Forum - View topicPrincess Jellyfish on Blu-ray?
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4843 |
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Princess Jellyfish is a show I've had recommended to me by several people, and while I know FUNi has a S.A.V.E. DVD set for it, I also stumbled across the fact that they'd originally put out a combo Blu-ray/DVD set for it. I don't think I've ever heard of FUNi dropping a disk format for a later release: at the very lease (usually for older releases) they've had separate Blu-ray and DVD versions for the S.A.V.E. line, and most of the time they throw both in there again. Anyone know what gives here? Were there some extenuating circumstances that forced FUNi to pull the BD version?
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6902 Location: Kazune City |
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Dropping Blu-Rays and going DVD-only on SAVE is a known practice of Funimation with a number of shows, including not only Princess Jellyfish, but also Baka & Test S1/OVA/S2, Good Luck Girl, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, and TO. (Inverse case: OniAi went from DVD/BD in initial release to BD-only SAVE.) Maybe it's low sales dissuading Funi from replicating more BDs, or maybe it's licensing contracts forbidding BD re-releases below a certain price point because of reverse-importation fears. Either way, it reminds me of all those shows back in ~2004-05 that got cheap VHS collection re-releases because companies couldn't or wouldn't print more DVDs
And then there are shows released under SAVE that've had Blu-Rays in Japan, but never got a BD release in North America to begin with, such as Kanon, Air, Rumbling Hearts, Utawarerumono, Mushi-Shi, Ikki-Tousen S1-4, Mongolian Chop Squad, Kaleido Star, My Bride is a Mermaid, Sacred Blacksmith, and Red Data Girl. Some of those are upscales of questionable quality that didn't come out until after the NA releases, but the lack of BDs for post-2008 shows like RDG, IT:XX, and SB does kind of sting... |
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Top Gun
Posts: 4843 |
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Thanks for the info; I missed that this was apparently a bit of a trend. I'd already noticed that certain SAVE releases like Michiko & Hatchin changed to separate single-format packs, which I found a bit annoying (for whatever reason I still like having those safety-blanket DVDs), but in practice it's not much of a loss. Looking through RightStuf's listings, it seems like pretty much every new SAVE set over the past two years with an extant BD version has been dual-format, so fortunately it looks like they've moved firmly in that direction. But completely eliminating the superior format in re-releases is a total non-starter. I understand that BDs are more expensive to produce, and that Japan's ridiculous paranoia over reverse-importation probably introduces all sorts of complications, but at the end of the day the consumer is getting screwed over.
And yeah, I'm well aware of shows that we only ever got DVDs for, but at least in that case you know that's about the best you can get unless you want to sell your firstborn for imports you can't understand. (And then there's the horrific butchering Anchor Bay managed with GITS: Stand-Alone Complex, where the DVDs are only acceptable option anyway...) There have actually been one or two titles I've imported from the UK or Australia that saw BD releases of things we only got on DVD, like the movies Perfect Blue and Metropolis, or the 1997 Berserk TV series. |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2267 |
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I believe PJ sales underperformed. The Limited Edition was still in stock after 2 years of release and at one point they dropped it under $30 (I think it was $25). Similarly shows like Shiki (BD/DVD) and Shangri-la (DVD only) also did not sell their LEs very well and those LEs were repackaged as much cheaper SAVE which then quickly sold. That PJ went to DVD only may be an indicator of how badly it sold or the low expectations Funi had of it even selling as BD on the SAVE line. It didn't even go to classic line but straight to SAVE. Its unfortunate, but at least the show is still available. I own the LE and plan to pick up the manga at some point.
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GeorgeC
Posts: 795 |
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Funny thing is I got my copy of Princess Jellyfish at FYE YEARS after it went out of print.
They had it on liquidation sale, brand new unopened copy, and it wasn't much more than the DVD at that point. It's amazing Funi did this... I guess it shouldn't be THAT surprising given the company's questionable decisions and practices in some cases. A Blu ray really doesn't cost more to MANUFACTURE than a DVD. that's a fallacy. What costs more is licensing hi-def materials and mastering it for Blu ray, period. At this point, I would imagine most new series are being mastered from the same hi-def tapes. Most Blu rays are being produced now ( for newer films) with 4K tapes made from scans of the film source. |
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