UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread

[serpantino]

I presumed the @ is part of the symbol of a French company collaborating or editing anime limited's UK releases I admit I don't know how much of a presence they have in France as I don't really import from there.

 

[Rui]

I think it's a fair bet at this point that SpaceDandy is from France, and as Andrew indicated earlier things haven't gone well and they are going to work hard over the next few years to rebuild their rep.

We've actually been quite spoiled here in the UK, Andrew was feeding us info all the way. We've had trivial errors that while annoying are basically trivial, and we've had major issues that AL have been upfront on and are dealing with. (e.g. I just got my replacement bebop discs).

Rui mentioned possibly discussing French releases here, that might be interesting but might also be a minefield given how it seems UK and French fans perceive AL.

I assumed our visitors from across the channel were only going to stay to pass their complaints about the @anime staff on to Andrew. If they're going to stay longer and feel they aren't being listened to over there, we can easily set up a [French Anime Distributor] @Anime Discussion Thread or something (unstickied) for people to discuss the problems and solutions in France in more depth without derailing this thread. Hopefully Andrew is passing the complaints on to the French team though, so they'll reach out and build a better relationship with the fans over there the way we have things here.

R

 

[AntAce]

I don't mind fans posting about French releases here if the Anime Limited folks don't - it's interesting to see how things are different over there - but please be more respectful.

Civility is a must, but I don't think we should be beholden to Andrew regarding what we discuss vis-a-vis Anime Limited. He might be the El Presidente of anime distribution, but he's just another forumite here.

That said, their Space Dandy CE release is great. Keep up the good work, Andrew, Jeremy and everyone else in the office!

 

[GolGotha]

I believe I have the right to express my opinion and say that this logo looks terrible. It's ruining the spine & boxart on all the titles released so far. The worst being Cat's Eye. it's literally EVERYWHERE.

Oh god, that cover is just horrendous! Well at least the UK release hasn't got any ugly logos ruining the artwork, oh wait...

 

[Mangaranga]

I know this has nothing to do with what's currently being discussed, but the audio issue that affects Gurren Lagann's Japanese tracks also affects Cowboy Bebop.
I just did a check of the glitched scene on episode 2 for the new disc and the old one from the UK set, but noticed the dub audio sounded wrong on both. I compared it to Funi's BD and that sounds fine in comparison.
I never noticed since the last time I watched Bebop it would have been through ordinary crappy TV speakers.
Did you ever find out what caused this?

 

[SpaceDandy]

My goal is not to discuss about the french release in this thread at all, I was just trying to guess what could be one of the next announcement (Mr. Partridge was teasing some new titles few posts above my first message). I just assumed it may be a title released in both countries and thought I would share with you what was shown there. I also explained the reason why I believe(d?) such thing (and I criticized the logo because I had the opportunity and that was on subject).

Do I need to dig up in the Beez thread to show that france was also discussed from time to time…? You guys strangely didn't mind at the time. :wink:

 

[anime_andrew]

While I'm glad to hear from new posters and Andrew has been very forthcoming in giving proper attention to complaints, would it be possible to avoid coming to the forum just to post insults about titles (and logos, apparently) which there's no real evidence even relate to the conversation?

The logo used on all france-only releases:

I believe I have the right to express my opinion and say that this logo looks terrible. It's ruining the spine & boxart on all the titles released so far. The worst being Cat's Eye. it's literally EVERYWHERE.

Clarifying the ? if it wasn't clear - we're not releasing it in the UK as it's managed by 101 Films and I've no interest in nudging in on their property . I'd also say our box is a multiple of times better than the existing UK artwork too (no offence intended to anyone involved in it's design!)

I'm sorry to hear our logo is not to your taste - I can think of plenty I don't like too so know how that feels! If you'd like to design us a proposed one better to your liking, I will of course take that in mind or I can come round and personally TipEx it out from our boxes that you own if that helps .

Hope this clears it up .

Andrew

 

[anime_andrew]

I think in terms of Anime Ltd's releases to date, I think Kill La Kill definitely represents the most consistent package for me:

Normal Blu-Ray size (important for shelf space)
Nice book
Quality of materials/card
Imagery used

(although I would say the price is a little on the high side compared to episode count, but understand the issues with this in terms of the long-term release strategy for the series)

That aside, I think the Patema set is absolutely stunning and represented incredible value for money, although again, it does irk me slightly that it's not regular size. The quality of materials used for the case itself is just such a step on from the Gurren Lagann set.

