cartoons here. People still watch 'em, but it ain't a phenomenon anymore.

No, they could get it sold off tomorrow. They just don't want to. I bet even if someone gave in on their asking fee that they'd look for some reason to prevent a deal from happening. They're a terrible company, and the only way they'll ever bend is if people in Japan start losing interest in One Piece and Pretty Cure. And it could happen.

Public corporations don't do things because they "want to."

They do things because it will affect their profit margin or their share price.

but the point is that no one in the company is sitting there saying "we could sell this license and make a profit, but let's not, because we hate money."

They've thought about this issue and decided that it's in the corporation's best interest not to license the series under terms that any US distributor can accept.

It may not be a good reason, but it is a reason rooted in business considerations,

not just a refusal to sell the show because they like being a terrible company