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Answerman - Will HIDIVE Be Able to Compete Against the Megacorps?


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therjabundo



Joined: 31 Oct 2021
Posts: 44
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 8:18 am Reply with quote
I'm very happy that Sentai Filmworks/HIDIVE has become more competitive again after struggling over the past two years. As a matter of fact, I've been watching more anime titles they have licensed than the ones licensed by Crunchyroll/Funimation this year alone, and I will absolutely root for Sentai to continue stepping up their game and grab more and bigger titles in the future. I will however say that they need to improve their HIDIVE app and make the catalog more presentable and work on their video player. Even better if they produce more dubs of the shows they license.

I'm certainly positive that Sentai/HIDIVE will prompt more fans to subscribe to them and support them when they do license more anticipated anime but it's still doubtful they will be on the level as the massive Crunchyroll distribution monopoly.
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b-dragon



Joined: 21 Apr 2021
Posts: 451
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 8:42 am Reply with quote
I just wish I could watch HIDIVE via my PS4- its my preferred viewing experience. That might be a non-starter due to Sony, but if it ever happened I'd pretty quickly subscribe. I have no idea how many people are in a similar situation though- it may not be enough of the market to really make sense, business-wise.
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Silver Kirin



Joined: 09 Aug 2018
Posts: 1119
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 9:51 am Reply with quote
It would be nice if HiDive could expand into other regions like Latin America like Crunchyroll and Funimation did, or at least not block the shows licenses in that region like they did with Urusei Yatsura. I mean, HiDive/Sentai was available in Latin America until early this year when they announced their departure, but their service was very lackluster compared to others like CR and Funi, and the few dubs they produced into Spanish were of very poor quality (eg.: Food Wars, Parasyte: The Maxim), and the subtitles weren't very good either. Now HiDive is only available in some select Latin American countries, but they have abandoned very important ones like Brazil. And speaking about Urusei Yatsura, their official subtitles in Neutral Spanish had some "interesting" translation choices.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8461
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:05 am Reply with quote
Well, IMO, the problem with HIDIVE is that it’s Sentai, and most of their catalog is a joke. Bad titles and worse dubs. They’ve got a few solid titles, but few worth subscribing for. You can watch the classic LoGH, at least, and Lupin III. Crunchyroll gets most of the good anime, though.
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njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 1161
Location: A River Named Toms
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:09 am Reply with quote
Ever since they picked up DanMachi I've subscribed. Other then their confusing home page I've had nary an issue with their service AND I enjoy most of what they've streamed. Competition is necessary and I'm 100% behind them.
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Apterous



Joined: 20 Mar 2005
Posts: 78
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:26 am Reply with quote
HIDIVE will forever be a service I pick up for a show that I REALLY want to watch and then cancel when that show is over. Crunchyroll will always have something I want to watch so I never cancel. If I'm on the edge or just browsing, I'll start with what I can watch on CR's deeper catalogues.

Side note: I find it fairly sad that the Urusei Yatsura reboot is considered a B-List show this season. I want to argue that it's not true, but in reality I haven't seen a major marketing push or significant merchandising behind it so it seems to be the case.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15309
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:30 am Reply with quote
Apt: I was hyped about UY, until I saw the OP. Looks like exactly what they're trying to parody.
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VinceA



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 126
Location: Bayonne, NJ
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:00 am Reply with quote
They've got the original LoGH and have had it since Day 1 of their service. They earned my subscription since then and they've done a pretty good job since then
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5424
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:09 am Reply with quote
Thanks for covering this topic.

I am cool if going forward HIDIVE/Sentai is going to license 12 shows each season. If out of those titles theyv pick up 4-5 quality B-tier titles, ocassionally pick up an A-tier title and dub 6 titles I will find it satisfactory.

For HIDIVE to compete with Crunchyroll I think it will need each season to stream 17-20 shows, get 3 A titles, get 8-10 quality B titles and at least do 10 simuldubs in a timely manner.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23771
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:09 am Reply with quote
I'm not sure if HiDive will be able to compete against the big streamers but I wish them the best of luck in their David vs Goliath struggle. Their sub price is cheap as chips so I don't mind supporting them.
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el_morris



Joined: 09 May 2018
Posts: 193
Location: Tijuana, México
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:26 am Reply with quote
As a customer from Latin America (I'm from México), I want Hidive to deliver every title they have available in our region with spanish subtitles, not only same day release simulcasts but what they added years ago, can you believe shows like Girls' Last Tour (2017) and O Maidens in your Savage Season (2019) still doesn't have spanish subtitles? Also yeah, their UI is a bad joke, with the so much mentioned competition the only platform that actually has made improvements in that matter is Crunchyroll, while Hidive has had the same crappy interface since they started five years ago. And finally I would like a localized price, because their service is billed in US dollars while other platforms have adjusted prices according our financial region, and the actual price they have is what a monthly subscription of Crunchyroll costs.

Silver Kirin wrote:
And speaking about Urusei Yatsura, their official subtitles in Neutral Spanish had some "interesting" translation choices.

What spanish subtitles? I've just checked Urusei Yatsura, it only has english in it
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The_Outsider



Joined: 09 Sep 2021
Posts: 35
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:26 am Reply with quote
I still don't understand how is it legal for a company to license a show for a territory they're not even operating in (i.e. Brazil, which usually gets separate licensing from the rest of LatAm), I've had to torrent both seasons of Machikado Mazoku because there's simply no way to watch them legally over here.

Basically it means we on LatAm have to pray they don't get their hands on anything good, otherwise we're either SOL or have to torrent stuff.


Last edited by The_Outsider on Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:29 am; edited 1 time in total
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JustMonika



Joined: 17 Jan 2022
Posts: 965
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:29 am Reply with quote
I'd say hell yes. I was just talking to a friend earlier about how HiDive has just as much to offer each season. He doesn't have it and I was trying to sell him on it. I'm more excited about it's content lately then Crunchyroll since they've been stepping it up thanks to the oil daddies at AMC. I paid $47 for a year subscription and got a free month. I mean that's a damn steal. Renai Flops, Urusei Yatsura, Akiba Maid War, Bibliophile Princess all at once in crazy.
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JustMonika



Joined: 17 Jan 2022
Posts: 965
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:30 am Reply with quote
b-dragon wrote:
I just wish I could watch HIDIVE via my PS4- its my preferred viewing experience. That might be a non-starter due to Sony, but if it ever happened I'd pretty quickly subscribe. I have no idea how many people are in a similar situation though- it may not be enough of the market to really make sense, business-wise.


I just cast stuff from my phone to television. I do it for both HiDive and Crunchyroll. So much easier than using TV or console apps.
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Silver Kirin



Joined: 09 Aug 2018
Posts: 1119
PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 12:08 pm Reply with quote
The_Outsider wrote:
Basically it means we on LatAm have to pray they don't get their hands on anything good, otherwise we're either SOL or have to torrent stuff.

Oh yeah, I was praying Crunchyroll or Netflix have obtained the rights for the Urusei Yatsura reboot, say what you want about monopolies or late releases, but it could have reached a wider audience and get dubbed in multiple languages.
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