Manchester Expo Licenses & News

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MANGA:

We've licensed the series "Karneval". (Format+release date: TBC.)
We can confirm we'll be releasing "Fairy Tail - The Movie" in the UK in 2014
We can confirm we'll be releasing "Sengoku Basara - The Last Party" in the UK. More details will be forthcoming
"Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail" comes to DVD & BD (via Kazé) in November. More details forthcoming
We can confirm the release date of "Fairy Tail: Part 5" is 2nd December 2013
We can confirm the release date of "K-On! The Movie" on DVD & BD is 28th October. (NOTE: BD ver. is combo pack.
We can confirm the release date of Guilty Crown will be 18th November 2013. And it will be on DVD and BD
"Eureka Seven AO", "One Piece: Collection 5" and "Blood C: The Last Dark" are set for release in Q1 of 2014
 
Nothing major interesting for me here. Looks like Kaze is still alive with Roberta's Blood Trail which was announced ages ago.

Karneval is a strange license to pick up, the second time Manga licenses a show that just aired this year (the first being Attack on Titan).
 
Good to hear that more Fairy Tail is definitely coming to the UK, and the release announcement for Roberta's Blood Trail is another positive. Wonder if Guilty Crown is going to be a single collection or two parts...
 
Guilty Crown is too pretty for me to pass up buying the BD, I can't wait to revisit it with a load of alcohol. I'll get Eureka Seven AO next year too.
 
I'll be picking up the K-ON! movie, although it is disappointing to hear that it's just a DVD/BD combi and that they're not doing anything special with it. I also don't get the logic of releasing something on both DVD and a BD/DVD combi-pack.
 
That's been standard practice for BD movies until recently to be fair. Double Play and Triple Play, trying to emphasise the "take it anywhere" nature of it. Lately more and more movies are dropping the DVD in favour of just a Digital Copy though...
 
Ath said:
That's been standard practice for BD movies until recently to be fair. Double Play and Triple Play, trying to emphasise the "take it anywhere" nature of it. Lately more and more movies are dropping the DVD in favour of just a Digital Copy though...
I would have expected either a DVD release and a BD release, or just a Double Play.
 
It does seem rather contrary; I thought the point of combo packs was to encourage people towards adopting BD, but this way surely they'd just buy the DVD to save money then be unwilling to double dip later (all the more so if they end up with two lots of DVDs that way).

The cut-price mainstream strategy can't coexist well with the premium collector mentality, as we see with Japan and the US now they're both making BDs. This DVD/DVD+BD strategy seems to be the same kind of contradictory approach.

R
 
I will only get the Blood-C: Last Dark which is much better that the series and the Sengoku Basara movie. They can keep the rest for other people. :p

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail I am already waiting for it to arrive.
 
So the last thing MangaUK announced that I am actually interested in was back in February (Steins;Gate). And, excluding sequels to existing MangaUK products, that's the only announcement this year. Not too good for a company that was bringing out 3 or 4 new releases per month that I was interested in buying for a while. It's not as though there's a lack of things that I want, either.
I understand that there are different tastes out there, so I'm not annoyed or anything. But I can't help but feel just a little disappointed.

Oh well, at least MVM (and, to a lesser extent, Anime Limited) have picked up some of the slack.
 
Next to "it looks interesting" I can't say much more about the Karneval news than that I'm surprised as Funimation never announced home video rights, so is this getting dubbed or is this another Mayo Chiki where this time Manga assumes it's going to get dubbed. Or is this a sub only on purpose. Well, wait and see is all I can do, isn't it right? I do expect Funimation to licence home video rights & dub it though.

We can confirm we'll be releasing "Sengoku Basara - The Last Party" in the UK. More details will be forthcoming
As for Sengoku Basara it quickly became the show this year I don't give a damn about supporting the whole thing legally (anymore). It got way too complex recently when the US skipped the SE for the region A+B second season BD & just shoved it in a box with the region A only season 1. I want to get Manga's BD though...

So to make a long story short: Even if Manga releases the movie onto blu-ray, as long as season 2 is dvd-only I doubt I'll get the series on my shelf anytime soon.
I hope these cases don't happen again in the future. I'm holding my breath for Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere 2 though... I really am afraid we'll end up getting a dvd-only for season 2.

- "Fairy Tail: Part 5": 2 December 2013
- "One Piece: Collection 5": Q1 2014
*Takes Audacity, adds some effects, adds beatdrop which makes the word sound different, press play* I donutcake!
(I don't care (at the moment of speaking), Fairy Tail would only persuade a sale from me over time if it got a BD release which just won't happen.)

