Ex-Manga employees create a new company named Animatsu

Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Would it seem arrogant/rude of me to assume that I was the one who discovered this news, since I did tweet the information and picture of the Instagram post before UKAnime posted the article -> originaltweet

Anyway that aside Jerome has been teasing this news for awhile as on his instagram account last week he posted a picture of his business cards. I've also listed my own thoughts in this article I published earlier today.
 
Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Shiroi Hane said:
I didn't even have an Instagram account until today ^^;
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haha yea; I noticed you started following on Instagram =P
 
Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, I wonder how long it'll be until they 'go official' and make an announcement? I'm pretty sure that is their Twitter and FB page, so would be cool to see an initial update to give us a bit of a flavour of what to expect.
 
Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Intrestingly enough (and it's only a co-incidence untill someone else says so) from all indications, he gave his notice just around the time of Glasgow MCM which strikes me as if maybe the whole todo with the BR Only release of Good Luck Girl and Ben-To might have been the straw that broke the camel's back on the situation.
 
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ConanThe3rd said:
Intrestingly enough (and it's only a co-incidence untill someone else says so) from all indications, he gave his notice just around the time of Glasgow MCM which strikes me as if maybe the whole todo with the BR Only release of Good Luck Girl and Ben-To might have been the straw that broke the camel's back on the situation.
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I'm pretty sure he's said on a podcast he'd love to do everything blu only. I'd put my money on Naruto that crippled the camel ;)

On another note this means Manga UK don't currently have anyone licencing for them (that we know of) AL and MVM must be loving it! Who'll be first to bid on Sword Art 2 and the Madoka movies? To be honest I was a bit surprised MVM got No Game No Life I was sure that'd be a Manga pick up (and wasn't it hinted they've got Log Horizon as well?)
 
The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Perhaps this change is a good thing for Manga UK, as since Jerome handing in his notice we've seen titles appear on Netflix....or is that just wishful thinking?
 
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I better bloody get my Naruto Blood Prison on blu-ray sans-boxset... :wink:
 
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NormanicGrav said:
Quite a shock to see this happen:

Jerome and Andrew have left Manga UK
The news, which has been relayed via Mazandarani's private Instagram account, has stated that both individuals have moved on to set up their own company, Animatsu. More details on this venture will be revealed in due course.
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Whoever follows me on Twitter and actually read the tweets knows I was quite shocked yet not.
Whoever read my big "catch-up" post last month earlier on in this thread must've noticed me state I thought Jerome was about to leave the company.
The reason though ... is a huge surprise. Animatsu, huh?! Nice name, the face-like logo is typical the UK anime industry, isn't it? Albeit that, it looks decent.

► Jerome as COO:
And I assume Andrew Hewson will once again be the sales manager, but who's the CEO? Via FandomPost I found the inspiration to Google "Animatsu Entertainment Limited" and "Steblocro Limited".
Originally founded the 11th of September and changed of name the 3rd of October the CEO appears to be a certain magical index "Guy Stanley Collins", some 70 years old?!
We don't know who paid the original bills for Anime Ltd, but this may be Jerome's angel to support the company?

► "Animatsu Entertainment Ltd is a brand new force in the UK and European content acquisition, publishing and production business":
So Jerome has the intention to do what Anime Ltd does and go into Europe with the company?! Interesting!
Although it also hints Jerome has the intention to license actual "European content"? Could he perhaps license Totally Spies? (Would be nice. =P)

► "... with a keen eye on fan-focused entertainment brands across anime, videogames, YouTube and social media.":
So he's targeting us otaku, gamers, YouTubers/YouTube-watchers and social media users? Nice!
It'd really be great in my opinion to have Jerome back on social media that's not FaceBook or Instagram (the former is too personal, the latter is... a disgrace to quality).

► First license:
People go on wishful thinking A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun is their first license I believe.
It was shown to us in the past stuff can be licensed in a few weeks time, but it could very well take over a year.
Did anyone ever notice Anime Ltd already existed one year before Andrew made the company public?
However, it does open up another option for who could get the franchise. I'm surprised Andrew Partridge is giving us the silent treatment about Raildex, by the way.

But what will they license? Is the first pick contract between Manga and Funi still a thing?
Either way we shouldn't rule out Jerome picking up Funimation licenses! Neither should we rule out him licensing Sentai licenses or even older anime titles alike Anime Ltd has been doing.

