Why is it we seem to ignore UK anime releases?

I

Invisible Crane

Adventurer
For months I've noticed whenever the site posts the weekly UK anime DVD releases and comments are posted on it, I usually see the same things said over and over again ("Already got the US release, got the US release cause of no UK Blu Ray release, US release is cheaper...really? cause from what I've noticed UK releases are cheaper for the most part, etc). Now I admit I myself am guilty of buying US releases over UK releases but recently most of what I've bought is UK releases cause I like to try and support Manga UK when I can.

Now I do understand some circumstances like US/UK release date gaps and possibility of faults (Panty And Stocking comes to mind) but honestly I have to ask why do we shun the UK market so much
 
Hmmm that's an interesting question, I've been giving it some thought myself lately.

I think it's because we want the best version we can get for our money and lot of the time the UK version is not that product. Everyone's definition of "the best version" will differ of course, whether it's Blu-ray, physical extras, timely release date or whatnot.

I'm going to be a little cold here, but if the UK version isn't the release we want and there's a better version available elsewhere, then we have every right to seek it out. After all we're under no obligation to buy a MangaUK release, for example, simply because it's the local version. It's their job to convince us that the UK version is the best version to get.

I always think that it's best to buy the release that suits your needs the best, whether it's from the UK, the US, Australia elsewhere in Europe or Japan. There are always things that get in the way of this unfortunately (import tax is the main one for me, region locking is less of a problem now). Also the number of goofs and screw ups involving MangaUK haven't helped either. For me, it is nice when the UK version turns out to be the release that works out the best simply because there's fewer hoops to jump through to buy it, but it's often not the case.
 
I say it because I think it's important to make the feedback available to the industry, should they be interested in hearing it. I don't buy UK because I perceive the quality to be lower. They are welcome to try to change my mind on this at any time. I have quite literally hundreds of UK releases and have been buying since the VHS days, but because of BD and the loss of Beez I've pretty much stopped buying any discs here.

The price being lower doesn't make any difference to me when the US release is always better or is already out before the UK release is announced (I'm not psychic). Also, until very recently the industry was afraid of sub-only, and as dubs are struggling in the US and I don't watch them anyway I never had any reason to support this policy which strictly limited the genres available here.

Also, UK DVDs are less desirable due to the PAL situation (which can lead to a wealth of new glitches at worst or off-pitch audio) and UK BDs are less desirable as they often don't happen at all, and when they do they're the wrong region for my players and often buggy.

Ath's last line works nicely for me too.

R
 
Impatience is an issue too, given the minimum 3 month delay from US to UK.
I'm eternally annoyed by people in series discussion threads on other forums discussing spoilers for episodes that haven't legally streamed yet - and that's only a delay of a few days.
 
I also feel that the UK industry's current position, where we take dubs from the US and materials from Australia without really contributing anything creatively ourselves 99% of the time, is an issue to me as a more global kind of fan (I don't know how to phrase this, but what I mean is that I'll import from anywhere and want the best I can get).

While our prices are low as a result of having no real production costs, it has a knock-on effect in that losing the UK companies won't reduce the availability of anime to me - as a global consumer. However, losing the US or Australian companies has a catastrophic effect on the availability of anime here, as we are already seeing through the drop in dubs being produced and experiments with limited releases (even Funimation is feeling out sub-only releases, and they've been very strongly in favour of dubs from the start). It simply doesn't seem to make sense to me to support the local industry if the overseas ones are struggling too, because if they go down, we go down with them anyway. And the stuff they make tends to be better, as I said in my first post, so...

The current arrangement seems to rely on an unrealistic scenario where the US/Australian markets are stable and the UK mainstream wants to buy lots of cheap, lower quality anime DVDs. I'm certainly not part of the latter market, and I have my concerns about the sustainability of the whole thing to boot. I hope Kaze can get Bakuman out (and Geass on BD will help) as, personally speaking, it's releases which aren't wholly dependent on better versions already available in foreign markets which give the UK companies a reason to exist.

R
 
Part of the problem is that even now not everything gets released over here and if it does it either gets released months later or there isn't a blu-ray or it is faulty.
 
With me, it's simply because other regions such as America tend to get releases I want first and more often than not, on blu-ray while a UK release (if by some miracle is announced before the US release) is confirmed to be DVD only.

And in other cases, their releases are simply a lot better than ours. Case in point: Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The American limited edition sets are amazing - as are the extras. The UK release may be the cheapest in the world and a whopping £180 cheaper than what I paid for the American sets, but when MangaUK really hypes that it has a slip cover as if it's an amazing bonus...something's wrong.

There are times where I will buy a local release over a foreign one though, like Tiger & Bunny. Yes, KazéUK's first volume has just over half the episodes of the US one, but our release looks a lot nicer and actually has some cool extras. So as Rui said, if the UK anime market wants to keep our business, they have to make their releases more appealing.
 