I think special mention has to go to Time of Eve too, just for getting a regular sized special edition so right - nice and simple, but really beautifully done.

In terms of ongoing strategy - I'm all for more license rescues. If someone asked me my No. 1 wish for the UK anime industry, it'd be that there is always a domestic edition available for all the 'big-name' shows (eg. the landmark titles that you'd recommend to people to see). I hate seeing stuff OOP/unavailable, and hopefully over the next couple of years we can see that rectified a bit.

I keep meaning to post something on all of this but yeah we're coming to a few conclusions for 2015:

1. What we do with books is awesome, I don't see a day that we won't try and do that being a thing.

2. It may be a good way to proceed by putting a KLK-sized box inside along with the book in a kind of "holding box" that fans can get rid of if they like or can use to store both within.

3. Logo on spine for folks is important - we hear folks loud and clear there!

Re strategy too - definitely on my agenda here anyway!

Andrew

 

[anime_andrew]

I know this has nothing to do with what's currently being discussed, but the audio issue that affects Gurren Lagann's Japanese tracks also affects Cowboy Bebop.
I just did a check of the glitched scene on episode 2 for the new disc and the old one from the UK set, but noticed the dub audio sounded wrong on both. I compared it to Funi's BD and that sounds fine in comparison.
I never noticed since the last time I watched Bebop it would have been through ordinary crappy TV speakers.
Did you ever find out what caused this?

That is weird - because completely different authoring houses, different licensors and different sets of material mean it's got to be something specific then. Honestly I've never noticed it on Bebop but can go back and look! Didn't get to the bottom before but that does narrow it down in a way so big thanks!

Anyone else spotted that with Bebop?

Andrew

 

[jonno394]

2. It may be a good way to proceed by putting a KLK-sized box inside along with the book in a kind of "holding box" that fans can get rid of if they like or can use to store both within.

Hi can you clarify what you mean by this? Are you referring to ue/ce. The "get rid of" statement concerns me a little as makes me imagine y guys replacing the boxes you use with a lower quality throw away box. Thanks.

 

[black1blade]

For baccano (because art book doesn't seem to be possible) would just having an amaray or digi pack in a hard box (similar to the bebop collectors edition) be okay? I'm a bit of a skint-o and I only have £70 left from Christmas for stuff over the whole year (£40 of which will be for xenoblade x) so I think a RRP of £40 would be reasonable .

 

[anime_andrew]

For baccano (because art book doesn't seem to be possible) would just having an amaray or digi pack in a hard box (similar to the bebop collectors edition) be okay? I'm a bit of a skint-o and I only have £70 left from Christmas for stuff over the whole year (£40 of which will be for xenoblade x) so I think a RRP of £40 would be reasonable .

Spot on in fact - for Baccano - it'll be SRP £49.99 I'd expect right now so that should put it around £30 on Amazon probably . Working on a potential pre-order bonus for that right now while we await video data...

Not that I don't want to do an Ultimate - but I can't as assets are very tight on it due to the original illustrator (who is amazing but also pretty strict alas).

Best,

Andrew

 

[anime_andrew]

2. It may be a good way to proceed by putting a KLK-sized box inside along with the book in a kind of "holding box" that fans can get rid of if they like or can use to store both within.

Hi can you clarify what you mean by this? Are you referring to ue/ce. The "get rid of" statement concerns me a little as makes me imagine y guys replacing the boxes you use with a lower quality throw away box. Thanks.

It's really a two choice issue:

1. We do a bigger box, holding regular sized box for the series (rigid) + the book at full size. What that box is really would be a bit up in the air as it's designed to keep the box + book safe just. In Japan they often use just a plain corrugated card box for this job.

2. Work out another way to store the regular sized digipack, amaray or steelbook in the larger rigid case (ala what we do right now on an Ultimate.

Either way we'll figure it out but hope that makes sense . Just brainstorming right now really!

Andrew

 

[jonno394]

Are you referring to the Ultimate Editions? Ideally i'd like the UE outer boxes to stay the same size as and same quality as the three you've already released just for continuities sake with regards to displaying them and because I think they're awesome. The internal digipack is something I have no qualms with being changed as long as they aren't loose, maybe some filler card the size of the book with the digipack/amaray/steel inside etc?

