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Article Recommendation: Funi changing "dub everything" policy?




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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23762
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:48 pm Reply with quote
I found out recently that Funi is releasing Oniai, an anime TV title, as sub-only. Of course, Funi is famous for its "we dub everything!" policy so this release is a bit of a seismic shift. I'd love to find out if we can expect more of this sort of thing or if it's a one off or what the reasoning behind this is.

Funi also offered GitS: Arise as an import sub-only, but Oiniai is not an import.

Anyway, I don't know if this is worthy of an article or if it can be handled in an ANNCast or as an Answerman question, but I'd love to get some skinny on this.
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Shadowrun20XX



Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Posts: 1935
Location: Vegas
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 3:13 am Reply with quote
Reality probably slapped them in the face.
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 9120
Location: Bedford, NH
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:03 pm Reply with quote
well, they explained themselves on tumbler
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23762
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:47 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for the head's up:

Quote:
Retailers have begun listing our December titles, and you may have noticed something that is a bit out of the ordinary for FUNimation. OniAi: The Complete Series will be available on BD/DVD Combo in December, and it will be our first ever subtitle-only release.

Now, we’ve seen some comments on the Twitterverse and on Facebook, and we want to take the time to address a few of your concerns:

"Why are you releasing this title as subtitle-only?"
We are trying out a sub-only release because it will inform us as to whether it is a viable option for titles in the future that would otherwise not get released at all. In other words, we’re looking into ADDING more releases, which is a good thing!

"Does this mean that you’re going to stop doing dubs?!"
No, we are NOT switching to a sub-only business model. Don’t worry, you’ll still get English dubs on the majority of our titles.

"Will my favorite show be released as subtitle-only? How do I make sure that it gets an English dub?"
The best way to ensure that your show gets an English dub is to support legal simulcasts and streams. We use streaming performance as one of several indicators to determine sales potential for a title. So, be sure to watch on official sites like FUNimation.com and Hulu.

In addition, we want to make sure that our sub-only titles are treated right; so we have lowered the SRP, but included both DVD and Blu-ray in the release. They’ll also be housed in a sturdy chipboard box.

...

So, what do you think? Are subtitle-only releases something you’d like to see more of in the future?


Interesting.
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 3:22 pm Reply with quote
Sounds pretty reasonable to me.
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Mesonoxian Eve



Joined: 10 Jan 2012
Posts: 1858
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 4:53 pm Reply with quote
I'm on board. If Sentai and Nozomi have taught me anything, dubs are no longer a "must have" option on the title.

More titles = win, especially since my buying has decreased massively over the last year.

Oh, and if anyone from FUNi is reading: Gosick, please. Subtitled or not.

Please and thank you.
Smile
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TsunaReborn!



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Posts: 4713
Location: Cheltenham UK
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 5:04 pm Reply with quote
Luckily as a Sub fan, I'm not too effected; well to be fair nobody really is as its good to see they are looking at options to make more releases possible.

Though if this news did disappoint me the words chipboard box would have one me over! Funi you may have just retaken NIS at the top of my list with that statement alone Very Happy
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GDFan



Joined: 31 Jul 2010
Posts: 254
Location: North of Boston
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:02 pm Reply with quote
Mesonoxian Eve wrote:
More titles = win, especially since my buying has decreased massively over the last year.


That may be good for you right now, but is it really any good for the R1 market. If they're releasing more, and people are spending less, the numbers don't seem to add up in anyone's favor.
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TsunaReborn!



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Posts: 4713
Location: Cheltenham UK
PostPosted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:14 am Reply with quote
GDFan wrote:
Mesonoxian Eve wrote:
More titles = win, especially since my buying has decreased massively over the last year.


That may be good for you right now, but is it really any good for the R1 market. If they're releasing more, and people are spending less, the numbers don't seem to add up in anyone's favor.


Unless they are finding cheaper ways to produce thier products, I.e. not having to pay English speaking voice actors for every release. Also they have may have lowered thier profit margin hoping to move more stock which can generate more revenue in the long run. But I guess, and would hope, the guys at the top of Funi know what they are doing and know how to generate profit.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23762
PostPosted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 5:14 am Reply with quote
I wonder if Funi will do like Sentai has in the past and if a sub-only title ends up selling better than expected, they go ahead and dub it.
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zrdb





PostPosted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:26 pm Reply with quote
[quote="Blood-"]Thanks for the head's up:

Quote:
Retailers have begun listing our December titles, and you may have noticed something that is a bit out of the ordinary for FUNimation. OniAi: The Complete Series will be available on BD/DVD Combo in December, and it will be our first ever subtitle-only release.

Now, we’ve seen some comments on the Twitterverse and on Facebook, and we want to take the time to address a few of your concerns:

"Why are you releasing this title as subtitle-only?"
We are trying out a sub-only release because it will inform us as to whether it is a viable option for titles in the future that would otherwise not get released at all. In other words, we’re looking into ADDING more releases, which is a good thing!

"Does this mean that you’re going to stop doing dubs?!"
No, we are NOT switching to a sub-only business model. Don’t worry, you’ll still get English dubs on the majority of our titles.

"Will my favorite show be released as subtitle-only? How do I make sure that it gets an English dub?"
The best way to ensure that your show gets an English dub is to support legal simulcasts and streams. We use streaming performance as one of several indicators to determine sales potential for a title. So, be sure to watch on official sites like FUNimation.com and Hulu.

In addition, we want to make sure that our sub-only titles are treated right; so we have lowered the SRP, but included both DVD and Blu-ray in the release. They’ll also be housed in a sturdy chipboard box.

...

So, what do you think? Are subtitle-only releases something you’d like to see more of in the future?


In a word-NO!! If I want to buy subbed only releases I'll go with NIS's releases plus the fact that crapamation's white subs are harder than shit to read. At least with Sentai's subbed only stuff the subs are yellow and don't cause severe eye strain while trying to read em'.
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TsunaReborn!



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Posts: 4713
Location: Cheltenham UK
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:50 am Reply with quote
zrdb wrote:

In a word-NO!! If I want to buy subbed only releases I'll go with NIS's releases plus the fact that crapamation's white subs are harder than shit to read. At least with Sentai's subbed only stuff the subs are yellow and don't cause severe eye strain while trying to read em'.


Just out of curiosity, if your favourite unreleased series was licenced Sub only by Funi (or anyone other than NIS) you would not purchase? Would you not want it in your collection?

I'm not trying to nit-pick here I just curious that someone could feel so strongly about a company, positively or negatively.
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