Agent-347
Student Council President
Dear fellow users of Anime UK News,
as we all know the UK has a fair few disadvantages in the anime scenery, and some of you got utterly sick of it and decided to import titles as soon as they fell into the hands of someone, or when the cover pictures go live to again be disappointed by messed up covers, or when we learn that spines don't match or many other reasons..
Of course not everybody can afford this importing, but it can remain a deal breaker when the UK release surfaces with such defect.
That's why I open this topic: "Project Improve The UK (PITUK)"
The goal of this topic will be addressing these problems to UK distributors and that they do something about it.
It's important to note I want everybody to remain polite in these crowd-actions against/towards something.
This is a campaign ran by a fan and not set up by the owners of AnimeUKNews! I solely got approval to post it here.
Project #1: MVM Entertainment: Blu-ray covers
Backstory: I mailed MVM
I have sent a mail to MVM 2 weeks ago, asking feedback for my suggestion for better UK MVM covers. (and I made mock-ups. For safety reasons I won't be posting these in the open)
Essentially I got replied (and to remain polite, I'm leaving out most of the mail) that due to art approval being a nightmare they only change company logos and legal marks and use already approved artwork, what essentially translated to "we don't re-approve our covers since they already got approved for USA and AU"..
The truth is, that "only changing company logos and legal marks" isn't true...
The truth and flaws
Campione, BTOOOM and Familiar of Zero are three examples of titles that don't have a Blu-ray logo printed on the actual front cover on Hanabee's version.
Yet, on MVM's version there's a Blu-ray logo on the mock-up for the UK cover on the front. (there's no UK BD for BTOOOM, I know)
And let us all be honest, you must be blind to not realize you're buying a Blu-ray when the listings online clearly say "Blu-ray", and often are the listings in a Blu-ray section and the description says Blu-ray... And you must be even more blind to not notice you're holding a Blu-ray case in a shop.
But even worse is of course the disc count logo... I invite you all to check the Hanabee catalog...
Is there anything you notice? I mean, seriously... Am I blind or do Hanabee covers not have disc counts on the front cover?!
And in general it's annoying to see disc count labels being everywhere on the spine (see my collection for proof of it being ugly (full pic))
And let me mention something, if it's to notify people of how many discs there are, why don't one-disc releases have a "one disc label". (Don't dare adding this, MVM.)
With their newest Blu-ray releases and about all upcoming Blu-ray titles they don't even get rid of the (upper) dark blue/purple element on the spine which is part of Hanabee's logo-branding.
And that bugs me not more than the fact there's a disc count logo, but it just proves ugly and feels misplaced as it is.
And if you read the brand rules of FaceBook and Twitter I'm pretty sure MVM could get in trouble if they don't amend that graphic element on their covers immediately.
By the way, their FaceBook is not "MVM_UK"... What's the use of the FaceBook logo there if there's no link to their FaceBook?!
So the truth: they even add unnecessary logos and tell us it's not so.
What needs to happen: the spine
I personally consider the most important thing to get fixed the spine, it's the part of the release I and most anime fans see the most when they get barebones releases...
Consistency proves important, but also keeping it clean... The whole deal with disc count logos might never have escalated so far for some if it was placed at the exact same place every release.
And when people want info they'll look at the back cover.. And after seeing it once I don't need to see it anymore when I bought it, that makes it even more annoying to have it on the spine.
Since it never disappears and isn't legally required. Whatever MVM told Mangaranga, it doesn't prove a problem for Manga, and Anime Ltd's spines aren't ugly as they include the disc count too.
And then there're the graphic elements...
Well, I have laid out five options of what could happen to the spine, you can see all five of them by clicking on this sentence.
WARNING: The mock-up of the five versions and the presence of logos is solely to illustrate how it'd look. These are NOT official versions!
In neither of the 5 ones there's a Blu-ray logo or disc count logo on the spine.
The first one is the Key Hole design I had in mind when creating my mock-up for my initial mail to MVM.
The second one is the normal spine, but in red. And the upper part nicely wraps around the BBFC (and the BBFC isn't placed awkwardly low).
The third one is the Hanabee-colored spine, but the upper part wraps nicely around the BBFC.
The fourth one removes the upper graphic element from Hanabee, but leaves the one down low.
