Because ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ never had a chapter on this
NOTE: This was bumped up to the top of the blog since in the comments there were more answers added that you may have missed. Come and enjoy if you have not seen them yet.
From, ‘whats the best way to work in anime?’ to the ever present, ‘How do I become a voice actor?’ there seems to be a lot of interest with how to break into the anime industry. I thought why not set the record straight and share some of the answers we’ve managed to pass along over the years. So here are couple of the more popular questions and because it wouldn’t be much of an article without them, we give you answers as well.
How do you break into the anime industry?
A very popular question, and one that doesn’t have any one answer. The truth is almost everyone I work with, have worked with, or know from other anime companies got into this industry in a different way. I will tell you that luckily there are a wide variety of jobs in anime that include marketing, graphic design, production, translations, writing, and, of course, voice acting. I can say that there are a few things that no matter what you are going for in anime will help you greatly with achieving your goal.
list of important items
1. Education – Be it a college degree or drama classes you have to have some advance knowledge of the area you want to work in. Having an advance knowledge of anime will also greatly help you succeed. I don’t just mean naming every character from DBZ (Mr. Popo rocks!) but more about how you tie your education in your field and anime to better help the company you will be working for. Even the Accountant at an anime company can work better knowing how long One Piece is so they can expect to see sales profits coming in for a very, very, very long time.
2. Experience – Having worked in anime before naturally helps. Of course this doesn’t help when you are trying to break into the industry. Show you have worked in your field outside of anime as well as have stayed active in external anime related things. Example: 2 years experience working as a customer service rep for IBM and vice president of your local library’s anime club.
3. Passion – This I’m sure comes pretty easy with you if you are reading this. One of the greatest things about the anime industry is that if you don’t have a passion for anime you won’t last all to long in it. With the long hours and short deadlines you must be willing to work long hours for something you love as well as be able to understand what makes the fans happy almost immediately. If you don’t have passion anime may not be for you.
What is the best way to talk to someone in the industry and not come off too…otaku?
This is actually easier than you may think. Most people I work with are fans and love to talk about anime just as much as you, but I do have to say I have had more pleasant discussions with some fans than others. This is mostly due to a few key things that you should keep in mind when talking to someone from the industry at convention, online, or any place else for that matter.
Ask questions
You would be amazed how many people miss this simple step or stray away from it after the inital contact. Most industry types are more receptive to hearing your question about why a certain DVD was delayed by a week than a 10 minute monologue full recap of the Freza saga. This doesn’t mean that you should only ask questions. Be sure to add your two-cents when it fits.
Respect their time
Though most industry people would love to sit and talk to great lengths about all things anime they are not always able to do so. Whenever possible it’s good to gauge how busy they may be before starting up a conversation. For example, if I’m on the booth and there are only a few people there and I’m not talking to any of them that is a great time to talk shop but when I’m running down the hall heading some place that may not be the best time to chat.
Don’t talk about your fansub or bootleg collection
Talking about how you are not buying DVD’s since you are downloading fansubs or purchasing knock off plushy is a terrible way to start a conversation. This screams, “I want to support anime but not enough to actually purchase some’. With many industry people pushing anime DVD’s every day this is a topic always on their mind.
Don’t be a jerk
We understand that you may not like our product or that we did something that really made you mad. We make mistakes and from time to time strange things happen and are more than happy to listen to your problems. Running up and yelling demands and insults – not the best approach if you actually want the best help to fix your problem. It is better to express your feelings in a calm manner. You don’t need to sugar coat how you feel, it actually helps us if we know exactly what happened, but problems are easier to fix with more understood information than yelling ‘you —holes —-ed up favorite show!!’.
Alright, Here are conventions coming up this weekend:
Delta H Con April 24 – 26, Houston TX, University of Houston Main Campus in the UC Center
Tora-con April 25, Rochester NY, Rochester Institute of Technology
Arkansas Anime Festival April 25, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Fayetteville AR
Next week: Anime Central preview
87 Responses to “Because ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ never had a chapter on this”
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For spoilers or off-topic comments use [spoiler] Spoiler text goes here [/spoiler].
Ahh, gotta love the old “man, the way you did (XYZ title) totally sucks. I hate all of you AND your mothers. Here’s a list of the fifty things you did wrong…see? That’s why you should hire ME to work for you. I’d do it so much better!”
I will add my two cents though, since I feel it’s appropriate ^_-
1) at a convention panel, if you have a question like “what’s the release date for XYZ?” or “who voiced character ABC in show DEF?,” something that could be easily looked up online? And there are a lot of people with questions and not a lot of Q&A time left? Just look it up later. Most panels I attend end up running out of time for everyone’s questions in the Q&A portion, and they could be missing a really good question for an incredibly google-able one
Also, while it’s very important to tell anime companies what shows you want them to bring to the US, don’t expect them to answer “yes” when you ask them if they’ve got the license to a show that hasn’t been announced. If they CAN announce it, they probably already have!
“How do I become an voice actor?’ ” shouldn’t that say “How do I become a voice actor?” instead. Was this a typo?
Anyway very interesting. I enjoyed reading this. Mr. Popo rocks eh? hehehe
Who Decides What gets licensed? Do you just put like 30 Different in a hat then you pick someone to draw 2 anime out of the hat then what ever the drawers picks gets Licensed? Draw Sumomo Momomo! And Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Quick! Sorry for being annoying but I really want these 2 Anime in my Collection Among others but People bother you guys about other ones I want so Ill let them be Annoying for me.
Spoiler ▼
”but problems are easier to fix with more understood information than yelling ‘you —holes —-ed up favorite show!!”
