Never meeting street dates, only releasing Code Geass R2 for Christmas, not re-releasing old titles, pretty much only selling Code Geass and Gundam 00, which both ended, and releasing the few other titles they've licensed in the past year sub-only or severely flawed, with no new titles announced, and the movies of one of their last big series being released by the Japanese to R1 without them.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Bandai's in Trouble (Update: Bandai responds)
- Thread starter Urban Art Balloons
- Start date
chazzychef
New member
Doesn't it seem like all those problems would mean they're doing poorly?
FloydManiac
New member
Well, that explains why the Gurren Lagann movies are getting sub-only releases...
Vanilla Smells Good
New member
so new bandais fate lies with a series old bandai would've never touched? thats sad. I miss old bandai
I guess this means 00 will never come to blu-ray in the US? that stinks
and sub only releases are baaaad and make me not want to buy series I otherwise would have
I guess this means 00 will never come to blu-ray in the US? that stinks
and sub only releases are baaaad and make me not want to buy series I otherwise would have
A sub only release is an incredibly hard sell.
The main reason I buy anime DVD's is to hear the english dubs of a series I've seen in Japanese.
I'd rather they simply simulcast lower-tier shows and have them for sale as sub--only burn on demand things.
Higher tier shows would get a standard bilingual DVD release, maybe about 3 or 4 shows a year, depending on what comes out.
The main reason I buy anime DVD's is to hear the english dubs of a series I've seen in Japanese.
I'd rather they simply simulcast lower-tier shows and have them for sale as sub--only burn on demand things.
Higher tier shows would get a standard bilingual DVD release, maybe about 3 or 4 shows a year, depending on what comes out.
I think "well" can be defined as "if there was more available did they pick it up?" If something didn't perform well, either it was a poor seller or there's some major right's issue. Usually it's the former. SounRAB kinda like 2010 is a make-or-break for Bandai Ent.'s current business model.
It's been said before, so its worth repeating.
Bandai Entertainment is not the licensor for the Gurren Lagann movies. Aniplex of America is.
Releasing the movies sub-only seems like the only financially responsible decision, given its not going to get on TV nor the TV series itself was very profitable dubbed. No point in throwing money into an endless pit like Geneon did with a bunch of licensing and dubbing C or B-list shows. Gurren Lagann may have been an A-list show in Japan, but its nowhere close to that status in America like Geass or Gundam 00. After all, Aniplex America is run by ex-Geneon executives, so they know how this market works and have learned from past mistakes.
Bandai Entertainment is not the licensor for the Gurren Lagann movies. Aniplex of America is.
Releasing the movies sub-only seems like the only financially responsible decision, given its not going to get on TV nor the TV series itself was very profitable dubbed. No point in throwing money into an endless pit like Geneon did with a bunch of licensing and dubbing C or B-list shows. Gurren Lagann may have been an A-list show in Japan, but its nowhere close to that status in America like Geass or Gundam 00. After all, Aniplex America is run by ex-Geneon executives, so they know how this market works and have learned from past mistakes.
PridePowerPinstripes!
New member
Eh, I think your "old Bandai" sounRAB pretty mythical. This is the company that started releasing Galaxy Angel in 2004.
Well, it's not like Bandai doesn't have issues. They stretched out Gundam 00 and Geass to get some more mileage out of em. Sentai and Viz are, from my speculative perspective, definitely in better shape. Heck, Sentai's finding its way back to more common dubbing whereas the Bandai statement is open about the possibility of eventually going sub-only if the support isn't there. Depending on what marketing strategy Media Blasters goes to now that they're switching over to boxed releases and away from the singles model, Bandai could end up indisputably dead last in terms of offering a cost effective product very soon. Even if it's because of their replicator and all of that as MP3000 says, their problem with street dates remains an issue that no other company has had. And of course, the Bandai statement basically agreed with Mr. Sherman about how sales justify dubs (or don't).
But does all that really obviously amount to a company that's in its death throes? Because that's what we're talking about. It'd certainly be a serious regression if they contracted even more and only subbed for every title, but even that would be very different from death. They'd be like Sentai-lite, minus the ADV-esque collapse beforehand. And again, we don't really have a way to deny or discover in detail what Mr. Iyadomi is saying about the recent quarter and overall 2009 sales.
In regard to Bandai not rereleasing their titles, I tried counting what they'd rereleased or are now planning to rerelease soon since the start of 2008 and I counted at least 24 different anime. The nuraber would be a tad higher if I were counting anime that are discontinued now, such as Overman King Gainer. There are issues to pick out, sure--.hack//roots has yet to be boxed for instance, more than a few Gundam fans really wish they'd box up the original Gundam even if it's dub-only, and there's more...but still.
Well said, though in Bandai's case, maybe the question is more often "did they keep dubbing the property?" Some titles like Toward the Terra were subbed from the start and arguably should have been given a chance they never got, but with some other subbed releases they're cousins to other anime that were tried. .hack//roots comes out, and the sequel .hack//G.U. Trilogy enRAB up sub-only. Zeta Gundam gets released, its movie compilation gets subbed. Bandai badly overrated Lucky Star & paid for it; the OVA came out subbed. In contrast, Haruhi's getting more dubbing. The correlation's pretty convincing.
