UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread
- Thread starter jonno394
- Start date
Just Passing Through
The Wildcard
Yami
Thousand Master
Having just listened to the second podcast, just thought I'd say how much I'd love to see Andrew's hypothetical release of Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors. I'm not sure about what state the elements are in (it was lost and then rediscovered in the 80s, wasn't it?) but Shochiku are generally quite good at restoring their films - the live action ones anyway (Ozu, Oshima etc.) - so hopefully they'll get around to it. A Walt Disney Treasures-esque release of early anime (maybe a pre-war/WWII volume and a post-war/Toei Doga volume), with contextualisation, would be fantastic.
On a slight tangent, since you mentioned Ghibli, I wonder if the fact that it looks like they're basically done with film production means that we'll get some better releases of their back catalogue in the future. I wonder how much influence Ghibli have over the relative lack of extras on their releases, as they tend to release their documentaries (6 hour Princess Mononoke making of, 12 hour Ponyo making of) separately in Japan. But, yes, back on topic, I guess the closest we'll get to Ghibli from Anime Limited will be Future Boy Conan* or, presuming Studio Canal don't do the right thing and port the Japanese Takahata box set, Chie the Brat or Gauche the Cellist...
The Escaflowne project sounds like a real labour of love and a fantastic release. I'm looking forward to it!
* Ok, I'll stop going on about it now. Apologies.
On a slight tangent, since you mentioned Ghibli, I wonder if the fact that it looks like they're basically done with film production means that we'll get some better releases of their back catalogue in the future. I wonder how much influence Ghibli have over the relative lack of extras on their releases, as they tend to release their documentaries (6 hour Princess Mononoke making of, 12 hour Ponyo making of) separately in Japan. But, yes, back on topic, I guess the closest we'll get to Ghibli from Anime Limited will be Future Boy Conan* or, presuming Studio Canal don't do the right thing and port the Japanese Takahata box set, Chie the Brat or Gauche the Cellist...
The Escaflowne project sounds like a real labour of love and a fantastic release. I'm looking forward to it!
* Ok, I'll stop going on about it now. Apologies.
HdE
Comic Book Guy
Just been listening to the podcast while I've been working today.
Lots of facinating stuff there on teh topic of making products happen. And it's such a tease to hear about the Honneamise release. I can't wait for that to arrive through my letterbox!
Gotta say as well, the discussion of the Escaflowne ultimate edition really does foster a sense of anticipation for it - and it's a show I don't even rate that much (probably more to do with the horrible video quality of the version I own)
I suspect 'ultimate edition' could equate to more money than I can justify spending on it, but it really does sound like there's going to be a lot of good stuff in that package. Having the movie in there is a MASSIVE plus. Director's cut as well? Even better.
Lots of facinating stuff there on teh topic of making products happen. And it's such a tease to hear about the Honneamise release. I can't wait for that to arrive through my letterbox!
Gotta say as well, the discussion of the Escaflowne ultimate edition really does foster a sense of anticipation for it - and it's a show I don't even rate that much (probably more to do with the horrible video quality of the version I own)
I suspect 'ultimate edition' could equate to more money than I can justify spending on it, but it really does sound like there's going to be a lot of good stuff in that package. Having the movie in there is a MASSIVE plus. Director's cut as well? Even better.
Lutga
Mad Scientist
I'm really excited to see the comparison shots, the quality on the original Beez DVDs really was so ropey, and the menus were kind of confusing too.
On a similar note - does anyone remember the old Beez Gundam Wing discs? They looked like they'd been copied from a French VHS or something and hard 'Au Suivre' subtitles over the To Be Continued bits at the end of every episode.
On a similar note - does anyone remember the old Beez Gundam Wing discs? They looked like they'd been copied from a French VHS or something and hard 'Au Suivre' subtitles over the To Be Continued bits at the end of every episode.
qaiz
Pokémon Master
The Ultimate Edition for Escaflowne musters up zero excitement for me, and what was once a day 1 buy is now something I won't even go for at all because the last few Ultimate Editions have been...very disappointing. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache. My view of an ultimate edition just doesn't line up with the UK anime market I guess. Shame.
