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NEWS: Navarre Announces Financial Results for 2007-2008

minakichan wrote:

So in a world in which Geneon has kicked the bucket, ADV has some kind of mild cancer, and Tokyopop is undergoing massive surgery, Funimation is improving, for various reasons. Conclusion: sky is not falling.

The sky is still falling.
Sort of.
Issue is Funi had their bout with cancer a few yrs back while the industry was booming so they had some wiggle room. I was seriously worried for them for a couple yrs as DBZ was winding down & they seemed to be looking for their next big title. Blue Gender didn't do much for me. I loved Fruits Basket & pitched it to everyone & anyone, but it didn't seem to take off until they boxed it (Everyone seemed put off by the $35 price tag for 7 eps back then). I'm sure Case Closed being licensed was only because they were looking for another DBZ-style lenthy series & Toei wanted a King's Ransom for One Piece.
But they made it thru, discovered they could go with shorter titles & seem to have adjusted their outlook/style so that now times are tough, they're in place to do well. I really believe they are a better company for all the hardship they went thru finding their direction.
ADV has hit some speed bumps here & there, but it doesn't seem to have hit until this latest incident. They & Geneon both have done layoffs in the past. I really still consider Geneon's demise was more the Japanese parent company & believe they'd still be here if not for stuff that went on in their corporate structure which is very sad for all involved on this side of the Pacific. ADV could have taken those prior speed bumps & learned as Funi seemed to, but they seem to have continued in the Big Fish mode until the lake water dried seriously enough as to affect their swimming.

Not once did i say that they were going to later release a hybrid dvd later and Bandai did say that with Gurran that they are doing subtitle now and then in 2009 they were going to do a dub version release.

I believe that maybe one day we might see more dubs on series that been released as sub only but right now with the market the way it is, I think it is a smart option. Only time will tell what will happen and did they make the right choice.
But here is the here is the thing let me ask you this what do a company have to do to make money. Do they A,adapt to the market and get subs out for people to and try to stop people downloading fansubs. or B let do business the old way and then we spend all this time making money and then the market changes and we are now in trouble because it takes two years for the series to get here. To me I think option A is abetter choice as a business.

Companies were spending to much money to release a series with both a dub and subtitles. ( Do not get me wrong I do like series some series that are dub.) But If a business has a option that I can sell 600 copies to people now with a subtitle copy and make x amount of dollars or wait two years and get a dub out and hope that maybe I make my money back with the 350 dvds sold. Look at the Right Stuf model that was done on Super Gals season two. They did 600 people pre-order and it paid to have the series imported and it worked. That why they are doing it with other niche shows like aria and emma and maria watches over us. These titles would have never seen the light of day if the model does not work. It also has work for media blasters with simoun. I used to be a diehard dub fan and then as I got into anime more i found that I had to change to watch more anime.
Part of the problems is that we live in a time were people want to have the series now not two years later. Either we as anime fans have to change too and except that the model changes or we will go down in flames and I for one am willing to change.

I agree, but in this day and age there is no good reason why they have to wait 2 years, or even 12 months to get a dub out. They could easily get one done in three months if started as soon as the sub is released as well. I remember a studio rep saying that they could get 13 episodes done in a month if need be, so 2 years is like what it took back in the 90's and a bit of an old sub only cliché now. Besides all that seems just a lame excuse now with FUNi's reported success. I can change when change is necessary, but not when it's unnecessary and forced upon me. Can you tell me the total hits it got on fansubs? If 600 is all they are ever going to get with a sub only when it had several thousand hits. It's like trying to sell sand to the Saudi's. I can't see why they would bother in the first place, unless that is their plan, to be a small business working out of a bedroom with a big garage downstrairs, and a Post Office close by, which is just fine, well , and good. But if they want me to part with my hard earned brass they better offer something I want, because there's plenty others who will.

..., but i'm still pissed at Gonzo for thier strict anti-piracy policies.

I agree, but in this day and age there is no good reason why they have to wait 2 years, or even 12 months to get a dub out. They could easily get one done in three months if started as soon as the sub is released as well. I remember a studio rep saying that they could get 13 episodes done in a month if need be, so 2 years is like what it took back in the 90's and a bit of an old sub only cliché now. Besides all that seems just a lame excuse now with FUNi's reported success. I can change when change is necessary, but not when it's unnecessary and forced upon me. Can you tell me the total hits it got on fansubs? If 600 is all they are ever going to get with a sub only when it had several thousand hits. It's like trying to sell sand to the Saudi's. I can't see why they would bother in the first place, unless that is their plan, to be a small business working out of a bedroom with a big garage downstrairs, and a Post Office close by, which is just fine, well , and good. But if they want me to part with my hard earned brass they better offer something I want, because there's plenty others who will.

Even though the last english episode of the show aired five years ago, DBZ continues to be FUNimation's cash cow. They've re-released the series about 1000 times in various formats. The uncut season sets they've been doing have been selling well, and even when they bring all of them out, the party's still not over, because then they can start all over again releasing the series on Blu-Ray.

Their success is not all due to DBZ, of course, but the way FUNi has treated this franchise should really be an example to other companies. They've really milked it quite expertly over the years.

I am glad to see Funimation boxsets. I remember when they seemed quite scared to release boxsets. Now they release them fairly quickly and I eat them up.

I'm MORE surprised that an anime company is actually showing some numbers! Anime companies are very hush hush. Than again Navarre is doing it, not Funi.

Viga_of_stars wrote:

I'm MORE surprised that an anime company is actually showing some numbers! Anime companies are very hush hush. Than again Navarre is doing it, not Funi.

Yes, regularly releasing financial numbers does help put things into prospective. I'm not exactly sure whom most of the industry is hiding the numbers from. But a bit more transparency couldn't hurt.

Now one could argue that in effect, hard-core anime DVD buyers act like stockholders to companies like ADV

samuelp wrote:

Now one could argue that in effect, hard-core anime DVD buyers act like stockholders to companies like ADV

Actually in business that is what we call a stakeholder, not stockholder. Any person that has a deep seeded need for either the products a company makes, or the financial success of a business without actually owning stock, is a stakeholder. How does one meet the requirements of the latter you ask? Think of someone that owns a mall. That person has no ownership over the businesses that buy space in the mall. However, that owner has an interest that those businesses are financially successful or they will all move out and the mall will shut down.