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NEWS: Anime Makes Up 50%+ of BD Sales in Japan in 2009's 1st Half


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l33tmeatwad



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:13 pm Reply with quote
Glad to see anime is selling well there on Blu-ray. Interesting stats, I really hope more anime in the US starts to see Blu-ray releases. I know the companies in the US want digital distribution, but the consumer gets the short end of the stick with that, however it is good for increasing companies' profit. With music, we benefit more, but with movies, not so much.

Last edited by l33tmeatwad on Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
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wilson_x1999



Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 183
Location: Monterrey, Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:16 pm Reply with quote
And I guess that K-On! is responsible for at least 30% of the BD sales in Japan Anime hyper
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megaflyman



Joined: 08 Jan 2009
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
At the same time though, BD sales did not make up for the shortfall in DVD sales, which dropped 15% by volume and 20% by yen amount year-to-year.


It sounds like that people in Japan are also tired of paying a lot of money for a anime dvd with only a few episodes on it. Hopefully there will start releases anime in box sets more in Japan which will mean titles will be releases in the US munch sooner.
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5579
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:27 pm Reply with quote
megaflyman wrote:
Quote:
At the same time though, BD sales did not make up for the shortfall in DVD sales, which dropped 15% by volume and 20% by yen amount year-to-year.


It sounds like that people in Japan are also tired of paying a lot of money for a anime dvd with only a few episodes on it. Hopefully there will start releases anime in box sets more in Japan which will mean titles will be releases in the US munch sooner.
Yeah, now they're doing buying anime blurays with the same number of episodes on it and a ton of blank space on the disc. It's a shame no ones actually releasing bluray "boxsets" in 2 or 3 discs..which is completely possible. Misuzu is awesome.
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vulcanraven01



Joined: 18 Apr 2009
Posts: 677
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:30 pm Reply with quote
megaflyman wrote:
Quote:
At the same time though, BD sales did not make up for the shortfall in DVD sales, which dropped 15% by volume and 20% by yen amount year-to-year.


It sounds like that people in Japan are also tired of paying a lot of money for a anime dvd with only a few episodes on it. Hopefully there will start releases anime in box sets more in Japan which will mean titles will be releases in the US munch sooner.

Quite the opposite. They're happy to flock in mass to pay $84 for 2 eps of K-ON on Blu-ray. Wink

There's also a few problems with your statement;

A - Blu-ray releases of anime contain the same content as DVD releases, only, obviously at a higher price.
B - DVD/Blu-ray releases start 3 months after TV air date. If they were to switch to boxsets, this means we'd have to wait a few months after the show has finished airing, which means they miss out on the high volumes sales due to the buzz of the show still airing when released. Wink
C - Japanese releases have nothing to do with US license and release time scale. In fact, most US licenses are done when a show has well past finished being released in Japan. The main problem with the US market is that FUNi are forming a monopoly over it, licensing too many titles, meaning the newer ones get put on the backtrack.
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megaflyman



Joined: 08 Jan 2009
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:40 pm Reply with quote
vulcanraven01 wrote:
megaflyman wrote:
Quote:
At the same time though, BD sales did not make up for the shortfall in DVD sales, which dropped 15% by volume and 20% by yen amount year-to-year.


It sounds like that people in Japan are also tired of paying a lot of money for a anime dvd with only a few episodes on it. Hopefully there will start releases anime in box sets more in Japan which will mean titles will be releases in the US munch sooner.

Quite the opposite. They're happy to flock in mass to pay $84 for 2 eps of K-ON on Blu-ray. Wink

There's also a few problems with your statement;

A - Blu-ray releases of anime contain the same content as DVD releases, only, obviously at a higher price.
B - DVD/Blu-ray releases start 3 months after TV air date. If they were to switch to boxsets, this means we'd have to wait a few months after the show has finished airing, which means they miss out on the high volumes sales due to the buzz of the show still airing when released. Wink
C - Japanese releases have nothing to do with US license and release time scale. In fact, most US licenses are done when a show has well past finished being released in Japan. The main problem with the US market is that FUNi are forming a monopoly over it, licensing too many titles, meaning the newer ones get put on the backtrack.


