Urban Vision: Dead and gone?

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brilliant_brunette

New member
I've just recently noticed that nearly all of their titles seem to be out of print. The last time that they updated their website was something like 2008. Are they on the way out?
 
I bought their most recent release Azumi 2 sometime late last year and have many of their older anime releases. I hope they don't go under, but it has been months since they've released anything.
 
Who knows what's going on with that company nowadays? It seems like they only briefly come back into the spotlight to announce one new title and then remain silent for the rest of the year.

I only bought one VHS boxset from them back in '99 which is the Final Fantasy OVA but other than that, that's it.

Their site is still up though.
 
Ever since ADV rescued licensed Pet Shop of Horrors, I'm starting to wonder about them, and what's going on with the company, they haven't updated their website and they only briefly come into the spotlight, but I hope they don't wind up like Geneon and Central Park Media
 
Geneon and CPM still both technically exist, it's just that Geneon's been reduced to a licensing firm, leaving production and packaging in the hanRAB of other companies (well, other company: Funimation,) and CPM is coasting along on the fact that the deals they cut for titles are so incredibly complete and all inclusive that along as the company is solvent, they own the rights to those titles, and can license them for TV and redistribute them over digital formats. However, it's probably down to just employing John O'Donnell and maybe his wife.

For that matter, Urban Vision may be in the same spot - owns the titles tightly enough that it can survive as label until some kind of rebound happens, and that it's worth it for them to hold on like that because they won't have to relicence them for different formats. i wouldn't know about that for sure though.

And yeah, the market slumped, but what hurt a lot of these folks was the musicland/suncoast implosion because it simultaneously left them with a vastly reduced distribution network (it immediately killed Geneon's CD line for example, as the vast majority of their CD sales were via musicland/suncoast) and also left them with tons of unpaid bills (CPM was particularly damaged as again, musicland/suncoast were a huge piece of their business.) This was before a recession hit and further knocked the legs out from anime sales.
 
Didn't they lose the rights to a nuraber of their titles?

Didn't they used to license some now-OOP stuff like Slayers and the infamous Urotsukidoji series? I presume that all of said licenses are up for grabs?

Their titles seem to all be OOP at the moment.

Ah, where have I been?

SounRAB like with all of its mainstream success, anime is still quite the niche market.
 
Probably the same over at Animeigo. I had a girl in one of my graphic design classes like 2 years ago wear an Animeigo shirt, which listed everything off and my favorite stuff (Riding Bean and Bubblegum Crisis). I talked to her about her past job and asked where she got the shirt. After talking a bit with her, she basicly worked on subtitles i think and among other related dub translations there, she even told me she has every Animeigo anime on dvd sealed to keep. I offered to buy somethings but she was wanting to keep them. All in all, she said theres probably like 5 people working at that office since they really didnt publish anymore anime and just stick to asian samurai movies now, so my chances at a job there were slim to none.

I guess my biggest thing is the major fall of Gundam stuff in america. Yea, were getting Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 in a month (was supposed to be a couple of days ago, but then i found that the release date has been changed... stupid bandai) but really, thats it. Everything else is to buy online or find in a used DVD bin next to the last gundam released stuff, Seed. Yea they did Zeta which im really happy about, but there so much more like Double Zeta or Victory no less. Unless Gundam just magicly gets popular in the US again, i honestly dont think it has a shot in america anymore. Gundam 00 was good, but look at the time slot and the position, Sci Fi is doing more justice to anime now but its not as hugly pop as it once was.

And... thats my say...
 
I bought Vampire Hunter D back in July, I think, but I don't know if that was a new shipment or Amazon's backlog. Recently I had to buy Bloodlust used, so they might have gone under.
 
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