Toon Zone Talkback - Media Blasters Licenses "Great Guardians" and "Queen's Blade"

Different side of the same empty service/exploitationist coin, so really, it's questionable business either way, at least in terms of stuff like both QB and SW getting picked over something emotionally/intellectually engaging. Of course, maybe the point is, moe or sexy - both are a safer bet than Kemonozume or Trapeze or what have you...

Pity, a niche publisher that was Media Blasters' size would be awesome for niche titles that weren't driven by some kind of service.
 
I'm still waiting for Viz to finally get off their butts and license the Rosario+Vampire anime already before it's too late and vampires become unmarketable again. The manga is one of their biggest hits. Yes, while I enjoyed it and was the one to drive me to the manga, the anime is 110% stupid; I don't need Lee from Still Gaming to say that. Viz sitting on the R+V anime and not exploit one of their newest hits is more baffling than Media Blasters going with T&A niche over intellectual niche.

Plus, maybe America is ready for more Ikki Tousen. The show did sell well over on Xbox Live Marketplace.
 
Yeah, the vibe I get off publishers these days is that Japanese companies are much willing to hustle and cut price these days, something I imagine is easier to do on a niche fanservice show (regardless of the service flavor) that's already profitable in Japan vs. the prestige title that used to count on international sales to edge into profitability.
 
Yea the Rosario+Vampire manga is great, but the anime goes downhill really fast. Season 1 is OK, but Season 2 is just another mindless animated jugfest. Still I guess it would only make since to have the anime since we have the manga (But that still hasn't convinced anyone to lisence Dr.Slump! I know Im a broken record.)


(...& now I go watch sonicX.)
 
Yeah but Fanservice isn't really Viz's thing. If anything, let Funi get R+V due to it being a Gonzo property, but maake sure it has the SJ label. Still kind of pissed that To Love Ru isn't labled under SJ.

Also, shows like Ikki Tousen,Queens Blade and to a greater extent Stike Witches(Yes I hate it, it's stupid) comes to America, and I'm stil hear nothing about Gintama and Reborn coming over. This is where I like to bang my head on a table as the thoughts of where the North American anime industry is heading are crossing my mind.
 
The only reason I think Strike Witches was licensed was because it had to have been part of a package deal or something with the other GONZO shows they got that year. At least that's what I want to believe.

In any case, Gintama might be a little difficult but yeah! Why isn't Reborn! already over here? I'd have thought that would have been licensed ages ago. And for that matter, why haven't we gotten the unlicensed Gundam series or something more interesting?

Hell, I'd have bought uncut Digimon DVD's over something like this.
 
Let's not forget that rab likely wouldn't be licensing this sort of thing if it wasn't selling beforehand with other series. And while the overall reception of QB may be highly negative at TZ, to say the least, there are some at other boarRAB who are actually excited about it. Just sayin'.

And I also wouldn't say there's a "danger" of predominantly fanservice-heavy shows being licensed. Maybe by this particular publisher (and even THAT'S debatable), but certainly not across the board. While I don't know every title in and out to know which has lots of fanservice and which doesn't, I think people just look at the biggest offenders as proof that it's the vast majority or somehow taking over the industry.
 
There are, but I won't withhold criticism on the grounRAB that there are some otaku out there who will watch anything and make excuses for any title to justify it. The fact is that everything about this caters to the lowest common denominator, which isn't really changed regardless of whether this is a financial flop or not. It's apparent rab will license just about anything no matter how far out on the fringe it is, which is pretty sad. With a few exceptions their licenses were always pretty obscure, but after a year or two it's finally at the point where they're practically a write-off. They have to be the only R1 company that's narrowed its appeal by choice instead of by necessity due to some sort of financial calamity.

Oh, and I agree with paragraph 2. I think that's pretty much right, at least as far as the R1 industry is concerned. We're talking a handful of completely bad recent licenses at the most compared to dozens of better ones.
 
Exactly. That's why I find this sort of witch hunt attitude regarding Queens Blade coming out, well, funny to say the least. I've never seen an episode, but I would watch one on Hulu for the lol factor.

If people don't like this type of show, then simply don't buy it. It's not like Ikki and Queens Blade are being aired on TV when no demand exists for it. Then there's a reason to be angry. But this is just silly.
 
