ANNCast

NISA Explains It All

ANNCast Episode 027 - NISA Explains It All

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We're back for a pint-size show this week that starts out with a screening of The Wolfman that turns into a screening of The Wrestler Crazy Heart and then Justin and I slowly dismantle this week's release of Halo Legends, which could be called a mixed bag if the contents were a little more mixed and not just kinda weak.

Then we sit in-studio with the anime industry's newest players, NIS America, previously known for their niche Japanese game releases in the US (with some big hits like Disgaea). NIS America recently announced a small slate of new titles including fan favorite Toradora!, and naturally we're curious what their plans are. Then we take some Twitter questions, ask about their pricing schemes and translation quality, and we're off until next week! HUZZAH!

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NSFW Language Warning: Some swearing. Side effects may occur

ANNCast Episode 27 Breakdown

00:17 Host Intros, quick movie chat

03:00 Halo Legends which made Justin angry

10:40 Break time!

10:51 PR manager Nao Zook and Vice President Mitsu Hiraoka from NIS America join us, and start with a little history about their company

12:07 Why did NIS America choose now to leap into the anime market? Why these titles specifically?

14:47 Is their release strategy for games the same approach they're taking with anime?

16:00 NISA usually does limited edition releases of their games with pack-in merchandise - any plans to do the same with anime? Also, the big obvious question - are they dubbing any of this stuff into English? If no, why not?

18:47 Why did they these titles specifically?

20:12 What are NISA's ambitions in the R1 anime market?

21:26 How much of a financial risk are they taking on this project?

21:33 What are their plans for retail?

25:00 Are they worried they're splitting their market by not dubbing their initial licenses?

27:16 Twitter time! The original Disgaea anime getting license rescued, how NISA plans to survive in the current market, their MSRP plans, and more!

And that's it! See you next week.

Have questions for the ANNCast crew? Tweet 'em to @ANNZac! Or check out the community forums thread about the show, or send email questions to zac@animenewsnetwork dot com!

Special thanks to Phillip Harrington for designing and creating the ANNCast logo.