[Overseas] Anime News & Announcements

[Hanners]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

Even Kaze?

Well, okay, I think we can intuit that it isn't coming from Kaze...

 

[NormanicGrav]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I should point out here that I have a solid relationship with all of the UK distributors. :idea:

Even Kaze?

Well, okay, I think we can intuit that it isn't coming from Kaze...

Phew.

Well it's going to be either MVM (likely suspect), Manga Animatsu (...) or Anime Limited (BOX OF WAR COLLECTOR'S EDITION w/JP ARTWORK PLEASE).

 

[DragonBlaze67]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

It most likely will be MVM but it could be Universal since they're releasing the 2016 Berserk so it would make sense they'd want to get the original Berserk.

 

[IncendiaryLemon]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

Seeing as Universal is mostly focusing on new titles, I don't think it's them. MVM would be my bet, but I'd love a nice AL CE. Hell, I think it might be deserving of a UE.

 

[NormanicGrav]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

It most likely will be MVM but it could be Universal since they're releasing the 2016 Berserk so it would make sense they'd want to get the original Berserk.

Universal doesn't have the rights to the original Berserk anime in Japan, so therefore they can't distribute it over here (unless there's a rule that they can). The rights holder is VAP instead.

It's probably MVM anyway.

 

[Buzz201]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I hope it's not AL, because I'd actually quite like to own it. And their pricetags are rapidly becoming punchlines...

 

[Smeelia]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I hope it's not AL, because I'd actually quite like to own it. And their pricetags are rapidly becoming punchlines...

As in...

"How much does a release from Anime Limited cost?"
"About the same as a release from other UK distributors."

Okay, I know you're probably talking about fancy editions and were probably referring specifically to the prices in a numerical sense rather than commenting on whether they're worth it/good value. Still, I think it's notable that a standard edition of Terror in Resonance was recently released, with a standard edition of Tokyo Ghoul Root A due out soon, and their prices are basically in line with what you get elsewhere.

Unless they only do a fancy edition, it shouldn't be any more expensive to get the show from Anime Limited. I suppose it could possibly be a bit longer before a standard release than if another company picked it up, which is a down side for people who'd only be interested in the standard edition. That's a slight difference from when they pick up a newer show, since a delay for standard editions would be normal in that case and the same doesn't apply for older shows.

Now that I've said all that, it'll probably end up being Anime Limited doing a premium only release (well, at least some people will be happy either way).

 

[HdE]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I dunno... I think anime prices are something we do need to keep an eye on, watch carefully and speak up about if we think they're becoming excessive. £30 for a show has alwas been the magic number for me (as in, any more than that and I either have to REALLY want the show or resign myself to going without it) - but that used to be on the proviso that I'd be getting 20+ episodes. £30 for 11 - 13 episodes, as we're seeing is edging into territory where I'm not so happy to pay out the cash without some SERIOUS assurances of quality. There's a LOT of mediocre stuff out there, after all.

I'm fully expecting another rise in prices soon now that the vote to leave the EU is in. And if / when that does happen, I have a nasty feeling I'll be calling time on a quarter century of watching anime and supporting it legally without exception. Those CE's certainly ain't for everyone, and least of all me.

EDIT: Worth mentioning I just took a look at the price of Gundam ZZ on Amazon.com. - with pre-paid VAT, the second volume comes in at just over forty quid. ON DVD. Screw that.

 

[Just Passing Through]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

A news report today was projecting a sub $1 pound as a worst case scenario, $1.20 at best by the end of this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36721278

Another report I can't find right now stated that tech companies like Dell have already hiked their prices by 10% as they get all their components in dollars, not pounds. I wouldn't be surprised if all niche entertainment gets hiked by 20% by the end of the year, and even mainstream big studio titles will go up by at least 10%, unless we get large scale disc replication back in the UK.

EDIT Here it is

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36722155

 

[Buzz201]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I hope it's not AL, because I'd actually quite like to own it. And their pricetags are rapidly becoming punchlines...

As in...

"How much does a release from Anime Limited cost?"
"About the same as a release from other UK distributors."

Okay, I know you're probably talking about fancy editions and were probably referring specifically to the prices in a numerical sense rather than commenting on whether they're worth it/good value. Still, I think it's notable that a standard edition of Terror in Resonance was recently released, with a standard edition of Tokyo Ghoul Root A due out soon, and their prices are basically in line with what you get elsewhere.

Unless they only do a fancy edition, it shouldn't be any more expensive to get the show from Anime Limited. I suppose it could possibly be a bit longer before a standard release than if another company picked it up, which is a down side for people who'd only be interested in the standard edition. That's a slight difference from when they pick up a newer show, since a delay for standard editions would be normal in that case and the same doesn't apply for older shows.