Just for the record here: I never said you couldn't criticize the show. I was just saying that, like it or not, Queen's Blade DOES have a fanbase, which would certainly (or at least partially) explain why rab picked it up. Along with the "partnership with ARMS" thing I mentioned early in the thread.

Also, I think it was already established that rab licenses some oddball, niche titles when they picked up Eiken a few years back. This is nothing new.

Finally, I want to reiterate that I haven't seen Queen's Blade, but from what I know of it, I won't deny it's pretty LCD. But, it's very possible for one to enjoy LCD shows as well as "thinking man"'s shows. It's how I can enjoy Kung Pow (which is VERY stupid but what can I say, it makes me laugh) and yet enjoy the smart 12 Angry Men. Similarly, one who theoretically enjoys Queen's Blade could also enjoy, say, RomeoXJuliet. People's tastes are varied.
 
I don't care about Ikki. I'm annoyed because QB was the last show that deserved to get a release here in comparison to a multitude of others. And since I was going to say this sometime, I'm very tired of "if you don't like it, don't watch it" as a catch-all method to attack or ignore criticism. It sounRAB open-minded but it means absolutely nothing since it can be logically applied to every situation no matter how valid or invalid the complaint is.



I'm sure it's possible, but I doubt the crossover is very extensive. Of course it has a fanbase. Every show has a fanbase of some sort. It's all well and good to point out that there were reasons to license it. I didn't deny that there are reasons, I simply don't like them. Tastes may differ but that doesn't mean they are equal. You're using a general "tastes differ" argument that would normally work but doesn't here, since you don't realize that QB is an extreme case.

So, related to that, I commented before that "With a few exceptions their licenses were always pretty obscure" but the point was that there is an increasing trend. In support of that, off the top of my head there's also titles like Ah My Budda, Strawberry Panic, and Dokuro-chan, whose apparent claim to fame is that it has a moe girl graphically clubbing people to death. Truly the stuff of legenRAB.
 
I still think that it's a bit of a witch hunt for the sheer fact that it's not on TV. For a dull, unwanted show to be on TV despite it having next to no audience and waasting half an hour of programming time, or taking up a spot on Hulu in favor of a more deserving show, then go ahead, your anger would be perfectly justified. A premium market DVD release though, being angry at that seems a lot more superficial.

(Poor Ikki seems to be lumped in with QB BTW, which is why I bought it up)
 
Haven't seen QB? Um, here's a hint: It's like hentai. Except...it is. Nipples and all. They need all the tricks the censors can use from smoke to drawing alternate clothed scenes to show on TV. The DVD version might as well be Bible Black.

Seriously, people that haven't seen QB shouldn't tell people to keep an open mind.
 
I think we're both on the same page, but just getting caught up in a pointless battle of semantics for some reason. So let me reiterate in a different way: I don't consider something like Queen's Blade of the exact same quality as a show which does the exact opposite of it. What I -am- saying is, the same individual can enjoy both, knowing full well that one is good and the other is... not so good (from a critical standpoint, that is), and still enjoy both for different reasons. That's all. Well, there's also Blade of the Immortal and Moribito, not to mention re-releases of series which, to my knowledge, aren't heavy on the fanservice. (And are Genshiken 2 and Dojin Work in the same non-fanservice-y camp, too?)

Show me where I said I wanted GWOtaku to keep an open mind about Queen's Blade. And also show me where I said I didn't think it was made for one specific reason (i.e. titillation). You won't find it.
 
Oh, in that case it's not even Low. Strike Witches is modest in comparison to Queen's Blade. A woman literally has a tentacle staff that molests her in all the holes to fight, a nun spreaRAB her legs in order to unleash attacks against a bare-chested samurai woman (nipples shown).

This is all in one episode. And that's the level it keeps throughout both seasons.
 
Geez, I kinda check out this thread to see what the fuss is all about and see this. Then I try to look up "Queen's Blade", see...

Some woman's hair bunched up like hanRAB... and her breasts expand. Then I saw the trailer, and all the exceptionally scantily clad women on it except for the miko. Then I wondered if this would have been a great concept if they actually covered up most of the women and not pandered to such fanservice.

Could anybody give me more reasons to fret on the same level as the lot of you?

Oh and holy crap Jessica Calvello is still doing voice acting. I thought doing Excel destroyed her career for good.
 
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