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NEWS: Funimation Uploads Entire Black Blood Brothers Anime


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MH Knights



Joined: 27 Feb 2002
Posts: 71
Location: Madison, WI
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:52 pm Reply with quote
Props to Funimation for taking a huge chance on this. I think digital downloads are the future and it will be interesting to see if Funimations does well with this.

But what companies really need to do it release subs as close to the original Japanese airing as possible. It would require a lot of co-operation between the JP liscensors and NA distributors but I think it would cut into the digi-sub market a good chunk. I would gladly pay a dollar or two an episode if it meant professional translations and consistant releases. Plus the original creators get a chunk of the profit.

I am surpised no Japanese studios have tried to sub their own work and sell it to international audiences. This would reaaly be for the more obscure stuff that has a following but not enough to get the attention of an international distributor.
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zetsuie



Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 193
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:18 pm Reply with quote
MH Knights wrote:
Props to Funimation for taking a huge chance on this. I think digital downloads are the future and it will be interesting to see if Funimations does well with this.

But what companies really need to do it release subs as close to the original Japanese airing as possible. It would require a lot of co-operation between the JP liscensors and NA distributors but I think it would cut into the digi-sub market a good chunk. I would gladly pay a dollar or two an episode if it meant professional translations and consistant releases. Plus the original creators get a chunk of the profit.

I am surpised no Japanese studios have tried to sub their own work and sell it to international audiences. This would reaaly be for the more obscure stuff that has a following but not enough to get the attention of an international distributor.
omg dont ever hope for engrish subtitles

also the biggest problem with releasing subs right after being aired in japan is that most series arent even licensed a month after the first episode airing but all in all the pricing is pretty good considering u can download all the episodes for the price of one dvd at FYE (except for one time where i got 5 volumes of detective conan for under 2$ for each volume..... that was a good day)

I wonder if this will change the way people professionally review series if it catches on or if we will see reviews for each volume
personally i'd rather read a review for an entire series rather than one review per volume
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Nebs



Joined: 19 Jul 2003
Posts: 384
Location: University of Illinois
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:36 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Viz Media released Death Note as download-to-own videos via Direct2Drive and TotalVid last year. (Death Note was also streamed online on Toonami Jetstream.)


Not quite right. Death Note is currently streaming on Adult Swim's website with new eps every week, not on Toonami Jetstream.
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bob_loblaw



Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 229
Location: Tanning in Hell
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:45 pm Reply with quote
MH Knights wrote:
But what companies really need to do it release subs as close to the original Japanese airing as possible. It would require a lot of co-operation between the JP liscensors and NA distributors but I think it would cut into the digi-sub market a good chunk.


In the recent ICv2 interview with Gen Fukanaga, of Funimation, he touched on this and said that North American (NA) companies would be taking an "added risk" if they chose this route.

And I kinda agree with him.

AFAIK, most TV anime episodes aren't completed in a, uh, "timely" manner; to put it lightly. For example, an episode that's scheduled to air on a Thursday night---let's say---might not be "in can" (completed) until Wednesday. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that some of the most popular shows have had their episodes completed with only hours to spare.

A NA company would have to take a huge gamble that the property they're simulatenously releasing with the Japanese doesn't:

A) Bomb/get canceled, due to low ratings and loss of advertising
B) Take a dramatic turn for the worse, storywise and/or quality-wise

Imagine being the company that hooked up with Gonzo on the ground floor for Final Fantasy Unlimited. You decide to subtitle and release downloadable episodes of the the series, only days after airing, to North American consumers. Knowing how poorly that series turned out for the Japanese, you can see the inherent risk involved with such a decision.

Frankly, I think companies taking gambles like this to [hopefully] thwart digisub downloading would increase the chance of the R1 market collapsing further if not completely. The companies need to evaluate what new series are going to come out on top. And they need a few episodes or faith in the creative team before they take that kind of plunge.
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Xanas



Joined: 27 Aug 2007
Posts: 2058
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:01 pm Reply with quote
That argument applies just as much to the Japanese companies though. Almost anything can turn out to suck, and someone is paying for it. Aside from that, fansubbing groups are able to release subtitled downloads at almost no personal cost (a few request small donations per month to run the tracker). If the companies were to just use the people who already have an interest in doing this and pay them a little, the costs would be next to nothing.
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Dargonxtc



Joined: 13 Apr 2006
Posts: 4463
Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:05 pm Reply with quote
So $24 for the brand new series. Not bad. I am sure someone will come up with a reason to not buy it though.


Also Nebs is right.


