The Standards of UK anime discs

Remingleon said:
Just Passing Through said:
A thread on defective discs already exists, and is already stickied...
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When I was referring to the standards of UK anime discs, I wasn't referring to things like subtitle issues, mislabelled discs and that sort. What I meant was what the standards of the discs that we'd like the distributors to follow. Things like having art on the discs,whether the presence of trailers should be used for future discs etc. Again, I'm not referring to the issues with discs we have now or what we will have in the future, it's just going to be a list of we really would like to have and not have on the discs in the future. Sorry for the misunderstanding. This a little off-topic strictly speaking as the topic at hand is what cases people prefer.

So everyone seems to be very subjective stance on this matter. The main issues being the space usage of the cases and whether they look nice compared to their collection.

Is it alright to presume that everyone hates the use of brick box sets, the only exception maybe being the jewel box Shiroi Hane listed?
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If you're going to go back and edit your posts where you said the exact opposite, as you've obviously changed your mind about what you want to discuss, then I have nothing further to contribute to this thread...
 
Just Passing Through said:
If you're going to go back and edit your posts where you said the exact opposite, as you've obviously changed your mind about what you want to discuss, then I have nothing further to contribute to this thread...
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I don't understand what you mean. When I went back to edit my posts, I only did it to change a few obvious spelling/ grammatical errors. If I seemed contradictory of what I wanted to discuss, please do inform me of how I did so. Are you still referring to defective UK discs perhaps?
If it is, I never really wanted to have that ever as a point of discussion in this thread. Sure, that thread is referring to UK anime disc standards, but it's doing it literally.
In which case, would it better to name this thread 'UK anime Standards' then? I can't really think of a better title, if someone would be able to come up with one, it'd be appreciated.
 
Remingleon said:
Shiroi Hane said:
If you want a lot of discs in one case, then this is better than the flappy trays that MVM uses.
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Wow that one is amazing. We should bring this type of case to their attention. The only concern is the cost. I don't remember any Uk releases ever having the jewel type release here. It does seem like a good box set type if the use of amarays and thin paks are out of the question.
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The MVC limited edition of the first season of Alias came in that type of case (red plastic), and I think the Alien box set I got my Dad did too (green plastic).
 
Shiroi Hane said:
The ones that some US distros used to use for singles (Scanavo IIRC) that gripped the disc so firmly it felt like it was going to snap.
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Oh, yes the static hub cases (as I like to call them).
They are a right pain to deal with especially in their multi disc variant, and extracting the disc always took a lot of mucking about (and time) to get out although there is a variant of that case (probably not made by Scanavo) that does work without the risk of snapping the disc.
 
Shiroi Hane said:
Remingleon said:
Shiroi Hane said:
If you want a lot of discs in one case, then this is better than the flappy trays that MVM uses.
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Wow that one is amazing. We should bring this type of case to their attention. The only concern is the cost. I don't remember any Uk releases ever having the jewel type release here. It does seem like a good box set type if the use of amarays and thin paks are out of the question.
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The MVC limited edition of the first season of Alias came in that type of case (red plastic), and I think the Alien box set I got my Dad did too (green plastic).
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Intriguing. I guess MVM would maybe like to use those cases on anime but the financial gain doesn't seem to exist for the investment to pay off.

Joshawott brought up a interesting point of the case colour itself. Opinions?
Would people like at all times for the cases to be transparent? The most obvious benefit being inside artwork and reversible covers.
 
Shiroi Hane said:
The first series of Torchwood also had the stacked trays in a slipcover (in red). Would be interesting to know just how much more they cost over multi-tray keep cases.
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Yes, perhaps we can ask one of the representatives in this forum or at a media event like a con. If they're experimenting with digipaks now, I'm guessing they would like to experiment with the digibooks and jewel cases in the future. Certainly, they would get better reception than the brick box sets used now.

If it's not too much trouble Shiroi Hane, could you perhaps find images of the types of cases you dislike?

Mangaranga said:
Back to the topic on hand though, you have to take into account though that it's probably harder to do nicer things too due to having two formats (just because the inferior one will just not bloody well die like it should). Back when they were doing special things with packaging and such, everyone bought the same product - same format, same costs, same standards. Now we have to deal with two formats, and if you release DVD only, you piss off your BD only audience (e.g. ME) and vice versa.
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Yes. It's especially annoying that blu rays aren't really seen as a big a jump as dvd was to videos simply because they both use optical media. I guess we still have to wait a few more years then until we can realistically see collectors editions like those of the fma part dvds of a few years ago.

