Upcoming UK Anime DVD Artwork!

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Sorry Jeremy, but I have to agree with them.

As well as the red triangle, the double play/blueray banners....just picture your favourite album with the red triangle on the corner with '14 tracks PLUS 5 bonus tracks on ONE DISK!' It's slightly off putting, isn't it?

Okay, no it won't stop me from buying it as I don't really import, but there are a lot of people who do because of cover art and if something as simple as this were to stop people from importing, is that so bad?

In my opinion it's fine to have 'Complete Series 26 episodes on 4 discs' or whatever on the spine (Although, if it's being split over 2 - 4 parts I would prefer it to say 'Season 1 Part 1' not 'Season 1 part 1 episodes 1 - 13' as I think that's overkill)

And whilst we're on the topic of covers, instead of having 'The Complete Collection Episodes 1 - 26' on something when it's only the 1st season, can we just have 'Complete 1st Season' instead?
 
I'll echo all the points Ayase has made. Packaging is a lower priority for me than disc content, but I do always appreciate it when it looks nice. For something like cover art, I've always thought that a well-chosen piece of art and the title are all you need to make a cover look good. The "corner triangle of doom" I've always found to be somewhat ugly and distracting and it can spoil a good piece of art for me needlessly. Compare these covers from Underworld (a film I absolutely despise, but whatever!), from the infamous Entertainment in Video.
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The first cover showcases EiV's usual habits of sticking on "critic's" quotes and "2-disc set!" on in a horrible colour of text. Ugh, the only thing that would make it worse would be to have the credits block on the front instead of the back! (KAZE I'M LOOKING AT YOU!) For the second one, they thankfully just copied the US cover pretty much, whilst still have a small banner with the extended edition stuff. While not perfect, the banner is much less obtrusive than the horrific yellow text of misery on the other art. I think the first cover looks garish and ugly, and were I blind-buying I'd definitely look more towards the other cover(Thankfully I never blind bought it and rented it instead...that's two hours of my life I'm not getting back :p ).

I will be honest and say that it won't influence my purchasing decisions too much if the disc content is up to snuff, but I know that many others will take it into account.

I do like slipcovers a lot but I'm not sure about putting all the marketing information on there. I've seen how important slipcovers can be to Blu-ray collectors who will often buy a release just for a slipcover!

But anyway, I do think stickers on the shrinkwrap is the way to go normally, satisfying both those who don't like the additional text whilst still getting across the number of minutes of content and stuff. If that's not really viable, then I'd say the way you're doing it with Fractale is fine too, the "11 episodes on 2 discs" text is small and unobtrusive and doesn't spoil the beautiful cover art. Just anything but the corner triangle of doom!
 
Emulsion said:
Rui said:
It looks great. However, it's confusing because it's not 13 episodes over 5 discs at all, is it? It's 13 episodes over 5 discs, twice. It implies an episode:disc count which isn't correct because it's a combo pack.
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Actually I believe it's 13 episodes over 2 Blu-ray discs and 13 episodes over 3 DVD discs.
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Thanks, that's what I thought but I wasn't 100% sure the episode split wasn't something else. It's technically 26 episodes over 5 discs, only each of the episodes is present twice. Given all of the worry about the disc count for the Code Geass BD set, it's clear that some fans out there definitely worry about how a series is being presented. It's not a dealbreaker but I think if disc counts are being mentioned they ought to at least be clear and unambiguous.

(13 episodes over 5 discs isn't that strange for Japan, but it would be weird for the UK!)

R
 
Not just anime, this everything, Review and critic's quotes on the covers I really dislike. It's even more annoying when the quotes are on the slipcover as well as the actual artwork, for example RedLine. Sorry not picking on Manga, just don't have many slipcovers.

Saving Private Ryan DVD was bad, had a huge "nominated for 5 Oscars/Awards" plastered across it.
 
In an ideal world I would love to see the triangles and quotes dissapear. With the right artwork a dvd case can look beautiful, but stick all that text and triangles on top and it looks cheap and trashy. What really annoys me however is the big 'Double Play' banners on bluray/dvd combi packs. The Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society combi is utterly ruined by that horrific blue arc across the top. Thankfully the banner is more restrained on recent releases, more of a thin bar than a thick arc, but it still disturbs the overall look. On the other hand I understand alternatives like stickers and slipcases add cost which UK distributers cannot afford so I mostly just let it slide. I am overall perfectly happy with MangaUK releases and this is more of an annoyance than an actual problem.
 
