Forum - View topicNEWS: GDH Int'l Head Condemns Illegal Anime Distribution
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jerros
Posts: 3 |
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Media companies are scared, and they should be scared. It doesn't matter if it's the RIAA, the MPAA, or Anime distributors. Customers have been empowered, the choices are no longer limited to what's played on the radio, what movies get TV advertisements, or what Anime gets picked up for translation and distribution outside of Japan.
No matter how many lawsuits happen, this trend isn't going away. Consumers simply aren't going to want to forfeit this newly found power, they'll fight tooth & nail for it, and they really don't give a damn about the archaic copyright laws which have also not kept up with technology which labels what they consider "fair" to be "illegal". Sure you'll find software pirates, and illegal downloader’s all over the place, but they do not make up the majority. Most people want to give the artists the money they deserve for the content, and the reason they download or watch things online is because the media companies aren't doing their jobs. So what exactly aren't media companies doing? Well in this case they aren't employing translators and trying to do simultaneous releases in multiple zones. Even if the media company couldn't pull off a US launch along side a Japan launch of the media item, I'd suspect most of the real anime fans here would pay extremely well to purchase the Japanese import DVD with officially sub'd English. Why should any consumer wait 6-8 months for translations to be made and for the content to be "Americanized" (read having the word "bastard" or "a-hole" changed to "poo-poo head")? They aren't marketing their product. Bleach is a pretty large hit on Cartoon Network here in the states. But do you honestly believe "Bleach: Memories of Nobody" will ever be shown in more than a handful of movie theaters here in the states? No, it'll arrive on DVD and we'll all have to buy it and watch it at home rather than in the theater where it really should be watched. One thing that software companies discovered long ago is that you can't stop piracy. You can fight it, and preserve your rights but stopping it all out? That's impossible. Now that most of our media has gone digital the media companies also need to make this realization. You add value to your products by offering extras, be it box sets, collectables, better quality (Sound/Hi-Def), and the like. That’s how you get customers to go out and buy your product in the stores. "Illegal Anime Distribution" is wrong, but unless your company is going to provide the services that the consumers are demanding then I can't see how you can fault the fan subbers for doing what they do, or for the anime viewers for watching their favorite animes online for free. I'm sure none of the faithful anime viewers here are looking to rip off the creators of anime, or even the publishers. They are simply looking to receive what they want, when they want it, and in the format they want it in. And if media companies refuse to provide that service for them then they might as well just get out of the way of progress. Because at the end of the day the customers are going to decide if the product/service they are being sold is really worth the price. And that more than anything is the most likely reason anime sales are down. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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This is where you lost me. Theatrical distribution is insanely expensive and there's absolutely no way in hell a Bleach movie would generate enough box office to remotely justify the cost. |
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jerros
Posts: 3 |
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That was sort of the point I was attempting to make. There is no real reason outside the lack of marketing and knowledge of what "Bleach" is, and what the backstory is that prevents it from making a Theatrical Release state side. But that's my opinion. It's a distributors job to get it's product onto store shelves and onto TV, it's marketings job to get the product advertisment time and introduce new customers to it. It seems to me if "Bleach: Memories of nobody" can't make a theatrical release state side, then someone along the line is not doing their job. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Er... no, actually, they're doing their job by saving the company millions in potential losses by sticking to a release strategy that's proven to work - limited theatrical exposure that's basically a promotional run for the DVD, which is where all the profit will be made anyway. If you're suggesting that it's somehow Viz Marketing's fault that they haven't spent the hundreds of millions of promotional dollars making sure Bleach is advertised on every bus station, billboard and cable channel, which is basically what would be necessary to even consider spending the money on a proper, 1500+ screen theatrical release, I would argue that at some point the consumers making demands have to actually consider the financial reality of doing business. I realize we're all up in arms with this "the customer's demands have to be met if they want to make money" thing but you can't take it so far that no matter WHAT your demands are, no matter how ridiculously unreasonable, no matter how couched they are in bad logic and uninformed assumptions, the company HAS to meet them or they're a total failure and their failure is entirely their fault. |
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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I think in this case the consumer in question probably believes that anime is more popular than it really is. It's a nice delusion (and obviously not one the companies can afford to have) that would explain the belief that we should get theater releases like that. |
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dewlwieldthedarpachief
 Posts: 751 Location: Canada |
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I agree; there needs to be more communication between parties. I'm not aware of the approach to surveys and such companies like ADV and Funimation offer, but unless they're sending forum ninja out for reconnaissance it seems like the direction to go.