Ha ha Dude ha ha I wanna yell that at ADV SOOO!! Bad! ha ha ha
but you guys should have a Convention at the North Charleston Coliseum Cause ill never get to experience these things.
I have a Question? Will FUNimation be at E3 2009? I think it starts June 1st it will be nice to hear some Anime news to go with Nintendo blowing my head off with Epicness.!
Gia – glad you can understand some of what I’m talking about personally.
Prede – fixed, thanks for the catch. There is always at least one typo I’m missing each week it seems. Should be doing some sort of contest you would think.
Mario1-7 – How we decided which shows to license is a great question. The short answer is it comes down to a few key items: Success in Japan, availability, price, and North American buzz. You combo all these and generally that is the top line on how thing happen. The full answer could be an entire full post.
We will not be at E3 this year. We mostly do consumer shows over Trade shows since talking directly to the fans has always been our bread and butter.
Adam,
Out of those key items you listed, are they of equal importance or do they have varying importance depending on the license? A show like Dragonaut certainly has not had much, if any, positive North American buzz but was still licensed, so I would guess that the fourth key item didn’t have as much importance in this license. I could go into another reason why it was probably licensed, but you’ve probably read that reasoning enough times, so I won’t bother.
On the other hand, a show like Big Windup!/Oofuri certainly has positive NA buzz, but the buzz in general is fairly small due to it being a bit of a niche title since it’s a sports anime, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the other key items were a little more important for this and whatever NA buzz it had just helped.
I can only hope that an Oofuri-esque moment can happen for Ring ni Kakero 1. Not a big hit over here, but it’s slowly getting fans and is going to be getting a third season in Japan soon, indicating that it is still popular over there, even though the manga ended more than 25 years ago. That’s staying power.
You should make a video about this with a few interviews. Sony did one several years ago for their Playstation division and it was very informative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu4iITtInmc
@ AdamS: “How we decided which shows to license is a great question. The short answer is it comes down to a few key items: Success in Japan, availability, price, and North American buzz. You combo all these and generally that is the top line on how thing happen. The full answer could be an entire full post.”
By “NA Buzz;” you don’t mean “10 people pretending to be 100 and screaming the title of their favorite anime until they’re blue in the face,” do you?
And “success in Japan;” several titles from Gonzo weren’t really successful over there. But they sure were big hits over here.
So your tellin me.. Aw forget it.. Availability means if Someone isn’t already going after it? I know whats popular in Japan and in America You should look at all the idiots buying Guitars after watching 2 episodes of K-ON.. In America and Japan that is what buzz is.
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/04/20/k-on-fuels-guitar-boom/
By Price you say. hmm.
I wanna ask but……. Well ill ask How much will a 26 episode Anime be?
On a licensing-related question regarding Geneon:
1. What influences your decisions on what shows you “rescue” from Geneon? Does it cost much (obviously, I imagine you can’t list exact amounts, but I also can’t imagine it’s free), and how much say does Geneon (and possibly Japan) have in it? And do shows vary in price in terms of “rescuing” them?
2. How will sequels to Geneon shows (Shakugan no Shana Season 2, Higurashi Season 2, the upcoming Black Lagoon Season 3) be handled? Will Geneon try to obtain them, or Funimation? Does the whole “moving from one company to another” cause any problems trying to obtain these sequel licenses from Japan?
Thank you!
@Mario 1-7
“I know whats popular in Japan and in America”
OK, just stop there… Now you’re going from silly to pompous.
How about we be a bit more honest, Lord Geo?
Mario’s now the very entity he had been railing against since the start of this blog; an annoying Troll.
And, unfortunately, there is no real and effective way of dealing with people like him; outside of closing this blog and ruling it out as a bad idea to begin with.
@Tyrenol@
This Blog is a good Idea. Your life is a bad idea………
RAAAGE! ^_^ With a smile.
Dude its so hard to ignore you.
Awww… it’s like a love-hate relationship. So when do you 2 work together to beat the real bad guy behind the scenes? It’s like Samurai Pizza cats all over again.
~_~ Zetsuboushita. I’m in Despair! Rojas has left me in Despair!
Rojas. This Fits this scene so well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAWvfnsu_6k&feature=player_embedded
Ha ha. Entertain yourself for a minute.
okay, answers to some of the questions above:
On the top line key items they are not always of equal importance. If one of them stands out more (e.g. a show is the most popular thing in Japan or its so cheap its almost free) things can shift on the show being picked up or not.
By availability we mean that it hasn’t been picked up by another company or is up for sale yet. Some shows are not available to purchase until a specific time before, during, or after its initial broadcast.
On rescue items and older licenses that no longer have a US release there are two groups they get put in. 1. The initial group of shows we acquired from Geneon and 2. Everything else. The first group all the shows were looked at as a group before everything was final. For the second group each title is treated like a new acquisition. The only major difference is we have actual US sales data for each show.
On sequel titles from these shows they too are treated like a new acquisition that has some US sales data to help us make a more informed decision on whether or not to continue the series.
and since Youtube links are abound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQJwGy-4Ns4
@ Rojas
Which bad guy(s) are you talking about?
* Some of the people within the Japanese anime industry who hate the normal young guys and wish to see them treated like garbage every chance they get?
* The conservatives and Republicans who are having a hard time accepting their current losses?
* Ourselves? (A person being one’s own worst enemy?)
Because, for the first one, it’s an honest “David Versus Goliath” fight against a society that’s based on voyeuristic sadism and hypocritically calls itself “entertainment.” I asked for help and had gotten told that they’re “not going to help fight my wars.” A good ten people, from the top of my head, had wished me luck. Maybe 15…
Sorry to disappoint. I don’t work well with those who have the psychological level of “an 8-year-old who angrily screams when he doesn’t get the toy he wants.”