With me, the main reason why i import US releases is simply because i want to get the Blu-Ray version that the UK wouldn't provide. But the other reason is also the massive amount of c***ups in regards to Manga's releases like Xam'd, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Casshern Sins and of course Panty & Stocking so my confidence in Manga is quite non-existent nowadays.
 
Ath said:
I'm going to be a little cold here, but if the UK version isn't the release we want and there's a better version available elsewhere, then we have every right to seek it out. After all we're under no obligation to buy a MangaUK release, for example, simply because it's the local version. It's their job to convince us that the UK version is the best version to get.
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Not cold in the slightest. That's business at the end of the day, and no self respecting business person would begrudge us the right to buy competing products in a free market economy. It would be daft to let what's best for the UK industry come before what's best for us as consumers.
 
All the stores in my town that used to stock anime DVDs closed, and if I'm shopping on the internet already then there is little differentiation between "UK" and "not UK" to me. This then leads to all the good points being made above apply equally to me.
 
I personally tend to buy UK over US ..the only reason I would pick up a US release is if its HIGHLY unlikely we'll get it over here, be it at all or back in print.
For example, I picked up Tsubasa, only because a re-release over here is next to impossible.
 
Generally speaking I only buy UK releases unless a series is not available here then I look to oz/us. I have fairly limited funds for dvds (anime or otherwise) so the low pricepoint of Manga and MVM releases is appreciated by myself. I do understand that quality must suffer to an extent to make the low price feasible and I accept that, I would prefer to watch a dozen anime series in 'good' condition than two or three anime in 'exceptional' condition. As long as a release has the japanese audio, fault-free subtitles and no serious problems then I'm happy. That said, I do buy BluRays and special editions when they are available. Of course, everything I just said is down to my personal circumstances and I can understand perfectly why many people will settle only for the best available regardless of price or origin.
I do agree that UK companies need to get contracts signed and licences announced a lot sooner. I was convinced that Ga-Rei Zero was never coming out here and was about to buy it from up1 when MVM announced it at the MCM Expo. MVM were so close to losing a buyer of their product simply because it took so long for the annoucement to be made and I'm sure that a lot of consumers are lost to each release because of this. I don't mind waiting for something to be released here but I do mind waiting for an announcement that may never happen.
 
My rule is i'll buy a UK release unless it's a blue ray i really want, or its a series that isn't going to be released here. Or in rare cases if i dont want to wait.

I'm waiting for the next Hellsing's for example...
 
I tend to mainly buy UK releases, but if the series isn't released here or hard to find, I buy the US version or AUS version if it isn't licensed in the US, eg Higurashi Kai.
 
I just don't want to support Manga because they are beyond incompetent and have too much of the UK market. Also 99% of the time the US release is simply better.

Invisible Crane said:
US release is cheaper...really? cause from what I've noticed UK releases are cheaper for the most part, etc)
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Some releases are perceived as cheaper because they are better value for money.
 
If it's on Blu ray I buy US, simply becuase I cannot count on ever seeing it here.

If it's DvD I tend to only buy if it's a series I want to watch and I know it's unlikely to be released here.

In general paying slightly more to get a US release far earlier and with a lower % chance of things being messed up (errors are only ever added, never solved when the UK discs are released)
 
We're getting closer and closer to a stage now where if it's DVD-only in the US, it's also niche and has no dub, so it's consequently less interesting to the UK companies who naturally want to pick the very biggest hits to get a good return on their investments.

R
 
Pretty much all the reasons have been said.

Wider selection/US actually gets Blurays/Get releases at least 3 months earlier/support US Distributors for Dubs + More releases.
Manga don't exactly have the best track record either when it comes to their releases, and have pissed me off enough times with cancellations/cockups. They are the reason I bought a Region Free Bluray player, especially since BDs are all I buy. The only thing I like about Manga really is the people who work there and how active they are in interacting with the community.

Also there just isn't any competition in the UK Market.
I forget MVM even exist most of the time, and with their stance on BD as well as their releases generally being older titles by the time they are released here, I'm not exactly going to go running to them. I can't even tell you a single title they have released in the last year.

Kaze are somewhat of an exception with their BD releases and nice packaging, but sub locking is what cripples their releases the most and makes me look to importing from other territories.

When I can get a good quality, BD, fault free release from another territory, why would I support an inferior DVD release here?

TL;DR
Manga - Cock ups/Cancellations/Lack of BDs
MVM - (Pretty much)DVD Only/Not many releases
Kaze - Sub Locking

I can (Most of the time), avoid these issues, and get the product I want by buying elsewhere.
 
Rui said:
We're getting closer and closer to a stage now where if it's DVD-only in the US, it's also niche and has no dub, so it's consequently less interesting to the UK companies who naturally want to pick the very biggest hits to get a good return on their investments.

R
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Ah, this is the essence of what I was trying to say earlier, If it's popular its on BR, something that the UK just wont give me, and at the other end the DvD only items are subbed and too niche for the UK.
 
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