Profitmon Catches The Dollars

An anonymous reader writes "The mainstream press has finally discovered the cash in anime. Fortune's Daniel Roth profiles ADV, the largest anime distributor in the U.S.. He uses it as a way to talk about how the anime and manga business has, in what's become a rarity in showbiz, managed to find a way to do 'more than not alienate its customers: It has found ways to keep them buying and buying.' The article also details the madness of the anime superfans--the Otaku--and the likely Neon Genesis Evangelion live-action flick that Weta's Richard Taylor is pushing for." Good Content + Bittorrent = Profit?

Comments

The money?

[Namronorman]

I think the money is from the fact that they can import on demand pretty much, they don't have to overproduce in case there's a large demand for it. The Anime sub-culture of the US is interesting in that it seems to often times follow certain trends and when something is popular you can just import it and sell it for a lot more than you usually would a normal DVD.

There's also the fact that a lot of anime sales are online which can be on demand as well, it's just a safer business I think than producing large numbers of an item and hoping they all sell.

Re:The money?

[ericdano]

This is very true. Take Samurari X, the director's cut. The subtitles and the English audio don't agree. The subtitles make more sense. A lot of the spoken English doesn't make sense.

I think the next step is instead of a fan sub, a fan DUB. Get a group of fairly good voice people and dub in what they are speaking.....

Missing important facts

[Microlith]

It fails to mention ADV's recent financial troubles, highlighted by the fact that in the past year they've had to give up funding the creation of several new shows and didn't announce any licenses during this year's con season (which is very unusual.)

It also fails to account for the fact that despite how small all of the anime companies are compared to say the music and movie giants in the states, the size of the warez base is MUCH LARGER relatively. There's a prevalent attitude among anime "fans" that paying for it is somehow supporting "the man" despite the fact that international licensors provide the japanese with a non-trivial amount of funding.

Re:Missing important facts

[htwnrver]

I worked for ADV for several years until spring of 2005. It seemed like it was time to get out as they were cutting back on almost everything they could think of. 2002-2004 was great for their employees but when they bought the anime network (not sure of the exact details) everything started going downhill financially. Never look back!

Re:Anime

[epiphani]

I agree - I've been introducing people to it on a regular basis. I think its because of the raw quality of the work and the lack of good engaging material from this side of the planet.

I primarily download my anime via bittorrent. I check out what I like, and eventually buy the boxed set. Just this morning I recieved my box set of Azumanga Diaoh (funniest anime EVAR). If you have an easy method of previewing your content, it makes the purchase easier.

And I feel like I'm actually supporting something with anime, as most anime shops (in japan) are small and have very thin profit margins.

Price Analysis

[VGMSupreme]

To be perfectly honest, the reason ADV is raking in the dough, is that as one of the biggest anime distributers in America, they can charge an arm, a leg, and three kidneys for their product, and it will sell. You'll notice there are not a lot of anime distributers out there, so there are only a few mediums where you can get it from. While it is still cheaper to obtain it from online sources (AnimeNation and the like), it is still costly. I could buy all of Buffy, Angel, or even Hercules right now, and it would be cheaper than getting a box set of a particular anime series.

They won't come down in price, cause pretty much there is no reason for them too. While I download the occassional anime series, I still buy some of my stuff from Brick N' Mortar, or other various online sources. Hell, I am going to buy Grenadier, even though I have the fansubs to it on my computer.

Seriously, if they want to really rank in the dough, start dropping the prices to under the $20 level. At least then, it might make is justifiable to only the DVD for its extras. Keeping it at $29.99 might net you big profits in the short term, but as the years progress, there is only so much people are willing to take before they forever go the way of fansubs.

Ghost in the Shell is too confusing.....

[technoextreme]

However, even the almost "mainstream" like Ghost in the Shell Series, Inyuasha, Full Metal Alchemist and others you might see on adult swim on Saturday night are worth staying up for.

I swear to god anyone who understands Ghost in the Shell deserves to be given gold medal. I read the original magna and they managed to make lesbian sex confusing. I kept on reading the apendix trying to figure out what was going on. Yes there is a sex scene in the original magna. Oddly enough it was quite surprising reading this in my university's library. It was made even more odd that I knew this was a required reading for a class.