Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira (OVA) - Generic Discussion Thread

[Dante of the Inferno]

Originally Posted by RedKey

Why can't DEEN put a little bit of budget in what they do, for a change? Man... I can't believe they aren't broke yet. What the hell does keep them afloat...?

Currently? I blame Hentalia.

[Joly]

I'm thinking maybe they put more money into the animation of the actual episode instead of the opening and ending. (We'll just have to wait and see...)

[Oblivion]

Well maybe if they actually did spend some budget, Higurashi could be liscenced in America and Umineko wouldn't have such poor ratings that a second season wouldn't be a problem. But then again this is DEEN we're talking a out so probably not.

[Dante of the Inferno]

Originally Posted by Oblivion0101

Well maybe if they actually did spend some budget, Higurashi could be licensed in America and Umineko wouldn't have such poor ratings that a second season wouldn't be a problem. But then again this is DEEN we're talking a out so probably not.

First off, North American licensing is Geneon's issue, not DEEN's. Second, Funimation (who bought the license from Geneon) did very little to add to the value of the North American release (sure, they remastered the backgrounds and made a great box cover, but there were no extra features - previews ARE NOT EXTRA - the dubs AND the subs are abysmal - save a few key VA's - and the marketing was completely wrong) With such poor sales, Funimation reps said, and I'm quoting, "we will never buy the license to the sequels or any other title that bears even a minor resemblance." Hell, Funimation just bought the license to Baka Test. DEEN continues to do what it does best: troll and make people laugh. We're just currently stuck in the troll part.

[battle22]

is there any chance of higurashi remake with HD animation? i would love that.

[Oblivion]

Originally Posted by Dante of the Inferno

First off, North American licensing is Geneon's issue, not DEEN's. Second, Funimation (who bought the license from Geneon) did very little to add to the value of the North American release (sure, they remastered the backgrounds and made a great box cover, but there were no extra features - previews ARE NOT EXTRA - the dubs AND the subs are abysmal - save a few key VA's - and the marketing was completely wrong) With such poor sales, Funimation reps said, and I'm quoting, "we will never buy the license to the sequels or any other title that bears even a minor resemblance." Hell, Funimation just bought the license to Baka Test. DEEN continues to do what it does best: troll and make people laugh. We're just currently stuck in the troll part.

Apparently I was wrong about the liscencing, BUT that does NOT excuse DEEN's lack of effort. The OP to Kira for instance. I'm not saying they lack effort in EVERYTHING they do, just some things really could have been done better. And as for Funimation? Well most of the dubs they do are terrible anyways so I don't find it surpirsing and Higurashi was no exception.

[Daisu]

funimation was too busy marketing Sgt.Frog to put effort to marketing higurashi correctly.

[Dante of the Inferno]

Originally Posted by Oblivion0101

And as for Funimation? Well most of the dubs they do are terrible anyways so I don't find it surpirsing and Higurashi was no exception.

Yeah, STILL not Funi's fault. The dubs were done under Geneon North American (when it still existed). Funimation bought the license, but didn't change the audio or the subs. What they DID do was change the packaging of the box sets (which were a monumental improvement over the tripe Geneon released and remastered the video (not to HD, but they DID improve the background quality).

[Oblivion]

Originally Posted by Dante of the Inferno

Yeah, STILL not Funi's fault. The dubs were done under Geneon North American (when it still existed). Funimation bought the license, but didn't change the audio or the subs. What they DID do was change the packaging of the box sets (which were a monumental improvement over the tripe Geneon released and remastered the video (not to HD, but they DID improve the background quality).

So basically all Funimation did was change the image quailty by a bit and the box covers. What was their fault however is their horrible marketing. If they couldn't even do that properly.

[Dante of the Inferno]

How are you supposed to change the marketing on a 4 year old series? They tried the lazy approach and just use the package that Geneon had, and that was awful. Stuff didn't sell, so they changed the designs on the box set, which swung things a bit too far the other way (from too cute to too creepy - no one wants their cover artwork in just negative).

Spoiler for Box Set 1:

The finalized version of the box sets (which, by the way is the ONLY source of remastered video, and no one has posted this version online, so barely anyone knows what I'm talking about) has a great look to it:

Spoiler for Space:

Funimation did a fair job of trying to re-market a product that got hosed by Geneon, but they didn't do enough (hint: NEEDS BETTER FEATURES AND SUBS). Furthermore, it is HARD to market this kind of show to American audiences ("so...it's cute, but violent as all hell, but it has comedy and friendship....but they're killing each other...what?"). The price point could have dropped to $30-35, but Funimation expected that much PER VOLUME, and a MINIMUM of $50 for the box set...for a 4-year old series. Again, I think that Funimation made improvements, but the North American release was such a train wreck (Geneon N.A. folding in the middle of the release certainly didn't help) that there was simply to much to be done to be profitable from Funi's end (and let's be fair, there's A LOT to be done). That's why I think the we, the hardest of the hardcore fans, should buy the core release from Geneon and DEEN. Even redubbing the series would score a massive improvement (assuming you could get Mion's VA, which might not be too hard - that was her first VA role), and the better subtitles could be overlaid (I'm working with [WinD] on this). This alone gives a way better overall product, and the license should be dirt cheap for the original series (especially based on Geneon's abysmal international sales).

