Updates - November 9th, 2008

Schedule Updates, Delays & Cancelations

Well, November is here and the holiday shopping season has officially begun. We'll be getting about twice the number of new product shipments in between now and the middle of December, and (hopefully) about twice the number of orders. We're busy putting the last minute touches on things here in preparation for the usual onslaught, though I have decided that we won't be putting up the Christmas graphics until around the middle of November. I know, I know - everyone else puts them up around the middle of July nowadays, but we're taking a stand! -_^

As the holiday panic sets in around studio HQ conference tables, I've got several date changes for you this week. First, Funimation has let us know that the upcoming Glass Fleet DVD Boxed Set has been bumped back from Dec 30th to Jan 13th. The first Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha DVD Boxed Set has been moved from Nov 11th back to Dec 9th, putting it right in that holiday release sweet spot. The highly anticipated Samurai 7 BluRay Box will not be available for Christmas and has been moved from Dec 9 back to Jan 20th. Finally, the first half Kodocha Thin-Pak #1, which is being re-released to match the 2nd half box we got a few month ago, has been moved up from Dec 30 to Dec 16, though it's a moot point now as it actually arrived in stock this week. No, the irony does not escape me. :-)

ADV to Distribute Princess Resurrection

This week ADV announced they would be distributing Princess Resurrection for Sentai starting next spring. The deal is similar to the ones they recently signed for Clannad and Indian Summer, with Sentai hiring Amusement Park Media to do the R1 production and ADV to handle the marketing and distribution. The plan is for the series to be released as 6 individual DVD's starting in March of 2009. Of course, the single DVD release is a big mistake, but I don't really have to harp anymore on that point here. Anyone who buys any single DVD release from ADV before all the DVD's are out is taking a big risk, but I think everyone knows that already. In fact, Steven Den Beste recently said the same thing on his blog.

ADV Films, for all intents and purposes, is no longer an R1 Anime studio and has re-invented itself into a quote unquote 'distributor', which means they are a middleman being hired by other studios (who actually do the production) to market and distribute Anime and Live action films. Their recent deals with Sentai and Switchblade are good examples of this. Of course, they still have a big back catalog of original ADV titles that I imagine they will continue to recycle through the release schedule until the licenses for them ultimately expire. When ADV came apart earlier this year it was reduced to basically two revenue streams - DVD sales of recycled catalog titles and revenue sharing from cable providers who carry their Anime Network channel. Lacking the ability to continue licensing and producing Anime releases on their own, ADV had to (at the very least) do some sort of deal to continue to pickup new content for the Anime Network, lest they loose the Anime Network revenue stream as well. The good part is that this(hopefully) also translates into a few new DVD's releases for us next year - assuming they can stay in business long enough to get them all out. :-)

Just for Fun - The Ultimate Itasha!

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, here is the ultimate Itasha (Otaku Car) for fans wanting both high performance and high visibility! This particular Itasha is tied up in some music marketing and looks awesome:

But does it beat the Macross Ero-Itasha unveiled at the Macross Galaxy Tour Final a couple of weeks ago? You decide!

And yes that is a picture on the right side door of a naked Ranka Lee over the Heart with the text 'Hard On'. Hey, what can I say. If you want to see more of the Macross Ero-Itasha, there is a short YouTube video of it's unveiling here.

Adult Swim Jumps Back On Anime Gravy Train

I few weeks ago I reported here about Cartoon Networks drastic cutbacks on Anime programming, with them either eliminating or rescheduling several blocks of Anime shows. Well, apparently things have not gone as well as they would have liked, and they have decided to bring back a nice chunk of Anime programming to keep the viewers coming back. Starting on November 8th Adult Swim is revising its schedule with a 5-hour Anime programming block that begins at 1am. Also, and even better, Adult Swim's Saturday night schedule will not involve repeating shows from earlier the same night.

The Saturday night Adult Swim schedule begins with two hours of its original English language programming, which will be followed by TEN anime series including Moribito and Code Geass, both of which had been banished to the "Milkman" hour of 5am - and Shin Chan, which had been dropped entirely last summer.

The anime portion of the new Adult Swim schedule begins with Bleach at 1am followed by Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (1:30am), Code Geass (2am), and Shin Chan (2:30am). Then come some classics like Fooly Cooly (FLCL, 3am), Death Note (3:30am), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (4am), Cowboy Bebop (4:30am), Big
O (5am), and finally Inuyasha (5:30am). The new schedule represents an Anime programming increase from 6 hours to 8.5 hours per week. Of course there is no telling how long they will stick with this, but we'll take it none the less!

