UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread

Jaysgba said:
Lately with AL, whether there's no information, some information to be miscontrued, or even concrete statements on your own website, it's impossible to know what's actually going to happen with your releases anymore.
It sometimes feels like you expect us all to have a neverending supply of money to buy releases at the drop of a hat.

Apologies for my lack of tact.
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Apology not accepted. As I'm here though, let me reply with some details :)!

I'm sorry you feel that way but I'm pretty certain we've been moving closer to being clearer on what's going on in the meantime. There will always be some bumps in the road on the way as we're a small company doing big things but we're listening and reacting. However the way you're behaving is hardly conducive to me wanting to come tell folks first if my first feeling is all you will do is lay in on us anyway. With or without information that seems to be what you're doing of late I'm afraid and whatever we've done to you, I'm sorry but we're just a small team working as hard as we can here.

Re money at the drop of a hat - Nobody is forcing you to fork out on re-editions and in fact we're targeting new audiences with them who are either:
  • A - New to anime.
  • B - People casually into shows and looking for a lower price a good period after initial release.
  • C - Us, who have something new to work with or just wanted to try something nice.
I am sorry the previous ones are not to your taste but we've explained before both of the scenarios that lead to the two latest re-editions already as well as the plethora of your issues with it. That said, you're simply not the target market for it in mind (we're of course flattered when people re-buy or we certainly understand swapping old product in for the new one).

By the by - closer notice for FMP three pack was mostly in reaction to the fact all we ever seem to do is delay titles so we thought it'd be a nice change to do one when it's good to go and as it's an exclusive on our shop we could do that. We printed 300 copies as an experiment so if you want to wait, we'll likely have some at conventions this year so no need to rush :).

Re Pigtails - We didn't update yet about that because, believe it or not, Q2 listings come up over time and we have 101 other projects to work on and talk about so wanted to wait til it was up to discuss.

Like I said before a bit, we shifted it as we're playing with new models of release especially for specialist interest shows that allow folks both options (either a standard up front, like so many of you have demanded from me forever) and to do a Collector's in far more limited quantity (limited to 500 numbered units as an experiment) via our shop.

Actually we have a lot of content for Pigtails so I'm working on a version with:
  • Collector's packaging, limited to 300 - 500 units (waiting to confirm what make sense price wise first).
  • Complete translated storyboards for Pigtails
  • Separate translated hefty book for Pigtails and the other short films in the set.
  • Blu-Ray and DVD versions of the set
Subject to change based on approvals but that's what I am working on there - it makes more sense as short collections can be a hard sell and we still want to provide something at a good price for those who really want a copy :).

I hope this illuminates somewhat and I'm going off to do something productive again now! Small team but I've a lot of cool projects on the go that I can't wait to share with folks too :).

Best,

Andrew,
Psst, some cool stuff for A Silent Voice up first from now 'til Tuesday :)!
 
anime_andrew said:
I'm sorry you feel that way but I'm pretty certain we've been moving closer to being clearer on what's going on in the meantime. There will always be some bumps in the road on the way as we're a small company doing big things but we're listening and reacting. However the way you're behaving is hardly conducive to me wanting to come tell folks first if my first feeling is all you will do is lay in on us anyway. With or without information that seems to be what you're doing of late I'm afraid and whatever we've done to you, I'm sorry but we're just a small team working as hard as we can here.
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Moving closer, definitely, but just having a bad first quarter in terms of clarity - announcing a new release that is better than a UE literally the week the previous one releases despite statements on your own website that directly contradict it. I'm well aware my behaviour as of late isn't fair to you or your team, I just no longer care what anyone thinks of me. It certainly isn't yourselves that have slighted me, but one hypocritical vindictive member of the AUKN team. Unfortunately, with nowhere else to direct my frustration, the AL issues tend to bear the brunt of it, undeservedly. I plan to phase myself out of being an active UK anime fan over the next few months though, it's far too toxic and is just ruining my enjoyment of anime itself nowadays, so you won't see any complaining from me after MCM London.

anime_andrew said:
Re money at the drop of a hat - Nobody is forcing you to fork out on re-editions and in fact we're targeting new audiences with them who are either:
  • A - New to anime.
  • B - People casually into shows and looking for a lower price a good period after initial release.
  • C - Us, who have something new to work with or just wanted to try something nice.
I am sorry the previous ones are not to your taste but we've explained before both of the scenarios that lead to the two latest re-editions already as well as the plethora of your issues with it. That said, you're simply not the target market for it in mind (we're of course flattered when people re-buy or we certainly understand swapping old product in for the new one).

