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Interview: Garden of Sinners' Atsuhiro Iwakami and Hikaru Kondo

I buy bootlegs because my personal gratification is all that matters.

In a similar spirit, instead of arguing with extreme words, let's seriously try to work out the numbers. We assume (just for rhetorical purposes, of course) that anime companies are businesses. . . .

No question U.S. sales would go up if cheaper sets were available here simultaneously with the Japanese release. But enough to offset reverse imports?

Assume a scenario where a U.S. BD boxset at $50 street price is released simultaneously with a Japanese versions at 41.6K yen or approx. $500 s.p.. Suppose this causes (conservatively) 30% of the 26K Japanese buyers who purchased the domestic version to instead web-purchase the U.S. version. Assume markup is similar.

Question: What level of increase in U.S. sales would make this a wise business decision? Anyone care to do the math? Change the percentages within reason if you want. How likely is it that such a number would be reached?

US sets get do released a few years down the line if there seems to be enough demand, since, as nightjuan says, this doesn't hurt domestic sales nearly as much. The core audience is too impatient to wait. The time lag does hurt U.S. sales, of course, since the U.S. audience is also impatient and may resort to fansubs instead. Factor that in if you want, and even ignore free legal streaming since that hasn't been available so far in the case of KnK.

If we're claiming that a much cheaper U.S. simul-release would be the smart thing for Aniplex, let's provide some realistic math to show how this would work. . . .

As for reducing the price in Japan, that is indeed a can of worms. But if anyone cares to do take this on with plausible assumptions (including factors such as the current and potential market for different genres, the relationship between price and demand in each market, rental at Tsutaya etc., legal streaming on Niconico etc., illegal downloads and torrents vs. prosecution etc.) to come up with something that resembles an optimal pricing model for anime producers, they are 9000*GARrer than Kenshiro.

John Casey wrote:

I buy bootlegs because my personal gratification is all that matters.

Edited for brevity. Just face it Casey, you're too punk rock for these ANN squares. They could never understand your insatiable anime lust. Good luck with not letting your dad down, btw.

True but you're not helping the situation either. If you wanted a physical copy, just burn it on disk.

Are you trying to prove something to yourself or to the people at Aniplex?

If you want to prove Aniplex a point, send the bootleg to Aniplex office or something with a letter.

But, you know what man? Sending in a bootlegged copy alongside a letter is a pretty strong way in protesting Aniplex's business "strategy." If that doesn't tell them "you're doing it all wrong" and they just don't get the hint, then they're just idiots.

JC. You and your dad should split the cost of the import.

John Casey wrote:

But, you know what man? Sending in a bootlegged copy alongside a letter is a pretty strong way in protesting Aniplex's business "strategy." If that doesn't tell them "you're doing it all wrong" and they just don't get the hint, then they're just idiots.

Probably not quite as strong a message as a $400 box set completely selling out on the first day of an extremely limited release.

Catering to the otaku super-collector market is fine, but they're not the sole market that might be interested in a product, and incidents like Kara no Kyoukai's apparent release model honestly have me more worried for the anime industry than upset about my own selfish wants. They seem to be actively and deliberately cutting out the casual market in favor of solely pursuing the otaku that cuts food out of their budget for the hottest moé hug pillow or $500 super-package of K-On! tchotchkes with a DVD buried somewhere under them, and I worry that such a single-minded pursuit is only going to lead to a massive loss of potential revenue and bigger financial troubles down the line. There has to be a happy medium somewhere; perhaps release the big $<life> bundle-box first and have it exclusively available for the first six months, then follow that up with the economy package for the casual market. It's not a market to underestimate, much less exclude or try to force into the otaku mode of making purchases.

And yes, yes, they're well within their rights to sell their product any way they so choose. But as I continue to pick my teeth up off the ground after getting socked in the face with the realization I will likely never, ever own a copy of one of my all-time favorite movies (well, movie serials), I also worry about whether or not they're in the process of shooting themselves in the foot selling it in such a way.

their efforts. What's more, you're probably funding organised crime.

It's bullshit, and it pisses me off, and I too feel like I'm beating a dead horse. I refrained from mentioning anything like this in the last two or so articles. And even in here, I said not a word of how utterly pompous and pretentious, and frankly, dickish, Iwakami and Ko sounded when they basically said a nice big "fudge you" towards a cheaper release. I could go on all day about that. . . . I would pay up front any day for a reasonable legit release, and I'd turn the other cheek regarding the sheer arrogance of this if they ever got around to finalizing a proper release. But I have to face the music: It's not happening.

I think they are playing the exclusive nature of this set for all they can right now. It sold well, better than they probably expected. They probably will make some more of these "limited" items while the wave is at its peak.

Sure, the packaging can be attractive, but I have no doubts that if they really think there is a larger, casual market for this show it will be released in a more affordable package down the road. They're just not going to say so now. Maybe a couple of years, when the discussion dies down a bit but the casual market has identified themselves and is still viable. We'll see, I guess.

That being said, I can't blame them for exploiting their market in any way they can. It's business. They have pretty much confirmed that there is an otaku market here in the "west" that is willing to spend the same as in Japan. I expect that there will be more of this kind of thing, but it will be done only with otaku or extremely niche shows. This will never fly with shows that have identifiable mainstream appeal. I am interested to see how this will play out, and what kind of collectors mentality will develop. This show is more attractive to me at this point as a reseller, than any interest i may have in the show itself. (Wine buying is still a safer investment in comparison)

In the meantime, I am very happy with the (four) NIS collectors boxes I bought, which seem like a real value in comparison.

What started as a simple DVD purchase from a random Canadian eBay vendor, turned JC into a diabolical criminal mastermind with ties to the Triad...! Tune in next week, and witness further descent into darkness...and PURE EVIL!

John Casey wrote:

What started as a simple DVD purchase from a random Canadian eBay vendor, turned JC into a diabolical criminal mastermind with ties to the Triad...! Tune in next week, and witness further descent into darkness...and PURE EVIL!

I'd be a little more enthused if you would see to restoring the Ming...