UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread

ActionFaust said:
Sent them messages through the usual channels. Maybe someone can ask on Discord if their reps still use it?

But yeah given it was released about 5 years ago I've got low expectations.
Click to expand...
a very similar question was asked very recently (last couple of months or so), the answer was no to a standard edition of Angelic Layer happening etc.
 
Patlabor
I bought the DVD, the new files.
Watched the first episode and gave it up
But I bought the third film for a dollar and really liked it.
I do feel that the film was more a detective story than a mecha story so I'm sure that helped.
 
Honestly baffled that when I asked on this thread, gosh nearly 10 years ago now, about Patlabor that I was told it was unlikely because it would be difficult to top the existing releases. Didn't think we'd wait all these years just to get repackaged discs!
 
Mattrivers95 said:
Has anyone who bought kids on the slope had any subtitle issues? I’m not getting any dialogue subs on episode 4, just signs and lyrics.
Click to expand...
Yes, I've just checked my copy and there are also no dialogue subtitles on episode 4, there only seems to be subtitles for the OP and ED. I had a quick look at the other episodes on disc 1 and the dialogue subtitles do appear present - it just appears to be episode 4 with the issue. Although, I only checked several lines or so of dialogue, I didn't watch the entirety of each episode.

I checked the first several pieces of dialogue on each episode of disc 2 and they appear fine.

Another Anime Limited masterclass in quality control then by the sounds of things.
 
Last edited:
Otomo said:
Patlabor
I bought the DVD, the new files.
Watched the first episode and gave it up
But I bought the third film for a dollar and really liked it.
I do feel that the film was more a detective story than a mecha story so I'm sure that helped.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, The New Files is a direct continuation of the TV series while the third film isn't part of any continuation. You’ve basically started at the worst possible point.

I’d recommend at watching watching The Early Days OVAs before diving into Patlabor the Movie 1 & 2
 
Last edited:
Otomo said:
Patlabor
I bought the DVD, the new files.
Watched the first episode and gave it up
But I bought the third film for a dollar and really liked it.
I do feel that the film was more a detective story than a mecha story so I'm sure that helped.
Click to expand...
yeh I love the 3rd film. a lot of people don't like it as they are expecting a mecha film with the usual Patlabor cast, and I suspect it would be enjoyed more if it wasn't saddled with the Patlabor name. to me the way it is put together feels much closer to a "real" film than an anime film if that makes any sense. the editing in particular really wowed me when I watched it, and looking it up the guy in charge of the editing (Takeshi Seyama) worked on a lot of Ghibli & Kon movies from Castle In The Sky right up to The Boy and the Heron, which makes a lot of sense to me now.
 
zappi said:
yeh I love the 3rd film. a lot of people don't like it as they are expecting a mecha film with the usual Patlabor cast, and I suspect it would be enjoyed more if it wasn't saddled with the Patlabor name. to me the way it is put together feels much closer to a "real" film than an anime film if that makes any sense. the editing in particular really wowed me when I watched it, and looking it up the guy in charge of the editing (Takeshi Seyama) worked on pretty much every Ghibli & Kon movie right up to The Boy and the Heron, which makes a lot of sense to me now.
Click to expand...

I'm not the biggest fan of the third Patlabor film (that doesn't mean I didn't like it, just not a big fan) but I do get what you mean about how realistic it feels and the animation on the creature is phenomenal, for me the first two films are better but I won't be double dipping on these new AL sets as they lack the original Japanese sound mixes and the Manga Entertainment English dubs :)
 
Why am I still waiting on an order I made on the 11th of december? I suspect alot of you are used to this but I find it insane that they do this holiday sale every year, they obviously expect a large volume of orders and then they seemingly just disappear for a month plus on their holidays with zero communication. I have had not a single email about this unfulfilled order. I mean I ordered from Sentai and CR in america after the 11th and both orders came earlier this week. This delay is unacceptable imo, to just take the money and go radio silent for so long is not good enough. To run such a sale and not put in infrastructure or extra hours to fulfill as many of those orders as quickly as possible also I find surprising, as I said they must at this point expect the volume of sales they get but seemingly haven't put in place the infastructure to deal with it better.

Like I sound more mad than I am, I can wait but it has bothered me greatly that I haven't got a single update about this order. And over a month to send something inside the uk is not good enough, end of.
 
Blaize said:
Why am I still waiting on an order I made on the 11th of december? I suspect alot of you are used to this but I find it insane that they do this holiday sale every year, they obviously expect a large volume of orders and then they seemingly just disappear for a month plus on their holidays with zero communication. I have had not a single email about this unfulfilled order. I mean I ordered from Sentai and CR in america after the 11th and both orders came earlier this week. This delay is unacceptable imo, to just take the money and go radio silent for so long is not good enough. To run such a sale and not put in infrastructure or extra hours to fulfill as many of those orders as quickly as possible also I find surprising, as I said they must at this point expect the volume of sales they get but seemingly haven't put in place the infastructure to deal with it better.

Like I sound more mad than I am, I can wait but it has bothered me greatly that I haven't got a single update about this order. And over a month to send something inside the uk is not good enough, end of.
Click to expand...
I only recieved my final Xmas sale order from them yesterday. It took 18 working days to arrive.

I imagine they will carry on this practice until it affects their sales. I mean, where else are you going to go if you really want a particular product? It's not like there are a plethora of other UK anime distributors providing an alternative. Sure you can import US or Japanese releases of the same AL series or film, but they can be more expensive once you account for shipping and any potential customs cost.