By the by - closer notice for FMP three pack was mostly in reaction to the fact all we ever seem to do is delay titles so we thought it'd be a nice change to do one when it's good to go and as it's an exclusive on our shop we could do that. We printed 300 copies as an experiment so if you want to wait, we'll likely have some at conventions this year so no need to rush :).
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I understand that I'm not the target audience for the re-releases, but it's hard not to take issue with them when they rectify issues with the UEs at a fraction of the price. Waiting to see if a CE materialises isn't even really an option, as reduced sales of the UEs might skew everything in the other direction, like buying the UEs for exclusives, actual or misunderstood, has contributed to here. If GL and FMP hadn't sold any UEs, I doubt you'd have launched CEs. Okay, maybe for FMP as it's just the three standards in a box. And, on a personal, bitter, note, TiR isn't getting a CE or the price reduction I need to buy the UE - if there'd been a TiR CE slotted between GL and FMP, I'd have been overjoyed.

anime_andrew said:
Re Pigtails - We didn't update yet about that because, believe it or not, Q2 listings come up over time and we have 101 other projects to work on and talk about so wanted to wait til it was up to discuss.

Like I said before a bit, we shifted it as we're playing with new models of release especially for specialist interest shows that allow folks both options (either a standard up front, like so many of you have demanded from me forever) and to do a Collector's in far more limited quantity (limited to 500 numbered units as an experiment) via our shop.

Actually we have a lot of content for Pigtails so I'm working on a version with:
  • Collector's packaging, limited to 300 - 500 units (waiting to confirm what make sense price wise first).
  • Complete translated storyboards for Pigtails
  • Separate translated hefty book for Pigtails and the other short films in the set.
  • Blu-Ray and DVD versions of the set
Subject to change based on approvals but that's what I am working on there - it makes more sense as short collections can be a hard sell and we still want to provide something at a good price for those who really want a copy :).
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I'd prefer if you're going to experiment with this kind of model, you don't list it on retailers and then pull it, as that can only lead to doubt. When any distributor does that, it annoys me. That said, I am now even more interested in this release for the complete storyboards - that is exactly the kind of extra I'd like to see more of, not just booklets with some art I'll never look at and interviews I'll never read. You don't even need to translate them; but seriously, translated storyboards are, to me, more interesting than pretty much any prior extra you've done.

anime_andrew said:
I hope this illuminates somewhat and I'm going off to do something productive again now! Small team but I've a lot of cool projects on the go that I can't wait to share with folks too :).
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I hope cool projects includes more theatrical, because on that front, at least, you're doing perfectly at the moment.
Sorry for taking up your time, you'll be seeing (reading?) a lot less of me from now on.
 
Jaysgba said:
Waiting to see if a CE materialises isn't even really an option, as reduced sales of the UEs might skew everything in the other direction, like buying the UEs for exclusives, actual or misunderstood, has contributed to here. If GL and FMP hadn't sold any UEs, I doubt you'd have launched CEs.
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Do what I do. But something or don't, based on a judgment call of whether the product at the time seems worth it at the time. Then stick with it. it's the price of being an early adopter. If you're not 100% convinced by a special edition then maybe you should pass it ever, even at the risk of never owning it.
I guess it boils down to whether you'd rather risk missing out or risk Buyer's Remorse.

Yes, it can suck sometimes but trying to second-guess what is or isn't coming down the line is just too much of a headache I find. And buying a Collector or Ultimate Edition is always a risk. There will always be the chance a future cheaper version will be more to your taste. But then, yes, you risk contributing to low sales that may complicate plans for such a cheaper release.

It's what the choice is, though. And it always will be in cases where a fancy version comes out before a cheaper one has a confirmed release.
 
