View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
|
Weird Guy
Joined: 24 Jan 2018
Posts: 139
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 6:18 am
|
|
|
So that's they plan of expansion?
Buying other distributors? Did they done business before with this company before?(I'm not American so I don't know exactly)
|
Back to top |
|
|
mgosdin
Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 6:23 am
|
|
|
There was a history of cooperation between Funimation & Manga Ent. Whenever their licenses overlapped they would deal so that only a single English dub was done. Sensible way of sharing cost & saving money.
I'm not sure just how this will pan out going forward. Licensing will potentially be a new adventure for the combined companies I suspect.
Mark Gosdin
|
Back to top |
|
|
chappellefan
Joined: 10 Apr 2019
Posts: 7
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 6:48 am
|
|
|
I have a number of concerns of corporations acquiring smaller companies for the sole use of distributing rights.
It's a smart business tactic, but I fear the consumer is the one who loses at the end.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Marzan
Joined: 29 Mar 2009
Posts: 518
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 6:53 am
|
|
|
Ugh. As a long time Manga Ent customer, this fills me with dread. Prices and geo blocks are coming up I fear.
|
Back to top |
|
|
GeorgeC
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 795
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 7:29 am
|
|
|
chappellefan wrote: | I have a number of concerns of corporations acquiring smaller companies for the sole use of distributing rights.
It's a smart business tactic, but I fear the consumer is the one who loses at the end. |
It almost NEVER ends well for the consumer.
In the same way, Disney's gobbled up TV and live-action theatrical, SONY is doing the same for anime distribution.
Sony's the parent company here for better or worse.
If you've been paying attention to what's going on with the Playstation division and the Funi legal mess, it doesn't leave you with a feeling of security. It feels chaotic. The physical media market is already contracting (I see lots and lots more discs selling at $3-$5; now we have Blu rays at $5 clearance in multiple stores) and the hammer's going to drop somewhere. Contrary to what some people might believe, mergers don't necessarily mean "stability." They can also mean that companies are struggling to survive and that they see the only future they have is to merge with a competitor or collaborator in this case.
As far as Manga Ent is concerned, they had a US office until some years back when the US division was sold to Starz. That's how Starz got the US license to Ghost in the Shell. In the past, Manga Ent had a TON of other licenses (Macross Plus, Birth and Rebirth of Evangelion, End of Evangelion, Orguss II, etc.) most of which have long since lapsed but they partially owned GiTS because they funded that first anime feature film. Last I heard, they still had GiTS: SAC as well.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Crabtree1
Joined: 14 Mar 2018
Posts: 106
Location: Aberdeenshire
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 7:42 am
|
|
|
Well that finally explains why the distribution deal with anime limited broke off.
Hopefully nothing bad will come out of this though...
|
Back to top |
|
|
anifani
Joined: 30 Aug 2013
Posts: 92
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 8:27 am
|
|
|
Quote: | FunimationNow is available in the U.K. and Ireland as a Premium Plus subscription on either a monthly (£4.99) or annual plan (£49.99) basis. |
I highly recommend that they start with the monthly just to see how the streaming goes.
I recently purchased an annual subscription to use with the Fire Stick and was so excited as I love most of Funi's anime. Unfortunately, I can't get through an episode without it lagging or stopping constantly. What a let down. It takes twice as long just to get through one episode.
|
Back to top |
|
|
MarshalBanana
Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5483
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 8:46 am
|
|
|
I would have preferred for them to have opened their own branch instead, like what ADV did back in the day. At least it is Manga, and not MVM or worse Anime Limited. Manga were becoming more of a distribution route for Funimation after all. The other two, especially Anime Limited, handle a lot of titles, evens ones with no US release.
I do expect manga now to only release recent mainstream titles that are guaranteed to sell well, hopefully they can at least do a UK release of Concrete Revolutio.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Thespacemaster
Joined: 03 Mar 2012
Posts: 1157
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 8:50 am
|
|
|
Well Manga Entertainment has been pretty stagnated for the last few years and have no really brought any interesting titles. I do love some of there older titles tough and have bought quite a few i just hope some of them don't get lost in re-licensing process and still get distribution.
|
Back to top |
|
|
AtoMan
Joined: 17 Sep 2012
Posts: 161
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 9:08 am
|
|
|
This is not an "international market expansion" we were promised, this is a textbook example of market consolidation...
|
Back to top |
|
|
FLCLGainax
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 10:43 am
|
|
|
The end of an era? They lasted a hell of a lot longer than Streamline did.
What will happen to the audio materials for the dubs they had recorded in the UK? I know Discotek has salvaged some of them for remastered versions, but I'm a bit concerned about the ones that haven't been re-released. Like their dub of Battle Angel Alita, which was one of their better efforts, and only had a PAL VHS release. I hope it makes an appearance again whenever James Cameron (or whomever owns the rights) decides to put the 1993 OAV back in print. I thought Manga's dub was superior to the ADV one, where Gally/Alita sounds a bit more badass and not overly-cheery. Manga's dub would also be more marketable now since it uses the naming scheme the live-action movie uses.
|
Back to top |
|
|
yurihellsing
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 10:58 am
|
|
|
Sooo Funnimation becoming EA??? Will they unblock me from their twitter?
|
Back to top |
|
|
brammerhammer23
Joined: 06 Jun 2013
Posts: 62
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 11:08 am
|
|
|
Its a very smart business decision on Funimation's part. It seems like Manga Entertainment is keeping their infrastructure in place and absorbing Funimation's UK business to streamline everything. Now prices could theoretically could go up since there is one less competing company.
|
Back to top |
|
|
pirateaddict
Subscriber
Joined: 20 Dec 2017
Posts: 196
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 11:21 am
|
|
|
anifani wrote: |
Quote: | FunimationNow is available in the U.K. and Ireland as a Premium Plus subscription on either a monthly (£4.99) or annual plan (£49.99) basis. |
I highly recommend that they start with the monthly just to see how the streaming goes.
I recently purchased an annual subscription to use with the Fire Stick and was so excited as I love most of Funi's anime. Unfortunately, I can't get through an episode without it lagging or stopping constantly. What a let down. It takes twice as long just to get through one episode.
|
I have both Funimation and Crunchyroll and use Google Chromecast on my TV via my tablet. I've never once had an issue with lagging or stopping since using it. The same when I use it via my phone.
It will be interesting to see what new stuff might pop up in the future or older titles being added.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Ryu Shoji
Joined: 15 Jul 2009
Posts: 674
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2019 12:30 pm
|
|
|
Weird Guy wrote: | So that's they plan of expansion?
Buying other distributors? Did they done business before with this company before?(I'm not American so I don't know exactly) |
Manga UK have a long-standing working relationship with Funimation, and for a long time were the distributor of Funimation titles in the UK. There was a brief gap when Funimation partnered with Anime Limited for about 2-3 years-ish, but Manga had recently started releasing their titles again.
|
Back to top |
|
|
|