- "Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail": 4 November (BD+DVD; Kaze).
- "K-On! The Movie": 28 October (Combopack+DVD)
- "Guilty Crown - Part 1": 18 November 2013 (BD+DVD)
Added all of these to my "Sustain the Industry" Excel file, marking them all in red which stands for "currently no plans to (pre-)order but definitely plan to get later".

I'm already planning on getting:
- BD [November]: Another (This one is a definite, would be the first MVM BD I'll pre-order (but I'll do it close to the release date).)
- BD [October]: Place Promised in Our Early Days (after my 'discussion' with Mangaranga for not supporting a new company I decided I should be able to afford this one; still will wait for Cowboy Bebop though)
- BD [September]: Blue Exorcist . (Might ask it for my birthday though, in August. xD)
- IF BD: Heaven's Memo Pad (I know chances are slim but you never know with MVM... (Fingers crossed)).

- "Eureka Seven AO": Q1 2014
- "Blood C: The Last Dark": Q1 2014
- "Fairy Tail - The Movie": 2014
As for Eureka Seven AO I'm hoping it gets a blu-ray release, together with the original series (the latter via Anime Ltd perhaps).
As for Blood C: The Last Dark it's very predictable it'll get a BD release, I'm planning to get it during 2014 to watch it with the series I'll get as well. I heard many mixed opinions, but if I understood correctly it comes down to: the movie concludes the series much like Eden of the East.

As for Fairy Tail I haven't watched a single episode yet, but think I'll like it. Either way, it's not top priority but I am going to try to get the US BD Collections of 24 episodes each (because: BD sized packaging) to watch the series. And if MangaUK releases the movie on blu-ray I'll be getting that over the course of time as well. ^_^

Rui said:
It does seem rather contrary; I thought the point of combo packs was to encourage people towards adopting BD, but this way surely they'd just buy the DVD to save money then be unwilling to double dip later (all the more so if they end up with two lots of DVDs that way).
Yeah, if you think about it it's strange indeed. It should be: "Blu-ray only and combopack" or "combopack and collector's edition" or "combopack only".

I personally still believe equal prizing for dvd & blu-ray is an important next step (for 2014). Either drop the SRP of BDs or rise the SRP of dvds.
The best strategy seems to be having the same SRP by dropping the SRP of BD. (£29.99 for 12~ episodes (where the BDs currently have an SRP of £34.99, and while it might not look like a huge difference it actually is a significant difference on large scale))

And really, they might be saying that a combopack with an SRP of £39.99 includes free dvds. But if the seperate dvd version has an SRP of £29.99, then you are actually insinuating to me you could've also left the dvds out of the combopack and given the whole blu-ray set an SRP of £10. While I don't actually want them to go bankrupt and actually know it doesn't work like that, it'd be nice if they tried some stuff with the price of BDs (or extrawise) to persuade sales from people.

And much like Funimation Manga should drop the SRP of older/unsuccessful titles in a pricing range alike the re-release of HSOTD. If some BDs don't perform well the least thing you could do is drop the SRP by at least £10. While it still might not turn into a profit you'll make more people happy and the stock won't go to waste.

Side note: I also believe the UK industry needs (more) blu-ray only releases (or at least have the blu-ray release ahead of the dvd release), and I strongly believe Sword Art Online would be the perfect title for a(n initial) blu-ray only BECAUSE it is so popular. Yet I know some people reading this will curse me for saying this, yet 99+% of the UK anime releases get a dvd... But at the same time I do realize SAO would be a moneymaker, so maybe for example have SAO BD parts in the spring, and dvd parts in the fall. (Just thinking out loud...) There definitely will be people who cannot wait, those will buy a blu-ray player and make it worthwhile by buying more. There are constantly people in doubt whether they should buy a BD player who just need an extra push. (Or need to get informed their console can play BD...)

Rui said:
The cut-price mainstream strategy can't coexist well with the premium collector mentality, as we see with Japan and the US now they're both making BDs. This DVD/DVD+BD strategy seems to be the same kind of contradictory approach.
It'd be nice if Manga, MVM, Kaze would listen more to our requests/suggestions towards the releases... (No disc count lables, MVM. Consistency, all. Don't cram, KAZE. Chipboard artbox every once in a while, or an LE extra, all.) Those would be small things making a huge difference. Especially leaving out disc counts and make a company-based consistent spine instead of editing the foreign one they receive and just changing logos would benefit the companies, especially MVM.

I'm sure I'm wrong about some stuff I say (!), but I do believe at least part of what I say is true and could work. Some other stuff needs serious second thought by me. Should seek time therefor. :p
 
And really, they might be saying that a combopack with an SRP of £39.99 includes free dvds. But if the seperate dvd version has an SRP of £29.99, then you are actually insinuating to me you could've also left the dvds out of the combopack and given the whole blu-ray set an SRP of £10.