The fifth one removes all graphic elements by Hanabee.
You can vote for which ones you like the most over here.
What needs to happen: the front cover
Simple: disc count labels aren't present on Hanabee front covers, so they were added and need to disappear again.
The glow/fade or white space on a fair few Hanabee covers due to their massive classification logos can go as well, or at least the fade/glow can easily go..
And there's already a Blu-ray logo on the case, come on.. Are your customers blind, MVM?! If so, give them an advert for glasses. Seriously...
What needs to happen: the back cover
Nothing really wrong here, they aren't as fancy as Sentai Filmworks' back covers, but it does the job.
(And there's a typo on the Familiar of Zero back cover among the Japanese names!)
But what I believe needs to happen is that MVM needs to replace the FaceBook and Twitter logos they currently use.
And especially with Twitter there are a fair few other rules they might want to look at.
What needs to happen: overview
- FRONT: delete disc count label
- FRONT: delete Blu-ray logo
- FRONT: delete the blue fade, white fade,... from covers like Familiar of Zero and Campione.
- SPINE: delete disc count label
- SPINE: delete or amend graphic element around the BBFC logo
- BACK: update logos and fix information
Who should participate for this cause
- People who still support the UK industry.
- People who'd love to support the UK industry, but don't due to the cover design being too ugly.
- People who import due to disc count logos and the inconsistent spines.
- People who have friends who legally (want to) support the UK industry.
- People who'd support the UK industry for titles they don't need a fancy edition of and rather pay less for.
- ...
- Everybody else, please. Help those who can't afford importing everything. And help future collections being more beautiful.
Plan of action
There're four parts to my plan of action to fight this...
- Part 1: Now: Mail MVM (see second post for e-mail address)
- Part 2: Now: Vote on the poll.
- Part 3: Now: Spread the word to other forum members, via Twitter, to friends,.. Get as many people involved as possible.
- Part 4: Now: Tweet MVM and message them via FaceBook. Make it impossible for them to not notice it. (Add #PITUK!)
The first part is that everybody who can mail mails his/her support and opinion of my cause to MVM (ADMIN [AT-sign] MVM-FILMS [DOT] COM).
You could either send a simple mail saying you support my (=Agent-347) cause or have a complicated mail where you explain how it has influenced your decisions.
Note that if you want only one (or more) of the mentioned things to happen, that you can just mention that one thing!
Don't forget to mention that if you want fixed covers for previous releases, that you want fixed versions of existing BD-releases BD covers IF they end up fixing the covers (while it isn't too late, by which I mean "there aren't 100 BD releases yet to fix"). This might not be possible, but if you want fixed versions you should at least mention it.
Also, if you don't mind stuff being delayed by a few weeks for fixed covers (like Familiar of Zero season 1), also mention that!
I'll have a few mock-up mails you could send to MVM HQ I'll be posting in the second post of this thread for those who either have no time or don't know how to word their mail (though I think most do actually know how to word it).
The second part is voting on the poll I'll be sending the results of to MVM myself.
The third part is: I ask foremost that everybody with a Twitter or Facebook-account spreads the word by multiple tweets over the next 2 days and convinces people to help us reach this goal. So tweet the link to this topic. Tweet the poll. Spread the word, improving the UK anime industry is something we can do when we work together. Look at Girls und Panzer.. It caused MVM to get a better Blu-ray deal. We can definitely reach the same for their covers.
The fourth part is making sure we have MVM's attention by sending them all polite tweets to amend their covers on Monday.
What more
I hope everybody is going to help fixing this problem, you could post what you mailed to MVM and discuss on the subject here. Spreading the word and notifying people will also prove important.
Thanks (in advance) to everybody who helps, who spreads the word, who's awesome,..
I don't want to go down without a fight for UK releases I actually can value worth their price. Because in their current state are MVM covers devalued, and it most definitely has affected their sales in the past that their covers look like this. Some people resorted to pirating, others to importing,..
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is a campaign ran by a fan and not set up by the owners of AnimeUKNews! I solely got approval to post it here.
as we all know the UK has a fair few disadvantages in the anime scenery, and some of you got utterly sick of it and decided to import titles as soon as they fell into the hands of someone, or when the cover pictures go live to again be disappointed by messed up covers, or when we learn that spines don't match or many other reasons..
