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NJ_ wrote:

TsukasaElkKite wrote:

PurpleWarrior13 wrote:

They have apparently lost Rurouni Kenshin

WHAT?!

Yup, they did!

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=377729058977020&id=134953719921223

That explains the physical RightStuf cancellation mail I got a number of weeks ago. Hopefully someone else picks that up. Discotek maybe?

angelmcazares wrote:

I did not know you knew everyone of the ANN forum members intimately to make such generalizations. It is rude to categorize people.

My comment meant only that more people here are concerned about buying discs than on sites like MAL or that "site that may not be named." There are probably fewer disc collectors here than at Mania/AOD which seems to have a large contingent of members who buy directly from Japan.

Mohawk52 wrote:

Yeah, cause obviously streaming is soo much better and profitable.

It's hard to tell how profitable streaming is compared to licensing fees for the Japanese production committees themselves, but I doubt the situation is black and white. In the case of Crunchyroll a portion of the profits goes directly back to TV Tokyo as a shareholder. Last I saw Crunchy had about 100,000 subscribers at $7/month, generating over $8 million per year before advertising revenues are included, and the site turned a profit two years ago. Certainly it's considerably cheaper to stream a subtitled series on Crunchy than to release it on a physical disc with English dubbing. I suspect the differences in marketing costs alone between the two outlets is fairly substantial. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that, for anime series that won't attract large R1 audiences (say disc sales of 5,000+ units), streaming is a better overall deal for the Japanese producers.

I'm not sure what you mean by "better." 720p streams have better image quality than 480p DVDs. Most anime is originally recorded in two-track stereo so that's not really a competitive disavantage either. (On most R1 DVDs the 5.1 tracks are remixed and generally limited to the EN dub track; the JP audio is usually still 2.0.) Are streams "better" than fansubs that use transport-stream captures from Japan? I'd say the latter have slightly better quality, but they are also legally and morally more problematic.

Anyway, my original point still stands: Believing that the R1 anime market is in dire straits because traditional licensors like MB are having problems is a rather narrow-minded perspective that ignores the most important trends in the industry.

FLEABttn wrote:

NJ_ wrote:

TsukasaElkKite wrote:

PurpleWarrior13 wrote:

They have apparently lost Rurouni Kenshin

WHAT?!

Yup, they did!

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=377729058977020&id=134953719921223

That explains the physical RightStuf cancellation mail I got a number of weeks ago. Hopefully someone else picks that up. Discotek maybe?

Wow, I did not know that either. Since Aniplex US released the OVAs I wonder if this gives them a chance to pick it up. I already bought the TV box 2 years ago, but I would definitely double dip for the much superior remastered R2 version.

Mesonoxian Eve wrote:

Bandai: We need more capital, R1, so we're changing some things!
R1: Screw you, Bandai.
Bandai: Okay, toodles!
R1: Wait! Comeback! Now we miss you! Noooooooooooo! Boy, that was a surprise.

I apologize in advance if my impressions are uninformed, but what are those changes that Bandai made? As far as I know Bandai left the R1 market because the Japanese executives felt that the R1 market was not profitable enough.

I get the point that costumers are partly to be blamed for failing to support more the Bandai titles. But did not Bandai screw up themselves by introducing the Anime Legends/Complete Collection model? Code Geass was sold in singles, but I bet many buyers waited for the complete collections because they knew they were coming out eventually.

I sense anger on your post toward R1 costumers. Are you by any chance suggesting that R1 pricing needs to go up in order to ensure the survival of this market, and costumers will need to pony up the money? I have been making this argument for a while in these forums, but it has not been warmly received.

That's all well and good, but is more quantity worth less quality? In other words, Streaming, to me, is just a kneejerk reaction to try and get one over the fansubbers and pirates by sailing in their waters. what stream provider is boasting enough gains and profits that they can plough back into producing any quality titles? So is 20 titles of streaming slurry that, by your own statement, hardly anyone would buy in profitable quantity, worth more than 5 titles that many would deem worth the cost of a purchase? That is the question that MB apparently know the answer to.

configspace wrote:

FLEABttn wrote:

NJ_ wrote:

TsukasaElkKite wrote:

PurpleWarrior13 wrote:

They have apparently lost Rurouni Kenshin

WHAT?!

Yup, they did!

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=377729058977020&id=134953719921223

That explains the physical RightStuf cancellation mail I got a number of weeks ago. Hopefully someone else picks that up. Discotek maybe?