Lutga
Mad Scientist
qaiz said:
That seems a little unfair. They haven't even shown any assets from it yet - so to judge on previous ones might not be accurate?
As the old saying goes - you can't please everyone. I imagine for many people, to make the Ultimate Editions more luxurious than they already are would price many people out of them.
Personally, I'm really not a fan of the American/Japanese style editions that come with random freebies/goodies/toys etc - stuff like that is just going to end up cluttering my room and never get used.
serpantino
Thousand Master
I'm the same. I'm not a fan of nicnacs that push up the price and just sit around gathering dust. Art books are nice sometimes but I tend to wait for standard editions.
There's usually a big market out there with better quality offerings for such things anyway for those who like to collect & you can tailor to your own tastes.
There's usually a big market out there with better quality offerings for such things anyway for those who like to collect & you can tailor to your own tastes.
Buzzkillington
Cardcaptor
I can understand it, I was pretty disappointed by the Gurren Lagann Ultimate Edition...the small picture issues, the sound kinda seemed off at times, the downright awful cheap feeling digipack and the poor contents of the artbook, didn't feel like it was worth anywhere near the asking price....love the Patema Inverted one though. I love artbooks but I hate useless tat.
sniper_samurai
Railgun
Lutga said:
Didn't have the original Beez discs of Gundam Wing, but their remastered release was fantastic and the UK was the only English speaking territory to get the dvd remasters. The picture quality was head and shoulders above the R1 sets.
Lutga
Mad Scientist
sniper_samurai said:
Was that this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gundam-Wing-Com ... undam+wing
Or this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gundam-Wing-Ful ... undam+wing
I've only got the individual singles, so can't compare.
Hopefully a Blu-Ray re-release might be on the cards now Gundam stuff seems to be moving again in the West (waiting for someone to announce a UK version of what Rightstuff is doing with Turn A etc.)
sniper_samurai
Railgun
Lutga said:
I have the Anime Legends sets, but its the same discs as the collectors set so both are identical video wise. Wouldn't have minded getting the CE set but could never find it at a reasonable price. Got the Legends sets from Andrew at Nom-con for about £35 back in 2010.
Hopefully with Anime Limited having Origin and G-Reco we will see more Gundam releases from them.
qaiz
Pokémon Master
Lutga said:
That's the thing, I don't like little knickknacks and random plastic tat either, and it's funny you insinuate that its 'Japanese style' since Japanese Blu-ray anime releases are the most bare-bones and expensive releases out there. Box, amaray, maybe a little booklet and that's it, and yet those releases blow me away, as hyperbolic as that sounds.
The contents aren't the problem; it’s the quality and more importantly the little details and the fit and finish of it all or lack thereof that turn me off. The artwork on the ultimate editions for example haven't been pleasing to the eye. I actually hated Lagann when I watched it, but even I know that the show has some great artwork and I understand and appreciate the fact that they can only use what they have available in terms of assets (so much so that they had to splice DVD footage into the Blu-ray instead of use a different transfer of the Blu-ray rip) but at the end of the day as the end user, I can only vouch for my own tastes. It's not about it being luxury and expensive or having random plastic tat inside of the box, It's about using a high quality box, with art that blows me away and just using materials that look and feel nice. I'm not talking leather and wood, but card that doesn't feel like it'll bend just by looking at it or a digipak that falls off before I've even opened it because that really killed off any enthusiasm for releases in this vain. My Patema came crushed and the digipak shattered and it was the same song and dance with Lagann. More to do with outside entities like Royal Mail? Sure, but not only have I never had things damaged to that degree previously, but it goes beyond damage. Even if it arrived in perfect condition, I still would have been disappointed to say the least.
Why are releases like the ones above so hard to replicate? People who think I'm being negative over the lack of contents have it wrong. The Patlabor Blu-rays above for example had me salivating at just the artwork alone. I paid upward of over £150 for those two; no English dub or sub, just a nice box with two amarays each and a little booklet with some gorgeous artwork is enough.