Mangaranga said:
Another thing which I dislike (And I'll use Kaze as an example again here) is when a distributor thinks DVD+BD together is a 'Collectors Edition'. It just makes the product more expensive for buyers from both sides and really doesn't add anything at all.
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You have to consider though Kaze, Manga and the other companies have probably thought about this a lot more than we have. Even though their sets aren't considered collectors editions, they are considered the best compromise and highest quality release we can get here for now. The use of bd and dvd together would mean for those who are reluctant to buy blu ray players,it's considered a 'futureproof' plan as they will also have the blu ray instead of only the dvd. Not releasing blu ray only and having a release instead only as a combo pack, would mean the blu ray buyers would have to buy the combo pack. Sure it's quite controversial as it would only annoy us but again compromises 'have' to be made. To compensate for this, companies add certain features to give it a more collectors feel. Kaze for example releases their combo packs as digipaks already giving a more premium feel than say a thick amaray case. Some releases like Tiger and Bunny even have artbooks available. Those two points convinces the blu ray buyers to not feel completely gipped when buying a combo pack. We here in the UK do worry a lot about money and Kaze/Manga must have taken this into account when forming this type of release. Certainly, the combopaks can never be considered a true collectors edition but they're releases aimed to reach the widest possible market. I'm guessing here but these collectors editions are probably cheaper to produce than separate blu ray and dvd amarays.
 
Remingleon said:
Mangaranga said:
Another thing which I dislike (And I'll use Kaze as an example again here) is when a distributor thinks DVD+BD together is a 'Collectors Edition'. It just makes the product more expensive for buyers from both sides and really doesn't add anything at all.
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You have to consider though Kaze, Manga and the other companies have probably thought about this a lot more than we have. Even though their sets aren't considered collectors editions, they are considered the best compromise and highest quality release we can get here for now. The use of bd and dvd together would mean for those who are reluctant to buy blu ray players,it's considered a 'futureproof' plan as they will also have the blu ray instead of only the dvd. Not releasing blu ray only and having a release instead only as a combo pack, would mean the blu ray buyers would have to buy the combo pack. Sure it's quite controversial as it would only annoy us but again compromises 'have' to be made. To compensate for this, companies add certain features to give it a more collectors feel. Kaze for example releases their combo packs as digipaks already giving a more premium feel than say a thick amaray case. Some releases like Tiger and Bunny even have artbooks available. Those two points convinces the blu ray buyers to not feel completely gipped when buying a combo pack. We here in the UK do worry a lot about money and Kaze/Manga must have taken this into account when forming this type of release. Certainly, the combopaks can never be considered a true collectors edition but they're releases aimed to reach the widest possible market. I'm guessing here but these collectors editions are probably cheaper to produce than separate blu ray and dvd amarays.
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But I also like consistency. I buy Blu-rays for a reason - I don't then want DVD size Boxes/Cases, nor do I want DVDs AT ALL other than to point out to people how ****** they are in comparison.
Combo Packs and Digipacks... Neither of them add anything really for me hence why I like what Funi do.
They put out artboxes and use all that DELICIOUS ARTWORK, something which is always ruined on UK releases by the massive BBFC/Manga/Kaze logos and pointless crap like GUYS, 13 EPISODES ON 2 DISCS BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT.
Then there's MVM which seem to have trouble understanding how to create good covers and think that leaving a large amount of it white is a good idea.

Did I mention I am a sucker for nice artwork? Hence why Funi's Artbox releases will almost always win me over in the end.

To be honest, for me these things also sometimes help to contribute to how much I am willing to pay for a series. I'll use Bakemonogatari here as an example. 3 Slim Blu-ray cases (6 discs) using key art from each ark on the front/back covers with a 36 page artbook, housed in a nice Artbox, which also uses the same art as the Japanese box.
I liked the show enough before I bought it, but the nice presentation sealed the deal and I happily paid £127 for it.
If it was literally just a 2 disc Blu-ray in a standard case I would have been willing to pay significantly less for it, hence why I actually like what AoA are doing - in my mind at least they're adding value to their releases, especially if they do more of what they did with Madoka. (OST/posters etc)

This isn't always the case for me though, anything which is DVD only has little to no value to me - like Kara no Kyoukai. I would pay a couple of hundred pounds for a KnK BD release done right, yet the AoA £130 DVD set has absolutely no value to me, even if it were priced significantly lower. It's for that reason also that I would never get UK releases of things like Princess Jellyfist, despite something nice being done for it (Well that and it's a Kaze release).
 
Mangaranga said:
Combo Packs and Digipacks... Neither of them add anything really for me hence why I like what Funi do.
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I'd like to agree with you on here. I'm one for blu ray only but it's just not able to be done over here for now from a financial point of view. Look at the releases of Xam'd and FMA brotherhood for example. They weren't selling enough so Manga had to cancel their releases. Sure FMA brotherhood is being brought back but that's only after they realised it's worth it from a long term point of view, and not a short term. Only very few series like FMA brotherhood are able to do that simply because of their popularity. Smaller releases like Xam'd aren't hence, what seems to be, the need for combo packs.

