UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread

Angel's Egg is a phenomenal film, a true classic and of course everyone has different tastes but the idea that people would knowingly pass up on such a release makes it clear why these types of releases never see the light of day in the UK while we get a bunch of other drivel left, right and center. Makes me really sad when it comes to the state of the UK market. At least discotek release a bunch of cool ****. Can't wait for Robot Carnival :) A tear was shed when they announced that.
 
If I could only pick one film for Anime Limited to release, it would be Angel's Egg. I first saw it last year and found it to be a breathtaking cinematic experience - first and foremost you have the beautiful visuals but there's a rich subtext that would reward repeated viewings. I really liked this piece of writing on it.

True, there's little dialogue but I think that a local release would be very worthwhile. Especially if there were good extras - it's perhaps the one anime film that would benefit most from a "Criterion style" release.

I've always thought that the film had a bit of a cult following, but I think it would expand its fan base if it were possible to see it without importing an unsubtitled Japanese release. It can't be released in the US for legal reasons (Anchor Bay were going to over a decade ago but scrapped it) so it's up to a UK distributor to take a leap of faith.

Shiroi Hane said:
On that topic, from the Anime Encyclopedia AMA:
Jonathan Clements said:
I am a big fan of Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors (1945), which was probably the first ever feature-length Japanese cartoon, and features a bunch of cute animals invading Singapore. There’s no English subbed edition (yet, but I hold out hope for 2016), so that’s pretty obscure.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Here's hoping!
 
Yami said:
it's perhaps the one anime film that would benefit most from a "Criterion style" release.
Click to expand...
In the most literal sense, probably. I'd expect more success to be had trying to release it as a movie for "film buffs", rather than trying to sell it to the UK anime fan base.
 
ilmaestro said:
In the most literal sense, probably. I'd expect more success to be had trying to release it as a movie for "film buffs", rather than trying to sell it to the UK anime fan base.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, though I think anime fans are perfectly placed to appreciate Oshii and Amano's work. When it comes to the overall film, while it is slow paced it's also a meagre 70 minutes long. And without taking the thread too much off topic, I don't think there's anything in it that's more abstract than, for example, The End of Evangelion.
 
I had literally no idea that my mentioning Angel's Egg here would see it spark any kind of discussion. To be hnest, I'm kind of taken aback. I'm glad there's folks besides me who'd like to see it released outside of Japan.

My work here is done... for now. :3
 
Either MVM or Anime Ltd answered a question about Angel's egg not too long ago, within the past year at least & it was said that the films difficult to license...which is a big shame. I'd love to own a copy.

Has it ever had a western release?

ilmaestro said:
Yami said:
it's perhaps the one anime film that would benefit most from a "Criterion style" release.
Click to expand...
In the most literal sense, probably. I'd expect more success to be had trying to release it as a movie for "film buffs", rather than trying to sell it to the UK anime fan base.
Click to expand...

I agree. It'd definitely appeal to the more art house/well educated in film types outside of the UK Anime buying crowd. Getting a grip on the Euerka Entertainment/Masters Of Cinema/Artificial Eye crowd somehow would be ideal for a UK release.
 
It feels weird being on the other side of a "Less educated or discerning people than myself just don't get this pretentious film" discussion for once. But then Endless Eight did help ease me into that role.
 
To be fair, quite a bit of Oshii's work has that effect on me - and ALL of Satoshi Kon's stuff. Sometimes, I find it takes me a few watches to really get on with movies like that.

Shame to hear Angel's Egg is apparently aa tough one to license. As I've said, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat. But I'll live in hope - I mean, whoever thought Robot Carnival or OTAKU NO FREAKIN' VIDEO would see western releases? RE-releases, at that!
 
Well these are companies not charities and if it's difficult to license combined with if it has limited sales potential is it any wonder it hasn't been picked up. If the far larger North American market hasn't licensed it I doubt any one would over here.
 
robot monkey said:
Well these are companies not charities and if it's difficult to license combined with if it has limited sales potential is it any wonder it hasn't been picked up. If the far larger North American market hasn't licensed it I doubt any one would over here.
Click to expand...

Doesn't make it any less frustrating, in fact it further aggravates the feeling. I see less marketable things making it over.
 
I understand that it can't be released in the US for legal reasons possibly involving the later live action film In the Aftermath, but Anchor Bay had licensed it before realising this back in 01/02. As far as I'm aware, there are no such impediments to a UK release and the fact that it was screened at Leeds would seem to corroborate this.

I can't predict sales, but as qaiz says I see titles with (what I would assume is) far less market potential released. Angel's Egg, as has been pointed out, could be a title that appeals to the arthouse/cinephile crowd as well as fans of anime/animation/pretty artwork in general. I've always had the impression that it had a bit of a cult following, though I may be wrong.
 
A cult following within an already niche market doesn't exactly bode well for sales though. Have you seen the figures for even popular anime in the UK?

There's a ton of old and obscure stuff that I would probably buy if it was released in the UK, but I'm not going to encourage people to licence them because I don't particularly want them to go out of business (and let's face it, anything is obtainable - I think my torrenting of Space Runaway Ideon is less likely to damage the industry than someone paying to license and produce it and it selling exactly 3 copies).
 
Yeah, I've seen the sales figures. However, I would say that quite a lot of the anime that is released has limited crossover potential. By which I mean, it will sell only within the 'anime fan' demographic that has already been carved out but doesn't have as much appeal to general cinephiles (for lack of better terminology - I don't mean to be condescending or insinuate that anime fans like the good folks on here don't love film). The 'old and obscure' stuff may well do, though it is natural that distributors are hesitant about taking a gamble on, well, old and obscure stuff.

I'll readily admit that I'm no Nostradamus when it comes to predicting how a title will sell - it's difficult when its a film that has never been released before and there's many unknown variables (marketing, coverage etc.). But I think Angel's Egg has potential, especially if pitched to the arthouse/cinephile crowd. That's certainly a demographic that would also be interested in the hypothetical release of Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors. And while you may ask why not leave it up to Masters of Cinema or Arrow to release, animation isn't their forte (MoC have released some Rene Laloux but that's it) and, from what I've read, anime licensors are generally not the easiest companies to deal with so it might be better if left to someone used to dealing with them.

Ultimately though, this is all just conjecture on my part - Andrew knows best! I'm just giving my 2 cents as I'd love to see it released!

For a film I'd quite like to have a release of but will admit has no sales potential whatsoever, take a look at Nagisa Oshima's only "anime" - Band of Ninja!
 
ilmaestro said:
You didn't even appreciate EE as a social experiment?
Click to expand...
Lexx already did that "social experiment" years ago, when they did two episodes in a row telling the same story with monir differences (...because of production constraints).
 
It was really annoying to see all the Americans who watched it on the Sci-Fi channel calling it a Farscape rip-off because they happened to see it later in their country (Lexx came first).
 
I remember when I first watched the Endless Eight I didn't actually realise what it was because I hadn't read much about Haruhi online at the time - I'd love to know how much new material they actually had to create for each 'version' each time.

But yeah, Haruhi, someone rescue it please - it deserves another lease of life.
 
Shiroi Hane said:
I believe they were all done from scratch - they all had different animation credits (and notable different style at times).
Click to expand...

Which is part wonderful part dreadful. A whole lot of work put into something that didn't really pay off. I'd be interested in knowing how they convinced the top execs that running 8 episodes of the same thing all animated separately was a good idea. The story it's based off is not all that long and the end result was that it pretty much killed the Haruhi anime.

Lexx had some great episodes, and some duds but was pretty good for the time. Not surprised America is unable to understand when certain things came out originally.
 
Back
Top