There's something to be said about the flow of information from a lot of distributors. I've often praised the candidness and willingness of Anime Limited to communicate with its audience, many times only to be greeted with negativity. In that sense I don't think that Anime Limited are lacking in providing information but rather that they do so at strange times and in strange places. For example the news of the potential contents of the CE of Pigtails shouldn't be nestled in a random post on a small ass anime forum that'll be missed by most people, neither should the news that Belladonna being delayed until April and that the companion book may be shipped earlier either. Of course this information will make its way to the general social media streams in due course via the form of more official blog posts and such but it’s still a little strange that this happens. I guess because these releases are aimed are more dedicated niche audiences its less frowned upon.

Like, I've put down cash for the Belladonna BD and have no idea what the set actually entails, and on one hand this is part and parcel with pre-orders and the culture that surrounds them, I wasn't forced to pre-order, but I did and I'm fine with that. Obviously the information and price provided for the pre-order was sufficient for me to part with my cash, at the same time not knowing what the set comes with until mere weeks (sometimes days) before release is more than a little frustrating. Putting down money for something you know nothing of is crazy. Of course the opposite can also occur, say for example when the release dates for Zeta slips, and in hindsight maybe it makes sense to withhold information until it is certain to be the case. It's hard to balance and I don't have the answer but I guess I wish things weren't announced until things were more concrete and less nebulous. I don't believe that it’s done with any malice, rather enthusiasm and I wish to see more of that, but I guess as somebody whom only has Belladonna as his sole pre-order; it can be excruciating waiting for any info. Maybe I should be more patient, and I've often applied the "get on with life and don't think about it" approach which often leads to surprises in the mail. I guess I'm just reminded of the Ping Pong teasing in regards to extras only to get some art cards. Again, it wasn't intentionally deceitful but it just leads to disappointments. In the end I’m sure it’s just as disappointing for the Anime Limited crew, but this bout of silence has me hotly anticipating the Belladonna release and it’s probably going to fail to meet my expectations, but here’s hoping!

tldr; Pre-orders are the worst.
 
qaiz said:
There's something to be said about the flow of information from a lot of distributors. I've often praised the candidness and willingness of Anime Limited to communicate with its audience, many times only to be greeted with negativity. In that sense I don't think that Anime Limited are lacking in providing information but rather that they do so at strange times and in strange places. For example the news of the potential contents of the CE of Pigtails shouldn't be nestled in a random post on a small ass anime forum that'll be missed by most people, neither should the news that Belladonna being delayed until April and that the companion book may be shipped earlier either. Of course this information will make its way to the general social media streams in due course via the form of more official blog posts and such but it’s still a little strange that this happens. I guess because these releases are aimed are more dedicated niche audiences its less frowned upon.
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It's a catch-22 - I like to let people know what is going on when I can but that doesn't always mean it's finalised (like Pigtails for example). That said we do bundle everything else up information-wise into News Wires as and when it's actually now solid and good to go. You'd have had a Pigtails info piece when we had something to show and a final date for it for example - it just makes a tonne more sense in terms of information to do it that way. However as you definitely won't always have the news out in time for things like Amazon of course people are going to worry or get in a state over it so I'll lean in when that happens.

In short there's two tracks of information - one for stuff that's urgent or still to be actioned there and one for when it's fixed and official. One comes quicker than the other and if we were a bigger company you'd all just be frustrated because you hear nothing at all. Working in this industry is generally a thankless job as you'll never please everyone with how you do anything. We just do the best we can :).

I'd still not do it any other way in this - better to communicate directly as you guys make the difference for us :). Hope that makes sense why I proverbially bury information within a forum post - eventually it'll go out usually as well when there's something solid to show folks :).

qaiz said:
Like, I've put down cash for the Belladonna BD and have no idea what the set actually entails, and on one hand this is part and parcel with pre-orders and the culture that surrounds them, I wasn't forced to pre-order, but I did and I'm fine with that. Obviously the information and price provided for the pre-order was sufficient for me to part with my cash, at the same time not knowing what the set comes with until mere weeks (sometimes days) before release is more than a little frustrating.
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You'll see that change over time there now too so if it's listed for a quarter generally you'll know what's going to be in it to start. Belladonna is an odd one as all the materials are quite frankly a mess over it so it's not easy to put something together from that.

