Anime Blu-ray (UK Releases)

[Mavrick]

I thought the UK forum could do with a dedicated Anime thread since OT talks keep coming up in specific release threads.

So here's where we can all talk about all anime releases without clogging up threads

Below is the current release schedule for Manga Entertainment UK and Anime Limited, dates are subject to change.

Manga Entertainment

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Release Schedule:


Click here to view the current release schedule for Manga Home Entertainment

Anime Ltd

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Release Schedule:

Click here to view the current release schedule for Anime Ltd

Animatsu Entertainment Ltd

Release schedule TBA

MVM Entertainment

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Release Schedule:

Click here to view the current release schedule for MVM Entertainment

Release Schedule:

Click here to view the current release schedule for Bandai Visual (UK)

[Ath]

Excellent stuff! Hopefully things will start to look up for anime on Blu-ray now. Kaze seem to be fairly committed to BD at least.

[insomniac013]

Cool thread man!

You could also add the existing UK anime releases, or the most prominent at least: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movie...&sortby=studio

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by Ath

Excellent stuff! Hopefully things will start to look up for anime on Blu-ray now. Kaze seem to be fairly committed to BD at least.

I hope things start to pick up next year. I really hope we get lucky and get Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo next year. I know Madman is going to be the first showing it next year at the Evangelion Expo so I hope it gets a BD release too, but it will probably come in 2014.

As for this thread. Any other upcoming releases from other companies I'm more than happy to add to the list if anyone want's me to put them up just let me know the details and I'll throw them up there.

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by insomniac013

Cool thread man!

You could also add the existing UK anime releases, or the most prominent at least: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movie...&sortby=studio

I'll get to work on that in the morning. I will list them all by name but won't link to them since I don't think the 1 post will be big enough to fit all the BBcode

But at least people can quickly see all the titles and then they can just copy paste them in to this sites search bar to find the release info.

[MokaBear]

I don't get why you call the thread "Anime blu-ray" on a blu-ray forum but then you post DVD releases.

[The Apocalypse]

Originally Posted by MokaBear

I don't get why you call the thread "Anime blu-ray" on a blu-ray forum but then you post DVD releases.

The news included both Blu-ray and DVD releases.

Good thread. As I've said, picking up the Code Geass seasons on Blu and also I wonder when Evangelion 3.33 (as I presume the home video release will be called) will be available to pre-order.

[insomniac013]

Originally Posted by The Apocalypse

Good thread. As I've said, picking up the Code Geass seasons on Blu and also I wonder when Evangelion 3.33 (as I presume the home video release will be called) will be available to pre-order.

I think late 2013 is a close approximation.

[The Apocalypse]

Originally Posted by insomniac013

I think late 2013 is a close approximation.

Yeah, seems about right. Oh well, I can wait.

[Halimbo]

Now I'm not too big on anime. You can guarantee I haven't seen it unless it's very well known.

But Death Note on Blu-ray would be my all time dream. Death Note is one of my all-time favourite series', not even on an anime scale.

Do it, Manga. Do it now.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Halimbo

Now I'm not too big on anime. You can guarantee I haven't seen it unless it's very well known.

But Death Note on Blu-ray would be my all time dream. Death Note is one of my all-time favourite series', not even on an anime scale.

Do it, Manga. Do it now.

I agree. I know that it's pretty normal for anime shows to have a somewhat "foggy" appearence but my god Death Note looks like crap on dvd. It needs a blu release. It will make so much money

[waaimasjien.]

The only release I want from Manga UK is a complete Blu-ray set for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I absolutely hate them for canceling the individual volumes. They said a long time ago they were considering releasing a complete set, but since a complete dvd set has already been released I'm guessing that's down the drain too.

[Mavrick]

Been really bussy at work so sorry for lack of updaes to the front page. I should have some spare time over the weekend.

For now here's Manga UKs Blog about their outlook on Blu-ray. They do seem to get a few facts wrong. The whole part about Aus PS3s being Region A etc. Totall BS... Read it and you will see what I mean "Most Australian PS3s are American." Really?

