Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Does Darker Than Black's License Withdrawal Mean?
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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No it wasn't. You were supporting Artesox's incorrect argument that NA shows were $20 and that wouldn't pay for the production of a show. You were also pooh-poohing people who don't want to pay AoA prices by stating all they care about is their bank accounts. And you continue by stating that people only will support inferior quality and they only care about "run time per dollar". Nice, real nice dude. |
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Kalessin
 Posts: 931 |
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It's well-rated on ANN, and plenty of folks wanted a sequel, which we finally got (though its style was different enough that some of the folks that really liked the first season weren't as enthused about the second). Personally, I rated it as Excellent, and I think that it's a great show. It has solid action with an interesting premise. I very much hope that we get a third season at some point. So, I'd definitely recommend it, but not knowing anything about your tastes, I certainly can't say whether you'd like it or not. As I understand it, it did do quite well for Funimation though. |
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Eisenmann V
Posts: 212 |
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You know, I actually don't have a problem with AoA putting out $300 releases for hardcore collectors, per se. The problem that I have is that there's no alternative for the financial middle-class anime owners. Restricting your product to the wealthy stinks like putting gold leaf on a grocery-store cake and charging $100 per slice.
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SouthPacific
Posts: 689 |
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Go ahead and make assumptions all you want on your own, that's fine by me as this'll be my last reply to you. The "posts" I were refering to were the ones that went "why buy 1 aniplex title when i can buy 4-5 titles from other US distribs?". That certainly makes it sound like those people only cares about the amount of runtime they get, as they disregard everything else.
If you can spend $300 on multiple, cheaper releases you can spend $300 on one, more expensive release. You're still spending the same amount of money. I get what your point is though, when you're used to being able to buy pretty much all shows you want because prices are so low it can be really hard to see why you should spend the same amount of money on "less" content. |
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Percival King
Banned User
Posts: 51 |
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[Edit]: stop the sniping. That's a warning. Errinundra.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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South Pacific you, and a few others, need to tread very carefully in this thread. You were already a problem in the other so I suggest you don't repeat that same behavior here. Just because it's a different thread does not mean you can rehash the same arguments with users in this thread. We've already stated that the mods are watching this one closely. Repeat behavior is not advised. So please make sure you do not head down that path.
With that in mind Percival I would highly suggest you not make another comment towards SouthPacific or about SouthPacific. Period. I suggest you just go on posting and pretend he is not in this thread. And vice versa to be clear. If you make another flamebait comment there will be harsher consequences than a friendly warning. Thank you. |
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Desslok
Posts: 178 |
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That's a damn shame. Not so much that I have a desire to get Darker Than Black or anything, just that Aniplex is so ass-backwards in their releasing. This isn't 1998 and I refuse to buy anime in a 1998 manner at 1998 prices.
I'd love to have Kill La Kill on my shelf. There is no way that I'm spending 200+ bucks for a series that is "Eh, I wouldn't mind having that" at best. |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4577 |
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...why should anyone spend more money on less content? And why shouldn't consumers want the most bang for their buck? I'm not sure if you have some sort of cultural or preference disconnect going here or what, but I find it really odd that you'd be perplexed by those sorts of attitudes. At least in the parts of society I'm familiar with, consumers always want to stretch their dollar as far as possible. It's why people clip coupons and look for sale prices at the supermarket. It's why people buy three-pound jugs of peanut butter at Costco. It's why everyone gets so nutty over Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the like. It's why a whole bunch of us groan every time Lord Gaben fires up another Steam sale and starts throwing around huge percentage discounts. It's why people in the Retail folder get pumped when RightStuf announces the next 40% off publisher sale. Consumers want to spend as little on what they purchase as is reasonably possible, just as retailers want to make as much money off consumers as is reasonably possible. I think most of us could agree with that. Look, I know you place a very high value on image quality on the disks you buy. But I think you also know by now that many of us do not place as high a value on it, and instead place a higher value on stretching our budgets over multiple series purchases. It doesn't make us any less of a fan...hell I'd argue that wanting to own as many series as possible makes us broader fans of the medium, as opposed to more ardent fans of a few particular series. I've heard people say that anime is a "luxury item," but the thing is, to me it's not: at least not any more or less than any other TV series or movie purchase, and certainly not in the same way a Rolls Royce is compared to a basic four-door sedan. As someone already pointed out, anime is already priced at a premium compared to domestic television series releases (yes I fully understand the reasons why), and we don't want to see that multiplied by two or three times more. You seem to want every series you buy to have the equivalent of a Criterion Collection release, but I'm just fine with the standard combo packs you can pick up at Target. I support the companies that can provide that to me, and I stand against those who seem to be actively seeking to withhold it from me. |
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mglittlerobin
 Posts: 1071 |
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So hsappy I found out Baccano is going out of print, using the last of my Christmas money to snag it off Amazon! Phew!
