[darktruth]

First Titles Scheduled for Release in Late Summer

FLOWER MOUND, July 03, 2008 -- FUNimation Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Navarre Corporation, and Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc., a leading producer of Japanese animation, announced today their partnership to distribute select DVD titles in North America.

Under the terms of the agreement, FUNimation Entertainment obtains the exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of established Geneon titles, including international successes "Ergo Proxy", "Hellsing Ultimate" and "Black Lagoon".
Among the first titles to be released includes the special edition of "Hellsing Ultimate", directed by Tomokazu Tokoro and produced by Satelight (?Aquarion? and ?Baldr Force EXE Resolution?).

Follow up releases include "Black Lagoon Second Barrage", ?Karin?, "Kyo Kara Maoh Season 2", and "Lyrical Nanoha".
?Geneon is a strong producer, known for excellent production and quality of its anime series,? said Gen Fukunaga, president and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. ?We are pleased to partner with them and we are committed to the successful release of these series.?
"FUNimation?s momentum as the leading anime distributor continues to build," said Yushin Soga, president and CEO of Geneon. "We are sure this partnership will only grow the prominence of our portfolio."
Additional titles include: ?Black Lagoon?, ?Elemental Gelade?, ?Fate Stay Night?, ?Kamichu?, ?Ninja Vixens?, ?Paradise Kiss?, ?Rozen Maiden?, ?Rozen Maiden Traumend?, ?Shana?, ?Shonen Onmyouji?, ?The Familiar of Zero?, ?The Story of Saiunkoku?, ?When They Cry?, and ?The Law of Ueki?.

About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation is known for acquiring top-rated anime series from Japan and for being the market share leader for home video sales of anime in the United States. The company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution.

About Navarre Corporation
The Navarre Corporation is a publisher and distributor of physical and digital home entertainment and multimedia products, including PC software, DVD video, video games and accessories. Additional information is available at http://www.navarre.com.

About Geneon Entertainment
A leading supplier of Japanese animation in North America, and the recipient of the 2006 "Best Anime Company" by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, GENEON ENTERTAINMENT (USA) INC., is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based advertising giant Dentsu, Inc. Geneon Entertainment primarily develops animation properties for release in North America on DVD and new media.

About Dentsu Inc.
Dentsu Inc., founded in 1901, is the largest advertising agency brand and the fifth largest marketing and communications organization in the world. Based in Tokyo, the group has more than 6,000 clients and more than 15,000 full-time employees in both Japan and in its offices overseas. Consolidated sales for fiscal term 03/07 were recorded at $17,738 million. Dentsu is publicly quoted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code 4324).

Link

YAY! I'm happy that at least season 2 of Kyo Kara Maoh and the Shana OVA will end up getting released now as it increases the chances of it getting licensed and released in Australia.

[kin37ik]

ergo proxy huh? i might see if i can order that in xD

[darktruth]

And in even more interesting news....

Funimation picks up over 30 former ADV Titles

What does this mean for ADV? Are they finished now like Geneon USA? I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case since their licensing company Sojitz parted ways with them for reasons unknown but from what I've searched up, ADV might have pissed them off.

[kin37ik]

ADV?? hmm, ill see if i can dig up anything, this is going to be a long day....

[FirestarterCL]

I was happy to see the Geneon news yesterday because I really wanted to pick up some of their shows (Ergo Proxy, Shana)... but it was next to impossible to find them at a decent price. Plus I was in the middle of 'Hellsing Ultimate', and was thinking about starting 'When They Cry' when the news came out that they were leaving the US market.

The ADV news is pretty shocking though. I read yesterday that they had put 4 of those shows on hold (that had volumes releasing this week!) But to see now that Funimation has acquired those 4 licenses and 26 more is just crazy.

I don't think ADV is going anywhere just yet. While this is a pretty big blow and takes away the majority of titles they're licensed in recent years, they still have alot of licenses left and last I heard they were attempting to license quite a few new series' as of yesterday. I'm sure they'll get something out of this Funimation deal too... it's not like they're going to go out and re-translate and re-dub all of those shows. They'll probably license or buy the materials that ADV created.

[Chimasterwang]

Good news I might want to get Ergo Proxy someday, i think Lynk has recommended it to me before

[Rebel]

I'm not surprised that Funimation is picking up other companies titles, considering that they hold some of the most popular kids series, they make more money on lower quality, while ADV and GENON held great titles, they weren't exactly the most popular.

Which is a sad comment on where anime is headed in the States.

[Chimasterwang]

As the kids grow up maybe some of them will start to watch the other series from Funi because they know Funi

[Lynk Former]

@ Rebel: You have a very OLD view of FUNimation. One that was totally destroyed with their exceptionally good work with Fullmetal Alchemist. They're a changed company.