-----------------------------------
Simulatenously releasing is a huge risky gamble for R1 companies, much more so than the JP side.
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cloud1989



Joined: 06 Sep 2004
Posts: 274
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:14 pm Reply with quote
although $24 is a good price I do have a reason not to buy it, and that would be because I am getting the DVD's. Of course thats a good price for the whole series and I would pay for something like this in the future if it was the only option to get it but I won't pay twice. What would be nice is to have some option that if you buy the whole downloaded series you got a coupon for a free volume one and in that way funimation is still ensuring they are getting paid for the series but the consumer isn't paying twice since the price of volume 1 is very close to what this series would cost to download.
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Furudanuki



Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 1874
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:42 pm Reply with quote
Dargonxtc wrote:
So $24 for the brand new series. Not bad. I am sure someone will come up with a reason to not buy it though.

Best reason I can think of is that I wasn't interested enough in this particular series to download any of the episodes when they were being fansubbed, so I'm not inclined to pay for them either. Razz Seriously though, I do hope this initial venture does well so that Funimation will consider making more series available. I might not be interested in a show like Black Blood Brothers, but if another Funimation series such as Ghost Hunt or Ouran High School Host Club is offered I'll be happy to send some cash in their direction.
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nkaze



Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 30
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:40 pm Reply with quote
Great pricing, great idea, great plan, HORRIBLE series. $1.99 seems like the price most people would pay for an episode, so keep up the game plan, and start putting up quality shows. I think it will definitely surpass DVD sales in the near future, if the right shows are made available.
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LordRobin



Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 354
Location: Akron, OH
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:48 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The videos require the Microsoft Windows XP or Vista operation system with Windows Media Player 9 for digital rights management, and can only be downloaded from an Internet address in the United States.

Yeah, figured as much. So I guess us Mac owners can take a flying leap... right into the arms of BitTorrent, I suppose.

------RM
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TsubomiKoneko



Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 247
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:52 pm Reply with quote
I just looked and it's pretty much the same price (actually more, but some places have it discounted) for 4 episodes on DVD than the 12 episodes total to download will cost...

While personally I'm one of those people that likes having something on DVD, I think it would have been a wiser idea for them to lower the price of the DVDs (this is actually an argument my boyfriend had against the idea of having the episodes payable to download, he didn't think it was fair for people who buy the DVD to have to pay so much more... o.o and this was even before it actually happened... I should probably keep this news away from him)...

I guess we'll see what happens though... it might work out well, and if it does then maybe this is something we'll see continue in the future. And if it doesn't work out, well, always good to try new things.
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MeggieMay



Joined: 08 Jun 2004
Posts: 607
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:10 pm Reply with quote
Nebs wrote:
Quote:
Viz Media released Death Note as download-to-own videos via Direct2Drive and TotalVid last year. (Death Note was also streamed online on Toonami Jetstream.)


Not quite right. Death Note is currently streaming on Adult Swim's website with new eps every week, not on Toonami Jetstream.


Correct and since Toonami Jetstream and Adult Swim Video are not even at the same web address someone needs to fix that ASAP IMO.
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britannicamoore



Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 2618
Location: Out.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:29 pm Reply with quote
Good job Funi! Another good idea. I don't to jump on this, but I will be buying the dvds when they come out.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:23 am Reply with quote
great idea. now let's do it with something good.

seriously i admire the effort, but Black Blood Brothers was mediocre as all hell. there are much better titles they could have experimented with.
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Xanas



Joined: 27 Aug 2007
Posts: 2058
PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:12 am Reply with quote
Furudanuki wrote:
Dargonxtc wrote:
So $24 for the brand new series. Not bad. I am sure someone will come up with a reason to not buy it though.

Best reason I can think of is that I wasn't interested enough in this particular series to download any of the episodes when they were being fansubbed, so I'm not inclined to pay for them either. Razz Seriously though, I do hope this initial venture does well so that Funimation will consider making more series available. I might not be interested in a show like Black Blood Brothers, but if another Funimation series such as Ghost Hunt or Ouran High School Host Club is offered I'll be happy to send some cash in their direction.


My thinking as well, it doesn't look very good from the graphics available.. I mean.. I don't want to sound totally shallow but I do have to like the art-style & animation a bit. Coming off things like Kanon & Clannad this show just doesn't look that appealing. I am actually pretty picky when it comes to what I'm willing to download. Downloading takes time and bandwidth that I prefer to use on something I may decide I like and want to buy, this doesn't look like that something to me.

And.. 2$ an episode would be a great value for digital episodes with a dub (you'd basically be cutting off 2-3$ per episode due to losing the physical media), but for a sub I've got to say it's just not that great IMO. Again I have to call for subscription services in the long run. This ugly DRM stuff is just not even slightly attractive to me. They are getting the right ideas, but the implementations are all wrong.
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