Friday, May 28, 2010

Memorial Day Holiday

We will be closed on Monday, May 31st for the Memorial Day Holiday. All orders and inquiries send after 2pm on Friday May 28th will be processed when we return on June 1st.

All of us here at the Anime Corner Store honor the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. God bless you all.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Navarre Can No Longer Afford Funimation's Great Results...

If CMX's announced exit from the Manga market last week was equivalent to a hand grenade, this is a tactical nuke from orbit. From the Economatrix earlier today:

"Navarre Corporation has announced on Thursday that it has hired the investment bank Houlihan Lokey "to assist it in structuring and negotiating a potential transaction for the sale" of its Funimation anime arm. The plans may not result in an actual sale.

Navarre emphasized that "Funimation's recent results have generally met expectations," but CEO Cary L. Deacon said that Navarre will be focusing its strategy on its distribution and software publishing businesses. According to Navarre, Funimation plans to grow its business through "co-productions of original anime content, social networks and digital broadcasting," and those plans are best executed with another owner that has assets or expertise in those areas.

If the sale goes through, Navarre plans to present Funimation as a "discontinued operation" — a financial term for a segment of a company that has been separated from the rest of the company, or has been approved for separation — starting in the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year. The first quarter runs until the end of June. Navarre will discuss its strategy in more detail during its June 4 year-end conference call for the 2010 fiscal year."


[Robert Bangs Head on Table]

On the upside, this could be interpreted as a 'Navarre Problem'. Funi is probably one of the few detachable divisions that Navarre could sell off to raise cash, so on the surface this move does not have to be about any sort of fundamental appraisal of the future of the R1 business.

But of course, it is.

I wish they had not said the thing about 'considering the directions Funi is going, it would be better off in someone else's hands'. That thought seems like pure spin. If digital content is the future, that should be exactly where they would want to be. So what if it doesn't jive with their other business units? Top management's job at any company is to look into the crystal ball and decide what they think the best allocation of available capital will be in the current business environment to maximize future returns.

So I think this is all about Navarre management's view of the future prospects of the R1 Anime industry (in any capacity - media, digital, etc.) against the deployment potential of that capital elsewhere - for them. And they will surely be selling Funi at a fraction of the $125 Milllion in cash and stock they paid Genji for it back in 2005.

Currently in the R1 industry, Funimation is the 800lb gorilla in the room. They own maybe 55-60% of the total R1 Anime market, with all the other players together carving up the scrapes. Plus, this move will put fully half the current available Anime catalog 'in play'.

Can they even complete a transaction in this market?
What will they do if they fail to sell it?
Will Genji stay once it's sold?
Will the business focus of a new owner be different?


I've got a headache this evening the size of Kansas.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Clarke and Dawe ask the Million Dollar Questions...

Leave it to our friends in Australia to sum up the entire current global financial crisis in less than 3 minutes:

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Section 23's August 2010 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Section 23 has sent out their August 2010 release schedule and we've got it posted to the store site. Here's what's coming:

La Corda d'Oro ~ Primo Passo DVD Collection #2 (Eps #14-26)
Princess Resurrection Complete Collection DVD Box (Eps #1-26)
Shigofumi Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13)
Tytania Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13)

Strangely, Section 23 also listed a new Sola Complete Collection (all 15 episodes, sub only) for August 3rd. Now as you well know, Bandai released all 15 episodes of Sola (sub only) last September and that set is still in print an available now. We just figured that Bandai had probably lost the license and Section 23 picked it up, but in a very confusing news release yesterday Bandai said:

"The American anime distributor Bandai Entertainment has confirmed that the company still holds a license for the sola romance television series. Section23 Films announced on Friday that Sentai Filmworks has licensed the 15-episode sola series, and Section23 will release a boxset of the series in August. Bandai Entertainment's Robert Napton noted that his company is "not involved with anything [Section23 Films] are doing," and is "currently releasing sola and will continue to do so."