@ AdamS: “On the top line key items they are not always of equal importance. If one of them stands out more (e.g. a show is the most popular thing in Japan or its so cheap its almost free) things can shift on the show being picked up or not.”
You’re welcome… but I’ll only take half the credit.
Because, you know… It’s an incredible gamble for those who license anime for the Western audience. A place where some of Japan’s most unpopular anime can make the US anime videoscan’s “Top 25.” Where a Black Cat can cross the path of a couple Black Blood-ed Brothers and the level of good luck is only cultural, at best.
No. I want for everyone to repeat after me. On the count of three…
3!
AMERICA IS NOT JAPAN.
I bow.
Hey Tyrenol, I seem to remember Democrats and liberals having a hard time accepting their losses too. And amazingly, after much complaining about it and working really hard, they got their guy elected! Imagine that.
You may not have realized this but in a democratic republic like the United States, just because one party wins, it doesn’t mean the other one has to just shut up and accept it. See, if they did, they might never get out the vote and win an election and return to power. (Before you say it, one-party states statistically tend to end badly so no, it wouldn’t be for the best if Republicans just went away no matter how much you disagree with us.)
I seem to recall more than a few Democrats saying dissent was patriotic. Can you say, double standard?
Also, please try to remember there are some conservative and/or Republican anime fans around and we dislike being called bad guys. We’re not a hive-mind.
I’m not saying that the Republicans are bad guys, Richard. I’m just saying that a significant number of them had forgotten that the US is “For The People And By The People.”
But this is an anime blog. So I’ll shut up about politics and talk about anime.
Ask me a question about “bad guys” and why I think they’re so cool.
(I’m currently watching Phantom’s Requiem, where the “bad guys are the good guys” and such. I think it’s cool, but Back To Business.)
The Decepticons of the Transformers. Cobra of GI Joe. Joker & (unfortunately) Two-Face of the Dark Knight. You can give them enough power to split the world in half, and they’ll do it.
But they’ve always been stopped by the good guys before they cause any real, severe damage. And, thanks to the superb teamwork of the storyboarders and writers, the directors, and the producers; the audience get an awesome “11th-hour” fight scene.
Else. We gain the self-insert, Mary-Sue virus. We get Gundam Seed Destiny’s Kira “Jesus” Yamato and CLANNAD’s Tomoyo Sakagami; along with their ilk. And it’s not going to matter how much love they get or how popular they are. They’ll be hated for their invincibility; earning an improbable defeat of their fanbase elsewhere when not on-screen.
I, for one, am still saddened that not every other anime can be like Busou Renkin… But hey.
I appreciate the info, Adam, that answered everything I was curious about. Thank you!
Wow I just learn alot….. Availability huh… So some shows don’t go on sale so some of our asking is in vain.
And Tyrenol Tomoyo Fails. Fuko and Nagisa are the best Clannad Characters.
Glad the answers help. Most shows are available at some point but its more of a timing thing. Some shows we start talks before the air in Japan while others start after they have been fully finished.
Ok I have a Question.
Does the price of the show depend on how old, and how well it does in Japan? Lets say you buy a show from 2006 it would be alot cheaper then what you would buy in 2009.? Also if a show does really well and is really Popular in Japan will that make it cost more.?
Or does it all depend on the Company you choose? Are some Company’s more expensive than others?
The quick answer is yes…sometimes. Usually more recent shows are what most companies go after so there is more competition for them, hence raising the price. Though some older shows that have either been off the US market or for other reasons not available till now can cost more than average based on their history in the US and Japan.
@ AdamS
News from ANN is that Nozomi/The Right Stuff International had bought “Rental Magica” from Kadokawa Shoten.
Concerning Nozomi/TRSI’s track record for selling “glorified fansubs” to the public, it’s less than likely that the anime will get an English dub. Plus, Rental Magica is one of those “quota shows” to me; low priority and low recommendation yet not as vicious as anything from KyotoAnimu.
And here I was hoping for Kadokawa to take a hint and do some ACTUAL MARKET RESEARCH before trying to show their animated misandry down everyone else’s throats. But I’ve been wrong before.
With all that being said: If what you say about anime licensing is the case… We won’t get much variety at all out of this, would we? Just pandering to the reality-challenged hard-liner otaku-tachi who’d yell “(insert anime title here) IS MY LIFE” at the top of their lungs.
Ok Adams thanks. I think I understand.
Tyrenol you Attack Kyoto Animation knowing it will piss me off. May I ask Why? In your stupid sentence you did haf to say anything about them and yet you choose to leave me in Despair?…
Anyway… Do you guys look at Manga sales here in America? Like hmm.? example: (Sorry to be annoying again but) Sumomomo Momomo The World’s Strongest Bride. Manga hits America sometime in May if the Manga sells well does it Influence you to take a look at the Anime??
Basically what I am asking is Can Manga Sales Influence the Licensing of an Anime?
There is always room for a variety of anime to be acquired. A possible example would be that if the top shows we were currently trying to acquire are all shonen that leaves a big hole for shojo, comedy, and other non-action titles. We want to make sure we can hit as many different fans with our release schedule so that no matter what kind of fan you are or what sort of anime you like there should be something releasing for you as much as possible.
We do look at US and Japanese manga sales. How much this is used with acquisitions is different for each show. Comparing anime and manga is like comparing apples and oranges but they still are picked up by people who like fruit so you have to take notice.
”Comparing anime and manga is like comparing apples and oranges but they still are picked up by people who like fruit so you have to take notice.”
That Was Epic! Never thought it like that before..