Round glossy stickers would be about 2p each. Yes, the costs would all add up, but if this created more sales it would be more beneficial in the long run.
 
Hi guys, first of all thanks for the feedback. Very much appreciated.

I'm happy to report I've literally just spoken to JM about this, and we're going to investigate having it changed to a sticker. We can't promise at this stage, but as soon as there's any confirmation/news on this, we'll be sure to make it known.

However, to change gears slightly, I would like to take the opportunity to ask another question. The artwork currently on on pre-order is not final and is still TBC. This is also leaves potential opportunity for the artwork to change and be unique compared to the DVD collection. Out of interest, would that be something you'd be in favour of (should it get actually get approved, that is?)
 
Hi again Jeremy, thanks for taking the time to talk to us about this and raising it with Jerome. I know fans can be demanding and unrealistic at times but it's really great to know you're listening to our concerns. :)

There's a lot of great FMA artwork to choose from, I think the cover it's got is pretty good (especially if the triangle were to disappear) but it would be kinda cool for the BD to get its own unique cover.
 
Jeremy_Graves said:
Hi guys, first of all thanks for the feedback. Very much appreciated.

I'm happy to report I've literally just spoken to JM about this, and we're going to investigate having it changed to a sticker. We can't promise at this stage, but as soon as there's any confirmation/news on this, we'll be sure to make it known.

However, to change gears slightly, I would like to take the opportunity to ask another question. The artwork currently on on pre-order is not final and is still TBC. This is also leaves potential opportunity for the artwork to change and be unique compared to the DVD collection. Out of interest, would that be something you'd be in favour of (should it get actually get approved, that is?)
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I don't know whether this would be viable or not, but I think it would be pretty cool if You used this for one side of the box and this on the other side, then put in a slip or paper with all the usual back cover info on which is taken out when you take the plastic wrapping off (Just like the Funi releases). So we effectively have Edward and Al on one side and the Homunculi on the other.
I personally prefer Funi's style for the boxes here with the white bit at the bottom and the red spine, but that's just me. Something about an all black box doesn't really stand out much.
Oh and preferably without the triangle OFC.

Are the BD cases used going to be the Fat UK cases or the slim US style ones? (I'd much prefer the latter in this case)
 
If stickers are an expense, would they be more expensive than a reversible sleeve. You can go to quote and triangle heaven on the outside, while keeping the artwork unmarred on the inside, then all a purchaser would have to do is reverse the sleeve to get the art they desire.
 
Just Passing Through said:
If stickers are an expense, would they be more expensive than a reversible sleeve. You can go to quote and triangle heaven on the outside, while keeping the artwork unmarred on the inside, then all a purchaser would have to do is reverse the sleeve to get the art they desire.
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Peronally I like having a 2nd piece of artwork on the inside, most shows have a ton of great art that we don't really ever get to see over here with a box set
 
I like the way some reversible covers do it where the inside has the episode listing and a nice, plain alternate cover while the outside has the blurb and main cover. I prefer having the episode list on the outside anyway so reversing it is no problem. One of the major failings of the newer Funimation BD sets for FMA:B, incidentally is that none of the bally discs say which episodes are on them and there's no episode list anywhere on the packaging (unless it's hidden so amazingly I couldn't find it). It's obviously designed for psychics or people who like a little surprise in their life. Funimation can make major packaging flubs sometimes!

That's pretty incredible customer service by the way, Jeremy :D

R
 
Thank you so much for listening to our grumbles Jeremy, means a lot to us

I really like the use of artwork on the inside 'sleeve' of the DVD, so if you could do more of that I would be ever so happy!

Probably unlikely, but I also really liked the booklets/flyers/posters that came with my old DVDs such as Millennium Actress. It would be nice to see them come back for special editions.

If the cover designs were up to me, this is the sort of thing I would do...

King Of Thorn: I'd move the 'The Nominated/Winner awards' and 'From the creators of..' comments from the front and place them on the back. And remove the "full length feature film" comment from the spine.

Un-Go: Complete Series: I'd remove the 'From the studio of/team of' from the front, as well as 'complete series & ova' and move them to the back. I'd also change the white to black on the spine. Probably remove the '11 episodes' as well.

