Mai Mai Miracle is done (February 4th 2014 - December 1st 2016)

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That's right, the Kickstarter is finally finished. UK backers will get theirs in a few days, Europeans will wait a little bit longer and the others will wait a little bit longer after that.

Collector's Edition Combo

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Artbook

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Non-backers will have to wait 6 months to own the film.
 
Cross posting...

Ath said:
Well it looks like Mai Mai Miracle is finally ready to go. Latest backer update says it should be shipping any day now.

To be honest I'd pretty much forgotten about it. Glad it's finally coming though. It's a shame this Kickstarter was so protracted after the Patema Inverted one went so smoothly. I'm guessing that having to deal with a disbanded production committee nearly half-a-decade after the film's release probably didn't help.
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I have to admit, I'd agree that having a delay on the release for non-backers is a silly idea (unless there's a practical reason behind it). At the very least, I'd have hoped that Anime Limited would make the release available through their own shop to start with.

I know that some backers might complain and that the sense of having something exclusive is probably important to some people but I just don't think that artificial exclusivity is justifiable. I'd also like to believe that the vast majority of backers wouldn't mind if the release was made available as soon as possible.

I suppose it's possible that there is some reason behind the delay, it may even be part of an agreement, but it's still a shame to see it. The fact that the kickstarter release was already delayed kind of makes it seem even worse.
 
thedoctor2016 said:
Or get the Japanese version. (Which If I had the money i would do as a protest 6 month holdback is unfair)
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Pay money to a Japanese company in protest of a holdback likely initiated by said company...makes a lot of sense....

Looking at Patema Inverted, I highly doubt it is an AL decision to make it KS exclusive for 6 months.
 
britguy said:
Pay money to a Japanese company in protest of a holdback likely initiated by said company...makes a lot of sense....

Looking at Patema Inverted, I highly doubt it is an LA decision to make it KS exclusive for 6 months.
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In this case there is a chance that it's Anime Limited delaying the general release since they kind of agreed to do so in advance (though maybe it was just always part of the deal). It'd be nice to have confirmation on that either way, though.
 
Smeelia said:
In this case there is a chance that it's Anime Limited delaying the general release since they kind of agreed to do so in advance (though maybe it was just always part of the deal). It'd be nice to have confirmation on that either way, though.
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Possibly, doubt we'll ever know tbh.
 
britguy said:
Possibly, doubt we'll ever know tbh.
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I think it's the sort of thing that Anime Limited might be inclined to own up to if it was them, although they might be less keen to comment if it's the Japanese side that is enforcing the delay (so silence wouldn't necessarily help).

Looking back at some comments, it's possible that the only release for non-backers might be a standard edition and the delay could be in getting that prepared for release. I suppose we'll just need to wait for more information (or maybe the information is available somewhere already).
 
Folks, I wouldn't usually chime in but just to be clear here - I'm sorry if a 6 month delay seems extreme (keep in mind the clock starts from December when it's completed) but you have to keep in mind:
  • A lot of people spent a lot of money making Mai Mai Miracle happen and they've had to wait a long time for the release. We want to be 100% sure everyone who backed gets their rewards before hitting general retail (you'd be amazed how long it takes sometimes for the stragglers).
  • We want to get an edition out for non-backers asap too but ultimately we have learned from previous Kickstarter efforts like Patema that backers just do not like a title coming out too quickly after. That's why we made the promise to hold it back from basically the beginning and to go back on now is actually more of an issue than anything vs people complaining about the delay.
  • This is not a Japanese mandated decision, it's one we made ourselves for the reason above. Yes we realise it's on the extreme end but then again I'm guessing folks upset have not seen the Kickstarter backlash when you release too soon commercially...:(
So again, sorry to the inevitable people who will be less than pleased (I can see a few of you already) but there is a reason behind it, even if folks aren't happy about it. For what it's worth - when I finally write a post-mortem for this Kickstarter, I'll also be explaining why we won't be doing another Kickstarter again!

Best,

Andrew
 
It was long before I chance to Back it so because I was too young i get a 6 month imposed to please those people who have gave you abuse for years yeah real fair.
 
thedoctor2016 said:
It was long before I chance to Back it so because I was too young i get a 6 month imposed to please those people who have gave you abuse for years yeah real fair.
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Andrew and AL have to cater to the people who made the product commercially viable first, then everyone else. Sorry you weren't around to back initially, and tbh, I wouldn't care if the normal release came out the exact same date as I receive my copy. but talking about fairness here and coming across sarcastic/agressive isn't doing my opinion of you any favours ;)
 
This isnt fairness. This is specifically unfair 6 months is unfair 3 months yeah i can accept 6 no.