THE BLU-RAY BLUES
Thursday 05th April 2012

Andrew Osmond quizzes Manga UK’s Jerome Mazandarani about the perils of formats

The Blu-ray debut of Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds – released both as a standalone title and in a pack with the first Shippuden movie - confirms that Manga is still committed to Blu-ray in the UK, despite the frustrations and cancellations of recent months. Indeed, a slew of Blu-ray titles are scheduled for this year, ranging from Mardock Scramble to Roujin Z.

Manga UK’s Jerome Mazandarani points out that many UK anime fans have moved from DVD to Blu-ray, obliging Manga to follow. He adds, though, that “Maybe 80 or 90% of our sales are still on DVD, so it’s very important.” The release of anime Blu-rays is a tricky proposition, balancing the demands of multiple parties. Jerome points out that the Japanese licensors and producers of an anime have their own agenda, which Manga must meet if it wants the title at all.

“They’ve got specific ideas about how they want the release packaged: when it’s released, how much we can sell it for,” Jerome says. “The licensors for anime have a hell of a lot of control over these shows, unheard of in the normal video licensing business. They could say, for example, that you can only sell it at this price; that you can’t release it until six months after it’s out in Japan; that you can’t do x, y or z...”

“International licensing for anime, for most Japanese companies, is probably less than 10% of their overall business,” Jerome points out. “So why would you give your prized anime licenses to a foreign distributor and let them do whatever they want with it unchecked? Let them put it on Youtube or itunes or Netflix? Let them sell it at stupidly low prices, so that Japanese customers can import it? All the decisions the Japanese licensors make are based on protecting their distributors in Japan, and Japan sustains a model where a K-ON! three or four-episode DVD can sell at £30, and the Blu-ray at over £40, and sell a quarter of a million copies.”

Recently, Manga had to cancel the Blu-rays of both K-ON! and the film The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. “We wanted to get most of K-ON! out last year,” said Jerome. “But we weren’t allowed to release a complete season box-set if we wanted access to the English dub, which Bandai produced for America. We either had to release it the way Bandai was doing, or wait until after they’d finished the campaign in the U.S. I decided to follow them, so the series want out on single-disc volumes. But the DVD sales were so low it no longer made sense to invest in a Blu-ray release that was unlikely to break even.”

The single-disc decision had been taken for the fans. “Fans hate waiting a year or two years after something’s been simulcast or on Japanese TV to get their hands on it. So in the interests of trying to sell more by narrowing the window, we made a strategic error releasing K-ON! that way [on individual discs]. I think we would have been better off just not releasing it last year. Rather we could have waited until now and released the complete first season on both DVD and Blu-ray.”

The problem with Disappearance was different. On the film, Manga was sharing authoring costs with the Australian distributor, Madman. “We wouldn’t have even released a lot of anime if it wasn’t for Madman, including Spice and Wolf (due on DVD in June) and a lot of the ‘moe’ titles that we’ve released over the last two years. Before, we wouldn’t have bothered with them, because we don’t sell a lot of them. Sharing costs with Madman halves our production/inception costs and makes a lot more releases viable. We commonly see if Madman or Siren have released a title in Australia, because then we know there’s a PAL DVD version in most cases.”

In the case of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Madman and Manga made a deal with Bandai to access the US Blu-ray replication master. “We got the Blu-ray from Bandai, which had been tested and QC’d (assessed on quality control) on American PS3s. When Madman QC’d it, that was fine, because most of the PS3s in Australia are American ones. But it didn’t work on a European PlayStation! We’d already invested a sizeable sum of money on the authoring for the Blu-ray and we were suddenly put in a position where we had to re-author it again from scratch at three times our initial cost. It was a terrible situation to be in and a painful decision had to be made. Authoring Blu-ray is time consuming, costly and very, very complicated.”

Another high-profile disappointment was the cancellation of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on Blu-ray after the first two sets (out of five). “It was really disappointing; we saw a 50% drop in Blu-ray sales from Volumes 1 to 2,” Jerome says. Manga was tied to fixed costs and to a Minimum Order Quantity (which meant it was obliged to make a hefty number of copies of each volume), so the series became unviable.

