Sunday, December 02, 2012

Holiday Stocking List - Top 50 Anime Releases of 2012 at RACS

If you've been scratching your head wondering what to fill up the stocking of that special Otaku with, or just wondering what would be a good Anime to pickup for yourself next, here is a list of our Top Selling 50 Anime releases so far this year sorted by the number of units that RACS has shipped to customers. Actually, it's the top 47 because three of the titles that popped up on the list are OOP and no longer available.

For reference, the Okami-san and Her Seven Companions DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-12) (Limited Edition) is the number 1 purchased Anime so far this year at RACS, and we have shipped about 3x the number of units of it than of the Majikoi ~ Oh! Samurai Girl Complete Collection DVD at the bottom of the list.

Note that Hellsing Ultimate Vol #5-8 DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set is ranking #11 even though it's only been shipping for around 3 weeks. I would bet $1 that, given another month, it will end up being our #1 selling Anime release this year.

 Okami-san and Her Seven Companions DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-12) (Limited Edition) FN-06965  44.98 
 Heaven's Lost Property Season 2 Complete Collection DVD Box (Limited Edition) FN-05886  44.98 
 Strike Witches TV Series (Season 2) Complete DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set (Limited Edition) FN-01193  44.98 
 Rosario+Vampire Capu2 (Season 2) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #14-26) FN-09682  44.98 
 Freezing Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set (Eps #1-12 + OVA #1-6) FN-09515  48.98 
 Sekirei 2: Pure Engagement Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set (Limited Edition) FN-05841  58.98 
 AnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day Complete DVD/BD Combo Set (Premium Edition) NIS011967  68.98 
 Infinite Stratos Complete Collection DVD (Eps #-1-12 + OVA + Bonus CD) SFIFS100  39.98 
 Bunny Drop Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Premium Edition) NIS012131  58.98 
 Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Anime Legends) 80338  68.98 
 Hellsing Ultimate Vol #5-8 DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set FN-09102  48.98 
 Kimi ni Todoke Premium Edition DVD/BD Combo Collection #1 (Eps #1-12) NIS011462  48.98 
 K-On! (Season 1) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-14) 20030  28.98 
 Kimi ni Todoke Premium Edition DVD/BD Combo Collection #2 (Eps #13-24) NIS011479  48.98 
 Mayo Chiki Complete Collection DVD SF-MC100  34.98 
 Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt Complete Collection DVD Set (Limited Edition) FN-09071  44.98 
 Motto To Love Ru (Season 2) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12) SFMLR100  34.98 
 Infinite Stratos Complete Collection BLURAY (Eps #-1-12 + OVA + Bonus CD) SFBIFS100  44.98 
 Fairy Tail Collection #4 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #37-48) FN-08766  36.98 
 B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time Complete DVD/BD Combo Boxed Set (Limited Edition) FN-08940  48.98 
 Aria the Scarlet Ammo Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-12) (Limited Edition) FN-09120  44.98 
 Kimi ni Todoke Premium Edition DVD/BD Combo Collection #3 (Eps #25-37) NIS011974  48.98 
 Rosario+Vampire Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13) (Limited First Pressing) FN-09681  48.98 
 Fairy Tail Collection #2 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #13-24) FN-08764  36.98 
 Fairy Tail Collection #3 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #25-36) FN-08765  36.98 
 Deadman Wonderland Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-12) FN-07580  44.98 
 Rosario+Vampire Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13) (Standard Edition) FN09681alt  44.98 
 The Book of Bantorra Collection 1 DVD (Eps #1-13) SFBOB100  39.98 
 Dream Eater Merry Complete Collection DVD (Eps #1-13) SFDEM100  39.98 
 K-On!! (Season 2) Collection #1 Boxed Set BLURAY (Eps #1-13) SFBKON201  48.98 
 Majikoi ~ Oh! Samurai Girl Complete Collection BLURAY SFBMSG100  48.98 
 Shangri-La Part 1 DVD Collection (Eps #1-12) (Limited Edition) FN-01521  44.98 
 Legend of the Legendary Heroes Part #2 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #14-25) FN-08951  44.98 
 Tales of Vesperia the Motion Picture DVD/BD Combo Set FN-09081  26.98 
 Occult Academy Complete Collection BLURAY Set (Premium Edition) NIS-011943  88.98 
 Black Butler Season 2 Complete Collection DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #25-42) FN-05935  44.98 
 The Book of Bantorra Collection 2 DVD (Eps #14-26) SF-BOB200  39.98 
 Princess Resurrection Complete Collection DVD Box (Eps #1-26) (Bilingual Edition) SF-PR400  48.98 
 SteinsGate Collection Part #1 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-12) FN-01540  48.98 
 Shangri-La Part 2 DVD Collection (Eps #13-24) FN-01522  39.98 
 Natsume's Book of Friends Seasons 1&2 DVD Collection (Premium Edition) NIS-012513  58.98 
 Legend of the Legendary Heroes Part #1 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-13) (Limited Edition) FN-08950  44.98 
 Fractale Complete Collection DVD/BD Boxed Set (Limited Edition) FN-09031  48.98 
 Shiki Collection Part 1 DVD/BD Combo Set (Eps #1-12) (Limited Edition) FN-08970  48.98 
 K-On!! (Season 2) Collection #2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #14-26) SF-KON202  39.98 
 Majikoi ~ Oh! Samurai Girl Complete Collection DVD SF-MSG100  39.98 
 Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Complete DVD Boxed Set (Anime Legends) 80337  68.98 