Now that I've said all that, it'll probably end up being Anime Limited doing a premium only release (well, at least some people will be happy either way).

And I haven't brought anything from Animatsu for this very reason. I know my expectations with price are somewhat unreasonable, so I'm willing to wait for prices to drop to my level. I guess paying £24 for Danganronpa the day before it came out rather spoilt me. I know that's an insanely good price and I certainly shouldn't expect it for everything, and that it's really spoilt and pushy and obnoxious to do so, but I don't know, once you've paid it for one series, you kinda want to pay it for everything. I know that's my problem, rather than the distributors, so I can wait. (Obviously talking about standard editions here, £24 for a CE is clearly completely unrealistic, unless Speedyhen go bonkers again.)

The problem I have with AL is that I can't pay £45 for everything, and I don't necessarily trust standard editions will always come out. Aldnoah.Zero is a nice set, but I regret paying £45 for it, as I'm now going to have to buy season 2 for a similar amount, and I don't know how often I'll rewatch it. I guess the problem is more my lack of self-control than AL, but I've decided now to restrict my AL CE buying. I'll finish the shows I already own, then unless it really interests me, no more. I'm not sure I can blind buy Collector's Editions, or even buy them after having only seen one episode, anymore. I think I just have to put my foot down and say 'enough is enough' to myself, even if it means doing with out or having to import.

All of that was a rather long and roundabout way of saying, I have no clue what I'm saying, but it's not really AL's fault, it's mine.

 

[Agent-347]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

For the people wondering this tweet might actually give away who is releasing Berserk on Blu-ray in the UK.

 

[Strat]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I dunno... I think anime prices are something we do need to keep an eye on, watch carefully and speak up about if we think they're becoming excessive. £30 for a show has alwas been the magic number for me (as in, any more than that and I either have to REALLY want the show or resign myself to going without it) - but that used to be on the proviso that I'd be getting 20+ episodes. £30 for 11 - 13 episodes, as we're seeing is edging into territor where I'm not so happy to pay out the cash without some SERIOUS assurances of quality. There's a LOT of mediocre stuff out there, after all.

I'm fully expecting another rise in prices soon now that the vote to leave the EU is in. And if / when that does happen, I have a nasty feeling I'll be calling time on a quarter century of watching anime and supporting it legally without exception. Those CE's certainly ain't for everyone, and least of all me.

I don't think that was Smeelia's point though; I'm sure we can all agree that anime in general is not cheap. It had more to do with the stigma attached to AL's prices, as if they were somehow different from the rest of the distributors. I can definitely see reasons why people would feel that way; the lack of standard editions and often any info regarding them for example. But all in all, comparing what's comparable... they aren't that different. Hopefully we'll start seeing more standard editions though.

---

And I haven't brought anything from Animatsu for this very reason. I know my expectations with price are somewhat unreasonable, so I'm willing to wait for prices to drop to my level.

I don't think your expectations are unreasonable. I mean, yeah maybe they seem so when you look at the anime market, but if you look at it from a "how much ******* money am I spending on Chinese cartoons" perspective... it's really not that crazy a thought.

I guess paying £24 for Danganronpa the day before it came out rather spoilt me. I know that's an insanely good price and I certainly shouldn't expect it for everything, and that it's really spoilt and pushy and obnoxious to do so, but I don't know, once you've paid it for one series, you kinda want to pay it for everything. I know that's my problem, rather than the distributors, so I can wait. (Obviously talking about standard editions here, £24 for a CE is clearly completely unrealistic, unless Speedyhen go bonkers again.)

I guess this ties in with the point I was making above but didn't you pay the same price for AL's Tokyo Ghoul, on release date? Ping Pong's CE is £27 over at United Publications right now. Noein's CE went for £30 during their special offer a while back, and that's a two cour show. I think that's what Smeelia meant; in the grand scheme of things AL's releases aren't necessarily more expensive than the rest. I guess it might not be obvious because they do seem to do things in a more roundabout way than other distributors. Store exclusive one week offers, big price tags with steep discounts, sometimes even bigger discounts on first parts (were the £12 Kill la Kill and Space Dandy CEs really an initiative from Zavvi?), the gradual increase in price for FMA as the release date approaches... Stuff like that.

The problem I have with AL is that I can't pay £45 for everything, and I don't necessarily trust standard editions will always come out.

Now this is the real problem, and unfortunately unless they change that it always will be. Until the standard editions market dies completely, that is... Did I just jinx it?