A lot of it has to do with the art they have available, and generally the amount of freedom the western publishers and distributors have is anemic I know, but the end result from Anime releases in the west just come across as if they were made for kids. No subtlety and nothing pretty.
By all mean, I implore Anime Limited to not listen to what I say, and I say that earnestly because what they are doing works for them I guess. No point bending your back just for me, but make no mistake you have lost me as a customer. Should I wait for what the future releases look like? That would be wise, but I guess the previous releases have burnt me to a degree that I just don't want to anymore. Evan a Gunbuster release won't get my attention anymore. Like I said, it makes me sad but looking at what is being released in the UK and how they are packaged/released makes it clear that it's not for me. I guess I'm just stubborn and I'm not one to let bygones be bygones.
I think that's a pretty reasonable response. And it offers a challenge to Anime Limited: qaiz openly admits a personal bias in taste but if things keep getting better then it's the company's job to make their releases too good to pass up. Really sad to hear about the wrecked Patema set though as mine was pristine and it's disappointing when something arrives messed up.
Japanese releases are delicious (I sometimes get my Mononoke BD set out just to look at it happily) and of course they keep the really good stuff back for themselves a lot of the time, but I think we're moving in the right direction now. I think that what Anime Limited are trying to do for us is good stuff, from commissioning unique art from the actual creative staff (love it or hate it, I really liked that they did that with Patema) to fixing little niggles people flag up on the forums when many competitors don't fix large niggles people flag up, ever. qaiz doesn't agree at the moment, but as quality improves who knows where things will end up
I like the idea of the companies using their best efforts to try to tempt people away from the alternatives by making the best local versions possible. The buyer generally wins.
R
Japanese releases are delicious (I sometimes get my Mononoke BD set out just to look at it happily) and of course they keep the really good stuff back for themselves a lot of the time, but I think we're moving in the right direction now. I think that what Anime Limited are trying to do for us is good stuff, from commissioning unique art from the actual creative staff (love it or hate it, I really liked that they did that with Patema) to fixing little niggles people flag up on the forums when many competitors don't fix large niggles people flag up, ever. qaiz doesn't agree at the moment, but as quality improves who knows where things will end up
I like the idea of the companies using their best efforts to try to tempt people away from the alternatives by making the best local versions possible. The buyer generally wins.
R
Lutga
Mad Scientist
Everyone has their personal tastes - that's fair enough. I think there were definitely lessons-learnt when it came to the GL release, and I think we've already started to see improvements in some of Anime Ltd's more recent products.
I suppose the only other thing worth thinking about - is that ultimately, these companies are business, and business operating in an incredible niche market. Most anime titles are lucky to sell over 500 copies these days. And while there's definitely a lot to be said for gathering what the fans want and delivering up to that standard, I suppose there are limits - the UK has quite a specific market I feel when it comes to home entertainment, and that dictates prices to a certain degree, alongside the standard of releases.
And while we can always say - make it better, be better, challenge yourself to do better - there's a limit to that, I feel, if the company wants to get the balance right. The worst thing ever would be if Anime Ltd splurged all its cash-flow on trying to get a high-value item out into the market, only for it to absolutely bomb, or lose them money, and for the company to then go bust and all its titles go OOP again.
I'm someone who's very passionate about supporting UK releases, but that's just me.
(For the record, those Patlabor releases do look absolutely stunning)
I suppose the only other thing worth thinking about - is that ultimately, these companies are business, and business operating in an incredible niche market. Most anime titles are lucky to sell over 500 copies these days. And while there's definitely a lot to be said for gathering what the fans want and delivering up to that standard, I suppose there are limits - the UK has quite a specific market I feel when it comes to home entertainment, and that dictates prices to a certain degree, alongside the standard of releases.
And while we can always say - make it better, be better, challenge yourself to do better - there's a limit to that, I feel, if the company wants to get the balance right. The worst thing ever would be if Anime Ltd splurged all its cash-flow on trying to get a high-value item out into the market, only for it to absolutely bomb, or lose them money, and for the company to then go bust and all its titles go OOP again.
I'm someone who's very passionate about supporting UK releases, but that's just me.
(For the record, those Patlabor releases do look absolutely stunning)