Ok thank Dude I have learn much here. I thought I’d never learn about this stuff but I have been taught by who? FUNimation Entertainment themselves. Thanks Dudes. hmm I know I don’t know everything but I know enough I did actually think any info like this will ever be released.
I wanna ask more but I don’t wanna be annoying.
Someone ask some interesting Questions!
@ AdamS:
Thanks in advance, again.
Now that’s the “holder of more than a third of the market” I know and love. And also: Everyone likes fruit. And there’s so many different ones to choose from.
I hope for more superb English dubbing within Nabari no Ou, Strike Witches, and Phantom’s Requiem.
@ Mario:
Fair is fair.
KyotoAnimu, their blatant disregard for the non-otaku anime fanbase for the mere and childish sake of prolonging their 13~15 minutes of fame, continue to piss me off. So I counter in kind and without quarters.
Thank you for the kind words. We will keep trying to bring out the best variety of entertaining anime we can. Please feel free to ask as much as you want, its one of the reasons I’m hear. I tend to talk anime a lot so I’m more than happy to share what I can when asked.
Wow ^_^ Ok then…… But first!
Tyrenol. What does fair is fair mean? I didn’t do anything to you. Kyoto Animation has made a name for themselves with there Anime anything they put out people are gonna watch because of there history. These are FACTS…
Fu fu fu.. Yea make sure Strike Witches has a Nice Dub so Tyrenol can Completely fulfill his Lolicon Fantasies..
Anyway on to business…. Ok How long does it take to Dub 1 Complete episode of an Anime?
How long do you guys wait to dub an anime after its Licensed?
If there is an Anime you guys are going after how long does it take for you guys to get it? like say you guys talk with the company then are they like we’ll get back to ya or is it like you dail up SHAFT and there ”like which one you want (that’s available and is good enough to get) and you say Moonphase (Just an example) then there like ok wire us $10 and you got it. (Just an example)
When you buy an anime do you haf to pay price per episode or you buy it like a box set?
@ AdamS
Talking positively about anime… I don’t think I can do that anymore. Or… Not as much as I can when I talk about the Transformers.
* Starscream was much more awesome during (GONZO’s) Transformers Cybertron than anywhere else he’s been; secondary to the live action movie.
* Waspinator kicked more ass during Animated than he did during Beast Wars.
* My (San Diego Comic Con exclusive) Nemesis Prime + Fansproject’s “Shadow Commander” armor / trailer left me bleeding on the ground with AWESOMAGE wounds orz.
I can’t say the same thing about a large percentage of the anime titles. Their main audience consist of those who lack the will to succeed in anything productive. They’re “speaking to their own people” and not ours.
It’s almost as if we’re getting hand-me-downs.
(Which explains the “what’s your current favorite anime” poll and the following “simulcast,” huh?)
@ Mario: What does fair is fair mean? I didn’t do anything to you.
Remember what you said about how “other anime companies that aren’t KyotoAnimu, and two others, consist of fail?” Remember how oh-so-badly you wanted Kodomo no Jikan?
And about you’re so-called FACTS? Where exactly did you get them from? AND. Is your source legit? I ain’t talkin’ ANN, AnimeOnDVD, or any pro-animu mega-site/forum/blog run by elitists. I’m talkin’: “If KyotoAnimu is so great then why is Li’l Wayne’s singing machine or Barack Obama’s plan to save the economy crushing it underfoot?”
I’m talkin’: That bad movie about FUNi’s money-making franchise. Or “that jerk and his killer book.” The orange-wearing ninja. Some stretchy pirate kid. Guys who turn into animals when you hug ‘em. On down. Why does nobody like their popularity yet fail at competing with them?
I guess I’m asking oh-so-way-too-much for you to be realistic here, Mario. Hypocritical trolls tend to be allergic to reality, you know. Especially hypocritical trolls who talk all big about FACTS and come off as outright ANNOYING.
It ranges on how long it takes to dub an anime honestly. It comes down to how many characters and lines there are. A show like Kodocha where everyone is talking over each other and never stops talking can take longer than most. Not being deep in the production side of the company I can’t give you an exact time range. sorry.
We start dubbing a show as soon as we can. This usually starts when we receive materials from Japan on the show. Then as quick as our production staff can they start working on translations, setting up auditions, and the overall ‘video-type’ stuff.
It takes about 6-9 months from receiving materials to DVD on shelf.
The timeline from the final signing of a show has a huge range. We had one show that took about 3 months and then we had one that took over a year. There are so many different factors that go into the final contracts for these shows that agreeing on certain key items or getting legal clearance can slow things down great. So there isn’t one real answer. We would like each show to take 3-6 months when ever possible but sometimes that just isn’t possible.
@AdamS@
Then dude how did Bandai get Kurokami so fast and got it on a Channel no on has >_> with a dub. Did they just get really lucky…
Say if you guys got a License and you wanted another Anime Company to dub it Like ADV or bandai Can that happen,
(JUST AN EXAMPLE >_>,) Say you got Clannad the ~After Story~ if you wanted ADV to dub it then you release it can that happen? Or you guys rather dub yourselves?
And my last Question.. (I think) Why don’t you guy release DVD sales Data. I sometimes go to the store and ask how an Anime is selling or I look at Amazon’s sales rank but that doesn’t help. I know this isn’t important to some people but I would like to know how some Anime has done. I guess I am like that because every month we get Game sales data and I look forward to that.
@Tyrenol@
Kodomo No Jikan???? What in the heck are you talking about.? Are you talking about when I said I’d buy it? Hell yea I’d buy it if it got Licensed. (And dubbed) And Not all company’s fail
Kyoto Animation, SHAFT and J.C staff is the best.