You're forgetting economies of scale, which are hugely important and probably the only reason why combo packs exist at all.
For a lot of things the cost would be exactly the same for a combo pack as a blu-ray by itself. This includes:
-BBFC cost
-advertising and customer relations
-expenses incurred in acquiring the license (including travel costs etc)
-contacting suppliers and pitching products to them
-overhead costs (from their website to their HQ to hiring consultants or accountants to wages of their staff and more)
-cost of subtitling and QA
-cost of producing the master disc
Depending on the way their contracts work, this may also include costs of licensing (dub track/the original anime license).

Other things would cost more for a combo pack but considerably less than it would for a bluray and a DVD separately. This would likely include:
-logistical costs
-packaging costs
-disc production costs (as a combo pack means you are making more discs thus you can get a better deal from the supplier)

Once you've got rid of all that, pretty much the only thing left is the markup from the retailer. Which would usually be a percentage, meaning that a lower total cost of other things also becomes a lower cost in this area too.

In other words, it is perfectly normal that the cost of a BR/DVD combo pack is significantly lower than the cost of them separately - from the supplier's perspective as well as the customer's. If it weren't then nobody would bother making them.

If some BDs don't perform well the least thing you could do is drop the SRP by at least £10. While it still might not turn into a profit you'll make more people happy and the stock won't go to waste.

This sort of thing only really works for things which you vastly overproduce (it wouldn't be dropping the SRP anyway - it would be dropping the price that you sell them for and then expecting/telling the retailers to drop their prices by an equivalent amount). Anything less and it's usually better for the retailer to just sit on them and let the long tail gradually take care of the backlog.
Incidentally, MVM already do this sort of thing with DVDs - not just with their deal of the week but also with some old single disc releases.
 
kuuderes_shadow said:
And really, they might be saying that a combopack with an SRP of £39.99 includes free dvds. But if the seperate dvd version has an SRP of £29.99, then you are actually insinuating to me you could've also left the dvds out of the combopack and given the whole blu-ray set an SRP of £10.
You're forgetting economies of scale, which are hugely important and probably the only reason why combo packs exist at all.
For a lot of things the cost would be exactly the same for a combo pack as a blu-ray by itself. This includes:
-BBFC cost
-advertising and customer relations
-expenses incurred in acquiring the license (including travel costs etc)
-contacting suppliers and pitching products to them
-overhead costs (from their website to their HQ to hiring consultants or accountants to wages of their staff and more)
-cost of subtitling and QA
-cost of producing the master disc
Depending on the way their contracts work, this may also include costs of licensing (dub track/the original anime license).
I did actually say in the follow-up line left out of the quote that I do know it doesn't work like how I said it in your quote. But hey-ho...
I listen to all MangaUK podcasts, I'm fully aware of the costs for BFFC, acquisition, listings/shipping, masters/QC/edits,...
That's exactly why I said the line after that I know it doesn't work like that. I'm not stupid/baka, I'm just "wishful thinking" out loud.
Another line that should've revealed I knew is when I said I feel the SRP of dvd & BD should be in one line (both £29.99, or both £34.99 in a regular case/situation).

Actually one of the fascinating scenarios I have been pondering about is switching the SRP of dvd & BD around. If dvd sells better you'll make more money back if you make sure the good selling product is more expensive than the worse selling one. Of course, once again, no company would dare trying this. It's just something I'd like to investigate personally.

Yet I've seen equal pricing for dvd & BD in a fair few non-English speaking territories before. (And Madman did it with Persona 4)
It's hard to persuade people to get the better format if it's more expensive as well. That's what it all comes down to from my point of view.
And to overcome this barrier you need to either play with prices or add significant value to the BD. I can't be wrong on that one.

Hope I worded this all correct, it's not always easy being a non-native on a forum.

kuuderes_shadow said:
Other things would cost more for a combo pack but considerably less than it would for a bluray and a DVD separately. This would likely include:
-logistical costs
-packaging costs
-disc production costs (as a combo pack means you are making more discs thus you can get a better deal from the supplier)

Once you've got rid of all that, pretty much the only thing left is the markup from the retailer. Which would usually be a percentage, meaning that a lower total cost of other things also becomes a lower cost in this area too.

