UK Anime Distributor MVM Entertainment Discussion Thread

Neferpitou

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UK Anime Distributor Representative: MVM Q&A Thread

I am very happy to announce that the recently joined representative from MVM who has joined the forum, has agreed to try and answer all your question regarding the company, to the best of their ability.

Please act in a polite and sensible manner when asking your questions or giving your comments/feedback regarding MVM. Also please be patient when waiting for a reply from the MVM Representative, as they are very busy company, Thanks.
 
I have a couple of questions, both relating to licenses.

I've always been intrigued that despite FUNimation having some sort of agreement with Manga UK, MVM obtained the rights to distribute Romeo x Juliet (Not that it's a bad thing at all!). Looking at some of my other MVM-distributed titles, I've noticed a lot of them are made by Gonzo; so was RxJ licensed directly from Gonzo (rather than being a sublicense) or were there other circumstances?

I'd understand if you can't answer this second question, but unfortunately the fanboy part of my brain won't let me post without asking it: Recently, FUNimation announced that they had licensed the second series, the movie and OVAs of Shakugan no Shana. Considering that their license of season 1 is a rescue from Geneon; what are the chances of MVM getting the license for more Shana in the future?
 
Grabbing my questions from before with a tiny tweak :)

As non-flippant suggestions I would quite like to see Kaiba, Dennou Coil or Welcome to Irabu's Office (Kuuchuu Buranko) come out over here and they have Australian releases. I could import them but I don't usually import from that part of the world often because it's effort and I'm backlogged with stuff anyway. Would that kind of suggestion be more viable than the usual ones, since presumably they have already been done up for PAL and translated?

I know Manga has gone on record to complain that sub-only releases are commercial suicide and sell half as much as bilingual ones, but since MVM is also in the live action side of things where sub-only foreign cinema is clearly viable, it would be interesting to see more niche anime come out this way rather than having to pull dubs from America and deal with the problem that most of the hardcore fans already imported. Beez is doing it and I'd like to support more of that kind of thing!

R
 
I know this may get bogged down with license requests but it'd be nice to get some sort of answer on the following:

MVM tends to go for the slightly more adult orientated anime series, so is there any interest in licensing Monster (which I know is Viz exclusive in the US, so I'm not sure where it would stand over here) & Rainbow Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin?

Those are about the only two series left which I'm just hoping get licensed somewhere, anywhere.
 
Rui said:
I know Manga has gone on record to complain that sub-only releases are commercial suicide and sell half as much as bilingual ones, but since MVM is also in the live action side of things where sub-only foreign cinema is clearly viable, it would be interesting to see more niche anime come out this way rather than having to pull dubs from America and deal with the problem that most of the hardcore fans already imported. Beez is doing it and I'd like to support more of that kind of thing!
This is way more interesting on a practical level than my question (or any questions pertaining to specific licenses, imo), so would get my backing as something to ask them (presuming they aren't going to answer all the questions that quickly, or necessarily at all...).
 
Joshawott said:
I have a couple of questions, both relating to licenses.

I've always been intrigued that despite FUNimation having some sort of agreement with Manga UK, MVM obtained the rights to distribute Romeo x Juliet (Not that it's a bad thing at all!). Looking at some of my other MVM-distributed titles, I've noticed a lot of them are made by Gonzo; so was RxJ licensed directly from Gonzo (rather than being a sublicense) or were there other circumstances?

I'd understand if you can't answer this second question, but unfortunately the fanboy part of my brain won't let me post without asking it: Recently, FUNimation announced that they had licensed the second series, the movie and OVAs of Shakugan no Shana. Considering that their license of season 1 is a rescue from Geneon; what are the chances of MVM getting the license for more Shana in the future?

We've always gotten on well with Gonzo and their titles have always been good sellers for us - a lot of the times if Madman have got a Gonzo title it's much easier for us.
With regards to Shana, a lot of people have been asking whether we'll be getting or try to - Shana was a good seller for us so obviously we will be enquiring into it but its too early to say anything right now.
 
ilmaestro said:
What is MVM's opinion on trying to sell anime on BD in the UK?

Blu Ray? We were going to try it but it is quite expensive to do and considering Manga have cancelled some BD releases due to poor sales, Anime in the UK on BD just isn't strong enough. So for the time being we'll just be sticking to regular DVD.
 
Rui said:
Grabbing my questions from before with a tiny tweak :)

As non-flippant suggestions I would quite like to see Kaiba, Dennou Coil or Welcome to Irabu's Office (Kuuchuu Buranko) come out over here and they have Australian releases. I could import them but I don't usually import from that part of the world often because it's effort and I'm backlogged with stuff anyway. Would that kind of suggestion be more viable than the usual ones, since presumably they have already been done up for PAL and translated?

I know Manga has gone on record to complain that sub-only releases are commercial suicide and sell half as much as bilingual ones, but since MVM is also in the live action side of things where sub-only foreign cinema is clearly viable, it would be interesting to see more niche anime come out this way rather than having to pull dubs from America and deal with the problem that most of the hardcore fans already imported. Beez is doing it and I'd like to support more of that kind of thing!

R

First q - obviously there's a lot of anime that are available from Madman but its all about what sells well, what would be available for us etc.