Of course not everybody can afford this importing, but it can remain a deal breaker when the UK release surfaces with such defect.
That's why I open this topic: "Project Improve The UK (PITUK)"
The goal of this topic will be addressing these problems to UK distributors and that they do something about it.
It's important to note I want everybody to remain polite in these crowd-actions against/towards something.
This is a campaign ran by a fan and not set up by the owners of AnimeUKNews! I solely got approval to post it here.
Project #1: MVM Entertainment: Blu-ray covers
Backstory: I mailed MVM
I have sent a mail to MVM 2 weeks ago, asking feedback for my suggestion for better UK MVM covers. (and I made mock-ups. For safety reasons I won't be posting these in the open)
Essentially I got replied (and to remain polite, I'm leaving out most of the mail) that due to art approval being a nightmare they only change company logos and legal marks and use already approved artwork, what essentially translated to "we don't re-approve our covers since they already got approved for USA and AU"..
The truth is, that "only changing company logos and legal marks" isn't true...
The truth and flaws
Campione, BTOOOM and Familiar of Zero are three examples of titles that don't have a Blu-ray logo printed on the actual front cover on Hanabee's version.
Yet, on MVM's version there's a Blu-ray logo on the mock-up for the UK cover on the front. (there's no UK BD for BTOOOM, I know)
And let us all be honest, you must be blind to not realize you're buying a Blu-ray when the listings online clearly say "Blu-ray", and often are the listings in a Blu-ray section and the description says Blu-ray... And you must be even more blind to not notice you're holding a Blu-ray case in a shop.
But even worse is of course the disc count logo... I invite you all to check the Hanabee catalog...
Is there anything you notice? I mean, seriously... Am I blind or do Hanabee covers not have disc counts on the front cover?!
And in general it's annoying to see disc count labels being everywhere on the spine (see my collection for proof of it being ugly (full pic))
And let me mention something, if it's to notify people of how many discs there are, why don't one-disc releases have a "one disc label". (Don't dare adding this, MVM.)
With their newest Blu-ray releases and about all upcoming Blu-ray titles they don't even get rid of the (upper) dark blue/purple element on the spine which is part of Hanabee's logo-branding.
And that bugs me not more than the fact there's a disc count logo, but it just proves ugly and feels misplaced as it is.
And if you read the brand rules of FaceBook and Twitter I'm pretty sure MVM could get in trouble if they don't amend that graphic element on their covers immediately.
By the way, their FaceBook is not "MVM_UK"... What's the use of the FaceBook logo there if there's no link to their FaceBook?!
So the truth: they even add unnecessary logos and tell us it's not so.
What needs to happen: the spine
I personally consider the most important thing to get fixed the spine, it's the part of the release I and most anime fans see the most when they get barebones releases...
Consistency proves important, but also keeping it clean... The whole deal with disc count logos might never have escalated so far for some if it was placed at the exact same place every release.
And when people want info they'll look at the back cover.. And after seeing it once I don't need to see it anymore when I bought it, that makes it even more annoying to have it on the spine.
Since it never disappears and isn't legally required. Whatever MVM told Mangaranga, it doesn't prove a problem for Manga, and Anime Ltd's spines aren't ugly as they include the disc count too.
And then there're the graphic elements...
Well, I have laid out five options of what could happen to the spine, you can see all five of them by clicking on this sentence.
WARNING: The mock-up of the five versions and the presence of logos is solely to illustrate how it'd look. These are NOT official versions!
In neither of the 5 ones there's a Blu-ray logo or disc count logo on the spine.
The first one is the Key Hole design I had in mind when creating my mock-up for my initial mail to MVM.
The second one is the normal spine, but in red. And the upper part nicely wraps around the BBFC (and the BBFC isn't placed awkwardly low).
The third one is the Hanabee-colored spine, but the upper part wraps nicely around the BBFC.
The fourth one removes the upper graphic element from Hanabee, but leaves the one down low.
The fifth one removes all graphic elements by Hanabee.
You can vote for which ones you like the most over here.
What needs to happen: the front cover
Simple: disc count labels aren't present on Hanabee front covers, so they were added and need to disappear again.
