Forum - View topic

Interview: Aniplex of America President Henry Goto

^ Y'know the massive, glaring flaw that analogies like the above all seem to have is that, when it comes to anime, each individual series is its own unique product. It doesn't at all compare to smartphones, where while you have varying price points and individual features, they can all run the same apps (the majority even run the exact same OS), they all have the same features, and hell, most of them look pretty much exactly the same. Even when looking at the massive quality and performance gulf between a Ferrari and a Kia, both serve the same function and are made up of the same basic components. But a work of fiction like an anime series is very much its own entity. If I want to purchase Kill la Kill, I can't find another option somewhere else that is still Kill la Kill, that has the same plot points and dialogue and acting in a cheaper package. There is only one show that is Kill la Kill, and there is only one company selling it, so by the very nature of the situation I am held hostage by that company's whims.

^ Y'know the massive, glaring flaw that analogies like the above all seem to have is that, when it comes to anime, each individual series is its own unique product. It doesn't at all compare to smartphones, where while you have varying price points and individual features, they can all run the same apps (the majority even run the exact same OS), they all have the same features, and hell, most of them look pretty much exactly the same. Even when looking at the massive quality and performance gulf between a Ferrari and a Kia, both serve the same function and are made up of the same basic components. But a work of fiction like an anime series is very much its own entity. If I want to purchase Kill la Kill, I can't find another option somewhere else that is still Kill la Kill, that has the same plot points and dialogue and acting in a cheaper package. There is only one show that is Kill la Kill, and there is only one company selling it, so by the very nature of the situation I am held hostage by that company's whims.

And it's also not about entitlement, or not being willing to save up money, or any of those things. I mean, I have purchased a lot of anime. (Seriously, a LOT of anime.) Every month I set aside at least a little bit of my paycheck to grab something or other from whatever the RightStuf sale du jour happens to be. I like many shows out there, and I want to own them. So when I see other companies that offer multiple price points, from fancy limited editions down to budget full-series sets, and whose products frequently go on sale, and I see how far my money can get me there...and then I look at this one other singular company whose products are NEVER on sale, whose "cheapest" options are still twice again as expensive as any other companies...well tell me, what am I supposed to do then? Why would I blow my entire luxury discretionary budget on a single thing I like from that company, when for the same amount I could purchase several things I like from other companies? No one has ever answered that question satisfactorily.

@leafyseadragon Pokemon Diamond and Pearl sold 5.3 million copies in America alone. Though that's less than the 7.6 million that Generation II sold or the 9.85 million that Red and Blue sold, Pokemon's sales in the US are still massive. It isn't dead.

The general consensus is that AoA puts out releases that are better quality (in terms of video and audio) than Funi's and Sentai's. And while I can see the differences in side-by-side screenshots people post up, I don't notice any of these issues while actually watching the shows. So, for me, the difference in quality isn't apparent enough to give AoA releases that edge. The anime itself would either need to be something I REALLY want or the extras in the collector's edition would need to be impressive enough to make up for the cost and have me put them higher up on my list.

But it IS the same. Kill la Kill provides the same function as any other anime. Just like a Kia and a Ferrari both get you from point A to point B. Kill la Kill and To Love Ru both provide animated audiovisual entertainment. If you aren't willing to pay for Kill la Kill, you can buy a show from a different publisher that serves the exact same purpose.
If you want to take everything to that level of specificity, than cars(and probably phones) aren't comparable either. No Ferrari driver would consider a Kia to be a reasonable substitute. It isn't the same experience, whatsoever.

relyat08 wrote:

But it IS the same. Kill la Kill provides the same function as any other anime. Just like a Kia and a Ferrari both get you from point A to point B. Kill la Kill and To Love Ru both provide animated audiovisual entertainment. If you aren't willing to pay for Kill la Kill, you can buy a show from a different publisher that serves the exact same purpose. If you want to take everything to that level of specificity, than cars(and probably phones) aren't comparable either. No Ferrari driver would consider a Kia to be a reasonable substitute. It isn't the same experience, whatsoever.

Except no two shows will ever serve the exact same purpose, because any fictional work has such a myriad of individual elements poured into it that make it what it is and provide its own experience. You mention Kill la Kill and To Love Ru: one of those shows I absolutely adored, while the other...well, saying nothing about it is the kindest thing I could do. The one couldn't remotely replicate the experience of the other. Even when I'm shopping in a sale and figuring out what to buy, there's almost always a twinge of regret involved, because invariably I'm passing on something that I definitely want to own. (Obviously that's easily resolved in the future in most cases.) I don't look at the shows I like as interchangeable or disposable, and I certainly wouldn't swap one for another on a whim.