Some like Madhouse, Bones, Bee Train, XEBEC, Studio DEEN, and Production I.G Marvelous Entertainment are secondary epic. and the Fail goes as followed.
GONZO, Company’s that make Hentai Anime, Sunrise.
I like some of GONZO’s anime but they have failed me to many times. Seto No Hanayome, Solty Rei, and The Count of Monte whatever is good but nothing else. I hate hentai, Yes I like Yuri but I don’t like it to go to far I like to be teased, like the one anime Koihime†Musou I like that kind. and I hate Gundams/Mechs. Marvelous Entertainment has failed me 1 time and that’s School Days that’s the worst Anime I have ever seen I’d rather watch Dragonuat than that ****.
There now I have told you why I hate who I hate, who’s second and who’s first.
Adam!!! I’ll give you a Cookie if you tell me sometime IF Funi has SPICE AND WOLF license. You Guys did order a C&D on it remember. PWEEEAAAASSSSEEE (waves cookie)
@ Tyrenol: I appreciate the dropping of politics and I apologize if I sounded a bit angry. (While we likely would disagree on a lot of political points, at least we can agree on a few things anime wise.)
I love your “glorified fansubs” comment about Nozomi and I find what you said about the importance of badass badguys. (Bonus points for mentioning Cobra of GI Joe.)
While I do enjoy a lot of quieter series, a good action series or drama with battles needs a great villain. I’m also enjoying the villain protagonist angle with Phantom, you don’t see that often enough.
@ Adam S.: There are a few Funimation intial license series that have sequels that haven’t been licensed. Hell Girl has two unlicensed seasons Hell Girl Second Cage (Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori) and Hell Girl: Cauldron of Three (Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae) while xxxHolic has XxxHOLiC: Kei and the xxxHOLiC: Shunmuki OVA.
Is there a certain amount of time after a first series is out that fans should just give up on sequels being licensed? (Considering the outstanding job Funimation did on Hell Girl and xxxHolic, it would be quite a pain to have to just let go of hope for those sequels.)
Also, how do sequel licenses work normally? Would a Japanese company prefer one R1 company license the whole of a franchise? Would Funimation have first choice on sequels to series that they’d previously licensed parts to?
I’m starting to feel like I’m at one of our industry panels, except that I can watch the NBA playoffs and Red Sox highlights at the same time . Which is totally cool FYI.
I really don’t know how Bandai handles their dubbing process. Each company does it a little different. The only way I think we would be able to speed things up would be to double shift shows and use multiple studios. That would basically half the time of everything or maybe even more. But I will say we are already working our studios double time with all the shows we have currently in production. If we had less in-studio action this could happen I would guess.
Having an outside studio dub a show that we have acquired can and has happened. We outsourced our Tenchi OVA 3 dub to keep the original cast and FMP:TSR was done by ADV to keep brand consistency. We play nice with everyone and it works out well for everyone when we can work together.
Not releasing exact DVD sales data is a corporate thing that I don’t have total knowledge of off hand. Wish I had more to say.
We do not currently have Spice and Wolf. Some of the C&D’s we send out are as an acting agent for our Japanese Licensors. This helps keep illegal downloads from ramping up on a global level and helps grow the relationship between their company and ours since it shows that we care about their business even when it doesn’t directly help us financially.
Unfortunately, or fortunately on how you look at things, there is no real time line for gauging if a sequel or later season will be picked up. We have receive a lot of questions about sequels/additional seasons at our panels and we have basically been saying that we haven’t picked up a lot of sequels/additional seasons due to going after some larger new show acquisitions like Soul Eater and Evangelion 1.0. This doesn’t mean that we will not be picking up later seasons it just delays things. Hell, there is still some hope on the back back burner of us finishing Kodocha one day. So never say never, just say not yet.
Most sequels/additional seasons are treated like a new acquisition except for usually the company owning prior parts of the series has first right of refusal. Which is a fancy way of saying, “I licked it, its mine.” So that helps speed things up usually.
Thanks for Answering my Question.
Does the not yet also go for Geneon Titles? Like When they Cry 2 and The Familiar of Zero 2 and 3 and Nanoha Strikers and Movie??
Did FUNimation work together with 4Kids on Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy?? I looked on Wiki and it says FUNimation Licensed it is this true. If so why is it not part of FUNimation Shows.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Muscle
I know yall finished it cause i remember watching it on TV back in the day. Will yall ever by the luck of life release a Complete box set (Uncut)? Cause I loved that show, to me that was in the ranks with Dragonball Z….
Yes, this goes for all the Geneon titles as well. We’ve been asked about ‘When they Cry 2′ a good amount recently.
As far as I know we didn’t have anything to do with Ultimate Muscle. We have distributed some 4KIDS titles in the past so I wouldn’t 100% rule it out but it is outside of my knowledge bank.
@ Adam S.
Can you tell us how the Toei streams (Fist of the North Star, Slam Dunk, Digimon 02, Harlock) hve been doing so far, or is that information that can’t be revealed yet? I would love to see them do well and potentially be given DVD releases, and then have the same done to other Toei shows… Like Ring ni Kakero 1.
Yes, most of the comments I’ve posted on the FUNi Blog have been about Ring ni Kakero 1; I just would love to see it licensed and brought oevr so much… Afterall it is, in my opinion, the best straight-up shonen action title there is… As well as the “Giant Robo of Boxing Anime” (not my words, but so true).
Ok thanks..
So there is still hope. I liked the Ultimate Muscle dub but it was edited and that failed. If I can get that in a Uncut complete box set life will be more epic…..