@ Chim: I never recommended Ergo Proxy to you. I don't think I'd really recommend it to anyone, it's not that good XD


As for the stuff going on with Geneon, FUNi and ADV (and Bandai)...it looks to me that they're trying to shuffle the US industry around so they're less effected by the losses they're sustaining from people downloading animes. Right now, FUNi is in the best position to take the hits that come with trying to release a series a lot of people won't buy because they've already downloaded it.

[kin37ik]

>_> well if you say ergo proxy isnt that good, then what would you reccommmend?

[Rebel]

@ Rebel: You have a very OLD view of FUNimation. One that was totally destroyed with their exceptionally good work with Fullmetal Alchemist. They're a changed company.

nah, FMA was still an extremely popular title before it came over, just like DBZ and other stuff Funimation carries, in short, it was a sure thing by the time it got here. Underground hits like a lot of other companies carry? ha.

As for the stuff going on with Geneon, FUNi and ADV (and Baindai)...it looks to me that they're trying to shuffle the US industry around so they're less effected by the losses they're sustaining from people downloading animes. Right now, FUNi is in the best position to take the hits that come with trying to release a series a lot of people won't buy because they've already downloaded it.

The best answer for these hits from downloaders is simple, in the case of Bandai: stop producing so many different sets of the same thing! There are 3 different versions of Zeta Gundam available for purchase, and it isn't even a popular Gundam title. No, they're not director's cuts, special editions or whatever. One was a quasi-limited boxset(10 DVDs), the second was 5 sets of 2 DVDs, and the third if 2 sets of 5 DVDs.

ADV could take a hint with NGE too. NGE series on DVDs, NGE boxset, NGE platinum, NGE platnium boxset, NGE Plat slim boxset, NGE *new edition* seriously....give it a rest.

It would also help if a single DVD didn't cost 30 bucks if I miss the one-week release sale or don't wait 2 years for it to go down and likly not be on the market anymore.

[Lynk Former]

@ Rebel: I still don't see your point... how does FMA's popularity detract from the quality of FUNimation's version? You were talking about quality, not "it's cooler cause less people like it"... at least that's what I gathered... but I guess if we see it from your point of view, BGC2040 is the best anime made in Japan since most Japanese didn't like it and Last Exile is the greatest anime ever made because not that many people paid attention to it. Fuck yeah!

>_> well if you say ergo proxy isnt that good, then what would you reccommmend?

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex is a lot better if we're talking of similar animes, but it all depends on the specific persons tastes. Ergo Proxy is okay, but like I said, it's not that good.

[FirestarterCL]

[This one is a long one]

It hasn't been mentioned here, but Funimation has their own broadcast network and is also beginning to get into digital distribution (download-to-own and ad-supported streaming), so these two deals have given them quite a bit more content to offer on those services. I say they made some pretty good deals here.

As for the quality of Funimations past releases... I don't see much wrong with it, I think their releases are usually pretty high quality. Because they had their "sure thing" shows like Dragonball and Full Metal Alchemist, they earned themselves ALOT of money. That money is the reason that Funimation has been able to take occasional risks on shows (Slayers, Kodomo no Omocha) and is now able to take over all of these licenses.

If you focus entirely on pleasing "the fans" and bringing our small-market titles, you will eventually fail. Look at what happened to Geneon for proof of that.


As for too many releases of shows... well, there are alot of different reasons for those. Usually they're a way of getting a show out for a lower price or getting an older show back into circulation. (Alot of recent releases have basically been experiments to see what type of strategy works best.)

1. Singles - Single DVDs usually come first and are for those who want to BUY their anime as quickly as possible.

2. Boxsets - These are for the people who can stand to wait to get their anime. You get it all at once and usually get it for a lower price too.

3. Thinpaks - These are pretty much the same thing as a box-set, except they also offer the advantage of saving space. This is very important to retailers who want more product on their shelves (many retail stores won't stock singles for older series because they take up too much space).

You'd be surprised how cheap you can buy anime too if you're willing to wait a little while and shop around online. You'll never pay more than %50 retail price unless you want a show badly on release.

[Rebel]

@ Rebel: I still don't see your point... how does FMA's popularity detract from the quality of FUNimation's version? You were talking about quality, not "it's cooler cause less people like it"... at least that's what I gathered... but I guess if we see it from your point of view, BGC2040 is the best anime made in Japan since most Japanese didn't like it and Last Exile is the greatest anime ever made because not that many people paid attention to it. Fuck yeah!

what? no. I said that many of the shows Fun acquires have assured its success comapred to other companies because they are popular from the get-go. To enjoy many anime series you have to really get into it and take the time to appreciate it.