That being said, if you went with option one (with a lesser box just to hold the contents in) then a KlK quality artbox inside for the film/series itself, It would make all your releases fit in line together on my shelves but then I'd have to find somewhere for the book

Either way i'm sure you guys will come up with something good, I just think you've gone from strength to strength with the aesthetics of your releases of late, look to see that continue!

 

[BanzaiJedi]

My OCD insists on keeping all DVDs/BDs together in alphabetical order, but my shelves are only 22cm high x 15cm wide so I've only been able to buy the CE or SE of your releases so far. I've been struggling to find a way to accommodate the Patema and Giovanni UEs but haven't found a solution yet. Keeping the book separate would solve this problem (for me at least) and I quite like the idea of having a bookshelf full of nice hardback artbooks. I was going to suggest putting the digi and book in a plastic bag (old gaming magazine style) but a throw-away box would keep everything safer while it's in the post (although I would probably end up filling a drawer somewhere with them :roll: ). In any case I'm a big admirer of the UE books you've done so far so I'll be watching any changes you make in the future with great interest (especially for FMP :wink: ).

 

[qaiz]

Spot on in fact - for Baccano - it'll be SRP £49.99 I'd expect right now so that should put it around £30 on Amazon probably . Working on a potential pre-order bonus for that right now while we await video data...

Not that I don't want to do an Ultimate - but I can't as assets are very tight on it due to the original illustrator (who is amazing but also pretty strict alas).

Best,

Andrew

So I take it that the steelbook consideration was pushed aside? Makes sense, but I do hope that again down the line that could be looked into with a more appropriate release (say a nice movie since it'll just be one disc and you won't have to delve into those jumbo sized monsters ). I wonder what the pre-order bonus is. They’re a bit strange to do properly. On one hand it sucks that people who missed out on pre-orders due to funds and other circumstances out of their hands miss out on material, but on the other hand it incentivises people to order it early and gives the early birds a bit of an extra. I look forward to seeing how you approach it.

Do you see yourself easing up on the premium releases as times goes on? It seems pretty strenuous from the outside looking in and I wonder how long that can hold. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Anime Limited have gained a reputation of sorts for higher end releases in the UK (especially compared to your competition, who also do a great job! No need for me to bring them down!) and although you’ve gone into standard releases where it made sense (Garden of Words for example) as well as titles that come in both sides (Space Dandy and soon Perfect Blue) at least from my perspective, the high end releases are the definitive editions. The ones to buy, so to speak. As such, because I missed out on the CE Perfect Blue, I’ll also skip out on the standard release, but that’s beside the point

With future CE and LE releases, as we’ve often discussed many times, form factor is key. It’s really tough to nail. There’s often this idea that bigger is better. Bigger is worth more. And whether that’s a psychological thing or otherwise, it’s pretty true right? You feel like you’re getting your money’s worth with the Japanese Lagann release. That thing is a beast. But I guess it’s also materials right? Big flimsy cardboard is bad, and at that point you’d rather have something small and solid like the KLK release you did. Of course something of that size wouldn’t work for a full 25 episode release but you get the point. Finding the perfect middle ground is key here. For a release that is staggered and in parts, KLK seems to be perfect. Small and solid, but still comes with all the extra stuff that makes it more than a normal release (book, digi-pak etc) all wrapped up with some nice artwork. For a movie that’s a bit risky, Garden of Words is also perfect. Comes in an amaray that’s in a colour other than the usual blue that makes it standout a bit (although I know some people don’t like that too much ). I think the Gurren Lagann type release is where the work needs to be improved a bit. For a bigger release that needs to be…well big in size I think maybe looking into different form factors would be interesting. The Japanese Bebop Blu-ray size compared to the Japanese releases of Patlabor (standard Amaray) for example:

As I said previously in other threads, standard Amarays (maybe a different colour like Black) in a nice, high-quality box with beautiful art-work…works too! I just feel like elongating the KLK set wouldn’t work and doesn’t look too nice. Once you go bigger or smaller than a standard amaray, it makes sense to take some liberties with the dimensions like you see with the Bebop and Lagann sets above and below.

I’m just rambling, maybe a bit contradictory here and there but just trying to articulate my feelings on things so far. Take care.