At least it isnt the 11 month holdback AL Put on Zeta gundam.
 
Ultimately, backers did pay up front to make this happen. I feel the same with all Kickstarter campaigns. Backers have to be prioritised, otherwise one of the main incentives for backing a campaign in the first place is gone, and you've lost goodwill for any future Kickstarter campaigns.

Though judging by Andrew's comments, that last point's not going to apply to Anime Limited anymore...
 
On 1st December? It's a Christmas Miracle! It's a Christmas Mai Mai Miracle!
I can't believe it's been so long since I backed this; Anime Limited was still in its infancy and I supported solely based on Andrew's personal taste - and now, they're a giant releasing blockbusters!

In regards to the general retail hold-back, as a backer, I am in full support of it. While this isn't the first time we've had an extended wait for a title (Evangelion 3.33, Shinkai twin-pack), but unlike those occasions, supporters took the risk and paid upfront three years ago. Honestly, we do deserve something special over people who have held their wallets all this time.
 
I suppose that's pretty much what I expected. The point about not wanting to go back on a promise makes sense, although I think there are times when it's better to be willing to go back on your word if it means choosing a "lesser evil" (so to speak).

The issue for me, really, is that I feel it's unreasonable to complain about other people getting access to a release. I consider more people having access to anime as being inherently positive, so it's disappointing to see people who feel that their enjoyment is negatively affected by the fact that other people are able to enjoy the same content.

I have to admit, I was under the impression that there hadn't been too many major issues with the Patema situation (I was probably silently supporting wider access). I suppose it's a bit rougher if you're the one that the complaints are directed against.

Still, I'd have to question if it's really worth trying to please the kind of people who'd actually complain about making the release available to non-backers. If they're upset by something that is positive for many and doesn't technically affect them then it's probably pretty easy to upset them anyway. I'm not sure it's actually worth trying to avoid complaints, especially if it means offering a inferior service to do so (I'm not sure that's the right phrasing). It's unlikely that you'd be able to avoid all complaints (I mean, this post is technically a complaint of sorts), so I'd think it'd be more of a matter of filtering out complaints that you can't practically do anything about and trying to take onboard more reasonable complaints.

I'm probably on slightly dangerous ground with that one but I don't think I'm being unfair.

Just to clarify, I can understand the reasoning behind the decision but I'd respectfully disagree with it. I'm not really annoyed at the decision so much as I am disappointed at the attitude some people have that has led to such a decision.

Joshawott said:
In regards to the general retail hold-back, as a backer, I am in full support of it. While this isn't the first time we've had an extended wait for a title (Evangelion 3.33, Shinkai twin-pack), but unlike those occasions, supporters took the risk and paid upfront three years ago. Honestly, we do deserve something special over people who have held their wallets all this time.
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Out of interest, why would you consider the release being unavailable to non-backers as "something special" for backers?
 
It... exists?

anime_andrew said:
Yes we realise it's on the extreme end but then again I'm guessing folks upset have not seen the Kickstarter backlash when you release too soon commercially...:(
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I remember praising you for how you handled the retail release of Patema. It was available on Amazon shortly after backers received their copies but the price was 30-50% higher than what I had paid as a backer. Contrast this to what happened with Time of Eve, which showed up on Amazon at more or less the same time as backers got their copies for more or less the same price as backers had paid two years prior.

I suppose this is a moot point given that you're not doing any more Kickstarters (and between this and Time of Eve, neither am I), but I don't see the issue with a Kickstarter product being available at retail providing backers either get some kind of reward or don't end up paying the same as those who didn't fund the actual release of the product.
 
In regards to pricing, if I remember correctly, I pledged $55 for a Collector's Edition copy. Frankly, there's no way Anime Limited would be able to sell to general retail for that price without major backlash and as a backer, I'm cool with paying a bit more because we had more overheads to cover (dub funding etc). However, if they released it with a more market-friendly price too close to backers receiving their copies, then it's fairly obvious and understandable that backers who pledged more years ago will be less than pleased.

(I actually had to go back and double-check; for some reason I thought I'd only backed the standard edition. Feeling chuffed now).
 
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