I can only imagine the combo packs being done for a few years now. The releases of 4K and up would hopefully force them out. It just worries me that the use of combo paks may prolong the use of dvds when that's opposite of what we want. That and some companies are still releasing DVD only titles.

It'd be interesting to see if one of the companies over here actually did blu ray release similar to Funi's with the artbox and the sort. It'd certainly be profitable in the long term as they can still be producing and releasing it for another 6 years or so. And if it does seem to work, the use of dvds can be forced out per say.

Mangaranga said:
To be honest, for me these things also sometimes help to contribute to how much I am willing to pay for a series. I'll use Bakemonogatari here as an example. 3 Slim Blu-ray cases (6 discs) using key art from each ark on the front/back covers with a 36 page artbook, housed in a nice Artbox, which also uses the same art as the Japanese box.
I liked the show enough before I bought it, but the nice presentation sealed the deal and I happily paid £127 for it.
If it was literally just a 2 disc Blu-ray in a standard case I would have been willing to pay significantly less for it, hence why I actually like what AoA are doing - in my mind at least they're adding value to their releases, especially if they do more of what they did with Madoka. (OST/posters etc))/quote]]/quote]]/quote]]/quote]
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I'd actually like to see one of the distributors over here actually experiment with this type of release. To see if it actually works over here. For now, they can't obviously do bd only, rather the bd/dvd premium packs we see from NIS america and that madoka set for example.
 
Updated the opener with the likes and dislikes for this topic people. Please say so if you disagree with any of these points.

If people are done with this topic, we can move on to the next one of anime artwork used. If we're moving too fast and you want to still keep talking about this topic, just say.

*Edited as anime artwork doesn't only apply to cases.
 
I'd like to see more covers like these.

http://static1.thcdn.com/productimg/0/6 ... 702394.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/9 ... L1500_.jpg

They're bold, clean and not over crowded with logos, quotes etc

As I said earlier, I'd like it if they kept these off the covers

Number of disc logos
Red triangle
Quotes/Ratings on the front cover
double play/blueray banners

If they made some of these as stickers for the cellophane wrapper then we'd all be happy.

I'd like it if they put 'Season 1 Part 1' on the front covers/spine instead of 'Season 1 part 1 episodes 1 - 13' as I think that's overkill - save it for the back!
 
GolGotha said:
If they made some of these as stickers for the cellophane wrapper then we'd all be happy.
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What exactly would you prefer to be used in the cellophane paper? I can imagine a double play or blu ray banner would not be cost effective however a sticker listing episode count would be.

What does everyone think of anime artwork used on the inside of the cases? Like or Dislike?
 
As future reference, I'm going to post this for people who would like to contribute further to the thread.

If there is an old topic that you'd like to talk about, don't be discouraged to post about it. Do take the time to look at old posts though. We don't want people to post something when it's already been talked about. This thread should be as short and concise as possible as it's wanted for new viewers/posters of the thread to go through the entirety of it with relative ease and speed, and talk about relevant things that hasn't been talked about.

If you had read over this thread, you probably would have noticed that I didn't post anything about artwork until it became the topic at hand, specifically because going off-topic in a thread of this type would be missing the whole point of it. That's not to say what was off-topic was ignored though, everything that was relevant but not talking about the current topic has already been taken into consideration, anime artwork for instance was much posted about.

Apologies if it seems like I'm trying to make this thread too formal. It's just we won't get anywhere if we go off-topic in a thread of this type (i.e one that's trying to form a list). I for one have gone off-topic a couple of times in this thread, 'mistakes' that I'll try not to make as much in the future. Some topics obviously do overlap so sometimes it can't be helped.

Just wanted to point it out there for those who don't know.
 
For example, if the red triangle on FMA Brotherhood was a sticker
"64 episodes over 10 discs - over 25 hours", we'd get some pretty artwork and the sticker would convince anime fans they were getting a lot of bang for their buck.

As for artwork on the inside, I love it.
 
*Ok, updated anime artwork used.

Any contrasting or further opinions?
 
There's one thing that I dislike on some of the artwork, and that's the sale pitching quotes' you see plastered over the cover. The backs bad enough, but then they stick an extra at the front saying things like "Best Black-Comady Show of 2013!" "'Guts' wrenchingly funny" from ANN or Neo an such.

"I know what it's like, I've read it on your site and magazines. I even watched the pilot to get an idea of it. I wouldn't have got it otherwise so I don't need your horrible puns scrawled over the case, spoiling such delicious artwork."
This is even on some R1s' I have, particularly when FUNi were still printing some of Genoen's catalogue. I'm sure the companies must get some added revenue, not much us for other's though
 
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