 

[anime_andrew]

So I take it that the steelbook consideration was pushed aside? Makes sense, but I do hope that again down the line that could be looked into with a more appropriate release (say a nice movie since it'll just be one disc and you won't have to delve into those jumbo sized monsters ). I wonder what the pre-order bonus is. They’re a bit strange to do properly. On one hand it sucks that people who missed out on pre-orders due to funds and other circumstances out of their hands miss out on material, but on the other hand it incentivises people to order it early and gives the early birds a bit of an extra. I look forward to seeing how you approach it.

Steelbooks are doable but on 3 discs it's awkward I gather and worse, the graphics assets don't really make much sense for it given how it looks when printed. It feels like it wouldn't do the steel book justice vs the costs.

Do you see yourself easing up on the premium releases as times goes on? It seems pretty strenuous from the outside looking in and I wonder how long that can hold. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Anime Limited have gained a reputation of sorts for higher end releases in the UK (especially compared to your competition, who also do a great job! No need for me to bring them down!) and although you’ve gone into standard releases where it made sense (Garden of Words for example) as well as titles that come in both sides (Space Dandy and soon Perfect Blue) at least from my perspective, the high end releases are the definitive editions. The ones to buy, so to speak. As such, because I missed out on the CE Perfect Blue, I’ll also skip out on the standard release, but that’s beside the point

I don't see that happening no, better to focus on content we know we can do in Collector's and work through the strain than to take titles we push out only on standard. Long term that model wouldn't work and there's no point band-wagon'ing now. We'll keep experimenting with the model for where the standard edition fits in vs licensor restrictions though.

So TL;DR - nope and I'd hope people don't want us to either. We remain committed to improving and iterating on what we do though .

With future CE and LE releases, as we’ve often discussed many times, form factor is key. It’s really tough to nail. There’s often this idea that bigger is better. Bigger is worth more. And whether that’s a psychological thing or otherwise, it’s pretty true right? You feel like you’re getting your money’s worth with the Japanese Lagann release. That thing is a beast. But I guess it’s also materials right? Big flimsy cardboard is bad, and at that point you’d rather have something small and solid like the KLK release you did. Of course something of that size wouldn’t work for a full 25 episode release but you get the point. Finding the perfect middle ground is key here. For a release that is staggered and in parts, KLK seems to be perfect. Small and solid, but still comes with all the extra stuff that makes it more than a normal release (book, digi-pak etc) all wrapped up with some nice artwork. For a movie that’s a bit risky, Garden of Words is also perfect. Comes in an amaray that’s in a colour other than the usual blue that makes it standout a bit (although I know some people don’t like that too much ). I think the Gurren Lagann type release is where the work needs to be improved a bit. For a bigger release that needs to be…well big in size I think maybe looking into different form factors would be interesting. The Japanese Bebop Blu-ray size compared to the Japanese releases of Patlabor (standard Amaray).

We've already committed to improving the form factor on Ultimate's largely and continuing for a simple reason that it's not that "bigger = better" but the quality of book you can provide at the size we have is much better than a DVD book. One you're perhaps likely to read or leave on a coffee table and the other, at least I find, likely to sit in the box after a cursory glance. It's not that it's bad to do if you're doing in that size ala Kill la Kill but for an edition it makes sense for, a full(er) sized book just feels right.

Not so important all the other parts come at that size hence my idea to alter the packaging to cater to that perhaps .

As I said previously in other threads, standard Amarays (maybe a different colour like Black) in a nice, high-quality box with beautiful art-work…works too! I just feel like elongating the KLK set wouldn’t work and doesn’t look too nice. Once you go bigger or smaller than a standard amaray, it makes sense to take some liberties with the dimensions like you see with the Bebop and Lagann sets above and below.

I agree - dimensionally KLK wouldn't work elongated but then the whole point is when designing an Ultimate size is not to just take a regular sized one and scale, as you get weird results .

Either way - we have it in mind and thoughts welcome !

AP

 

[qaiz]

Steelbooks are doable but on 3 discs it's awkward I gather and worse, the graphics assets don't really make much sense for it given how it looks when printed. It feels like it wouldn't do the steel book justice vs the costs.

Thanks for the reply. I really hope that my long posts aren’t too much of a bother for you! I'll try to condense them in the future and make them easier on the eye. I guess I get carried away a bit ha.