Aldnoah.Zero is a nice set, but I regret paying £45 for it, as I'm now going to have to buy season 2 for a similar amount, and I don't know how often I'll rewatch it. I guess the problem is more my lack of self-control than AL, but I've decided now to restrict my AL CE buying.

Don't forget that—scratch that, actually... I don't think you'd ever forget about Aniplex. I mean, look at Manga's SAO. I don't know when it came out, but doesn't it still retail at £20 a pop, over four parts? I wouldn't buy either of them but putting the shows themselves aside, I have a hard time finding a £90 CE to be of lower value than an £80 barebones release.

Again though, it's not my intention to launch a debate about CEs, just trying to illustrate Smeelia's point.

Sorry for the OT, mods ;_;

 

[HdE]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I don't think that was Smeelia's point though; I'm sure we can all agree that anime in general is not cheap. It had more to do with the stigma attached to AL's prices, as if they were somehow different from the rest of the distributors. I can definitely see reasons why people would feel that way; the lack of standard editions and often any info regarding them for example. But all in all, comparing what's comparable... they aren't that different. Hopefully we'll start seeing more standard editions though.

Well, I was more making my own point. But it's all cool.

I think standard editions are going to HAVE to be a fixture of the anime market s long as there are physical releases. I've said before that I think the 'CE first' model feels like a bubble that will burst at some point. If and when it does, I don't think it'll indicate that the strategy is a failure or anything as dramatic as that, though. The industry is changing all the time.

Where talk of Anime Limited is concerned, I do think their special editions are a very good spend, by and large. Their Blu Ray SE's have always been perfect in my experience, and I think the practice they've adopted of getting shows out on DVD in standard edition format alongside CEs where the can is a savvy move. Prices for those have been pretty good.

JPT's post about the falling pound and theorised price hikes (they WILL happen, sadly, folks - just watch) is quite alarming, though. A 20% increase would be enough for me to call it quits with anime. And I'm really not joking, unfortunately.

 

[Buzz201]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I guess paying £24 for Danganronpa the day before it came out rather spoilt me. I know that's an insanely good price and I certainly shouldn't expect it for everything, and that it's really spoilt and pushy and obnoxious to do so, but I don't know, once you've paid it for one series, you kinda want to pay it for everything. I know that's my problem, rather than the distributors, so I can wait. (Obviously talking about standard editions here, £24 for a CE is clearly completely unrealistic, unless Speedyhen go bonkers again.)

I guess this ties in with the point I was making above but didn't you pay the same price for AL's Tokyo Ghoul, on release date? Ping Pong's CE is £27 over at United Publications right now. Noein's CE went for £30 during their special offer a while back, and that's a two cour show. I think that's what Smeelia meant; in the grand scheme of things AL's releases aren't necessarily more expensive than the rest. I guess it might not be obvious because they do seem to do things in a more roundabout way than other distributors. Store exclusive one week offers, big price tags with steep discounts, sometimes even bigger discounts on first parts (were the £12 Kill la Kill and Space Dandy CEs really an initiative from Zavvi?), the gradual increase in price for FMA as the release date approaches... Stuff like that.

Yes to Tokyo Ghoul. Durarara!!'s pre-order offer was £35, Assassination Classroom was £36, and Aldnoah.Zero was £45. (Aldnoah.Zero has a higher SRP for some reason.) For reference, the only time I've paid £30 or higher for anything from another anime distributor was Manga's 30 episode sets for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and I used a 10% discount code on those to lower the price.

When it's something like Berserk, I could quite see them doing an expensive CE or UE, and then the standard edition conveniently "accidentally" not happening if it doesn't sell as well as expected. (As somebody that wanted the CE for TiR, I'm still bitter they went UE for that, pushing it well out of my price range.)

Aldnoah.Zero is a nice set, but I regret paying £45 for it, as I'm now going to have to buy season 2 for a similar amount, and I don't know how often I'll rewatch it. I guess the problem is more my lack of self-control than AL, but I've decided now to restrict my AL CE buying.

Don't forget that—scratch that, actually... I don't think you'd ever forget about Aniplex. I mean, look at Manga's SAO. I don't know when it came out, but doesn't it still retail at £20 a pop, over four parts? I wouldn't buy either of them but putting the shows themselves aside, I have a hard time finding a £90 CE to be of lower value than an £80 barebones release.

Again though, it's not my intention to launch a debate about CEs, just trying to illustrate Smeelia's point.

Sorry for the OT, mods ;_;

I love the product. It looks fantastic, the discs are better for me than Aniplex. (I hear there's some minor banding, but they do have lossless dub audio, which works better for me as I doubt I'd even notice the banding.) I'm just questioning what the likelihood of me rewatching Aldnoah.Zero multiple times is.