Bookstores Can't Keep it Up: It's the Economy Stupid... Right?!

Two big bookstore chains, Barnes & Noble and Borders, said this week that they are bracing for very weak holiday sales. Reportedly, both chains have reduced their November and December Manga inventory buy in's by 30% to 60%. I know that looks bad, but both chains have not been doing well at all this year and have been experiencing year over year sales declines for the first time. My guess is that both chains are tight on money, and with their suppliers reigning in credit lines, they probably have no choice but to cut back on inventory. I hear through the grapevine that a couple big online Anime retailers are having to do the same thing this year. You won't have to worry about anything like that happening here, we're doing fine and we'll be increasing our inventory levels as usual for the holidays, plus bringing in lots of new stuff! Just a little shameless plug so you'll know where to go to find what you need this holiday season and get it delivered on time. :-)

Funimation's January 2009 Release Schedule Has Been Posted

Funimation announced their January release schedule this week, and it's a grand plan! We've added all of the items to the store for pre-order, and here's what it looks like:

009-1 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Baccano!, Vol #1 DVD Baccano!, Vol #1 DVD w/ Collectors Art Box
Case Closed Season #4 DVD Box Set (Uncut & Unedited)
Darker Than Black, Vol #2 DVD
Fullmetal Alchemist Season #1 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-28)
Glass Fleet Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Hell Girl Complete Collection Deluxe DVD Boxed Set
Kodocha (Kodomo No Omocha) DVD Collectors Boxed Set #1 (Re-Release)
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A DVD Boxed Set
Moon Phase (Tsukuyomi) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Viridian Collection)
One Piece, Adventures in Alabasta Movie DVD (BLURAY) (UNCUT)
One Piece Season 1 Part 3 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #27-40) (Uncut)
Ouran High School Host Club Season #1 Part #2 DVD Boxed Set
Samurai 7 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (BLURAY)
Shonen Onmyoji , Vol #5 DVD
Story of Saiunkoku Collection Part #3 DVD
Utawarerumono Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps # 1-26)
Yu Yu Hakusho Season 4 DVD Boxed Set
Wallflower Complete Collection Season #1 Part #1 (Eps #1-13)

Navarre (Funi's parent) reported earnings a few days ago, and the growth story was all about Funimation with their other divisions (BCI and Encore) coming in flat. It's no wonder why, with a single month's releases coming in like the list above. With Funi now controlling at least 50% of the R1 Anime market, we can expect more of the same to keep coming in 2009!

Coupon Corner - Save 5% On Any Order Until Nov 13th!

We're kicking off the holiday shopping season early with some great savings across the entire store! No limits, and no restrictions! From now until Thursday, November 13th you can save up to an additional 5% off our already low prices on every product on the store. Coupon can be applied to any items on the store, including pre-order and sale items. The more you order, the more you can save! US customers can also combine this offer with our super saver shipping option to save even more!

To save 5% off ANY ORDER, just use the following coupon code during checkout:

HOLIDAY08TAKE5

Coupon code is valid ONLY for NEW orders and is only good through Thursday, November 13th so don't wait!

Just In and Hot off The Truck!

Good grief, like we didn't already have enough new stuff in this week, Ron just peaked in and told me that a bunch more new stuff just hit the dock and are being unloaded now! Here's what it looks like we've got so far:

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit DVD Bundle #1
Ghost Hunt Season 1 Part 2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #14-26)
Coyote Ragtime Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
My Santa Special DVD

We'll update these on the site later today, and we'll be able to include these in new orders shipping out today. If this keeps up we'll have the entire November release schedule in stock by next Tuesday! -_^

New Arrivals in Stock this Week - Too Much to List!

Holy smokes people, l think we got like a months worth of new stuff in this week including maybe 25 new DVD releases, 50+ new manga and import items, and over 20 new PVC figures - all in stock and ready to ship! We also got in our first batch of new 2009 calendars direct from Japan! There's way too much for me to try to highlight here, just be sure to check below for the complete story on all the new stuff, and don't forget to check our updates page over the weekend for the very latest as we're not quite done yet! :-)

Have a great week, and as always, enjoy your anime!