With the sub only it's a tricky one...Live action does sell well but, as daft as it sounds and not being offensive, a lot of people just can't watch a film and read subtitles at the same time. Live action is more accessible to the general audience as opposed to something like Durarara even though they're both subbed. When Beez started doing this we did think about it, it would certainly bring more anime into the UK but I don't think its working - we're not seeing large orders from our site.
 
Yuvie said:
I know this may get bogged down with license requests but it'd be nice to get some sort of answer on the following:

MVM tends to go for the slightly more adult orientated anime series, so is there any interest in licensing Monster (which I know is Viz exclusive in the US, so I'm not sure where it would stand over here) & Rainbow Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin?

Those are about the only two series left which I'm just hoping get licensed somewhere, anywhere.

Can't say I've heard of the second one but Monster I too would love to see over here - am a big fan of Naoki Urasawa's work. Trouble with Monster is it's 74 episodes which is a LOT of BBFC costs and as brilliant as the story is, it's a title that we wouldn't be able to do justice with simply because it would be too costly.
 
MVM said:
First q - obviously there's a lot of anime that are available from Madman but its all about what sells well, what would be available for us etc.

With the sub only it's a tricky one...Live action does sell well but, as daft as it sounds and not being offensive, a lot of people just can't watch a film and read subtitles at the same time. Live action is more accessible to the general audience as opposed to something like Durarara even though they're both subbed. When Beez started doing this we did think about it, it would certainly bring more anime into the UK but I don't think its working - we're not seeing large orders from our site.

Thank you for the answer, the second answer covers the additional parts of the first. Not the answer I was hoping for, of course, but completely understandable!

I hope that the next round of Beez subtitled shows make a stronger showing, since they aren't being cannibalised by a more fully featured US release this time. Then I can ask again :)

(Somewhat less relevantly, any chance of a local release of Australia's live action The Samurai or is that wishful thinking? It's old, but it's live action and has samurai in it, so surely people other than me would buy it...)

R
 
Some questions about Live Action...

Do you have the same requirements as for an anime release for your live action titles... preexisting PAL materials and subtitle track (presumably from Australia), or do you also create your own?

I loved Dororo, Ikigami and Cutey Honey. Is there more scope to bring live action manga and anime adaptations to the UK? I'm thinking of the She the Ultimate Weapon movie for one, maybe Beck and Usagi Drop in 1 or 2 years. I'm sure there are others.

Have any of your live action titles sold well enough to warrant a Blu-ray release for future titles?
 
Quick! That will actually be quite funny if you correct the typo before anyone sees! :p

Damn it! Why didn't someone tell me sooner, now the moments long gone and I won't be able to use that joke again until we get a new anime company representative...and the joke will be old news by then dang it. It seems he went for the less personal route though and just stuck to the companies name, which is only made more intense by the rather sinister looking MVM ident he's using for his avatar.
Thanks all the same for your time mr. MVM!

I hope that the next round of Beez

What are Beez's next round? Does this mean we'll be getting the anime before the states does? Sounds good to me!
 
Joshawott said:
I've always been intrigued that despite FUNimation having some sort of agreement with Manga UK, MVM obtained the rights to distribute Romeo x Juliet (Not that it's a bad thing at all!). Looking at some of my other MVM-distributed titles, I've noticed a lot of them are made by Gonzo; so was RxJ licensed directly from Gonzo (rather than being a sublicense) or were there other circumstances?
Because some of this was kinda sidestepped - empirically the understanding has been that Gonzo negotiate all regions separately; when MVM's distribution arrangement with FUNi came to an end (i.e. when Revelation Films took over distribution) they retained most of their Gonzo-animated titles, even ones that had been released by FUNimation in the US like Samurai Seven. One exception would be Kiddy Grade, where it appears that Kadokawa rather than Gonzo is in charge of licensing.
The simple way to check whether FUNi has UK rights to something is to check their YouTube channel - Romeo x Juliet is blocked here.
 
Very interesting answers to read so far. Not massively surprising, I guess, but hopefully people will start to learn that selling anime in the UK is not some goldmine being run by billionaire despots. :lol:
 
ilmaestro said:
Very interesting answers to read so far. Not massively surprising, I guess, but hopefully people will start to learn that selling anime in the UK is not some goldmine being run by billionaire despots. :lol:

This. A billion times THIS.
 
ilmaestro said:
Very interesting answers to read so far. Not massively surprising, I guess, but hopefully people will start to learn that selling anime in the UK is not some goldmine being run by billionaire despots. :lol:
Did anybody think it was? Most of the frustration I've seen levelled at the UK industry recently has been a result of slipping release dates, cancellations and value for money (not to mention length between respective releases) versus imports, not accusations of profiteering. I think we all know UK distros have it tough, but that doesn't mean we have to be entirely forgiving of their flaws.

Real shame about the decision not to go with BD releases for the time being. Personally, I don't buy much on DVD anymore. MVM have been responsible for releasing some of my favourite series on DVD, and I wouldn't mind upgrading to HD. Especially Bubblegum Crisis and Black Lagoon (plus it's new OVAs) but also Haibane, Lain, Paranoia Agent, Ergo Proxy etc...
 
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