---

Well, I was more making my own point. But it's all cool.

I think standard editions are going to HAVE to be a fixture of the anime market s long as there are physical releases. I've said before that I think the 'CE first' model feels like a bubble that will burst at some point. If and when it does, I don't think it'll indicate that the strategy is a failure or anything as dramatic as that, though. The industry is changing all the time.

Where talk of Anime Limited is concerned, I do think their special editions are a very good spend, by and large. Their Blu Ray SE's have always been perfect in my experience, and I think the practice they've adopted of getting shows out on DVD in standard edition format alongside CEs where the can is a savvy move. Prices for those have been pretty good.

JPT's post about the falling pound and theorised price hikes (they WILL happen, sadly, folks - just watch) is quite alarming, though. A 20% increase would be enough for me to call it quits. And I'm really not joking, unfortunately.

I have to wonder whether the start of the bursting of that bubble has already happened, with the failure of Samurai Flamenco. I wonder whether AL might start to just put out standard editions for some titles. I think people are going to realise, that whilst they have a good catalogue, not all of it is CE worthy. I love Buddy Complex, and I've really been enjoying Twin Star Exorcists, but I have to wonder how/whether Andrew expects to sell 1,000 CE BDs of these, because I just can't see it happening for either. (Especially since I don't think Buddy Complex was announced until after Funimation's release was out late last year, so anybody really hardcore probably already owns it.)

I know it would probably upset people, but I think AL might have to do it, or they'll just be haemorrhaging money.

 

[HdE]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I think a few bad sellers in the CE format are only to be expected. So I think we'll probably see the current model persist for a while at least.

But one thing's for certain - once the impact of the EU leave vote really hits home and EVERYTHING costs more to the point where everone is affected by a rising cost of living, it's going to get tougher to sell anything by way of entertainment. So I predict a fair bit of shaking up in the way these are packaged and marketed.

 

[Smeelia]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

I should probably mention that BlackStrat was indeed correct about my comments.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some "standard only" releases from Anime Limited fairly soon. They've been expanding recently and I seem to recall talk of having other "brands" for different kinds of releases. I suppose that could just have referred to Funimation releases but I got the impression there was more to it.

On the subject of Funimation, I don't know if there's been much talk about the formats for their releases. It seems that at least some of them will be standard only, and Funimation seems to be doing that more often in general. I do also wonder if some of the fancier releases will get a standard release here, Anime Limited seem to try to do a standard release eventually but there's no guarantee that Funimation releases would be the same. The difference between Funimation standard and limited edition releases can be fairly small anyway so they might not see a need for two releases, even for somewhat popular shows.

Funimation releases seem likely to cost a little more too, although that seems to be because they're Blu-ray and DVD combo packs. If prices do go up due to political/economic circumstances then I could see that being more of a problem for these kinds of releases, especially since some people would already tend to complain about having to buy a format they didn't want in order to get the one they did. On the plus side, DVD and Blu-ray fans could team up to get the releases and probably save some money overall.

With higher prices these days, I do find myself putting a bit more thought into my purchases (then randomly picking things up on a whim anyway). I think one of the bigger downsides of this is that it discourages people from trying shows they're not sure they'll like, so people might not be watching as wide a variety of shows and could miss out on potential new favourites. I suppose that's less of an issue for people who stream shows (which is quite a lot of people these days) but "trying something you're not sure about" is basically the first step in becoming an anime fan.

 

[reborn]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

Ponycan USA have confirmed that they'll be releasing:

• Kuromukuro
• The Lost Village
• DAYS
• Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! LOVE!

 

[Buzz201]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

Ponycan USA have confirmed that they'll be releasing:

• Kuromukuro
• The Lost Village
• DAYS
• Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! LOVE!

Ponycan are weird, they don't seem to do official announcements very frequently, but they tweet about their shows so much that it's hardly a secret what they have and what they don't have...

 

[Mangaranga]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

Ponycan USA have confirmed that they'll be releasing:

• Kuromukuro
• The Lost Village
• DAYS
• Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! LOVE!

I'm sure all these titles will be flying off the shelves given the size of the packaging, price point and nature/quality of the shows...

 

[NormanicGrav]

Re: [Overseas] US/Foreign Anime News & Announcements

Ponycan USA have confirmed that they'll be releasing:

• Kuromukuro
• The Lost Village
• DAYS
• Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! LOVE!

I'm sure all these titles will be flying off the shelves given the size of the packaging, price point and nature/quality of the shows...

They'll be lost in the village with a samurai and a bunch of magical boys while also playing football.