Quote:
Originally Posted by GMT
As I understand it, the process of obtaining a license to distribute a given series in the West is a very difficult one. The Japanese media companies don't want Japanese consumers buying their anime in the West and re-importing it into Japan. (It's cheaper here, as I understand it; though people here complain about how expensive it is.) End result, the Japanese end up sitting on properties until they've made their first flush of money from the DVDs, BDs, and assorted marketing tie-ins. The export market is almost an afterthought to them.
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Agreed, but since there seems to be some skepticism, let's just do a little research, shall we?
I'm using FMA as an example because Haruhi discs have been out in both places for some time, so prices have changed.
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST 10
(DVD) (BD)
Four episodes (35-38) on 1 disc
￥4463 =
$47.43 (DVD)
￥5231 =
$55.61 (BD)
Release date: 05/26/10
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 1
(DVD) (BD)
Thirteen episodes (1-13) on 2 discs
$36.99 = ￥3478 (DVD)
$40.99 = ￥3856 (BD)
Release date: 05/25/10
Let us all keep in mind that Japanese and US Blu-rays are completely cross-compatible, since they are now in the same region, and I imagine it would be a simple matter to get a Region 1 DVD player in Japan (if nothing else, you can buy an extra DVD drive for your computer).
Sure, if they start releasing series here a month or two after they do in Japan, most of the diehards in Japan are still going to buy the Japanese versions, due to the higher quality video, and earlier release date, and the OVAs (if the series has them and the US version doesn't), and not all series are going to be released 13 at a time in the States (although that seems to be the way things are headed), but you can pretty much forget any kind of casual market among knowledgeable JP consumers and the cheaper JP fans. And even for those who aren't all that cheap, ￥15693 versus ￥3856 + shipping (which isn't going to be anywhere near ￥12000) is a pretty damn good deal, and you get at least one more episode...