The glow/fade or white space on a fair few Hanabee covers due to their massive classification logos can go as well, or at least the fade/glow can easily go..
And there's already a Blu-ray logo on the case, come on.. Are your customers blind, MVM?! If so, give them an advert for glasses. Seriously...
What needs to happen: the back cover
Nothing really wrong here, they aren't as fancy as Sentai Filmworks' back covers, but it does the job.
(And there's a typo on the Familiar of Zero back cover among the Japanese names!)
But what I believe needs to happen is that MVM needs to replace the FaceBook and Twitter logos they currently use.
And especially with Twitter there are a fair few other rules they might want to look at.
FaceBook said:DON'T
- Use any icons, images or trademarks to represent Facebook other than what is found on this resource center
FaceBook said:PRINT AND PACKAGING
DO:
- Use the version of the logo that comes with a blue box on white or light colored backgrounds
- Use the version of the logo that comes on a white box on blue or dark colored backgrounds
Twitter said:DON'T
- Use old versions or any other marks or logos to represent our brand
What needs to happen: overview
- FRONT: delete disc count label
- FRONT: delete Blu-ray logo
- FRONT: delete the blue fade, white fade,... from covers like Familiar of Zero and Campione.
- SPINE: delete disc count label
- SPINE: delete or amend graphic element around the BBFC logo
- BACK: update logos and fix information
Who should participate for this cause
- People who still support the UK industry.
- People who'd love to support the UK industry, but don't due to the cover design being too ugly.
- People who import due to disc count logos and the inconsistent spines.
- People who have friends who legally (want to) support the UK industry.
- People who'd support the UK industry for titles they don't need a fancy edition of and rather pay less for.
- ...
- Everybody else, please. Help those who can't afford importing everything. And help future collections being more beautiful.
Plan of action
There're four parts to my plan of action to fight this...
- Part 1: Now: Mail MVM (see second post for e-mail address)
- Part 2: Now: Vote on the poll.
- Part 3: Now: Spread the word to other forum members, via Twitter, to friends,.. Get as many people involved as possible.
- Part 4: Now: Tweet MVM and message them via FaceBook. Make it impossible for them to not notice it. (Add #PITUK!)
The first part is that everybody who can mail mails his/her support and opinion of my cause to MVM (ADMIN [AT-sign] MVM-FILMS [DOT] COM).
You could either send a simple mail saying you support my (=Agent-347) cause or have a complicated mail where you explain how it has influenced your decisions.
Note that if you want only one (or more) of the mentioned things to happen, that you can just mention that one thing!
Don't forget to mention that if you want fixed covers for previous releases, that you want fixed versions of existing BD-releases BD covers IF they end up fixing the covers (while it isn't too late, by which I mean "there aren't 100 BD releases yet to fix"). This might not be possible, but if you want fixed versions you should at least mention it.
Also, if you don't mind stuff being delayed by a few weeks for fixed covers (like Familiar of Zero season 1), also mention that!
I'll have a few mock-up mails you could send to MVM HQ I'll be posting in the second post of this thread for those who either have no time or don't know how to word their mail (though I think most do actually know how to word it).
The second part is voting on the poll I'll be sending the results of to MVM myself.
The third part is: I ask foremost that everybody with a Twitter or Facebook-account spreads the word by multiple tweets over the next 2 days and convinces people to help us reach this goal. So tweet the link to this topic. Tweet the poll. Spread the word, improving the UK anime industry is something we can do when we work together. Look at Girls und Panzer.. It caused MVM to get a better Blu-ray deal. We can definitely reach the same for their covers.
The fourth part is making sure we have MVM's attention by sending them all polite tweets to amend their covers on Monday.
What more
I hope everybody is going to help fixing this problem, you could post what you mailed to MVM and discuss on the subject here. Spreading the word and notifying people will also prove important.
Thanks (in advance) to everybody who helps, who spreads the word, who's awesome,..
I don't want to go down without a fight for UK releases I actually can value worth their price. Because in their current state are MVM covers devalued, and it most definitely has affected their sales in the past that their covers look like this. Some people resorted to pirating, others to importing,..
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is a campaign ran by a fan and not set up by the owners of AnimeUKNews! I solely got approval to post it here.