And as Rui mentions, Jerome has a bond with Funimation, Aniplex etc.. while whoever takes his job at MangaUK doesn't. MangaUK might turn into another "101 Anime"/"101 Films" case.
Could it also be Jerome will turn some unfinished contracts into Animatsu licenses instead of Manga UK licenses? I kind of hope so.

I also hope Jerome is planning on (decent) premium editions, I don't know about you guys but I clearly remember him stating in June he was looking into doing rigid artboxes...

► Manga Entertainment UK:
Tons of questions does this raise! As far as I was aware MangaUK was just like Anime Ltd a three-man operation, so now Jeremy Graves is alone in the office. Who will take over the department?
As far as I know Jerome usually goes to Japan a few weeks ahead of MCM October to finalize licenses for MangaUK, which may explain why there was barely any news: nobody finalized the Q1 contracts?

► Manga Entertainment UK and sequels:
Can we really expect a lot from Manga anymore? High School DxD New probably will still go to Manga UK, but the future is extremely uncertain for Evangelion 4.44 if you wanted company continuity.
What about the Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies, will Animatsu now chase those down? Because if the series didn't perform too well they won't go to Manga.

And what for those who hoped on a Blu-ray upgrade for K-On!! next June? Or ANY Blu-ray upgrade!
Whoever will become the new head of acquisitions at Manga UK may not be familiar with any niche brand and may not do us any favours like Anime Ltd, MVM and Jerome have done us in the past.
Whoever will be the new decision-maker probably won't really look back and go "maybe we should upgrade this to Blu-ray".

Sword Art Online 2? Attack on Titan? Guilty Crown? Psycho-Pass? Is there a future for any of those titles? For future instalments and complete collections?
Manga won't go bust as they're held up by Naruto, Fairy Tail, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece, but we may indeed see way less niche titles from them now.
They may become a Kaze-like company, which already has been kind of happening with the reportedly strange authoring (decisions) as of late.
We must also remember in the USA Manga Entertainment still exists with barely any releases as well, so that may be the future of our Manga Entertainment as well.

The good news is that Jerome should know what licenses (and for which formats) Manga has and which ones are expiring. So we may see some interesting announcements from them in the new year.
I also hope Jerome will be as open as Andrew soon and listen to our suggestions & interact. Let us hope 2015 builds more epicness and isn't a year of downfall.
 
Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Jon O Fun said:
To be honest I was a bit surprised MVM got No Game No Life I was sure that'd be a Manga pick up (and wasn't it hinted they've got Log Horizon as well?)
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It's a Sentai title (although they may or may not have UK rights along with the US) and Sentai, MVM and Hanabee are in bed together more often than not these days.
 
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This is the angel supporting Animatsu:
Rebuild_trailer_ramiel.jpg


At the moment, I'd say that it's way too early to assume anything regarding Animatsu until we've heard more from Jerome or Andrew about their vision for the company. When I read the LinkedIn description, it sounded mostly like PR fluff that would appeal to the average LinkedIn user, so I definitely can't wait for an English translation.
 
Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Agent-347 said:
NormanicGrav said:
Quite a shock to see this happen:

Jerome and Andrew have left Manga UK
The news, which has been relayed via Mazandarani's private Instagram account, has stated that both individuals have moved on to set up their own company, Animatsu. More details on this venture will be revealed in due course.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


► Manga Entertainment UK:
Tons of questions does this raise! As far as I was aware MangaUK was just like Anime Ltd a three-man operation, so now Jeremy Graves is alone in the office. Who will take over the department?
As far as I know Jerome usually goes to Japan a few weeks ahead of MCM October to finalize licenses for MangaUK, which may explain why there was barely any news: nobody finalized the Q1 contracts?
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Jeremy technically works for Fetch Publicity, he just represents Manga UK in community channels etc - hence why he has to clarify things with Manga HQ before giving an answer to the public.

I think there are a fair few people who work at MangaUK; its just that Andrew and Jerome were the two 'figureheads' for the company. For instance at each London MCM Expo i've been two (past 2 years) it's been the same people on the stall selling goods; i know this doesn't confirm anything but just thought i'd point it out xD
 
Re: The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

Agent-347 said:
So Jerome has the intention to do what Anime Ltd does and go into Europe with the company?! Interesting!
Although it also hints Jerome has the intention to license actual "European content"? Could he perhaps license Totally Spies? (Would be nice. =P)
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Well, it is sometimes easier to license for Europe as a whole rather than just the UK (the UK Dragonball Z rights were tied up in France for years), although it pits them against the powerhouse of Kaze.

