Box art slowly coming back to the UK?

bakum4tsu

bakum4tsu

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Are the box arts slowly coming back to the UK?

First was Anime Limited with their stylish editions, then MVM announced that Fate Zero will have a box too to fit 1st and 2nd part. Today Manga UK announced that Attack on Titan will also have a box to fit 1st and 2nd part, even though its only the collectors edition like Fate Zero.

This is clearly a good sign to the UK public I guess and its good for the companies too.

First, by doing this, people might wait a bit more and get the UK version which is good for the UK companies. Second, if these type of releases succeed, we might see in the future more releases like this, at least for big titles I would say. Paying a bit more its ok as long as we are paying for something fancy.

What do you think?
 
I think the only reason Manga and MVM are doing a box for Shingeki/Fate Zero is because they are both high profile shows which are likely to sell well.
I'd be interested to see what the boxes for each release are like since the last time Manga did something like this the box was a naff slipcover. (FMA:B)
For Anime Limited I suppose it's just their way of doing things and it works for them. Unlike Manga, their aim isn't to flog a load of barebones discs as cheaply as they possibly can. They aim more at collectors with limited releases that you'd actually want to keep.

First, by doing this, people might wait a bit more and get the UK version which is good for the UK companies.
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Companies in America have been doing this far ages - and the price point isn't much more than a standard barebones UK release. I highly doubt that people will stop importing titles because a UK distributor has said they will release a title months later with a box.
Second, if these type of releases succeed, we might see in the future more releases like this, at least for big titles I would say.
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For big titles, possibly. My guess is that they'll still be few and far between.
Paying a bit more its ok as long as we are paying for something fancy.
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That's part of the problem here though. The mentality here seems to be that people want things dirt cheap. Manga's policy of selling things off as cheaply as possible doesn't help in that regard.
Don't get me wrong, you will get some people who will be prepared to pay a bit more, but I reckon a large part of the customer base here will not be, and will take the cheapest option/wait for a heavy discount. That makes it hard to do something like this in the first place.
I use this example a lot, but take Manga's open question on FB/Twitter about releasing Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex half sets @ SRP of 34.99 on Blu-ray and the stupid responses they got from that. THAT is the audience you're selling to.

Don't get me wrong after all that - I'd love to see myself proven completely wrong and UK releases being like the US ones.
 
Mangaranga said:
I use this example a lot, but take Manga's open question on FB/Twitter about releasing Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex half sets @ SRP of 34.99 on Blu-ray and the stupid responses they got from that. THAT is the audience you're selling to.
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Don't look on twitter or facebook, but was the responses that bad?
 
If it works for the UK distributors and gets more sales, then it's only a good thing right? It'll be interesting to see how these experiments go. I think picking and choosing the correct series for a CE release is going to be crucial. The UK has always been an incredibly price-conscious market, which is why Manga has to take the approach they do. I don't think it's a bad thing at all, it's just the way the UK market is. Having said that, there is definitely a growing audience in the UK anime market that want a bit more va-va-voom to their shiny discs, so catering to that section of the fanbase is a very smart move.

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Emulsion said:
Mangaranga said:
I use this example a lot, but take Manga's open question on FB/Twitter about releasing Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex half sets @ SRP of 34.99 on Blu-ray and the stupid responses they got from that. THAT is the audience you're selling to.
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Don't look on twitter or facebook, but was the responses that bad?
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Some people complained that it was too expensive, some people said it was too expensive for a 13 episode half Series. (Yet every 24+ ep show is released this way)
Some people even told Manga that they'd only buy it if they sold full season sets for £25.
I'm 99% sure that this reaction is why SAC on BD never happened. Meanwhile I'm more than happy with my £200 SAC 2nd GIG box with no subtitles and DD English Audio... I still need to get the first.
 
Manga UK pretty much only seem to want to pander to the cheap kind of fan. I don't buy their releases any more, even though they were so instrumental in the early days of my fandom. Adding nicer physical extras helps, but as long as they keep cutting corners on QC and release PAL-converted DVDs I'm not that interested in coming back to them as a customer. A poor quality release in a nice box is still a poor quality release to me ^^;

The contradiction in UK fans demanding rock bottom prices and also the best possible releases is too much of a headache for me. Something always has to give somewhere. I'm more open to Anime Limited as they listen to what all kinds of people are saying and don't undervalue their releases as badly.

I already have AoT preordered from Funi and I'm not going to cancel that. But it will be interesting to see how things go from here.

R
 
As I see it Anime Limited has brought some new life into the UK. Didn't Manga announce earlier this year or last year that they're going to release less? Meanwhile MVM has clearly made an improvement in terms of the number of releases. As I see it, with MVM releasing more and Anime Limited on the scene - Manga is potentially concerned and is trying new things.

Since they probably don't want to license more risky titles, next approach is to try and grab the attention of importers. The move to special releases may prevent a few importers and in Manga's case - avoid looking awful because they decided not to stand out from Madman and Funimation.

On the point of price complainers, there was this Instagram message before by Manga - http://instagram.com/p/lzYBzIy9W1/.
 
How does the price of Japanese releases relate to the average wage and living expenses?

I'm not suggesting that I think they earn more or whatever than we do. Just actually curious.
 
Assuming these figures are accurate, the average salary isn't a great deal higher than what I'd expect here (though I'm surprised administration is so high). I'm not knowledgeable on what daily living costs are like in Japan though, other people would be better placed to fill you in there.
 
I used to occasionally import the US Vol1+box release and wait for the UK release to fill it with.

I still have a few boxes with a single disc rattling around inside...
 
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