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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@Top Gun
For me, at least, when I really like a series, I want to own the best possible release for it. And I want as much money to go to the creators/producers as possible. In that regard, I would much rather have the option to spend $300+ on a Collector's release, rather than $50 for a standard Blu-ray set(having both options is definitely ideal). Spending $70 on Sentai's release of From The New World was actually a disappointment, not something to be happy about. I wanted to spend so much more on that series! And I wanted to have video extras, interviews, an artbox, and all of that good stuff. That's why I import a lot of sets. Still holding out for the day that everyone just starts Subtitling their JP releases. |
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Razor/Edge
Posts: 607 |
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But plenty of people are, and that's the people they are aiming for. They all but sad they don't care about those that can't afford their prices. But why should they? They are continuously making a large enough profit that they don't need to lower their prices. I've taken enough economics classes to know how supply and demand works. Now, i'm not saying this system doesn't completely suck, because it does, and I hate Aniplex as much as most people here. But I understand what they're doing. A boycott of a national company, no matter in what industry, just isn't possible and isn't going to happen in this day and age. I can't think of single successful boycott in the past 30-40 years. We can't run Aniplex out of business. People want the shows they release too badly, and plenty of people can pay for it. I'm really surprised we haven't seen any more Japanese companies take the plunge into the R1 market. Pony Canyon doesn't have nearly the line up Aniplex does, but there are still over companies that are making great shows that are being licensed by Funimation and Sentai. Even if a bunch of Japanese companies did enter the market, as long as they streamed their shows in the right places and only released collector's edition-style physical releases, I don't think it would be the death of the R1 market like most people seem to think it would be. I still predict that in less than 50 years, just about everything will go streaming/digital. Physical releases of entertainment products (games, movies, TV shows, anime, books, etc) will only consist of more expensive collectors editions for those that still want physical media. Some might be unsure of it now, but generation is embracing technology more and an all digital-future in inevitable. Since anime is such a niche market, I think it will probably one of the first entertainment genres to go completely by the Aniplex model in 15-20 years time. Aniplex does put their dubs on Netflix and Crunchyroll (which is about the only thing I like about them). Some might call me cynical, but those that are dreaming of a world where all anime series are available to buy with a dub for $30 need to wake up, because that's never going to happen. It would be nice, but those prices can't sustain a business. About Aniplex not rereleasing older stuff, it would really nice if they would release complete series of their older stuff. Heck, i'd pay $70-$90 dollars for a complete Madoka series blu ray release. But the only things they have rereleased that I can remember are Durara and Garden of Sinners (for an even more expensive price than the original release, IIRC). I think jacking up the price of rereleases is just pure greed on the companies part (whether it be anime or other entertainment medium). I hope Aniplex doesn't just sit all on these series they are obviously trying to get back. |
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AnimeLordLuis
 Posts: 1626 Location: The Borderlands of Pandora |
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Well I'm glad that I Got Darker the Than Black complete collection when I did and I prefer Funimation's sales method over that of Aniplex of course Funimation's prices have risen a bit as of late probably because of the deal with universal whether or not the quality of their Home Video releases goes up I have no idea but it wouldn't surprise me.