Think of it like alchohol, Genon and ADV control the micro-breweries and a few well known brands, they're popular among their crowd, but that's it. Fun is like Budweiser, at one point or another, EVERYONE drinks it, not everyone likes it, but Fun, like Bud, still makes their money, thus making them more money on quantity over quality.

I'm not saying it's cooler 'cause less people like it, I'm saying there's a lot of good stuff out there that just isn't as popular and thus doesn't make the market because it doesn't have the same kind of support base. The 100 fans who totally love *small series* are not enough to make releasing it profitable. The 10 million fans who love *big series* make it very profitable, though the end result is a limited market filled with lots of popular series, and very little for the rest of the fans.

Upside? This is great short-term marketing, as the fans of these series will gobble them up for a short period of time, downside: as fans grow up and grow out of these shows, they will find the anime market does not sell what they wish to buy. ie: more mature programming(not to be confused with more violent programming), thicker plots, deeper characters, ect...

And the problem is this: fans grow out of *show* and look for *new show*, *new show* is neither aired nor for sale, while re-runs of *old show* keep up, without a source to buy from or a channel to watch on, fans turn to illegal downloads.

Which is what my whole argument stemmed from, the losses are NOT due to illegal downloading, as most fans who download shows want Japanese-English subbed, not DVD rips, and most fans who enjoy the things they download, go out and buy them(if they're on the market). Cause here's the thing, they're saying the losses are due to lack of DVD sales. Well, you have to RELEASE the DVD before it can be bootlegged, and somebody had to buy that to get it on the net.

So any series that has DVD rips and is being bootlegged has already been deemed marketable enough to put out for sale. If companies are counting on fans of another series to randomly pick up DVDs with no knowledge of what's on them, then as a corporation, their marketing strategies really suck.

...and that was longer than I expected.

[Lynk Former]

Actually, the reason FUNimation gets huge success is because the animes they get are very popular on TV while ADV and others rely on DVD sales. Since TV is a free medium, there's better return since the networks pay FUNimation to air the shows they've licensed and people can watch for free. DVDs on the other hand cost money to buy and people couldn't be fucked doing that in the first place since they can download it for free anyway.

I thought that much was simple.

Also, great popularity doesn't equate to great success when it reaches the US. There are A LOT of extremely popular animes in Japan that don't sell well in the US. Again, it depends if that anime can be successfully marketed as a TV show and aired on US TV as well as the general mood of anime fans whether they want to buy the US DVD in the first place.



There is a kind of strange balance going on at the moment. US companies are trying to bring over animes, and they're trying to keep up to date with what people want, but at the same time they don't want to overcommit or they'll end up committing suicide instead. Basicaly these companies have to determine whether it's profitable to actually get these series over in the first place because they can't tell whether the fans will BUY what they have to offer if they license it in the first place. As I said, just cause it's popular in Japan and with people who download it, doesn't mean it's going to sell well.



Also, list of animes by FUNi: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclop...hp?id=6515

[darktruth]

The question now is when will these series that Funi has licensed will be released? Most particularly series such as Kanon and Welcome to NHK where they only have one or a few more volumes left. The smart move would be to pick up where ADV and Geneon left off rather than releasing the singles all over again or the series as a whole boxset, a lot of fans who were buying Kanon and the other series would surely not be happy if they started at the beginning leaving them to wait 6+ months just to get the final volume.

On a plus side, Geneon USA isn't quite as dead as we thought it was. They're still in charge of the manufacturing and dubbing of the animes while Funi is just in charge of the distribution although they do own everything of Geneon has done from the deal. I'm more curious to see how ADV will fare after this since they've lost their partnership with Sojitz that was in charge of getting them the licenses to many anime series.

[Lynk Former]

When FUNi got the license for One Piece after 4Kids dropped it, they continued the version aired on TV exactly where 4Kids left off which suggests that they'll most likely end up doing the same thing. They did restart the DVD version from episode 1 but that's cause it's being released complete and uncut which 4Kids wasn't doing. There shouldn't be anything to worry about, at least that's what I think XD

[darktruth]

There's still the question whether Funi will use the same voice actors for the half-completed or almost completed series they picked up from Geneon such as Kyo Kara Maoh, it's been quite some time now since Geneon USA's closure to this news so there'd be some consistency issues to hear a new voice cast halfway through the series.

[Lynk Former]

Depends if they can get ahold of them, yeah... but then who actually likes the English VA's? LOL XD There have been instances in the past where one company has been able to grab VA's from another company. For example, Madman and that UK company I can't remember the name of got a hold of the VA's for Stand Alone Complex to do the dub of GitS2:Innocence and FUNi also used the ADV cast for FMP!TSR... and I know I have another example but I can't remember it at the moment XD