Forum - View topicNEWS: Funimation Discusses OniAi Release With Only English Subtitles
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sakuragtin
 Posts: 222 |
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I view this with cautious optimism and at the same time with slight trepidation. Like if they really use this method to release some titles that would (and have) otherwise been overlooked because they wouldn't bring the numbers required to warrant a dub that would be good - like Mononoke and Tatami Galaxy or a sports anime or maybe continuations to series like Big Windup! Season 2. But then there's the maybe they're just going to get more otaku niche shows like this one or Brothers Conflict (shudders, oh god no) and still not get stuff like Tatami Galaxy or Kuroko's Basketball so I'll still be in the same boat as I am with Sentai cause they don't license this stuff either.
That being said the release itself is pretty sweet for those who want it (not buying OniAi in a million years, she can go fantasize about her brother all she wants but not on my shelves). It beats Sentai's sub only releases with an iron bat then runs them over with a tank for good measure. I just don't really like the whole guessing game of does it get a dub or not. Maybe Funi will annouce right off the bat if the show they license gets a dub. That'd be nice cause I do enjoy dubs just as much as subs so I'm always happy to hear that something I like gets a dub. I typically like it better if there is a dub option because that means I can share it with family and friends who don't like/can't read subs. |
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Tanteikingdomkey
 Posts: 2348 |
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So funimation is basically funimation is going the NIS route with there Sub only releases. If you put the name tatami galaxy, case closed, gosick, rainbow, kodocha, big windup you will have one very happy customer. That said I will absolutely be grabbing some copies of this for my booth at conventions now since this is actually going to be a good release, and I want the experiment to work. |
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Tuor_of_Gondolin
 Posts: 3524 Location: Bellevue, WA |
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There will be no bubble-bursting here! Bubble-bursting is not allowed! Funi may have said that earlier, but that was before this new policy of taking lesser-volume anime for sub-only releases. Maybe the cost of Nanoha Strikers has come down since then. Maybe it can sell enough subbed to be worth getting the license. Times change, and what was deemed unprofitable might not be viewed that way now. So, I'll keep on hoping, and if not today, maybe tomorrow, and if not Funimation, maybe someone else. It just sure would be nice to be able to own Nanoha Strikers, and I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. |
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Mr. sickVisionz
 Posts: 2175 |
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Nice. Not my type of show but I hope it does well for them and they continue with this. Dub isn't much of a feature for me due to watching everything streaming and getting used to the JP voices and if this lets some shows I'm dying to see but it seems like nobody is ever going to pick them up (Kaiba, Dennou Coil, Welcome to Irabu's Office, School Days, Erin, Real Drive, Tatami Galaxy, and more) come out over here, I'm all for it. Especially since Funi seems very interested in the BD format.
Very surprising turn of events. I thought Funi wanted their image to be the company that always dubs stuff and that was their differentiating point in the market. I feel bad for NISA. I think there are some titles they only got because a bigger company like Funi doubted they could make bank if they had to dub it. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23996 |
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That's an interesting observation about the potential impact on NISA if Funi does get more involved in the sub-only game. After all, House of Five Leaves was a Funi cast-off that NISA scooped up. Personally, I think there is enough titles being produced every year that even if Funi does more of this, it really won't impact on NISA, but it's not an irrelevant thought, that's for sure.
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stardf29
Posts: 171 |
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Don't forget that NISA is now considering dubbing anime, which would help put them on more equal footing with Sentai and Funimation. It could very well come to the point where NISA isn't "the company that picks up whatever the bigger companies don't want" anymore, and is instead a major proactive licensing force itself. I'd even argue it's already starting to be that way, with their picking up Love Live! and Genshiken Nidaime before they started airing--something I believe they'll continue to do. (And if NISA is reading this: Golden Time, please?  )
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Mr. sickVisionz
Posts: 2175 |
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I think they will have a hard time dealing with Sentai, let alone Funimation. Those two have a major advantage in that they can say their product is also sold in pretty much any retail store that sells movies and TV. I've never seen a NISA item at Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc. NISA doesn't have that to woo a license holder. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they still aren't sold as an Amazon carried product, right? Additionally, Funi probably has more money to throw at product and now tit seems like they're potentially interested in the "picks up whatever the bigger companies don't want" titles as well. I doubt they'll get run out of business but I think if Funi continues, there will be more competition in their niche (licensing smaller titles and still giving them a BD release). Especially when it seems like Funi is pulling a Sentai and just throwing DVD in a case, but are using chipboard boxes, which even competes with them on the quality of their physical packaging. There is a certain irony though that at the same time NISA is considering moving more towards Funi, Funi is considering moving more towards NISA. Everyone had their doubts but seems to be realizing that there is indeed money to be made if they adopt that approach. |
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Polycell
 Posts: 4623 |
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EDIT: WORKING!! might just do well, come to think of it. Yes, the protagonist is a hard sell, but he's only creepy a fraction of the time. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23996 |
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I could be totally wrong about this, but I think the reason why NISA products aren't in stores is the same reason why AoA titles aren't either: they'd have to expand their workforce to service that. My understanding is that both AoA and NISA are very small shops. If you are putting product into stores, then you need people to service that (i.e. sales managers) and increased advertising and marketing budgets. Making your product online only obviously limits your reach, but it also limits your expenses.