We pay premium prices for 'boutique' anime blu-rays, so I would expect a timely delivery - even during a sale period. I wouldn't mind paying a small delivery fee if it meant they could get shipments out quicker over sale periods.

Like you say, if they are truly inundated with orders, then they must be making money, so why can't they improve their infrastructure to help deal with the increase demand? If they can't because the profit margins are that slim and are unable to reinvest, then it doesn't sound like a particularly viable business (although I'm no expert). I could deal with the longer wait over sale periods if they just communicated that it could take up to 20-30 days for your delivery to arrive and some orders are likely to arrive after the new year - instead the customer is left in limbo, not knowing what is going on unless they contact alltheanime directly. It pretty much seems like luck of the draw as to whether you'll get an order arrive before Christmas.

Anime Limited use a fulfilment company called Limewood Media - which I believe distribute a variety of boutique TV/film products, so who knows how many other companies use Limewood Media as well for shipping services. The fact that AL don't seem to have a dedicated fulfilment centre is probably why they can't get orders out quicker, especially during sale periods. I imagine it's a lot cheaper for them to use a fulfilment company than to handle shipping themselves.
 
Last edited:
ActionFaust said:
Safe to say I'll probably give the next 12 Days sale a miss if they still haven't addressed these issues.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm afraid I'm about done with Anime Limited for importing anime anymore - first it was a full year's wait for my 2022 Holiday pre-orders to arrive, on top of all the other Collector's Edition delays upon repeated delays, which has made me swear to never pre-order any of their Collectors Editions ever again, and wait until after they are in stock to purchase them, if ever - now their shipping for in-stock items has become yet another pile of defication. It took them 18 days to ship out this years's Christmas Sale order of all in-stock items I placed on Day 1 of the sale, plus of course 8 more days for the package to arrive here in the US - and now it's been 17 days since I placed an all in-stock order during their Boxing Day/New Year's sale, and that order hasn't even shipped yet either.

On top of all that is the defective disc for the Nadia Ultimate Edition and now the Kids on the Slope Collector's Edition missing subtitles - They'd better get their act together in a big hurry... 💩
 
Nico87 said:
For what it's worth, The New Files is a direct continuation of the TV series while the third film isn't part of any continuation. You’ve basically started at the worst possible point.

I’d recommend at watching watching The Early Days OVAs before diving into Patlabor the Movie 1 & 2
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time to reply. It's appreciated 👍.

The trouble is that I'm not really a mecha fan and I didn't meet a character I wanted to follow. In the 3rd film I liked the 2 detectives.

The show's I've enjoyed are Gravion, Godannar and Kirameki Project. And not many others. I suppose Darling in the FRANXX would count.
 
Sounds like I will like the third Patlabor movie as well - I'm also not a mecha fan, so give me a detective story over mecha anytime. I actually have yet to watch the third movie, never made the effort mainly because of the online negativity for it. I do like the first two movies, aside from all the mecha. I've watched some of the TV series, but never finished it because it was a bit to comedic for my tastes, I would much prefer more serious drama.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, the AL site definitely has a "CBA" vibe about it.

The front page still has a category for "MVM Stocking Fillers". Christmas has been and gone. It's nice that the offers are still available, but at least change the name!

Speaking of Christmas, the "New Products" section still has a massive banner at the top with Christmas trees, snowflakes, baubles and stuff on it.

Random items still claim they're preorders. Gundam Build Fighters Part 2 says "THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ITEM, WITH A RELEASE DATE OF 18TH DECEMBER". Is it actually out yet or not? Who knows?! (Probably the people who've got it/not got it)

Even worse, My-Hime says "NOTE: THIS IS A PRE-ORDER PRODUCT - RELEASE DATE 30TH MAY 2022". It's 2024 now. I know AL's delays are bad, but surely it's out by now.

Obviously none of this stuff is super important but it all just makes AL look a bit amateurish.

If they can't get releases out on time, spell things right in their booklets, communicate with customers or give accurate information in their social media statements, they could at least try to keep their website in order!
 
I read previously in this thread that they are getting a new website, so hopefully that will help with the functionality and will mean they keep up with maintaining it.

Even their "deal of the week" has been the same for months on end as far as I can tell. I don't know if they've simply stopped doing those though.

It would be the equivalent of going into a physical shop and seeing items mislabelled - it just doesn't give off a very good impression for the customer.

For a company that describes itself as Europe’s leading boutique animation distributor, I would expect a cleaner looking and better maintained website. But hopefully this forthcoming website change means a better user experience for us.
 
Last edited:
The third Patlabor movie is distinctly fine. For me, it smacks of "we really wanted Oshii to direct this one as well, but he couldn't, so we got someone else to try their best to emulate his style and sense of atmosphere" and the result is, in my opinion, a fairly plodding and kinda boring monster movie. You could do a lot worse, but it's a stark contrast to the previous two films.

Regarding AL's shipping delays, the Christmas sales for the last few years have been fine. Looking through my orders for the past few, none took more than a week to ship out, so not sure what's happened with AL and/or Limewood this year to warrant such delays. In true AL style though, the complete lack of any communication whatsoever is a bad look.

awadama said:
If they can't get releases out on time, spell things right in their booklets, communicate with customers or give accurate information in their social media statements, they could at least try to keep their website in order!
Click to expand...
They can't even copy and paste a price correctly half the time. Whenever there's a new early bird, there's almost always a mismatch between the actual price of the product, and price stated in the "buy this at an early bird price until X date" message on the same page.
 
Back
Top