A I was referring to the quote in the article that said's that Blu-ray sales do not make up the the lost in DVD sales. I think that means people are getting tired about buying a dvd or Blu-ray with only a few episodes.

About the third point you made I remember in the Otakon 2009 Fansubs and Industry panel which was posed on ANN some said that they can't releases a episode in the US until it is releases in Japan. Because there only releases a few episode at a time is why we have to wait so long for a box set.
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:22 pm Reply with quote
vulcanraven01 wrote:
C - Japanese releases have nothing to do with US license and release time scale. In fact, most US licenses are done when a show has well past finished being released in Japan. The main problem with the US market is that FUNi are forming a monopoly over it, licensing too many titles, meaning the newer ones get put on the backtrack.


Not true. Many, if not most, anime are licensed early, sometimes before they air in Japan. (This is somewhat rarer now that the US anime bubble has burst.) In any event, the timing of the release is often a major contractual stipulation, as licensors tend to want the US release to come out when the show is still fresh, but still after the R2s. (They worry about Japanese otaku importing the US release for a far lower price.)

This is especially an issue with Blu-ray, since Japan and the US now share a region code.
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vulcanraven01



Joined: 18 Apr 2009
Posts: 677
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:32 pm Reply with quote
@ megaflyman
The lack of DVD sales is because the majority of Japanese anime DVD purchasers are otaku, who care about quality. Most of them have jumped over to Blu-ray, hence the crazy sales for stuff like K-ON (an otaku-centered show).
The simple fact is that money means little to otaku, hence why Japanese DVD's have always been very expensive (that and the market isn't as big as the US).
That's not going to change with Blu-ray, neither is the episode count.

As for the latter comment, Soul Eater eps 1-13 have been released on Japanese DVD since last October (entire series now fully released as of this month), so why is FUNi only releasing the first boxset in December when they could have easily started as soon as they obtained the license if they went at their usual 3 month intervals?

jsevakis wrote:
This is especially an issue with Blu-ray, since Japan and the US now share a region code.

Then why are FUNi releasing stuff on Blu-ray that hasn't even been released in Japan? Surely if the original license holders cared, they wouldn't be providing HD masters when requested for such releases?
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DomFortress



Joined: 13 Feb 2009
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Location: Richmond BC, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:06 pm Reply with quote
vulcanraven01 wrote:
As for the latter comment, Soul Eater eps 1-13 have been released on Japanese DVD since last October (entire series now fully released as of this month), so why is FUNi only releasing the first boxset in December when they could have easily started as soon as they obtained the license if they went at their usual 3 month intervals?

jsevakis wrote:
This is especially an issue with Blu-ray, since Japan and the US now share a region code.

Then why are FUNi releasing stuff on Blu-ray that hasn't even been released in Japan? Surely if the original license holders cared, they wouldn't be providing HD masters when requested for such releases?
Your first part was a simple one; they're busy working with other titles that they're releasing at the same time. Just because Japanese anim industry tend to slack-off with post-production like proper localizations, that doesn't mean it has to be the standard here. Also, you don't know just when did FUNimation actually got the licensing rights of Soul Eater from the Japanese content distributors. So you've no idea when FUNimation started with post-production and therefore, how long did it actually takes to do.

And as for your last statement, how would you know who were the original content providers of those FUNimation Blu-ray titles that you mentioned? They might not even be Japanese in origin for all we know.
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vulcanraven01



Joined: 18 Apr 2009
Posts: 677
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:37 pm Reply with quote
Localization such as subtitles takes next to no time, as seen with the recent Kannagi release.
As for the required master, you'd expect that to be provided within no longer than a month.
The problem is the dub, and that's where everything grinds to a halt, since like I stated, FUNi are forming a monopoly over the market and have too many titles to handle, and only a small pool of VA's to share around titles.
Personally I think it's hurting them as their dub quality has considerably degraded (D.Gray-Man anyone?) since the glory days of FMA, video quality suffers due to cheaping out on disc counts and the consumer has to play the waiting game.
Fair play to them for making series available on their video portal, but not every license gets a look-in.
As for where the masters come from, naturally the animation studio. If they want DBZ, they go to Toei, they want FMA they go to BONES, and so on.
They only time when masters would come from another source is when a company sub-licenses a titles, for example a UK company wants something from FUNi, they'll be provided their already created DVD master, and usually the materials to go along with it as well.
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DomFortress



