Will Symphogear ever be released on home video?

Joshawott

Joshawott

Monsieur Monster
AUKN Staff
Random question, I know.

Recently, the designer of Satelight's Symphogear franchise mentioned on Twitter that due to the third series being the highest-selling summer anime*, the franchise will be returning.

So that got me thinking about the series' international potential or rather, the lack thereof. While FUNimation simulcast the first season during the Winter 2012 season, the series was never released on home video and the 2012 follow-up Symphogear G wasn't even made legally available until Crunchyroll added it to their back-catalogue in September 2015 alongside the first season, after having been simulcasting the then-airing Symphogear GX since June.

After some digging, I've been unable to find a home video release of the franchise in any non-Japanese territory, so I am naturally curious about why this is the case - especially given that the series was popular enough to warrant two sequels with a fourth presumably on the way. At first I thought that perhaps FUNimation weren't impressed with the streaming figures in the U.S. and opted not to pursue home video rights, but could that really have impacted say, the French and German markets? Perhaps there's a contractual or cost issue relating to the music licensing that be placing the franchise out of the price-range of potential licensors?

What do y'all think?

* = According to Thomas Romain. Haven't personally verified.
 
That is weird. Overpriced license or some weird rights issue we don't know about?

Though there are other series which badly need an overseas release, like the masterpiece that is Ixion Saga DT. It's a shame when something gets skipped over for a while as it eventually slips into 'too old' territory and nobody wants to bother any more, even if it's still getting sequels and interest in Japan.

R
 
If I was Funimation, I also wouldn't want to pay whatever the license fee is for a series that spikes 20k+ in Japan (and has the associated CD sales of Symphogear) unless I was guaranteed a big hit in the West, too. I don't think this show even nearly fits the bill.
 
Rui said:
That is weird. Overpriced license or some weird rights issue we don't know about?

Though there are other series which badly need an overseas release, like the masterpiece that is Ixion Saga DT. It's a shame when something gets skipped over for a while as it eventually slips into 'too old' territory and nobody wants to bother any more, even if it's still getting sequels and interest in Japan.

R
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I think this might unfortunately also apply to YuruYuri at this stage. While I'm absolutely loving the currently-airing third season, I can see why a UK distributor would be hesitant to license the first two seasons now. Unless Anime Limited licenses them and does a Full Metal Panic-style Ultimate Edition. Someone page Andrew!
Due to them losing High School DxD and their close relationship with Sentai Filmworks, I thought Manga UK/Animatsu might have considered bringing over To Love-Ru Darkness to fill that gap in the audience, but although the latest series only just concluded last season, the first alone is now 7 years old; so I could sadly see why they might be reluctant to license it now.

ilmaestro said:
If I was Funimation, I also wouldn't want to pay whatever the license fee is for a series that spikes 20k+ in Japan (and has the associated CD sales of Symphogear) unless I was guaranteed a big hit in the West, too. I don't think this show even nearly fits the bill.
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If I were to look at it from a business perspective, I would most likely make the same call to be honest. While I personally like Symphogear, I just haven't seen any real discussion of the series that might indicate any foreign demand. I wonder how much Crunchyroll had to pay for the streaming rights for all three seasons? Although that would admittedly be spread across more territories than a home video release and wouldn't require manufacturing costs; so probably less money to spend and less to lose if it flops.

I wonder how MVM's release of Love Live! performed for them, because I can't see that being a cheap license either; although Love Live! does have the huge international audience Symphogear lacks.

International fans are doomed when a series doesn't sell in Japan and doomed when they do.
 
I would also love to know how variable the licensing costs are for streaming, even if it was just a relative comparison between shows rather than the actual hard numbers.
 
My money would be on MVM - they've ended up with most of Satellite's recent shows like Log Horizon, Bodacious Space Pirates and Muv Luv.

That said, there's plenty that's never come out here like all the Aquarion sequels or Guin Saga - and if I recall Heat Guy J is commonly reeled out as one of the key offenders from the original anime bubble that had a ridiculously high per-episode licensing cost.

re. Love Live - from what I've heard it didn't do as well as people thought it might - likewise in America, I saw a lot of people commenting that the 'hype' over that franchise among social media circles is overshadowing the fact that the franchise isn't actually an overly strong seller in the west. It just has a very vocal fanbase.
 
There's also a lot more to Love Live than the anime. The smartphone game is pretty popular and I know a lot of people who play it but haven't watched the anime.
 
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