I vote that we never speak of this U####### M##### ever again on this blog. EVER.
@ AdamS:
You should tell your dubbing people not to stress themselves out. They OWN major orz for doing their jobs. That’s all we ask for.
@ Adam S.: Thank you for the information. I’ll try to be patient. (Hey, I’m still pulling for a Kodocha completion too.)
Sorry to ask another question but what is Funimation doing to fight bootlegs? As someone who bargains hunts older series, I’ve seen a lot of boots on eBay and other auction sites. Does Funi have anyone that searches for boots of Funi titles? Also, is there a specific person or section of Funimation to contact about infringing material like fansubs, bootlegs and all that mess?
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!
I actually don’t have info on how well the Toei streams are doing so far but I can so that streaming overall has been doing well for us. FMA Brotherhood has been HUGE!
Our legal team spends a good amount of time on bootlegs as well as illegal downloads. We managed to shut down bootleg distributors in the past even. We work with sites like Ebay and Amazon on taking down bootlegs. If you ever have a question on if an item is a bootleg or night we are more than happy to check for you. The general rules of thumb are if its region free or has Chinese subtitles or $40 for 200 episodes it’s probably a bootleg.
Hey Dude You said when you work together with everyone it work out for everyone right. Then why don’t you guys all just work together, FUNimation, Bandai, Viz, and ADV, I am sure with everyone Promoting everyone, Licensing teamwork, and Dubbing team work Everyone can be successful and have every anime no one would haf to worry about who has what and if a DVD will be Sub-Only (I do not buy Sub-Only DVD’s) and we can get Anime way faster we can have sequels and OVA’s while another part of your Mega Anime Company work on the more Newer stuff. Cause there are OVA’s that get ignored and since FUNimation has saved all of ADV’s Anime from going under there are OVA’s an Sequel’s to those anime that may never see the light of day (in America) unless that ”NOT YET” Goes for those as well. Also you can cater to all the anime fan and there tastes, Action, Adventure, Harem, Romance, Slice of Life, School, Parody, Comedy, Drama, Magic, Military, Sci-Fi, Mecha, Gundam, Vampire, Lolicon, Yuri, Yaoi _>. You can cater to everyone that way, So why do you guys team up it will make things better for everyone The Company and the Fans.. Do you guys even talk with the other American Anime Company’s besides Geneon.?
That’s not “working together,” Mario. That’s “MERGING.”
What happens in a merger? Lay-offs, shutting down of offices, the lack of healthy competition. Everything would basically become $unrise/Bancolding$; where good ideas, creativity, and innovation dies at the start.
You heard what happened to $unrise and their multi-themed shows. They were number four behind putt-putt ADV (which was dying slowly). They couldn’t even get a dub for “Hayate the Punching Bag.”
FUNi’s already #1 in terms of delivery. Are you trying to kill it like you’re trying to kill GONZO?
Tyrenol ……… What are you talking about???????? Bandai has Hayate not ADV. Am I trying to kill FUNimation Ehh? GONZO? ADV is Dying and there not doing a good job of coming back.
Actually, Mario, ADV is doing fairly well at staying alive. Titles like Clannad, Kiba, and Princess Resurrection are doing really well as sub-only sets, and with re-releases of Out-of-Print titles like Mazinkaiser I just have to support them myself.
Sorry if that disappoints you, but that’s just how it is.
Okay. If ADV’s not “dying” then why haven’t we heard straight from them lately?
@LordGeo@
Dude they are at there Demise, The last time we heard from them was in January When they made us all happy for like 10 Minutes then pissed us all off. If Clannad and Princess Resurrection was Dubbed they would has sold 2x’s as many copy’s I bought Clannad Cause I couldn’t help myself But I had to Sacrifice Princess Resurrection. Most people just don’t buy Sub-Only DVD’s ADV will die if they don’t get with the times and start doing things right. If they Dub Clannad I’d buy it instantly I’d also buy Princess Resurrection (Even though I heard that was bad) But if they don’t dub it I guess ill just wait for them to die then there Anime will get picked up by someone who cares about the fans…..
Where an US anime Pangia of sorts sounds good on paper it doesn’t work well in practice unfortunately. Some of the biggest reasons for this is public vs private vs Japanese subsidiary company structure, geographic location, corporate culture, and if there was one giant US anime company that could make Japanese Licensors unhappy since their negotiation power would go down greatly. Overall the old adage that competition breads the best product works here as well. It is great that we can all play nice with each other but it is also good that we have our own thing going on as well.
We have talked in one way or another to most, if not all, of the anime, manga, comic, and video game companies. Whenever it makes sense for us to work on something together most of us won’t hesitate to call the right people. We also see a lot of these people at conventions and other places anime types gather so its great when you can have five different companies having a post show drink without any fights.
They say that the drinker who’s the most drunk is less likely to fight due to the full stomach and the poison working its magic, AdamS.
Jokes aside; thanks for the heads-up.
The only problem now is some of the different companies you have the post-show drinks with. Because, IMMHO, the only ones worth having a drink with anymore are Viz and Media Blasters.
Spoiler ▼
this might not even need to go here but i felt like saying it anyway. funimation is probably one of the best anime licensers/distributors so i’m always happy to check out stuff from them, especially when half of a show is on sale for like $40. definitely a good deal.
anyway for something more relevant to the topic at hand i guess, i’d love to work in the anime industry some way or another though i’m sure it would be a bit difficult for me(no acting experience so voice acting would be a challenge, can’t really draw so not much art related stuff i’d be able to do but i still have hope).
one quick question, how are you guys going to market strike witches? seriously, this isn’t really a show that is er…family oriented or anything, though it does have an interesting concept, but with the whole “girls walk around not wearing pants” thing i forsee this being tricky to market to a wide audience which also leads to the question as to whether or not the dvds will be edited or not.
well theres my 10 cents.