This is going on a huge tangent from the Kira topic, so I'll just leave it be here. I'll post my "results" of remuxing the finalized season 1 files in a couple months.

[Oblivion]

Originally Posted by Dante of the Inferno

How are you supposed to change the marketing on a 4 year old series? They tried the lazy approach and just use the package that Geneon had, and that was awful. Stuff didn't sell, so they changed the designs on the box set, which swung things a bit too far the other way (from too cute to too creepy - no one wants their cover artwork in just negative).

Spoiler for Box Set 1:

The finalized version of the box sets (which, by the way is the ONLY source of remastered video, and no one has posted this version online, so barely anyone knows what I'm talking about) has a great look to it:

Spoiler for Space:

Funimation did a fair job of trying to re-market a product that got hosed by Geneon, but they didn't do enough (hint: NEEDS BETTER FEATURES AND SUBS). Furthermore, it is HARD to market this kind of show to American audiences ("so...it's cute, but violent as all hell, but it has comedy and friendship....but they're killing each other...what?"). The price point could have dropped to $30-35, but Funimation expected that much PER VOLUME, and a MINIMUM of $50 for the box set...for a 4-year old series. Again, I think that Funimation made improvements, but the North American release was such a train wreck (Geneon N.A. folding in the middle of the release certainly didn't help) that there was simply to much to be done to be profitable from Funi's end (and let's be fair, there's A LOT to be done). That's why I think the we, the hardest of the hardcore fans, should buy the core release from Geneon and DEEN. Even redubbing the series would score a massive improvement (assuming you could get Mion's VA, which might not be too hard - that was her first VA role), and the better subtitles could be overlaid (I'm working with [WinD] on this). This alone gives a way better overall product, and the license should be dirt cheap for the original series (especially based on Geneon's abysmal international sales).

This is going on a huge tangent from the Kira topic, so I'll just leave it be here. I'll post my "results" of remuxing the finalized season 1 files in a couple months.

I'll leave a final comment too. And that is exactly the point. Funimation Expecting such high prices for a four year old series did NOT help at all. They certainly did improve it a bit but not in a way that would please the North American audience. Box covers and graphics alone don't make a seires as old as Higurashi successful in N.A. That being said they could have done what was in their limits such news dubs and maybe new subs? Overall their marketing could have been alot better.

[WarriorKK]

I think we can't post the link here. So, please check my profile page.
Still no download link yet, it's just the stream.

[Oblivion]

Wow I totally forgot it came out today. So when in the next episode scheduled to be aired? I know that the first half will be done before summer's over but I don't know the exact date.

The only thing left to do is wait till WinD finds someone who is willing to sub it.

[Pellissier]

A thread has been created to discuss Higurashi Kira episode 1:

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=105763

Feel free to copy/paste posts about the episode you've already made on this thread, and of course proceed with all the subsequent discussion in there.

[Kishin]

waiting for eventual subbing.... I just hope it doesn't take as long as rei did...

[CrimsonSunshine]

Do all of you people speak Japanese, or do you just not mind there being no subtitles? There's no way I'm watching it when I can't understand a damn thing they're saying...

I sure wish it'd be subbed soon. Everything else is subbed quickly, yet Higurashi isn't. Oh, that seems fair.

[Oblivion]

Originally Posted by CrimsonSunshine

Do all of you people speak Japanese, or do you just not mind there being no subtitles? There's no way I'm watching it when I can't understand a damn thing they're saying...

I sure wish it'd be subbed soon. Everything else is subbed quickly, yet Higurashi isn't. Oh, that seems fair.

One of the main sub groups, WinD has yet to even pick a person to sub it yet, so you're going to have to wait a bit longer.

[Dante of the Inferno]

Bad news, friends.

Here's a post left by JJS (head of [WinD] Higurashi projects) to my inquiry about subbing Kira:

Originally Posted by JJS

I was pretty excited for a new Higurashi OVA and we were pretty much all lined up to sub it, but having watched the first episode we're probably not going to do it.

You might remember Higurashi Rei started out with a silly fanservice episode and then the remaining episodes were a serious arc. Higurashi Kira is entirely fanservice, and it's gratuitous fanservice at that. No mystery, no suspense, no horrible murders, just happy fun time and borderline hentai. I might well be proven wrong once episode 2 comes out, but it seems nothing more than a cash grab by Studio DEEN and 07th Expansion. WinD has done some silly moe stuff in our time (*cough* Lovedol *cough*), but the current staff mostly agrees that there's no point in us spending time and effort on Kira unless it stops screwing around.

I know I sound all high and mighty about this, but I was genuinely looking forward to more of what I love about Higurashi and got something completely different and frankly unnecessary instead.

If you would like to voice your desire for [WinD] subbing of Kira, please post HERE or talk directly with them on IRC

Otherwise, we'd better start looking for other subbers ASAP.

[Kyuubinoyoko]

A thrusted friend told me it will be released on ColorMeSubbed soon (I think today).

[Oblivion]

Originally Posted by Dante of the Inferno

Bad news, friends.

Here's a post left by JJS (head of [WinD] Higurashi projects) to my inquiry about subbing Kira:


If you would like to voice your desire for [WinD] subbing of Kira, please post HERE or talk directly with them on IRC

Otherwise, we'd better start looking for other subbers ASAP.

Are there any good subbers besides WinD? I've only seen theirs so I don't know of any other ones at the moment.