I don't like this either, but I don't expect that kind of treatment. You're right, if the care is there imports will sell; however you need a LOT of care. I wonder why there is not so much English subbing on region 2 discs? Something actually common in many Asian DVDs: subtitles in like 20 languages. Of course, maybe 20 is aiming too high; but I'm sure there are more than enough people available to do at least 5 - when you consider the global popularity, niche though it may be, of some shows, I wonder if stocking up on subtitles would boost import sales. Perhaps then data could indicate what would sell well where and there'd be a few more happy faces.
I think one of the benefits of digital distribution would be customization. If I had a selection of soundtracks, resolution, extras, and what have you, I'd be a pretty happy guy. In fact, that right there seems perfect to me. Cutting all the other bits out of the equation would offer potentially a better price on our end and a better profit on theirs. Hard copies could still be ordered from them for an extra fee, or burned at your expense several times. Why aren't we doing THAT? Will we ever? |
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nofrskater14
Posts: 1 |
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Honestly, I buy North American release of any anime that I like in order to support the industry. I have purchased numerous titles over the past couple of years, all DVDs are legit and straight from ADV, Geneon, etc. However, I'm not going to pay $20+ for a One Piece DVD just to see Sanji smoking a lollipop and all of the perverted jokes, battle scenes, dialogue, etc. butchered to the point where there's barely any substance remaining. Not to mention the fact that there isn't even a japanese audio track.
Especially when I can get the japanese episodes, which are way better, for free. Thankfully Funi has taken over the show and will start releasing uncut box sets, which I look forward to buying. BTW, this is how far companies will go in order to americanize anime so no controversies arise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:OnePieceedit.jpg |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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let it go, man.
Jeez-4Kids is almost out of the picture. Just like the deal with DBZ, most likely when 4Kids license expires in 2009 if One Piece is doing well for Funi (if the anime market exists then, right?) they will get their hands on it & re-do it. For my money fansubbers aren't unlike stalkers. Don't most stalkers consider themselves that person's biggest fan? & just like some stalkers who end up killing the object of their obsession, fansubbers are killing anime. |
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Hon'ya-chan
 Posts: 973 |
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Yeah, how dare Viz don't give me a Real-Doll of Yukia in her prisoner outfit!! |
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jerros
Posts: 3 |
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Your focusing too much on "Bleach" and not enough on the point I'm trying to make. As I said I was using it as an example and I went a bit extreme with it. Go outside and say the word "Anime" to people you meet on the street here in the US. You'll get replies like "You mean pokemon?", "That stuffs badly drawn.." (from someone who recently saw fist of the north star in it's origional 80's glory), "That stuffs for kids" (from someone who's watched the heavily edited One Peice & Dragon Ball Z episodes), and if your lucky you may even see "Ewww that stuffs gross" (from someone who's confused hentai with anime). This more than anything keeps anime from being "popular". People simply don't know what it is, and if they think it's hentai, or for kids they aren't even going to give the product a chance. This is where both marketing and distribution has dropped the ball. Years ago I could see the argument that americans simply didn't get Anime because it was animated televsion targeted at teens-adults rather than children. But in recent years there have been a number of huge successes in terms of animation for adults. Theres "The Simpsons", "South Park", and "Family Guy" to name a few. (As a side note 2 out of 3 of these shows have had major movie debuts in the US) How can you expect people to buy your DVD's when they don't know what your shows about? Or they've never heard of it? Or they think it's hentai? Or they think it's for kids? And yet in the US one of the biggest trends in television these days seems to be box sets of various television series seasons. Boxed sets of LOST, and similar popular shows have created alot of profit for companies. Now a rational person would take a look and say "Hey if I got this show on television and it became popular I too could make tons of profit selling boxed sets of the seasons". But rational people don't work at US anime distributon companies because they seem to be content with allowing their products to be aired at odd times, and they spend very little time/effort trying to sell these shows to major networks as well as consumers. It seems to me if your "fans" have stopped buying DVD's because of fan subs it might be a good idea to attract new customers who are willing to buy DVD's dispite having free fan subs. (kind of like everyone who went out and bought LOST dvd's even though the episodes were available for free download on the web) Someone suggested that I over-estimated the popularity of anime. I did not, I simply stated what i believe, and that is if more people were introduced to anime it's popularity would increase. |
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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Yeah I said that jerros, and believe me if anyone wishes you were right about this it'd be me. I'm not going to argue about your perspective. You might be right (I fear that you probably are not), but if you can figure out ways to improve and prove us wrong I'd love that.
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kenshinflyer
 Posts: 58 Location: Philippines |
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Ping-pong! So, therefore, if someone releases original stuff to the market in all parts of the world, then the pirates and (sorry) fansubbers will be put out of business. So let the production companies harp about lost revenue due to piracy and stuff, but it's partly they to blame. And they should address this pronto, else this business we've come to love will die a slow, painful death...or, worse, become nothing more than kid stuff. |
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