“We could have gotten the rest of Brotherhood out in a Blu-ray box-set,” Jerome says, “but that would have brought up new problems. What about those consumers who bought part 1 and 2 individually? Do we set up some kind of discount scheme? How would we implement that? It would have been a logistical nightmare!” The price would also have been prohibitive for many fans. “To be honest, we would have had to sell the box-sets at a very high price point. Possibly as much as £150 to £200, without offering much in terms of special packaging.”

These days, Manga focuses on Blu-rays for feature films and for shorter series of around 13 episodes, such as High School of the Dead and the forthcoming Angel Beats. However, Jerome doesn’t rule out longer shows on Blu-ray– “If FMA: Brotherhood had been only 26 episodes long, it would have been totally viable on Blu-ray.” In principle, if the costs of Blu-ray came down, then Manga could also complete a series such as Xam’d: Lost Memories.

Following the Naruto Shippuden films, April 16 will see the first film in the SF thriller trilogy, Mardock Scramble, which Jerome rates as, “One of the best new anime films that I’ve seen in ages; it’s beautiful.” The first three Bleach feature films – Fade to Black and its predecessors, Memories of Nobody and The Diamond Dust Rebellion – will debut on Blu-ray in May, as will the Ghost in the Shell film Solid State Society.

Old and new films will follow. Pensioners and big robots figure in the wonderful SF comedy movie Roujin Z (written by Katsuhiro Otomo), released in June, which is also when we’ll see the afterlife series Angel Beats. Then it’s kids in space in another feature film, Welcome to the Space Show in July. Manga is also planning the Blu-ray debuts of both big-screen Fullmetal Alchemists – the new film, Sacred Star of Milos, as well as 2005’s Conqueror of Shamballa. Just the thing to chase Blu-ray blues away…

[insomniac013]

^ That post encapsulates everything that pisses me off about Manga UK. It's just a load of crap!

We should get Madman out of Australia and into Europe too, since they seem to know what they're doing, as opposed to Manga UK who just sorta screws up.

Then again that article was from a while ago and i bet they've learned a thing or two since... Hopefully

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by insomniac013

^ That post encapsulates everything that pisses me off about Manga UK. It's just a load of crap!

We should get Madman out of Australia and into Europe too, since they seem to know what they're doing, as opposed to Manga UK who just sorta screws up.

Then again that article was from a while ago and i bet they've learned a thing or two since... Hopefully

Well they are still releasing 4 episode volumes so I guess the haven't

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by The Apocalypse

The news included both Blu-ray and DVD releases.

Good thread. As I've said, picking up the Code Geass seasons on Blu and also I wonder when Evangelion 3.33 (as I presume the home video release will be called) will be available to pre-order.

Can't wait to get that one.

It set the record at the Japanese box office for this years highest opening weekend, earning ¥1,131,004,600

Madman Entertainment announced that the movie will make its international premiere in 2013, alongside the Evangelion Exhibition Tour Australia. So hopefully it wont be too long before we see the Blu, and hopefully it will get a slip too to match the limited edition 1.11 and 2.22.

[Sinthetic]

Good to see Oblivion Island coming out with a slipcover. Also looks like Geass is coming in some kind of boxset. Lovely.

That's one thing Manga need to sort out with other releases.

[olympiano]

January 28th
Journey to Agartha (DVD and Blu-Ray, also DoublePlay Collector's Edition with hardcover package - limited edition, only 2,000 copies)

It shall be mine.

[insomniac013]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

Good to see Oblivion Island coming out with a slipcover. Also looks like Geass is coming in some kind of boxset. Lovely.

That's one thing Manga need to sort out with other releases.

Yeah, Manga is very hit or miss when it comes to slipcases and such. Some have but in most cases it's just a plain amaray.

Originally Posted by olympiano

It shall be mine.

I'm looking forward to this one too. Their Collector's Editions usually look great!
(It's up for pre-order on AMZ btw)

[insomniac013]

Originally Posted by waaimasjien.

The only release I want from Manga UK is a complete Blu-ray set for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I absolutely hate them for canceling the individual volumes. They said a long time ago they were considering releasing a complete set, but since a complete dvd set has already been released I'm guessing that's down the drain too.

They're definitely not gonna release a complete BD set. They flat out told us that many that it would be too expensive to make and not enough money in it for them. (Their go-to excuse)

My advice is get a region free player and import the Funimation releases! Much easier!