3 comments:

Ben said...

How curious- I thought for sure that "Madoka" would've made the top 50. I also find it rather interesting that not a single title from Media Blasters landed in the top 50 (same deal with Aniplex and Bandai, but that doesn't surprise me).

I wonder, though- which three OOP titles would've made the top 50 if they were still around?

Robert said...

I'll make a few observations.

Madoka is an AniPlex title. Nothing they release is going to be a high unit seller due to their high MSRP. I doubt Madoka would rank in the top 200 per unit volume, but might rank quite a bit higher on a list sorted by gross revenue instead.

I'm pretty sure the only thing that MB released this entire year that was new material was Squid Girl, and that title sold poorly. It's way down there. I'm can't publish our actual sales numbers, but for reference if we sold 1,000 Okami-san boxes, we would have sold less than 40 each of either Squid Girl DVD.

Great Guardians would have made the list, but it got kiboshed.

The only thing that Bandai released this year was the K-On box and it's on there, along with a couple other OOP releases that people have pretty much been panic buying since September. If the list went down to 100, a good chunk of the 50-100 section would be older Bandai stuff that is being bought up before they close down.
What about Arrietty? Granted, we sold a lot of it but not enough to make the top 50 list and the reason is simple. Our discount from Buena Vista (Disney) stinks and we have to price their stuff pretty high, so we won't see the kind of sell through on a title like that that a big box store will. Disney doens't give a squirt about indy retailers like us.

There are NO S.A.V.E editions on the list. We do sell a lot of those, but find that by the time a title gets to that price point, there is only a small demand left in the market. Most people that buy S.A.V.E's and other heavily discounted titles are usually the folks that can't afford to buy a lot of Anime, or are picking up a title that they probably would not have bought otherwise except for the price. Once you get into the S.A.V.E edition customer column, you start competing heavily with torrents and streaming services and you are into a consumer category were folks are reluctant to buy Anime at any price.

Obviously I filtered this list of old 'H' titles or that would have been half the list. -_^ Surprised? Shouldn't be.

I knew someone would ask what the other 3 were. You guys just gotta know everything! Actually, I don't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure all three were Funi Limited's that have since been replaced by standards were the LE's versions are sold out.

Running a list like this is slightly jaded due to some titles having been on the street longer than others, but not by much. 85% of the total lifetime sales volume for any given release will usually come in the first 60 days after street. 10 years ago it took much longer, but today these guys have a much shorter sell through / fan interest cycle.

Finally, we don't do targeted sales and discounting, only general coupon offers, so our numbers across the board should be pretty solid as a reflection of the market. People can speculate all day on discussion groups and social media about what's going with what in the industry, or what Anime is better than another one, but we get to see what people actually buy.

here-and-faraway said...

I was happy to see Natsume and Kimi Ni Todoke on the list. I've got nothing against the T&A titles, but slice of life shows without moe girls and well-written shojo pieces are a rarity.