I'd like to see more covers like the Tiger & Bunny and Hellsing Ultimate ones. They're bold, clean and not over crowded with logos, quotes etc
 
GolGotha said:
I'd like to see more covers like the Tiger & Bunny and Hellsing Ultimate ones. They're bold, clean and not over crowded with logos, quotes etc
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This, awesomeness of a front cover makes me pick it up and read the back, you crowd out a good cover with info and maybe I don't even look at it twice, let alone pick it up for closer inspection.
 
Seems like I missed the discussion. Great to hear that you and Jerome are going to be looking into changing things like that to a sticker and the customer service is always welcome (glad to know we're listened too). I do agree with Rui about reversible covers, with one side featuring disc information and the other side ("disc side") featuring a different piece of artwork.

Looking through my MangaUK collection, one of my favourites in terms of the design of the release has to be Strike Witches 2:
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The front cover has no triangles or anything, just the artwork and minimal logos, really just the series title in one corner, the BBFC logo in the other covering up Lucchini and then the studio logos small in the lower right corner. Lots of lovely artwork.
On the inside, when you open it you're presented with a lovely and striking image of Mio, with the episodes and extras listed in small at the bottom and under the third disc there's a reversible front cover featuring Perrine as a pirate.
My only complaint about that release was the spines for season 1 and 2 don't match (this usually isn't a problem with you guys though, so I'll let a one-off slide). The spine reading "Strike Witches 2 Complete 2nd Season: Episodes 1-12", which I think is a good enough indicator. Alternatively, placing it on the back is a good idea, because I think most people who pick up a DVD in a store will check the back to read the blurb.

Funnily enough, today I purchased the "Doctor Strange" part of the Marvel Animated Features line and it does bug me how in the lower right corner of the cover, there's a triangle advertising the "Best of Marvel Video Game Cinematics" extra:
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Urgh, so obtrusive and unnecessary.

Also, I do have to give you guys credit on having different disc art and menu art for each disc in a release. Something that annoys me to no end with Supernatural is how every season has the same stock disc menu art (just different colour boxes per season) and the disc art is all the same throughout a season.

My personal opinion on it is that the triangles being on the front cover won't stop my buying a MangaUK release. However, if given the choice I would prefer it if it were a sticker of some kind that could be removed, as I like pretty artwork. I do think it being the reason that turns people away from buying a MangaUK release and spending more to import is silly though. Personally, the only things that would stop me buying a UK release would be:
1) If something isn't licensed in the UK (duh).
2) A US release is on blu-ray while a UK release is DVD only.
3) A US release has better physical extras.

So kudos on announcing the K-ON! movie the day after America's announcement. Now I can weigh up the two releases and choose which one to get (

Jeremy_Graves said:
However, to change gears slightly, I would like to take the opportunity to ask another question. The artwork currently on on pre-order is not final and is still TBC. This is also leaves potential opportunity for the artwork to change and be unique compared to the DVD collection. Out of interest, would that be something you'd be in favour of (should it get actually get approved, that is?)
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In regards to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood? I already own the DVDs and will be double dipping for the blu-rays, so new artwork would always be welcome.

I do like Mangaranga's idea of having a box with one side dedicated to the Elrics and another to Father and the Homunculi, with a paper slip for the blurb and other details (I don't like how FUNimation cut out the bottom to white though.). However, I can understand if that would be too much of an expense over just printing it on the back.

(And yes, I know me complaining about the NSFWness of the Hotdog cover while owning Strike Witches 2 is a bit weird. But SW2 is more neutral, despite having visible panties).
(And yes, I am pushing the name "Hotdog" for Highschool of the Dead: Drifters of the Head).
 
Oddly enough, after writing all that stuff today I received another Manga release, Squid Girl, which has what I would consider a perfect reversible cover with everything unnecessary swept off it - Leaving only the art, title and "Season One Collection" on the cover and spine.

If you want an example of something I think Manga have done exactly right in the packaging department and that I'd love to see more of Jeremy, look no further than that.
 
ayase said:
Oddly enough, after writing all that stuff today I received another Manga release, Squid Girl, which has what I would consider a perfect reversible cover with everything unnecessary swept off it - Leaving only the art, title and "Season One Collection" on the cover and spine.

If you want an example of something I think Manga have done exactly right in the packaging department and that I'd love to see more of Jeremy, look no further than that.
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Dragonball Z does pretty much the same thing FYI.
 
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