In other words, it is perfectly normal that the cost of a BR/DVD combo pack is significantly lower than the cost of them separately - from the supplier's perspective as well as the customer's. If it weren't then nobody would bother making them.
£34.99 for BD and £29.99 for dvd is lower than £39.99 for combopack (speaking about the regular SRP and from the costumer perspective. And I know actual prices are lower.), but I can understand costs are lower if they'd ONLY do a combopack. Something has to be more expensive if you do "dvd & combopack". (packaging for sure)

I personally don't mind owning the dvds if I also own the BD, but would prefer the option to just get the BD.
Especially since combopacks in the UK anime industry don't have nice slipcovers or chipboard artboxes.
I don't Okami-San & Shiki on my shelf, they are the prides of my collection, coming from the US with a superb artbox. Definitely worth it.
I also like how Tales of Vesperia, Evangelion 2.22, Code Geass, Madoka Magica & Summer Wars/GWLTT look on my desk/shelf. ^_^

kuuderes_shadow said:
If some BDs don't perform well the least thing you could do is drop the SRP by at least £10. While it still might not turn into a profit you'll make more people happy and the stock won't go to waste.

This sort of thing only really works for things which you vastly overproduce (it wouldn't be dropping the SRP anyway - it would be dropping the price that you sell them for and then expecting/telling the retailers to drop their prices by an equivalent amount). Anything less and it's usually better for the retailer to just sit on them and let the long tail gradually take care of the backlog.
Incidentally, MVM already do this sort of thing with DVDs - not just with their deal of the week but also with some old single disc releases.

If I say I want MangaUK to do like Funimation and do "(M)SRP drops", or a "S.A.V.E. line", then that's what I mean.
What you say could also work, of course. But in some cases like Ghost Hunt & XAM'd I saw prices rise lately instead of drop which makes no sense at all for me personally from the perspective that if something doesn't sell at a lower price it definitely won't sell better at a higher price.

But I am aware it isn't that easy to do, because I noticed on Zavvi it took over a month for the SRP of the FMA:B C1 to drop to the actual SRP price instead of the price for the cancelled complete collection. It's the same like the overpriced Shiki at some stores from last month, it definitely won't help sales.

Yeah, I do buy some DOTWs over the course of time... But I'm not expecting such extreme pricedrops/SRP drops.

There's more to say about the subject, but I'll just assume you understand now that I am aware of the costs, know I'm doing some wishful thinking on some fronts and know I'm definitely wrong about some stuff. Of course, I am an alien after all! :p Humans are so perfect. :p

Have a nice day. *<-(^-^)-/*

PS: The heat might be melting my brain, sorry about that. Also, sorry for going way too offtopic. ^_^
 
Agent-347 said:
Next to "it looks interesting" I can't say much more about the Karneval news than that I'm surprised as Funimation never announced home video rights, so is this getting dubbed or is this another Mayo Chiki where this time Manga assumes it's going to get dubbed. Or is this a sub only on purpose. Well, wait and see is all I can do, isn't it right? I do expect Funimation to licence home video rights & dub it though.
For a FUNimation title, no. Manga has at least twice got into trouble for stating FUNimation is dubbing something before they have actually announced it (Summer Wars and Eva IIRC). While they have wised up and will probably say if pressed that they "assume" someone will be dubbing or whatever, the chances are close to 100% that FUNimation is going to announce something soon.
Other than the odd extra like the Vandread OVAs, and with the notable exception of the upcoming GiTS Arise import discs, everything FUNimation has released on disc has been dubbed.
There is also IIRC only one case where a FUNimation simulcast show has been released by someone else (Campanella).

Agent-347 said:
Actually one of the fascinating scenarios I have been pondering about is switching the SRP of dvd & BD around. If dvd sells better you'll make more money back if you make sure the good selling product is more expensive than the worse selling one. Of course, once again, no company would dare trying this. It's just something I'd like to investigate personally.
One of the reasons DVDs sell better is because they are cheaper.

Yet I've seen equal pricing for dvd & BD in a fair few non-English speaking territories before. (And Madman did it with Persona 4)
The advantage Madman have over Manga is that they can import FUNimation's discs and stick them in new packaging because they don't have to have the classification logo on the disc itself. The also have all the BD facilities in-house unlike Manga.
Hanabee's have done equal pricing on most(?) titles since around January: BSP, EF, Kids on the Slope, Mysterious Girlfriend X... actually, I think those are all Sentai titles so they are probably the ones that Sentai mastered with the Hanabee logo for Region B players.

If I say I want MangaUK to do like Funimation and do "(M)SRP drops", or a "S.A.V.E. line", then that's what I mean.
Manga's re-release of Highschool of the Dead was at a "budget" RRP (£14.99/£12.99). We used to get cheaper re-releases as a matter of course - but that was back when prices were higher in general and stuff was still being released on singles first.

But in some cases like Ghost Hunt & XAM'd I saw prices rise lately instead of drop which makes no sense at all for me personally from the perspective that if something doesn't sell at a lower price it definitely won't sell better at a higher price.
The MSRP isn't going to go up. Were you looking at prices on TRSI during a studio sale or something?
 
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