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Forum - View topicNEWS: Funimation Acquires U.K. Anime Distributor Manga Entertainment
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Weird Guy
 Posts: 139 |
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So that's they plan of expansion?
Buying other distributors? Did they done business before with this company before?(I'm not American so I don't know exactly) |
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mgosdin
 Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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There was a history of cooperation between Funimation & Manga Ent. Whenever their licenses overlapped they would deal so that only a single English dub was done. Sensible way of sharing cost & saving money.
I'm not sure just how this will pan out going forward. Licensing will potentially be a new adventure for the combined companies I suspect. Mark Gosdin |
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chappellefan
 Posts: 7 |
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I have a number of concerns of corporations acquiring smaller companies for the sole use of distributing rights.
It's a smart business tactic, but I fear the consumer is the one who loses at the end. |
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Marzan
 Posts: 515 |
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Ugh. As a long time Manga Ent customer, this fills me with dread. Prices and geo blocks are coming up I fear.
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GeorgeC
Posts: 795 |
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It almost NEVER ends well for the consumer. In the same way, Disney's gobbled up TV and live-action theatrical, SONY is doing the same for anime distribution. Sony's the parent company here for better or worse. If you've been paying attention to what's going on with the Playstation division and the Funi legal mess, it doesn't leave you with a feeling of security. It feels chaotic. The physical media market is already contracting (I see lots and lots more discs selling at $3-$5; now we have Blu rays at $5 clearance in multiple stores) and the hammer's going to drop somewhere. Contrary to what some people might believe, mergers don't necessarily mean "stability." They can also mean that companies are struggling to survive and that they see the only future they have is to merge with a competitor or collaborator in this case. As far as Manga Ent is concerned, they had a US office until some years back when the US division was sold to Starz. That's how Starz got the US license to Ghost in the Shell. In the past, Manga Ent had a TON of other licenses (Macross Plus, Birth and Rebirth of Evangelion, End of Evangelion, Orguss II, etc.) most of which have long since lapsed but they partially owned GiTS because they funded that first anime feature film. Last I heard, they still had GiTS: SAC as well. |
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Crabtree1
 Posts: 106 Location: Aberdeenshire |
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Well that finally explains why the distribution deal with anime limited broke off.
Hopefully nothing bad will come out of this though... |
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anifani
Posts: 91 |
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I highly recommend that they start with the monthly just to see how the streaming goes. I recently purchased an annual subscription to use with the Fire Stick and was so excited as I love most of Funi's anime. Unfortunately, I can't get through an episode without it lagging or stopping constantly. What a let down. It takes twice as long just to get through one episode. 
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5342 |
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I would have preferred for them to have opened their own branch instead, like what ADV did back in the day. At least it is Manga, and not MVM or worse Anime Limited. Manga were becoming more of a distribution route for Funimation after all. The other two, especially Anime Limited, handle a lot of titles, evens ones with no US release.
I do expect manga now to only release recent mainstream titles that are guaranteed to sell well, hopefully they can at least do a UK release of Concrete Revolutio. |
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Thespacemaster
Posts: 1115 |
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Well Manga Entertainment has been pretty stagnated for the last few years and have no really brought any interesting titles. I do love some of there older titles tough and have bought quite a few i just hope some of them don't get lost in re-licensing process and still get distribution.
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AtoMan
Posts: 161 |
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This is not an "international market expansion" we were promised, this is a textbook example of market consolidation...
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FLCLGainax
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The end of an era? They lasted a hell of a lot longer than Streamline did.
What will happen to the audio materials for the dubs they had recorded in the UK? I know Discotek has salvaged some of them for remastered versions, but I'm a bit concerned about the ones that haven't been re-released. Like their dub of Battle Angel Alita, which was one of their better efforts, and only had a PAL VHS release. I hope it makes an appearance again whenever James Cameron (or whomever owns the rights) decides to put the 1993 OAV back in print. I thought Manga's dub was superior to the ADV one, where Gally/Alita sounds a bit more badass and not overly-cheery. Manga's dub would also be more marketable now since it uses the naming scheme the live-action movie uses. |
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yurihellsing
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Sooo Funnimation becoming EA??? Will they unblock me from their twitter?
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brammerhammer23
 Posts: 62 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah |
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Its a very smart business decision on Funimation's part. It seems like Manga Entertainment is keeping their infrastructure in place and absorbing Funimation's UK business to streamline everything. Now prices could theoretically could go up since there is one less competing company.
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pirateaddict
 SubscriberPosts: 193 |
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I have both Funimation and Crunchyroll and use Google Chromecast on my TV via my tablet. I've never once had an issue with lagging or stopping since using it. The same when I use it via my phone. It will be interesting to see what new stuff might pop up in the future or older titles being added. |
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Ryu Shoji
Posts: 671 Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom |
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Manga UK have a long-standing working relationship with Funimation, and for a long time were the distributor of Funimation titles in the UK. There was a brief gap when Funimation partnered with Anime Limited for about 2-3 years-ish, but Manga had recently started releasing their titles again. |
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