One sentence, bdp. And one sentence only:
SHAFT’s Negima OVA Special.
I hope we get the Pani Poni Dash OVA. Its gonna eat me alive not having the complete series. I have the box set there is 1 episode left.
Strike Witches is TBA right now on how we will be handling. Honestly we hate editing anything we put on DVD so this should be one interesting title.
You guys should bump this post up to the top.
@Nozomu
Good suggestion. See, we listen. =)
@ Adam!
I have a question about the current market. We have been seeing quite a few cut backs lately at the B&M stores, such as Best Buy which is one of key players here (according to Media Blaster’s John Sirabella). I’m just curious, how is Funimation getting around this problem? After all, B&M stores are still the key player, when it comes to DVD sales. I can’t see Funimation getting most of their profit from the online sales and your video player.
Great question.
The profit center for each brand is different based on it popularity (well known or new to fans) and size (hard core title or mass appeal). Places like Best Buy changing their strategy to having quality anime stores over a quantity of stores that carry anime was one we had been watching closely before it happened and had an alternate plan laid out. So when this did happen we changed our DVD focus on how, when, and most importantly where we brought them out. One key item with staying profitable is moving with change quickly. If we where not able to forecast this change the transition to set things right may have cost us a lot. Lucky enough we were able to see this and are currently doing very well.
So to sum up, we have found new homes for all our stuff in spite of retail being forced to make economic cut backs.
Well how come you guys don’t send that much Anime to Walmart? When I go there all I see is DBZ, I don’t ever see anything outside of that, Why not sell stuff like Kanon, Solty Rei, Kenichi,D, Gray Man and Others like that. Walmart is the most common store to get DVD’s from and yet all there are is Anime that comes on TV, Bleach, DBZ, its packed with Naruto.?
We would love to put more DVD’s in Walmart but due to their DVD section layout, quantity ordering rules, and selection process only select brands make it in. Basically it comes down to how well a DVD will compete with other titles on shelf at Walmart no matter what genre it is for. So our DVDs in Walmart need to be able to compete on certain levels with movies like Spider-Man or Star Wars. While we do have a lot of strong brands in our catalog, other non-anime titles work better with the current Walmart retail strategy.
@ Mario 1-7
I can actually answer that one, since I had to deal with Walmart for the shipping company I used to work for. When it comes to Walmart, there’s two things to keep in mind. The whole sale price and potential sales. Potential sales plays the biggest role with them and they get that information by available data. Anime that has aired on TV has a higher likelihood of appearing on Walmart’s shelves, than titles that haven’t. The more the casual fans have been exposed to it the better in Walmart’s eyes. Now, not all anime that has aired on TV makes it to Walmart and that’s where the whole sale price comes into play. Just like us, Walmart likes to get things cheap. If they aren’t getting a good deal out of it, then they aren’t going to carry it.
Another thing to keep in mind is shelf space. Walmart only has so much available and the big mainstream movies and TV series are going to take that space. One advantage that Funimation has is its parent company (Navarre), they are pretty big and have a few connections with Walmart. In other words, Funi titles have a higher likelihood in appearing at Walmart.
And Adam beat me to it. :sweat drop:
Have you guys at FUNimation ever thought of getting in to the Video Game business? Like I know you help other game company’s with voice work, but I am talking about like Localizing console games? Like Ouran High School Club has a DS could you ever see the Company Publishing Japanese RPG’s and Anime video games? Or will you always be strictly Anime and Japanese Live Action Movies.?
@ Nozomou
The same question can be asked about FUNi doing adult anime ala Media Blasters’ Kitty subdivision.
This “getting one hentai title per month while they create under 10 titles per month back home” is driving me nuts.
On items like video games, other genres we don’t focus on like hentai, manga, or anime soundtracks we are currently not taking an active interest in producing or distributing this is due to staying within what we consider to be our core competency. Anime DVD’s, digital distribution, and broadcast.
We at FUNimation are focused over 9000% on bringing the best anime we can to the fans every day. To add another large initiative to our company at this time we feel could slow or distract us from the focus. Were it would be fun to put out some manga or localize video games this would be a whole new market for us to jump in on and would take a lot of our resources to do it right.
Tyrenol@
Off-Topic ▼
Okay… I’m going to try this one. I know that their are a lot of different factors that can play into it, but… can you give me a few of what things affect how long it takes to dub a show?
…I’ll just say that FUNi’s New Year’s event gave me a lot to be excited for. And I am curious on a more basic level. I like learning about what’s involved in the making anime available.
@ Mario
Off-Topic ▼
A few of the bigger things that can affect the time it takes to bring out a show after its been acquired are material delivery, production, and authoring.
Material delivery is when the actual original video files, product art, scripts, and other key items show up at in our office. We can’t start working on the show until we have the physical show to work on.
Production on the show from creating the English dub, mixing audio, and prepping everything for the disc is an important step and to make sure everything is perfect before it goes out the door we take the necessary time to make the best product.
Authoring is the actual creation of the DVD. This a big manufacturing process that has to move at speed that will be efficient but also quality controlled.
There are a good amount of other factors as well but these are some of the largest.
@Tyrenol
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When you guys Rescue an Anime do you gotta go through the same process as you do when you License a new Anime without the dubbing? Is it easier to Get new Anime or Rescue? Also is rescuing cheaper and faster than getting new anime?