MangaUK might turn into another "101 Anime"/"101 Films" case.
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101 (which is connected to ADV's old distributor, Lace) was just leveraging some old ADV licenses. Who approached whom regarding getting them back in print is anyone's guess.

And what for those who hoped on a Blu-ray upgrade for K-On!! next June? Or ANY Blu-ray upgrade!
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Not a chance; Jerome's made no bones about K-on sales being disappointing, and excepting any cases where manga only have DVD rights, the BD rights will remain with them anyway.

Emo185 said:
I think there are a fair few people who work at MangaUK; its just that Andrew and Jerome were the two 'figureheads' for the company. For instance at each London MCM Expo i've been two (past 2 years) it's been the same people on the stall selling goods; i know this doesn't confirm anything but just thought i'd point it out xD
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There have only ever been a few people who working for Manga over the last few years, although I assume they share an office with Anchor Bay.
 
I think everything's now in one place so please continue the discussion in this thread!

Sorry about the messy splitting/merging, it's hard to do anything on my mobile setup when away from home ^^;

R
 
I found this https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZQmhE ... luzUQN-yPw
Channel called animatsu the youtube channel and 1 video was created on the 9th September 2014 2 days before Animatsu entertainment limited was created it may just be a coincidence but who knows. Also there is a video on the channel called "kaze no senshi" which makes me think this isn't their channel because the video text effect is Windows movie maker and I doubt Jerome or Andrew would actually upload a video as a teaser using Windows movie maker. Well I dont know it's up to yourselves to make a decision whether its theirs or not.

8) - Noob
 
What worries me about Manga Entertainment is that they might be going back to their pre-2000 status, especially if Starz have gotten tired of supporting a subsidiary that makes a modest profit at best. A lot of their recent releases smack of cutting corners and doing things on the cheap, while it's already been pointed out that their 2015 release slate is looking barren.

They may be on the same path as Manga US, finishing off releasing their existing licenses, and then become a holding company until those licenses expire, re-releasing the odd movie and OVA collection once every few years, until in the end, all that's left is Ghost in the Shell again. You don't need people in the UK office fronting the company and making the decisions to do just that, an intern at Anchor Bay could do it.
 
Just Passing Through said:
What worries me about Manga Entertainment is that they might be going back to their pre-2000 status, especially if Starz have gotten tired of supporting a subsidiary that makes a modest profit at best. A lot of their recent releases smack of cutting corners and doing things on the cheap, while it's already been pointed out that their 2015 release slate is looking barren.

They may be on the same path as Manga US, finishing off releasing their existing licenses, and then become a holding company until those licenses expire, re-releasing the odd movie and OVA collection once every few years, until in the end, all that's left is Ghost in the Shell again. You don't need people in the UK office fronting the company and making the decisions to do just that, an intern at Anchor Bay could do it.
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I think this is the thing that worries me most, because I can very easily see it happening. Like you say, 'Manga' as a brand will always have GITS to fall back on in terms of income, and if it has the licenses for all the shonen titles for the foreseeable future they can just sit back on those and let the money roll in.

I get the feeling a lot of their income was hit hard when HMV started closing shops, as whereas before you could perhaps count on a steady stream of casual, off the shelf 'oh, this looks interesting', purchases, now the bulk just comes via Amazon from the hardcore base that'll buy most of what they release. And there aren't that many of us.
 
Is this really worrying though? Jerome (much like Andrew) will be taking all his industry contacts with him to Animatsu and Anime Ltd. have demonstrated a new independent distributor can work.

Indeed we've now gone from having three half-arsed local subsidiaries of larger global companies (Beez, Manga, Kaze - No offence intended to the work Andrew did for two of those companies, but he's clearly able to do a much better job on his own) that didn't really give a sh*t about the local market handling most licenses to having not one but three fully independent distributors in the UK (MVM, Anime Ltd, Animatsu) in a matter of just a few years. I think that's a great development.

Goodnight Manga. It's been fun, sometimes.
 
Surely if Jerome's contract was up to scratch he'll have a 6 month non-compete arrangement in there, no? If this is the case then he shouldn't be even talking to anyone or any business that he's dealt with while working for Manga.

That being said, I've seen plenty of situations where I'd assume this was the case, only for there to be nothing of the sort in place. Only time will tell as we'll have an indication based on their first licenses and their time-frames.
 
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