In any case I agree with what you're saying in regards to steelbooks. I actually like them and buy them when they look nice and make sense. I own the Akira and GITS steelbooks, the Ghibli steelbooks as well as some live action steelbooks and some games and such and they do look really nice in my opinion when done right and when coupled with the some nice art. It can be hard getting the right art for them I agree. I think a killer combo of a nice colour scheme and some nice art all in all can make for a stunning package. It does however open up some issues in regards to people receiving them dented and wanting replacements and such and I have no idea on how much they cost to produce in such quantities and I'm sure you've done the numbers and have had a more insightful look at them.

All in all, with the way releases like KLK turned out, I think I’d be fine with you sticking with that type of package but I hope that steelbooks aren’t totally off the tables when the right property comes along (I think Perfect Blue might have been a good one for this kind of release, but as I heard the CE you released went over well I think you might have made the correct choice).

I don't see that happening no, better to focus on content we know we can do in Collector's and work through the strain than to take titles we push out only on standard. Long term that model wouldn't work and there's no point band-wagon'ing now. We'll keep experimenting with the model for where the standard edition fits in vs licensor restrictions though.

So TL;DR - nope and I'd hope people don't want us to either. We remain committed to improving and iterating on what we do though .

I'm glad; I appreciate the work that you put into your releases. As I've pointed out in other threads, physical releases by and large are a thing for the enthusiasts these days and although there is a market for casual buyers clearly, it seems that going head first into the high end seems to be the best way to go about it (of course where it makes sense).

We've already committed to improving the form factor on Ultimate's largely and continuing for a simple reason that it's not that "bigger = better" but the quality of book you can provide at the size we have is much better than a DVD book. One you're perhaps likely to read or leave on a coffee table and the other, at least I find, likely to sit in the box after a cursory glance. It's not that it's bad to do if you're doing in that size ala Kill la Kill but for an edition it makes sense for, a full(er) sized book just feels right.

Not so important all the other parts come at that size hence my idea to alter the packaging to cater to that perhaps .

I will say, and this is just me so I may be alone in this but I really appreciate the sentiment with books that are bundled with high end releases but never actually read them. Whether it's with CE/LE games or movies or anime in general I find that I really like the idea of a book but never take them out of the box. I guess I'm in the minority here. The question then is what else do you bundle in? I mean books make sense, it’s a physical item that can contain a plethora of into and titbits and images and such that actually benefit the fans. I've heard good things about the Giovanni's Island Book but don't own that release so I guess the sentiment is appreciated by many so if that's what the audience wants well I guess they've spoken.

Soundtracks can be brought separate, postcards are just postcards and little things like key rings and such memorabilia just get lost and never used because who's gonna actually use a limited item that will get damaged am I right?

I guess I don't have an answer and I guess books it is! Film reels and douga cuts are cool items but I guess they could be presented in a book too

Don’t get me wrong, a nice book is nice even if you never read it and just plop it on your shelf. It looks nice (and makes you look more diverse and interesting lol ) but I think people into that sort of thing would just import these types of books from CDJapan and such import sites anyways?

With video games it’s a bit easier, for example one of my favourite items I got with a LE was the Gold Wii remote with the Zelda game. That’s an item that is of actual use. What’s the equivalent with a movie? I guess a book. In any case I’m sure you’re all hard at work on your next releases and I look forward to seeing how they turn out and how the Anime Limited releases evolve over time.

 

[black1blade]

For baccano (because art book doesn't seem to be possible) would just having an amaray or digi pack in a hard box (similar to the bebop collectors edition) be okay? I'm a bit of a skint-o and I only have £70 left from Christmas for stuff over the whole year (£40 of which will be for xenoblade x) so I think a RRP of £40 would be reasonable .

Spot on in fact - for Baccano - it'll be SRP £49.99 I'd expect right now so that should put it around £30 on Amazon probably . Working on a potential pre-order bonus for that right now while we await video data...

Not that I don't want to do an Ultimate - but I can't as assets are very tight on it due to the original illustrator (who is amazing but also pretty strict alas).

Best,

Andrew

Okay cool. I will probably go for a bebop ultimate if it has the movie and soundtrack in it. CE are a nice middle ground between affordable and the nice (but very expensive) premium editions Japanese companies put out. The collector edition feel a lot better than standard amarays which feel a bit bare to me. I will happily pay £50 for 13 episodes of something that I really like and there are certain things (probably mainly movies) that I would go for the Japanese price if I really, really, really liked it.

 

[windcott]

Man, if anime limited released elfen lied on bd, fixed the audio issues with the us release, and gave it a collectors treatment, that'd be the dream