Wow, I did not know that either. Since Aniplex US released the OVAs I wonder if this gives them a chance to pick it up. I already bought the TV box 2 years ago, but I would definitely double dip for the much superior remastered R2 version.

To be fair, Aniplex USA only sold an import box set of the movies and OVAs here. Plus, I'm not sure the TV series is connected to Aniplex (the movies and OVAs were under a different license... they went to ADV instead of Media Blasters).

I would think that since ADV had the movies and OVAs once upon a time, they'd also be interested in the TV series should it come their way (as Sentai of course). The show might be a little long for them though.

Mesonoxian Eve wrote:

If I wanted crocodile tears, I'd go kick one and get my own.

Please do. But make sure you get a friend to tape you and then upload the footage to YouTube. I look forward to reading the headline "Man Harrasses Crocodile, Loses Foot: Police To Charge Him With Animal Cruelty" in my morning paper.

On a more serious note, you are fixated on blaming consumers - i.e fans - for everything that goes wrong with companies. It's a half-baked position and a one-eyed viewed of the world. I pray that you never work in customer service.

FLEABttn wrote:

NJ_ wrote:

TsukasaElkKite wrote:

PurpleWarrior13 wrote:

They have apparently lost Rurouni Kenshin

WHAT?!

Yup, they did!

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=377729058977020&id=134953719921223

That explains the physical RightStuf cancellation mail I got a number of weeks ago. Hopefully someone else picks that up. Discotek maybe?

They did get GTO (an Aniplex title) so it's possible.

PurpleWarrior13 wrote:

Plus, I'm not sure the TV series is connected to Aniplex (the movies and OVAs were under a different license... they went to ADV instead of Media Blasters).

Aniplex was also involved in the show's production and is credited in MB's English credits for the show (under the company's original name, SPE Visual Works) and in each of their box sets & discs.

Quote:

I would think that since ADV had the movies and OVAs once upon a time, they'd also be interested in the TV series should it come their way (as Sentai of course). The show might be a little long for them though.

No point in doing that since MB already beat them to the punch with the STACKpaks they used for their last complete set. Razz

dtm42 wrote:

Mesonoxian Eve wrote:

If I wanted crocodile tears, I'd go kick one and get my own.

Please do. But make sure you get a friend to tape you and then upload the footage to YouTube. I look forward to reading the headline "Man Harrasses Crocodile, Loses Foot: Police To Charge Him With Animal Cruelty" in my morning paper.

On a more serious note, you are fixated on blaming consumers - i.e fans - for everything that goes wrong with companies. It's a half-baked position and a one-eyed viewed of the world. I pray that you never work in customer service.

Ugh, it's never a happy day for me when I'm forced to agree with something dtm42 writes, but this is right on the money. Bandai always had a dedicated fanbase. Why anyone would be surprised that that fanbase would miss the company surpasses all human understanding.

Sad to see a company I've bought several titles from over the past 15 years. Hopefully they'll be able to realize how to get back up, though I'm sure it's an uphill struggle since they are one of the smaller companies in the anime industry.

This to me isn't dire or a reflection of an "anime crash" but a point of a small company competing against much larger groups [FUNi, Sentai, Viz] can't compete in terms of lineup or marketing.

man you guys are too funny, and that's a good thing by the way.

at least at lot funnier than this:

Quote:

Media Blasters has not responded to ANN's request for comment.

are they too busy with preparation for the requiem already?

wow. the only constant is change. license change. sheesh. I just wanted to buy the rest of Squid Girl. *shakes head* such is life in region 1. Merry Christmas Media Blasters.

Thanks for the bodacious ta ta speed loader show (aka Grenadier), the squirting boob show (QB), Berserk, Moribito, & The Twelve Kingdoms. You have some good titles in your catalog and I'm glad you made them available here when you could.

Speaking of Berserk, I hope whoever grabs that license up also negotiates for the BluRays. For a series with limited animation and a bunch of still pans, you might as well have those still pans in 1080p.

contagion888 wrote:

Here is to hoping, that Mr. Sirabella doesn't have another tissy about the comments on this thread.

Are you kidding? That sh*t is my catnip. Very Happy

walw6pK4Alo wrote:

Speaking of Berserk, I hope whoever grabs that license up also negotiates for the BluRays. For a series with limited animation and a bunch of still pans, you might as well have those still pans in 1080p.

This!

With how awesome the Japanese Blu-ray box actually is, it would probably sell more than MB's "remastered" set (which according to a former employee, was one of their top sellers for 2009).

hissatsu (at Mania) wrote: