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Do you think anime is too expensive?

All of the current R1 companies have rather large companies backing them, and without someone to help pony up cash, living and dying by your own sales becomes VERY important.

ven0m57 wrote:

haha depends on the fruit. i am totaly digging a pear right now. lol but could you explain what you mean?

I think Animeister's analogy was that buying anime is like buying anything else, but fruit is a necessity, whereas anime is a luxury.

I still believe FUNimation is going to be the sole US distributor, and I'm guessing by 2012. They're obviously doing something well enough Navarre hasn't thought about selling the company. Revenues must be good.

ADV is living off their catalog now, which isn't a good long term plan.

The distributor does pay a license fee (not an astronomical expense these days), translation (again, a minimal expense - anime translators are not paid very much per script), dubbing & mixing (if a dub is done - again, this is not a huge expense because VA and crew who work on anime don't make much). DVD production itself is peanuts.

The main expense to a distributor are the wages for their staff and office expenses.

Will they still be doing as well now that they've run through all the titles they picked up which didn't require production cost?

Blood- wrote:

The distributor does pay a license fee (not an astronomical expense these days), translation (again, a minimal expense - anime translators are not paid very much per script), dubbing & mixing (if a dub is done - again, this is not a huge expense because VA and crew who work on anime don't make much). DVD production itself is peanuts. The main expense to a distributor are the wages for their staff and office expenses.

Even though license fees seem like they have come down (half-season boxed sets wouldn't be practical if they hadn't), you're underestimating that expense. Companies never talk numbers on licensing fees, but I've heard from people "in the know" that license fees are typically the #1 cost an anime importing company faces and join complicated rights agreements as the top barriers to certain titles getting licensed for U.S. distribution.

As for dubbing costs, given what voice actors are paid per hour (and it's often below union rates), overhead studio costs, and dubbing staff costs, I'd be surprised if the average cost of dubbing an anime episode is less than $2,000 per episode, and probably quite a bit more than that. That means a typical single volume probably costs around $10,000 to dub, a typical 12-13 episode boxed set around $25,000, and a typical full-season boxed set at $50,000+. If anime sold Disney/Pixar-level numbers then that would be chump change, but no anime release comes even close to that level.

There's a misconception to think companies "back" the little ones they own. Navarre simply owns FUNimation, but does not "back" this company financially. Thus, Navarre's video game revenues can not be used to support FUNimation losses. Not legally, anyway.

FUNimation is its own corporation, and thus, must justify their expenses with this corporate entity, not Navarre. If anything, FUNimation actually supports Navarre, not the other way around.

Thus, FUNimation, and others, are living and dying by their own sales.

My fear is Bandai. This company scares me, but I can't put my finger on why. They're just too quiet. Reminds me of a clear day before the thunderstorm producing damaging tornadoes blows through town.

I'm going to have to agree that something is up with them the way they keep delaying titles. I want Code Geass: R2, Gundam 00, and Kurokami from them still.

Key wrote:

Um, they clearly aren't making much of one, or Geneon and CPM would still be active, ADV wouldn't have had the troubles they did, etc.

Given the research I've done on distributors, these companies had troubles at their own doing.

Geneon's demise came from them trying to box trinkets with their full price offerings, being undercut by competitors.

CPM seemed only to pick up titles they thought would be popular. Limit supply is death in a fickle market. There are rumors internal management decisions also played a huge factor in their demise.

As for ADV, I'm clearly not understanding their situation if financially unstable. Given its title base, prices, and distribution methods (most of which requires a monthly service fee), the only thing I can fathom is internal management is at fault. ADV's problems have been years in the making, though, and even Sentai Filmworks isn't helping.

I don't consider anime expensive, but at the same time, I don't buy new releases either. Much like my video games, I let those who can't wait contribute to the profit margin. As for me, a year wait and cheaper cost is what I'm all about.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. Had Clannad been dubbed, that would be in my collection even at $70. It's sequel would also be right next to it.

I'm not sure why distributors don't stop wasting time with singles and two part box sets. Just release a box set for $50 and be done with it.