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EnigmaticSky
 Posts: 750 |
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If people don't buy what are widely considered overprices sets, they'll have to make them cheaper; it sends a message and that benefits every consumer. The same goes whether it's paying for anime or videogames with "season-passes" or whatever nonsense was in that Star Wars Battlefront game. I don't know why anyone would advocate for the side that lets the average consumer have less anime. We're all fans, don't draw lines in the sand.
As far as Darker than Black goes, I have heard mixed things, but this could have longterm consequences to watch for. |
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louis6578
 Posts: 1862 |
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So, guys. New marketing strategy with buying old Funimation titles. Buy two copies of an older (7 years or older) show. One for yourself. Another to sell off Amazon or Ebay for a hundred dollars more than it's worth in case it runs out of print.
Pro tip: Go back in time and tell yourselves to buy two copies of any ADV, Bandai, or Geneon releases. |
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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I'm guessing they have their sights set on Fullmetal Alchemist due to how iconic it's become to western anime fans. I really hope not though. I'm sure FUNimation will fight tooth and nail to keep it.
Yeah, that's how I'd see myself too if anime goes out of my budget. As much as I like anime, there are things I like more, and those will take priority if I cannot afford anime, manga, and related goods. (Manga remains pretty cheap though, so at least there's that.) Selling to a small core audience willing to pay large amounts of money has never been a sustainable business practice, unless it's a luxury item, there are downstream competitors, AND the upstream companies genuinely care deeply about their customers (which is how companies like Aston-Martin and Fossil survive). Every business needs fresh blood, or else the consumers will grow old and die. Without low-price companies like FUNimation and Viz, expensive premium anime will go the way of model trains and anthology magazines.
This is how most people function in any industry. If you're going to start a business, you're going to have to be prepared to run it like a business, not a charity. Running a business is unforgiving and competitive. A business that cannot get an audience is a business that doesn't last long, regardless of what you're selling. I'm sure you've seen your fair share of mom-and-pop restaurants go out of business, only to be replaced by a McDonald's or a Starbucks or some other huge corporate chain, which proceeds to be more successful than the mom-and-pop restaurant ever was. The mom-and-pop owners took risks, they most likely knew the risks, and those risks didn't pay off. Simple as that.
I personally think the anime industry deserves a major market disruption. Disruptions like these are pretty common and are largely responsible for producing companies and products that reshape culture. Apple, in particular, is an expert at this. Google too. I'd go on to say that every company in the world that's big became big either by being the first to release something or made changes so drastic they became the new industry standard. I, for one, would not want to go back to a time when ketchup was runny, salty, had to be hand-stirred for six hours, and spoiled mere hours after bottling.
Yep, I don't. If I can enjoy the story, and the picture quality is decent enough to recognize the characters, that's good enough for me. On the flip side, I am surprised by people who will buy stuff like A Charlie Brown Christmas on Blu-Ray, a cartoon that was obviously meant to accomodate tiny TV screens with unstable reception in the 1960's and is visually simplistic and low-quality as a result. To me, it is the equivalent of eating a Taco Bell taco using designer forks and knives.
That makes me wonder: Could the industry make a compromise/transition by offering multiple editions of a particular series, with different price points, different features, and different quality levels, aimed at different subsections of the market? The people who want value can go for the normal editions, and the people willing to pay more for higher quality can buy the premium editions. That mention of the Criterion Collection reminded me of such--I can buy Criterion Collection editions of Alfred Hitchcock films, or I can buy that bare-bones Hitchcock collection containing 16 films of his for $50 (which is what I did). There are probably releases in between too. It would require understanding the consumers more intimately than most anime localization companies do presently though. |
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