The Business of Anime
Thursday June 30, @08:03AM
from the still-haven't-seen-howl's-castle dept.
buckminster (kbiglione@gmail.com) writes "Planet Tokyo's Talking Anime Business Blues (http://www.planettokyo.com/news/index.cfm/fuseaction/story/ID/15/) is a great roundup and analysis of recent articles detailing the behind the scenes aspects of the anime business. By all accounts 99% of Japanese anime never makes it to America. Some of the arguments why might surprise you. There are still many in the industry who believe that fan subs are killing the anime market in the US."

( Read More...Slashdot (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/30/184207&tid=168)

Fansubs aren't killing anything. They need to firstly bring the damn thing over in the first place and then price it reasonably so that their taget market can afford it. No one wants to pay 30$ for a DVD anymore....they start selling em for 20$, you'll see more sales

Fansubs aren't killing anything. They need to firstly bring the damn thing over in the first place and then price it reasonably so that their taget market can afford it. No one wants to pay 30$ for a DVD anymore....they start selling em for 20$, you'll see more sales

I AGREE absolutely. They'd make so MUCH more money if they priced them to sell. Right now they're considered specialty items and are priced as luxuries. If they made them a commodity, Japan would have a new top grossing export. The prices just aren't competitive.

at 20$ on the dot, it would still be considered at the "higher end" of the DVD pricing spectrum. If I pay over 20$, it better be packed full of stuff.

at 20$ on the dot, it would still be considered at the "higher end" of the DVD pricing spectrum. If I pay over 20$, it better be packed full of stuff.

I know, especially when hot movies of 3-4 years ago can often be found in the discount rack for $9.99 or under. I bought "Enemy at the Gates", two years after it came out for only $5.99 on a DVD sale. No WAY am I paying $29.95 for EACH DVD in the "Vampire Princess" series. This outrageous pricing is restricting much Japanese produced Anime to the rental market. They could really clean up if the priced appropriately to the market.

They need to realize that the price of the average DVD has gone down considerably over the years and keep up with the rest of the DVD market.

The market for Star Wars is alot larger than the market for Harlock. That means a higher production cost, a lower distribution level, and a lower profit margin. I don't like it, but when you are dealing with a niche market, and small companies, it's hard to get the deals that a major studio can.

The market for Star Wars is alot larger than the market for Harlock. That means a higher production cost, a lower distribution level, and a lower profit margin. I don't like it, but when you are dealing with a niche market, and small companies, it's hard to get the deals that a major studio can.

I know that, and it certainly is a major factor, particularly for the less well known titles and houses; however, I think a lower price WOULD drive demand up. I'm speaking of taking top series such as "Vampire Princess" and not selling each individual DVD for $29.95 to $34.95. Surely, they could be more creative than they are?

Well, ya know what gets me...

Here in the US I could buy... I'll use Ghost in the Shell as my example... I could buy GITS Stand Alone Complex for 29.99 EACH volume... OR I could go to the source I have for most of the Asian cinema I buy (mostly Chinese and Korean) and buy the complete series for 29.99. Ive done both, depending on the series...

The only thing about buying the Asain release is that the English subtitles are like the 3rd on the list and not as well translated, so some stuff is poor or makes no sense... some series are better than others of course, but I have run across a few that are pretty bad (like witch hunter robin). The other issue is that in many cases your DVD player has to play PAL format DVDs, (which luckily my ALL REGION ALL FORMAT player does).

So what am I getting at? I think the price is higher here not because its a Niche market, but because they figure we are fat lazy americans who can afford to pay it... because it sure doesnt come close to that to buy it from the asian distributors.

Well, ya know what gets me...

Here in the US I could buy... I'll use Ghost in the Shell as my example... I could buy GITS Stand Alone Complex for 29.99 EACH volume... OR I could go to the source I have for most of the Asian cinema I buy (mostly Chinese and Korean) and buy the complete series for 29.99. Ive done both, depending on the series...

The only thing about buying the Asain release is that the English subtitles are like the 3rd on the list and not as well translated, so some stuff is poor or makes no sense... some series are better than others of course, but I have run across a few that are pretty bad (like witch hunter robin). The other issue is that in many cases your DVD player has to play PAL format DVDs, (which luckily my ALL REGION ALL FORMAT player does).

So what am I getting at? I think the price is higher here not because its a Niche market, but because they figure we are fat lazy americans who can afford to pay it... because it sure doesnt come close to that to buy it from the asian distributors.

I've had the same experience with "Vampire Princess". The Asian release set is very inexpensive - less sometimes than individual DVD's in the U.S. - but the interface apparently suffers to such a degree that I've been warned off its purchase by Amazon reviews, IIRC. There has to be some sort of balance possible? I mean, I do WANT these people to make a profit - the more the better because that will drive the market.

I've had the same experience with "Vampire Princess". The Asian release set is very inexpensive - less sometimes than individual DVD's in the U.S. - but the interface apparently suffers to such a degree that I've been warned off its purchase by Amazon reviews, IIRC. There has to be some sort of balance possible? I mean, I do WANT these people to make a profit - the more the better because that will drive the market.

For me, the balance is "How Big is the Series"

I wont buy a 10 DVD set for 30 bucks a pop if I can get the whole set for 30... Im not spending 300 bucks for better subtitles.

Id buy one that is 2 or 3 disks... because thats more worthwhile to me.

For me, the balance is "How Big is the Series"

I wont buy a 10 DVD set for 30 bucks a pop if I can get the whole set for 30... Im not spending 300 bucks for better subtitles.

Id buy one that is 2 or 3 disks... because thats more worthwhile to me.

I'm with you. I may end up getting "Vampire Princess" as a series, sans features, and simply return my first DVD.