Well, it's not like Bandai doesn't have issues. They stretched out Gundam 00 and Geass to get some more mileage out of em. Sentai and Viz are, from my speculative perspective, definitely in better shape. Heck, Sentai's finding its way back to more common dubbing whereas the Bandai statement is open about the possibility of eventually going sub-only if the support isn't there. Depending on what marketing strategy Media Blasters goes to now that they're switching over to boxed releases and away from the singles model, Bandai could end up indisputably dead last in terms of offering a cost effective product very soon. Even if it's because of their replicator and all of that as MP3000 says, their problem with street dates remains an issue that no other company has had. And of course, the Bandai statement basically agreed with Mr. Sherman about how sales justify dubs (or don't).
But does all that really obviously amount to a company that's in its death throes? Because that's what we're talking about. It'd certainly be a serious regression if they contracted even more and only subbed for every title, but even that would be very different from death. They'd be like Sentai-lite, minus the ADV-esque collapse beforehand. And again, we don't really have a way to deny or discover in detail what Mr. Iyadomi is saying about the recent quarter and overall 2009 sales.
In regard to Bandai not rereleasing their titles, I tried counting what they'd rereleased or are now planning to rerelease soon since the start of 2008 and I counted at least 24 different anime. The nuraber would be a tad higher if I were counting anime that are discontinued now, such as Overman King Gainer. There are issues to pick out, sure--.hack//roots has yet to be boxed for instance, more than a few Gundam fans really wish they'd box up the original Gundam even if it's dub-only, and there's more...but still.
Well said, though in Bandai's case, maybe the question is more often "did they keep dubbing the property?" Some titles like Toward the Terra were subbed from the start and arguably should have been given a chance they never got, but with some other subbed releases they're cousins to other anime that were tried. .hack//roots comes out, and the sequel .hack//G.U. Trilogy enRAB up sub-only. Zeta Gundam gets released, its movie compilation gets subbed. Bandai badly overrated Lucky Star & paid for it; the OVA came out subbed. In contrast, Haruhi's getting more dubbing. The correlation's pretty convincing.
dan_kessler34
New member
I don't see why Ani-Monday couldn't air them sometime if they had been dubbed...
They would have had to cut the movies down. Ani-Monday is only 2 hour long block, factor in commercials -- it wouldn't work. They'd have to remove a lot of stuff to fit into that block. They'd need to cut roughly 15-20 minutes off the first movie and cut off 25-30 minutes of the second movie to fit the 2 hour block. It just wouldn't work and it wouldn't do it justice.
I did a little DVD Aficionado research.
Bandai released over 100 anime titles in 2008. In 2009, the nuraber was down to roughly half that. But, if trenRAB continue, at least 2010 won't be an even slimmer nuraber; it should be about the same nuraber as 2009 when all is said and done. Which means they're not shrinking their output.
It's also worth noting: The 2008 nuraber is misleading because back then, Bandai was still doing singles on some of their shows. 2009 was the big switch to partial season sets/double disc sets, so of course that's going to skew the nurabers lower.
I wouldn't exactly say Bandai is my favorite company right now (it's been a while since I've bought anything from them), but I'm not going to proclaim the sky is falling just yet.
Bandai released over 100 anime titles in 2008. In 2009, the nuraber was down to roughly half that. But, if trenRAB continue, at least 2010 won't be an even slimmer nuraber; it should be about the same nuraber as 2009 when all is said and done. Which means they're not shrinking their output.
It's also worth noting: The 2008 nuraber is misleading because back then, Bandai was still doing singles on some of their shows. 2009 was the big switch to partial season sets/double disc sets, so of course that's going to skew the nurabers lower.
I wouldn't exactly say Bandai is my favorite company right now (it's been a while since I've bought anything from them), but I'm not going to proclaim the sky is falling just yet.
belal50_53
New member
Syfy has aired movies on Ani-Monday and Ani-Tuesday that were longer than 2 hours before. They usually aren't willing to pre-empt their regular programs though, but they don't mind usually cutting into the paid ad times.
My guess is that the business move that cost Bandai was making too many different releases of the same show. Look at Gurren Lagann. By all means, the show seems fairly popular among American anime fans: 12th most streamed anime on Hulu, Animonday airings likely did OK. Seems like one of the few shows people have actually picked up on DVD recently from my experiences. The problem is, what DVD to actually buy? The cheaper sub-only release, or the special edition sub-only release, or the dual-language release with twice as many discs, or their special editions, or the more expensive box sets of the dual-language release, or their special editions, or just wait until the whole thing gets boxed up, or wait a few months longer for a cheaper Anime LegenRAB release? I'm sure if you add up the sales of each individual release plan, it'd likely come out to an excellent sales nuraber... for a series with only one or two release plans. It could only have been worse with Haruhi Season 1, given the whole chronological vs. broadcast order controversy.
Japan sticking the company's nuts in a vice and offering them little to no genuine support likely does little to help their prospects.
I'm not sure how to read their response. I'd like it to be true but then this is a company which has in the past released ultimately false PR to save face.