@ Mario
Off-Topic ▼
@Tyrenol@
Off-Topic ▼
For every rescue title beyond the initial shows we received from Geneon and the Shojitz/ARM deal we have to go through the same acquisition process as we would for any other new show. The speed of these are on a case by case basis so there isn’t really an average time we have noticed so far.
For any product that has already been dubbed and released we usually get all the materials available and this helps speed things up greatly. It can make a show move from a 9 month release window to a 4-6 month time line.
@Mario1-7
I just had to chime in. I suspect that part of the reason why Bandai can get things faster to market is that essentially Bandai Japan = Bandai that we know in the US of A. They’re ultimately owned by the same company, so cooperation is easier between the two, and if Bandai Japan has a brand odds are those rights automatically extend to the Bandai we deal with locally. Whereas a company like FUNimation is much more of an independent anime company and has to contract for those properties instead of knowing they’re more or less coming their way already.
It’s kinda like this, if you had a car that you bought, you’re more inclined to let a family member drive it without giving them a hard time about it, but if it’s an aquaintance or neighbor that wants to drive it, you don’t as easily just toss over the keys.
@ Mario
Spoiler ▼
@ Nekomimimode
What Bandai was doing was fine. “Eliminate the middleman and the world becomes your stage.”
But then Bandai became Bancolding$. And everything they created from Gundam Seed and onwards became garbage.
I guess “driving someone else’s car” would make a lot more sense since you’d buy it from a legitimate used-car dealer.
@Tyrenol@
Spoiler ▼
Mario1-7: To answer a question that got lost in the shuffle, Bandai dubbed Kurokami so fast, because they dubbed off of the storyboards, and incomplete animation, this way by the time all the animation in Japan was done, the dubbing here was too, and the dubbing there was done. This was done with a lot of help from the Japanese and their ties to the Japanese companies probally helped out a lot. This allowed for a simulcast. I must imagine it still cost them a lot of money, and was not too easy to do either. I can’t imagine dubbing off storyboards would be too easy… Plus the fact that it’s on a TV channel no one has, probally won’t do much to stop the fansubs. But it was a great test, and a nice effert to beat them to the punch. If it worked out well for them, maybe they can attempt it again, only get it on a more mainstream station? That might help kill the fansubs for a show.
Adam S: I have a question for you, how will the sequels to the Geneon titles (for example “When They Cry 2″) be handled? Will Geneon license the next series for these shows that they want and you guys will just do distrobution? Or will Funimation directly license the titles, and Geneon will license anything new? I know you may not know the answer to that, but if you have any clues it be nice. Thanks
Spoiler ▼
Moving back on topic…
Does FUNimation being a distributor for Geneon make it any easier or harder to license sequels to former Geneon titles? And also, do you know if FUNimation is looking to license them at all at some point?
I have noticed that after the original distribution deal, FUNimation has been taking upon it a number of other former Geneon titles, such as the just-announced Heat Guy J, so would acquiring sequel titles require a similar process?
From reading the earlier post, I’m grateful for FUNimation for prioritizing the license of great new titles like Soul Eater and such, however I’m sure fans would want to finish the stories of the titles they started, so again, I’d be glad to know if FUNimation is at least considering the titles.
Spoiler ▼
For any sequels or continuing seasons for the shows we acquired from Geneon we would work directly with the Japanese licensor. We won’t need an companies in the middle to help facilitate this process moving forward.
I do not know if Geneon has any plans to license anything in the future. One can always hope.
Distributing shows that we originally acquired from Geneon is similar to the distribution deals we have with 4Kids and Nelvanna. It’s not as much easier or harder and more a different way to proceed. Working through another company means adding in a few more procedures to think about when putting out a DVD.
FUNimation has no plans to acquire Geneon. Most, if not all, of the remaining shows that they had that we didn’t pick up in the first batch have gone back to the original Japanese licensors so any negotiations for these titles and their sequels will be a direct discussion.
@Rojas
We need a category called “The Top Spot” and have this post in it. That way you won’t need to keep on bumping it up.
i’ve always had something in mind dear funimation, after reading all that long post, i want to make clear first show i like, show i buy “if it’s available that is.” anyhow, throughout the time, i’ve come to hate one specific fact, of the dvd relases.
wich is:
*** the quality control over the on time screen subtitles, and concatenation.
what i mean by this?
what i mean is, say: a scene where u have 2 characters asking/answering
at this point in time in the 95% of every dvd’s i’ve ever bought is the same deal. the subtitle shows up as follow:
- Hiroki what are you doing?
- i am getting ready to go home.
just as it is, doesn’t seem like a big deal huh… and now is where people say: this dude, is out of his mind etc etc.
but hey: the dvd releases are all like that through out the whole episode, although the vast majority of DVD’s disregard the translation of the signs, there are some every now and then for example, letters, love letters, important signs, etc.
when you add those 2 simple lines, to say the translation of a love letter, you end up having a load of text on screen, i’m not joking, you see not least than 6 or 7 lines on screen, and the pixel type is what 720*480, that means u almost have half screen full of text.
i saw it in every dvd’s i’ve ever bought, since i mainly get romance type shows, i got to see those kind of things very often.
the worst case i’ve ever seen was in “happy lesson” **shrugs**
now the deal is this dear funimation although i support all of your work, i’d like to ask this:
is there a professional reason, that keeps R1 anime companies, from translating the signs and blend em into the video? to avoid those glitches?
and ost of the times, i know they decide on not tling the signs at all now a days but to me that is kind of a drop down in the quality rls, the reason being that the vast majority wants to know, what some of the real life size untranslated signs means, they are so big that can hardly be ignored, yet there is no translation of it in the dvd, is kind of buggy.
i may have posted this in the wrong place, but i would like to have an answer to that if possible.