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K-ON! release plans announced

Manga Entertainment has twittered some new details about its release plans for K-ON.

In the UK K-ON! Season 1 will be released on DVD first across 4 volumes every 8 weeks starting late August. K-ON! Season 1 complete collection Blu-ray will be released as 2-disc set in March [next year]. Price TBC. Delay caused by US holdback and difference in Blu-ray release strategy. US is releasing 4 Blu-ray volumes. We prefer entire series collection. Safer bet for our market.

Also on twitter, Manga has been discussing the logistics of releasing anime on Blu-Ray in the UK. The discussion began in response to a question about the difference in prices between Blu-Ray and DVD releases.

Blu-ray costs more to produce and manufacture. The Blu-ray edition of Highschool of the Dead [due to be released on August 29] is 2-discs with limited edition alternate artwork slip cover. We generally price 2-disc blu-ray sets at £34.99 SRP, £10 more than a 2-disc DVD set. It's up to the retailer to discount further. I would suspect the more pre-orders they get the more aggressive the pricing will become in your favour.

Amazon.com is selling the Blu-ray for $38.99USD (£23.82), but when you add postage it's more expensive than UK edition. FACT is licensing Highschool of the Dead, making it, marketing it and distributing it isn't cheap. If we can offer more competitive prices to you, we will.

Later that day, Manga added:

I am very disappointed in the sales we've had recently, including Casshern Sins 1 [released this week on both DVD and Blu-Ray], which has done so badly that Casshern Sins2 Blu-ray release is now unlikely... I am sorry I have been so negative about UK blu-ray sales, but we have to be much more careful about what we release in future.