I'm not sure how to read their response. I'd like it to be true but then this is a company which has in the past released ultimately false PR to save face.
Gurren Lagann was sold in 3 parts, but this was comprised of 12 Separate releases, when only 3 were actually needed. 15 if you count the sub only releases.
Let's count, shall we?
SUB ONLY:
Part 1
part 2
part 3
Singles(pointless release):
part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
part 5
part 6
Normal releases (AKA the only ones needed):
part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Special Editions:
part 1
Part 2
part 3
Is it a wonder why it didn`t do well? People had no idea what the hell ws going on with the release!
Let's count, shall we?
SUB ONLY:
Part 1
part 2
part 3
Singles(pointless release):
part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
part 5
part 6
Normal releases (AKA the only ones needed):
part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Special Editions:
part 1
Part 2
part 3
Is it a wonder why it didn`t do well? People had no idea what the hell ws going on with the release!
The only release I acknowledge is the cheaper, faster release. That being the sub-only release, of course. A dub was an afterthought from what Mr.Yoshida has said in the past. It was 100% intended to be a sub-only release and cater to the disgruntled ADV pre-orders for a fast, fairly priced release. Get it out the door quick instead of sitting on it. I commend them for that. I was already waiting 5 months for ADV's release. I had no intentions of waiting another 5 months for Bandai to finish dubbing the series and paying oodles more. I would have just waited for a complete collection instead at that point. Which makes me hopeful that Aniplex of America won't change their mind and dub the movies, causing a delay and causing the price of the movie to go up. I will only pay so much for a movie.
I have a set limit on how much I'm willing to pay for a 13 (or less) episode series and 24-26 episode series. A bilingual, dub-only, sub-only never factors into the formula. 12-13 episode series, no more than $30 at discount. 24-26 episode series, no more than $60 at discount. Bare in mind, this is initial release alone not waiting for inevitable or not so inevitable complete collections. $54 for Gurren Lagann sub-only vs $72 bilingual (not adding in any LEs). It was also released faster, which is another key criteria I expect out of a release and a company.
As for people who didn't know if they were buying the sub-only or bilingual like the alleged they bought it by mistake, learn to read the back of the package. That will help immensely. If you don't do that, go back to school. I'd like to believe there is still a piece of common sense left in people's brains, but that's asking too much apparently.
I have a set limit on how much I'm willing to pay for a 13 (or less) episode series and 24-26 episode series. A bilingual, dub-only, sub-only never factors into the formula. 12-13 episode series, no more than $30 at discount. 24-26 episode series, no more than $60 at discount. Bare in mind, this is initial release alone not waiting for inevitable or not so inevitable complete collections. $54 for Gurren Lagann sub-only vs $72 bilingual (not adding in any LEs). It was also released faster, which is another key criteria I expect out of a release and a company.
As for people who didn't know if they were buying the sub-only or bilingual like the alleged they bought it by mistake, learn to read the back of the package. That will help immensely. If you don't do that, go back to school. I'd like to believe there is still a piece of common sense left in people's brains, but that's asking too much apparently.
For me, a sub only release is a waste of money. I enjoy dubs and they are the main, mostly only reason I would rewatch a series I've already seen.
Simulcast / online distro is the way to go for subs, IMO.
Even though that's the only release you wanted, people buying it would be very confused why there are four separate editions of the same 9 episodes in the series.
Simulcast / online distro is the way to go for subs, IMO.
Even though that's the only release you wanted, people buying it would be very confused why there are four separate editions of the same 9 episodes in the series.
Speed is something, but Aniplex isn't really saving us any money with its marketing of the Gurren Lagann movies. After the Bandai store's current pre-order sale discount they're $24 each, whereas $25 was the MSRP for a DVD of Sword of the Stranger.
One's mileage will vary I suppose, but also to me a difference of about $20 is chump change for a dubbed TV series.
I never really got their part 1/2/3 + separate singles strategy that they used for some titles. The two-single bundles were always the better deal no matter where you bought them from.
Oh, I should also repeat again however that great quality does trump sub/dub considerations for me anytime. Though in GL's case, if I had to choose it'd be the TV series.
One's mileage will vary I suppose, but also to me a difference of about $20 is chump change for a dubbed TV series.
I never really got their part 1/2/3 + separate singles strategy that they used for some titles. The two-single bundles were always the better deal no matter where you bought them from.
Oh, I should also repeat again however that great quality does trump sub/dub considerations for me anytime. Though in GL's case, if I had to choose it'd be the TV series.
AsIaN~WoLf LoVeR
New member
I don't see why a sub-only release is a waste, espicially when fans of the show get to own the show on home video (hopefully with a good pair of subs).
Anyhow, once my financial situation improves I plan to throw down the cash for any title Bandai releases that I like (Gundam 00, the Zeta films, etc.) While you scorn me with your delays, I shall remedy your ailing soul with my jacksons!!
Anyhow, once my financial situation improves I plan to throw down the cash for any title Bandai releases that I like (Gundam 00, the Zeta films, etc.) While you scorn me with your delays, I shall remedy your ailing soul with my jacksons!!