qaiz said:
Putting down money for something you know nothing of is crazy. Of course the opposite can also occur, say for example when the release dates for Zeta slips, and in hindsight maybe it makes sense to withhold information until it is certain to be the case. It's hard to balance and I don't have the answer but I guess I wish things weren't announced until things were more concrete and less nebulous. I don't believe that it’s done with any malice, rather enthusiasm and I wish to see more of that, but I guess as somebody whom only has Belladonna as his sole pre-order; it can be excruciating waiting for any info.
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You see - I see it from both sides of the line and here's what happens. If we announce a date and it moves, we get **** - if we don't announce a date until it's ready we get **** and get hassled for not announcing anything. It's literally a lose / lose scenario for us at the moment there while we balance things out and when you're a small company there will always be bumps in the road for production - it's the nature of the beast especially when you work in Collector's packaging as much as we do.

qaiz said:
Maybe I should be more patient, and I've often applied the "get on with life and don't think about it" approach which often leads to surprises in the mail. I guess I'm just reminded of the Ping Pong teasing in regards to extras only to get some art cards. Again, it wasn't intentionally deceitful but it just leads to disappointments. In the end I’m sure it’s just as disappointing for the Anime Limited crew, but this bout of silence has me hotly anticipating the Belladonna release and it’s probably going to fail to meet my expectations, but here’s hoping!

tldr; Pre-orders are the worst.
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Ping Pong is a good example because right up until the last we were fighting to add more. We actually had a full booklet designed that was rejected for example but at the end of the day that's what it is, we did what we could and worked super hard. When we don't announce what's in something it's usually for that reason - we're fighting to include as much as we can or go beyond what's been done before. It doesn't always work out but it gives us the leeway to aim higher at least (art cards are still as much of a win as we'll get given you saw the US release!)

The book is excellent for the special set (aka the one originally published in the USA) but for the rest on Belladonna - don't get your hopes too far up into the sky given the lack of assets supplied by Japan but we're working hard. Hearing the costs France had to pay to do what they did, it's not especially hopeful for the UK, but we're doing everything we possibly can as we love it too :)!

Best,

Andrew,
(Probably repetition city from me, but wrote this quickly while juggling other stuff!)
 
A collectors edition is a collectors edition because it's limited and has extras. I've never been a fan of AL's ultimate editions but there's clearly a market for it, I'm just not it.

I don't really understand complaining when a later version comes out that's cheaper or has different features. This happens all the time in the entertainment industry... Games get cheaper releases or complete editions with additional DLC that's often cheaper than the original release, CD's sometimes get remastered editions, Blurays get re-releases/Steelbooks etc or an even more extreme example is the people that backed hd-dvd.

If you're throwing that kind of money down then you must have felt the set was worth having at the time, else why buy it? If you feel slighted by releases that have bits you didn't get then quit the collector's market and just stick to standard editions or you'll never be happy.
 
Regarding Full Metal Panic, I think the situation is totally fair. The Ultimate Edition came out over a year ago, is now out of print and we always knew that Standard Editions were coming later down the line. When comparing the RRPs of the Limited Edition set and the individual releases of Season 1 and The Second Raid, you're basically looking at a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" with Fumoffu?, slightly before its release - with a cardboard box to store them all in. Frankly, it's a superb offer and I would love to see more like it in the future.

For people who previously purchased the Ultimate Edition, you have the benefit of a significant lead-time on owning the series, as well as a hefty, exclusive art-book. It's like with Mai Mai Miracle; I backed the Kickstarter and received the Collector's Edition, but I'm totally chill with the knowledge that there will be a much cheaper Standard Edition after the hold-back period.
 
Peachy said:
Lookie what I found: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06VWYT...TF8&qid=1487332450&sr=1-12&keywords=anime+ltd
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SWORD OF THE STRANGER COLLECTORS EDITON!
Shut-up-and-take-my-money-GIF.gif
 
Jaysgba said:
Why?! Why not use a standard 3 disc Elite or 3 disc Amaray? Why not give us an unboxing before customers are receiving copies?

I want to not be mad, but it is really difficult. I'll be replacing mine with a better case.
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Oh snap! Better recall all product and delay the title by 2 years to be safe!

(In all seriousness, the replicator chose the case to match the 3 disc request and each one has a button to remove a disc so it's not the usual for stacking ala digipacks. If you want to switch it for another 15mm spine case, go for it - it's a customisable release!)

Andrew
 
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