The 2009 Re-Launch of Haruhi Suzumiya (General Discussion)

[Jintor]

Originally Posted by bayoab

Do we also need to point out that Haruhi S1 R1 release was a total, epic, sales flop?

I have been looking for these sales figures for a while now, can I get some links for Bandai sales of Haruhi in R1?

[ultimatemegax]

Originally Posted by Jintor

I have been looking for these sales figures for a while now, can I get some links for Bandai sales of Haruhi in R1?

One of the editors on Anime News Network quoted the Vidscan numbers for the R1 releases in this post.

So, with an *extremely* liberal estimate, Haruhi volume 1 may have sold 30,000 units.

On average, 1st month sales are about 80% of the lifetime total

Considering that the normal releases die down after the first volume is released, it's likely that the other releases have about 10,000 total at most.

[brocko]

It should've still sold better than most of the other titles out there right? Or does the smaller and more selective R1 market cancel this out somewhat?

[Jintor]

Cheers. I can quote these for my paper.

/edit Further analysis of the thread seems to indicate that Haruhi was a sales bomb only by the standards of Bandai's increased expectations. I'm going to need to analyse them a bit more before I can quote them definitively though. :<

[Jonbob0008]

Well, I think part of the reason why the anime didn't do so well was because it never made it onto TV. Then again, I'm not sure if the mainstream audience would've gotten into the show if it got onto Cartoon Network or any other network. Being a fan of the show, I'm always rooting for its success.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

That's a large part of it, yes. Anime sales are bad enough as it is, so without the half hour DVD advertisements, sales are bound to be poor.

Then again, there really aren't a lot of channels that would pick it up. It isn't action-y enough for [adult swim], and, despite having aliens and whatnot running around, it really isn't the kind of thing Siffy would pick up. Not like anyone would particularly like either one having it.

[Jonbob0008]

I'm still waiting for the day when stardard cable has a channel dedicated to Anime.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Yyyeah, keep dreaming...

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

Well, I think part of the reason why the anime didn't do so well was because it never made it onto TV. Then again, I'm not sure if the mainstream audience would've gotten into the show if it got onto Cartoon Network or any other network. Being a fan of the show, I'm always rooting for its success.

No, the reason the anime didn't do well is because everyone watched it illegally and didn't buy it. The copies on youtube had nearly 300k views at one point.

[Jonbob0008]

Well, it didn't stop me from buying it, and if what you were saying was true, than none of the anime available would sell well. Some do sell rather well, though, despite the fact that it's easy to find on youtube or other sites.

[Jonbob0008]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

... What would this have to do with the Japanese sales of the DVDs? The Japanese don't need to watch "illegally"; they can watch it on their own Cable TV stations for crying out loud. That's not illegal, bayoab.

The reason this anime didn't do well is because KyoAni/Kadokawa's approach to E8 was an awful idea, and only the hardest of hardcore fans are going to pay top dollar, four times over, for more or less eight copies of the same basic narrative.

We were talking about the DVD releases in America for the 2006 airing...

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

We were talking about the DVD releases in America for the 2006 airing...

Ah... my mistake.

[Jintor]

Originally Posted by bayoab

No, the reason the anime didn't do well is because everyone watched it illegally and didn't buy it. The copies on youtube had nearly 300k views at one point.

Bandai's advertising campaign focused on trying to get people who watched illegally to support the franchise in a legitimate way; so if that got more sales or less sales... well, that's useful data. Obviously illegal distribution is a MAJOR problem, but I hope to see a trend where companies that attempt to actively engage already established fanbases are more successful. Among other things, it's better than the villification of those fanbases.

I think Bandai were expecting a breakaway hit though, and what they got was a slightly-better-than-average hit. So it's not the epic failure that we're talking about here.

[Jonbob0008]

If it was profitable, then hopefully they'll still support it.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Jintor

Bandai's advertising campaign focused on trying to get people who watched illegally to support the franchise in a legitimate way; so if that got more sales or less sales... well, that's useful data. Obviously illegal distribution is a MAJOR problem, but I hope to see a trend where companies that attempt to actively engage already established fanbases are more successful. Among other things, it's better than the villification of those fanbases.

I think Bandai were expecting a breakaway hit though, and what they got was a slightly-better-than-average hit. So it's not the epic failure that we're talking about here.

Yeah... that's why I was confused earlier. I've never thought of Haruhi 2006 as a commercial failure, either in Japan or foreignly.

[Jonbob0008]

Well, in any case I'm going to try and keep an eye out on DVD releases in the U.S. As I said in another thread, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the American cast acts out the scenes.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

Well, in any case I'm going to try and keep an eye out on DVD releases in the U.S. As I said in another thread, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the American cast acts out the scenes.

Me too. This is what I'm mainly looking forward to as far as the English DVDs are concerned.

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by Jonbob0008

I'm still waiting for the day when stardard cable has a channel dedicated to Anime.

It's quite sad. Until I came across fansubs 3 years ago (It was indeed Haruhi) I pretty much knew very little about anime series except the ones that appeared on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and the ones I watched when I was younger. There was also a channel (I think it was called azn tv) that would randomly show anime too. But now, it seems like anime has all but disappeared from television, and there's just some incredibly random crap on Adult swim right now. :/

It's very possible that if I never came across fansubs, that if you'd ask me about anime, I'd probably say something about Naruto lol.

[Jonbob0008]

It's all about the fact that even though the anime market it still growing, it's still too small to appear to a profitable audience. As a result, a lot of networks that used to show a lot of anime have started to suppliment material that appeals to a wider audience (or so they hope). I'm still certain they anime isn't going anywhere, and I hope that as people in my generation and younger grow up, anime will be even more mainstream. I'm being an optomist about it, though.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Sad to say, but the typical American's opinion over animation is "That stuff's for kids." As long as that belief is held, any animated series is doomed.