Joined: 13 Feb 2009
Posts: 751
Location: Richmond BC, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:40 pm Reply with quote
vulcanraven01 wrote:
Localization such as subtitles takes next to no time, as seen with the recent Kannagi release.
As for the required master, you'd expect that to be provided within no longer than a month.
The problem is the dub, and that's where everything grinds to a halt, since like I stated, FUNi are forming a monopoly over the market and have too many titles to handle, and only a small pool of VA's to share around titles.
Personally I think it's hurting them as their dub quality has considerably degraded (D.Gray-Man anyone?) since the glory days of FMA, video quality suffers due to cheaping out on disc counts and the consumer has to play the waiting game.
Fair play to them for making series available on their video portal, but not every license gets a look-in.
As for where the masters come from, naturally the animation studio. If they want DBZ, they go to Toei, they want FMA they go to BONES, and so on.
They only time when masters would come from another source is when a company sub-licenses a titles, for example a UK company wants something from FUNi, they'll be provided their already created DVD master, and usually the materials to go along with it as well.
If you think subtitling is the totality of localization, then think again. Because if that's the truth, why should anime even need Japanese voice acting to being with? Can subtitles along act out human emotions?

As for legally providing anime contents from oversea content providers, do you have any idea how long legal proceeding can take?

Not to mention is the fact that while animation studios have copyrights of their anime titles, the actual content distribution licensing rights belong to other corporate distributors who owns the distribution rights of their anime related franchises. In the case of Soul Eater anime TV series, its copyrights belong to BONES studio. However the Soul Eater franchise's content distribution licensing rights belong to Square Enix, who sub-licensed their Soul Eater manga to BONES studio. In order to make an anime adaptation of the manga, thereby using the intellectual property that's Soul Eater as an image label for design concepts.

If you have no idea just what is it that you're complaining about, then say so, or you could just ask questions.

And finally, I don't mind playing the waiting game for something that's worth my money, when FUNimation is making anime series that I like to watch. Due to their engaging stories are now even more enjoyable with English dubbing. Because now more people in my local can enjoy my FUNimation DVD with official language support.

If you just want to make anime a lonely hobby, because you just want to consume anime as fast as you can for yourself, then that's your problem. Not mine. For I would rather side myself and support FUNimation, when they made their business of enjoying anime with more people, even possible with those who aren't even anime fans through dubbing. While the Japanese anime industry are only catering hardcore Japanese anime fanatics know as otakus; an isolated social minority group in their also isolated society.
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Lemoncookies23



Joined: 02 Aug 2008
Posts: 355
PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:12 am Reply with quote
You have a piss-poor command of the English language, DomFortress, but I agree with you. Wink
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DomFortress



Joined: 13 Feb 2009
Posts: 751
Location: Richmond BC, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:27 am Reply with quote
JairStout wrote:
You have a piss-poor command of the English language, DomFortress, but I agree with you. Wink
Well for someone like you who thinks my command in English is poor to still agree with me. That says something about those that you might not agree with, who could speak fluent English. And that worries me. Neutral
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alefin



Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:00 am Reply with quote
I think the reason there are no DBZ blu-rays in Japan is because the HD transfer was done outside of Japan by Video Post & Transfer for Funimation.
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l33tmeatwad



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:47 am Reply with quote
alefin wrote:
I think the reason there are no DBZ blu-rays in Japan is because the HD transfer was done outside of Japan by Video Post & Transfer for Funimation.

Actually, I think people who are saying FUNimation is releasing stuff before it is in Japan on Blu-ray are not talking about DBZ. FUNimation released Samurai 7 on Blu-ray before Japan, and they are releasing Burst Angel on Blu-ray before Japan has it as well.
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