Edit: I should clarify that the Bandai I refer to in this post is Bandai Visual USA Inc., whose American division basically produces subtitled-only R1 DVDs. There’s also Bandai Entertainment Inc., owned by the same group, but they usually do a full English dub as well, and occasionally license shows from studios other than Bandai Visual Co., Ltd. Talk about confusing.
Bandai were one of the few US anime licensees that I actually respected. Their DVDs have always been pretty good quality, so I wasn’t too dissapointed when I heard that Shigofumi had been licenced by Bandai. Then I read into it a little more. The first R1 disc comes out in May, subtitled only. I was thinking to myself, finally a US licensee has gotten the point.
Then I saw the price. 45 Australian dollars per disc with two episodes per disc, with the seventh disc at 33 Australian dollars for one episode. At this point something else went through my head. Something more along the lines of:
FUCK BANDAI.
I don’t know who they expect will pay three fucking hundred Australian dollars for a twelve episode series. I love the series, sure, but I couldn’t justify that bullshit. And that’s only me. I know the reception for the show elsewhere has only been lukewarm.
And these fucking companies wonder why people continue to download the fansubs. Take a goddamn hint already, most of us aren’t made of money.
That sort of price is almost unbelieveable, and I thought $100+ for a 26 episode series was getting towards the expensive side.
Isn’t that what the Japanese are already paying for their animu dvds? They must be cramming those dvd’s to the brim with special features and trinkets. Either that, or they are under pressure from it’s Japanese parent because they’re not reaming their Western fanbase enough.
Funny you mention that. Apparently the Japanese DVDs for the series are 5,000 yen each, or AUD $51.72 at the current rate.
And Bandai *Visual* USA is a different company to Bandai Entertainment from what I’ve read. Bandai Visual is a subsidiary of the Japanese Bandai Visual, while Bandai Entertainment is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings USA. That explains a few things:
1. Why it’s coming out so quickly, and subtitled-only, and
2. Why it’s so GODDAMN EXPENSIVE. It’s no secret that the Japanese studios are in the market of completely bleeding the American licensees dry. Here’s a quote from (I believe) John Ledford of ADV:
So that’s probably what Bandai Visual believe they have to sell it at based on past sales to make up the twenty to forty percent.
I don’t think they’re counting on the backlash this sort of pricing will cause though.