If someone else has an additional or a better insight, please feel free to jump right in because I admit I only have a hazy grasp of these things. |
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Sewingrose
 Posts: 579 |
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That and when you send products to stores you get a lot of spoilage in terms of boxes getting beat up and unsellable, which the stores send back to the company who has to eat the cost. And when you get to companies ike AoA and NISA who deal in smaller unit runs in premium boxsets, that becomes a much bigger problem. |
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Jedi Master
 Posts: 400 |
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That seems like a missed opportunity. When Madoka got big I saw lots of comments on how it's "like Nanoha". I'm guessing I'm not the only one who missed the Nanoha train and am curious about it. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9927 Location: Virginia |
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The question is what percentage of anime is sold in retail stores and what percentage online.
I can't answer for other areas, but here only three stores sell anime. Walmart has only stocked Dragon Ball that I could find. Best Buy used to have a wide selection but now only sells a limited selection of the biggest titles. They also tend to be late in stocking. FYE still sells some anime, but It is hard to find the new titles in the mass of used DVDs they carry. They also want full MSRP for new stuff. We have no local stores that still sell anime. Even if NISA and Aniplex wanted to go the retail route, I suspect they would only be able to place titles in the largest markets. Probably not worth the effort. |
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sonic720
Posts: 66 |
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Yeah, I feel the same way as well. I say thank you FUNi for releasing more anime on Blu-ray, dub or not. The number one factor that gets me to buy a show is an excellent Blu-ray encode of the uncensored video in native HD. I buy BD releases for the high quality video, as that's what matters most to me when collecting. While having an English dub is always welcome and may help sway me to buy a series I feel is marginal, the lack of one will not prevent me from buying a show on BD if I enjoy it enough. In contrast, a DVD only release with a dub is not appealing enough for me to buy because the DVD video quality of native HD produced shows is not much of an improvement, if at all, over legal online streaming. I would rather just subscribe to online streaming for dubs when the show is released on DVD only. I'm not sure if OniAi is something I want to buy yet, as I've not seen much of the show; However, I applaud FUNi for giving it a domestic LE DVD/BD release for those who want to buy the show in HD with a nice art box. This is nothing but a good move to me. Also, it gives me some hope for something like GOSICK or Chihayafuru being picked up and released by FUNi in a similar fashion later on. *nudge**nudge* 
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Heibi
 Posts: 50 |
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My question is, why a show like this? Why not choose a really popular show and see how it goes? See if sales are high enough to warrant sub only releases. I actually prefer subs over the sub-par VA in the current English dubs. I've rarely heard any good dub of a Japanese anime title. The voices just don't fit, and they don't emote well(still).
Now, get actors like Robin Williams, Antonio Bantares and the like and you get quality voice acting. Pull someone off the street hand them a script from a scene they are acting out - with the opposing VA a thousand miles away, who hasn't voiced the scene yet - and you get meh. So subtitle only away Funimation. Make these kids learn to read. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23996 |
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My understanding is that for truly popular titles, releasing it as sub-only really limits sales. You simply make more money from dubbed titles (even taking into account the added expense of producing the dub) than you do from sub-only. The only exception to this rule seems to be those instances where a certain niche title won't justify the expense of a dub but WILL potentially yield a profit if released sub-only. That's the money Funi is looking to scoop up which in previous years it spurned. Reality has a way of changing your approach to things. |
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