Trying to play with the car metaphor again is probably a terrible idea, because of how different the economies in question are, but let's try this: if I'm in the market for a high-performance car--hell, if I'm in the market for a Ferrari specifically--I have options. Individual models, package options, even what dealer I go to, and that's just making the assumption that it's a luxury car or nothing for me. But if Kill la Kill is the show I like, there is only one retailer selling it, at essentially one price point and form-factor (well maybe two: expensive and what-the-hell), with a substantial mark-up that has nothing to do with the product itself (this is really where the Ferrari analogy breaks down), but everything to do with the parent company's whims. If I am a fan of a particular show that Aniplex produced, I am essentially being held hostage. What's worse is that now they're not content to push newer licenses this way: now they've decided that no one gets to renew their licenses, even the companies that made them massive domestic hits in the first place, so they're taking their ball and going home. I'm sitting here years down the line not buying shows I would have purchased in the blink of an eye had any other domestic distributor released them...I think that says something.

^ Y'know the massive, glaring flaw that analogies like the above all seem to have is that, when it comes to anime, each individual series is its own unique product. It doesn't at all compare to smartphones, where while you have varying price points and individual features, they can all run the same apps (the majority even run the exact same OS), they all have the same features, and hell, most of them look pretty much exactly the same. Even when looking at the massive quality and performance gulf between a Ferrari and a Kia, both serve the same function and are made up of the same basic components. But a work of fiction like an anime series is very much its own entity. If I want to purchase Kill la Kill, I can't find another option somewhere else that is still Kill la Kill, that has the same plot points and dialogue and acting in a cheaper package. There is only one show that is Kill la Kill, and there is only one company selling it, so by the very nature of the situation I am held hostage by that company's whims.

blatant price gouging

TarsTarkas wrote:

blatant price gouging

This has been bugging me for a while, and it's nothing personal, Tars. Most people against AoA keep using those words because they think it means that AoA is unreasonably increasing the prices of their anime. That's not what price gouging is. Price gouging is the unreasonable and excessive increase of price of a product in the event of a natural dissaster requiring that particular product. It just does not fit.

TarsTarkas wrote:

blatant price gouging

This has been bugging me for a while, and it's nothing personal, Tars. Most people against AoA keep using those words because they think it means that AoA is unreasonably increasing the prices of their anime. That's not what price gouging is. Price gouging is the unreasonable and excessive increase of price of a product in the event of a natural dissaster requiring that particular product. It just does not fit.

Nope, price gouging is when your product's price is way over what your competitors price theirs. You can quantify this. If every anime company sells 13 episode anime series for lets say 50 $ and they don't lose money and your company sells 13 episode anime series for 100 $ all else being equal there is price gouging going on. Aniplex isn't selling gold plated blu-ray boxes or something that differentiates their product from their competitors. The only difference is the name on the box. And that is not sufficient to account for the enormous price difference. So yeah price gouging in full. And if this truth hurts aniplex clients sensibilities tough luck. Man up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you're not an American. The way most Americans understand the term, it has nothing to do with natural disasters. It may have a narrower definition in other English-speaking countries, but here it's defined pretty much the way Cptn_Taylor defined it.

And, I agree with Tars Tarkas, King of the Tharks, that Aniplex is doing just what he said they were doing and for the reasons he gave. They have the *right* to do it, but that doesn't mean it's okay in my book. There are a lot of things that people have the right to do, but don't do it because it's despicable or uncouth, or for other reasons.

I didn't even know the definition of "price gouging" is different for non-Americans. What is the most widely-used non-American term for a simple spike in price for the sole reason that people will buy it at that level of markup?

leafy sea dragon wrote:

I didn't even know the definition of "price gouging" is different for non-Americans. What is the most widely-used non-American term for a simple spike in price for the sole reason that people will buy it at that level of markup?

Price gouging is the term I'd use. What I think DmonHiro was talking about is something we'd probably called "hoarding": keeping things to yourself and then not sharing after something bad has happened. So far as I am aware, there is no "natural disaster" aspect required for a hefty mark-up to be called price-gouging. I figured it might've been a requirement that other English-speaking countries use. Of course, even within the US, the way we use words can vary.

BTW, it can still be price-gouging if a company and their competitors agree to drive up the price. That practice is usually referred to as "collusion", and it may or may not be illegal, depending on what it is that's been driven up that way.

Selling a higher priced product in a market with healthy competition isn't necessarily price gouging. Now if Aniplex was in a market with no competition, and didn't take any steps to make their shows so widely available across streaming platforms (sometimes for free), then you might be able to make a case.

While some of their titles like SAO, or Fate/Stay Zero would have probably done well no matter who licensed them, without specific sales and profit numbers, we don't know that they wouldn't have been anymore or less profitable. Even then it would only be conjecture. I have no doubt that Sentai and Funi's higher volume but lower MSRP models would have resulted in more units being sold, but they may not have necessarily resulted in higher revenue or profits for them, and likely would not have increased the amount of profits that Aniplex received for those shows.