It's impossible for two R1 companies to hold the master license for any title at the same time, so someone is clearly a little confused here. However, given that we have plenty of the old Sola box that Bandai released, and that they are still sending us restocks, and that the Section 23 release is only subtitled like the old version and actually carries an MSRP $5 higher than the current Bandai release, we've decide NOT to solicit Section 23's new Sola box for pre-orders until there is some clarification about who actually owns the title. As soon as everyone gets their shit together and tells us who has what, we'll update that item. :-) Stay tuned.

Shigofumi
Are some secrets best kept with the dead? For most Shigofumi Mail Carriers, charged with delivering messages from the recently departed to those left behind, the question is purely rhetorical, as most Carriers are dead themselves and past the point of caring about the still breathing. The solemn girl known as Fumika, however, is all too aware of the mortal perspective, for she is still aging: an indicator that she is somehow, mysteriously, still alive. Yet neither Fumika's own personal tragedy nor the knowledge that her mail may be a mixed blessing at best will stay her grim determination to make her morbid rounds. Though the postal scales of fate may be eternally shifted, Fumika will make sure each posthumous posting from the ultimate dead letter office reaches its intended target, even when there's deadly postage due!

Tytania
Through fear and conquest, the Empire of Valdana holds the future of most of human space within its the iron hands... and for generations, those hands have belonged to the Landless Lords of the ruling Tytania dynasty. But now that the foundation of the empire is crumbling, pockets of rebellion are forming. When a mission sent to punish the city-state of Euriya is shockingly defeated, the man responsible becomes the target of a galaxy-wide manhunt! For Fan Hyurlick, architect of Tytania's first defeat, glory becomes desperation as his own side betrays him. Now Fan must not only save his own life, but somehow turn the tables on opponents who have whole worlds to command!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Funimation Reduces the Price of 3 More Boxed Sets!

Funimation has reduced the MSRP on three more boxed sets today. These items now have new lower prices:

Blue Gender Complete DVD Boxed Set (Viridian Collection) - $49.98 to $39.98
Slayers TV Complete DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-78) - $69.98 to $59.98
Solty Rei Complete DVD Boxed Set (Viridian Collection) - $49.98 to $29.98

The sets are in stock and shipping now at the new price. :-)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

RACS 2010 SPRING SALES EVENT - SAVE UP TO 10%!! (EXTENDED!)

It's that time of year, and we've decided to extend our Annual Spring sales event a little longer! You now have until midnight (EST) on Tuesday, June 1st to save up to an additional 10% off any combination of items listed on the store - including in stock and pre-order items!

To save 5% off any order (no minimum) just use the following coupon during checkout:

SPRINGSALE2010-SAVE5

To save 10% off any order totaling over $200 just use the following coupon during checkout:

SPRINGSALE2010-SAVE10

Be sure to take advantage of this great opportunity to load up on some of the Anime stuff you've been wanting! US customers can combine this offer with our super saver shipping option to save even more scratch on your favorite in stock Anime series, Manga, Figure, or Character Items!

Note: Valid for new orders only. Coupon codes expire at midnight EST on June 1st so get your orders in today!

Bandai Gets Haruhi-chan and Nyorōn Churuya-san ONA's

Bandai has announced that it has licensed both the Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyorōn Churuya-san net anime series. They will both will ship together on two DVDs later this summer. Bang Zoom! Entertainment will be doing the dubbing, which I;m sure will make Eric Sherman very happy!

Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya (ONA)
A comical spin-off of the ever popular "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" television series originally aired back in 2006 involving all the major characters in more child-like forms of their animated selves going through various spoofs of previous plot line; like Nagato and the dreaded laptop with a twist of having hentai on it. face offs with the rack of costumes that were stuffed in the corner of the club room. and dodge ball tournaments on crack.



Nyorōn Churuya-san (ONA)
A series of shorts about Tsuruya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, based on the iconic format of the Nyorōn Churuya-san manga. Episodes mainly concern her search for smoked cheese.



Note: ONA is the term for 'Original Net Animation', similar to OVA in Anime circles. ONA's are minor spin off productions, usually short, often parody, and generally created and released directly to streaming video sites on the Internet.

Signs Of The Apocalype - CMX Manga Shutting Down in July

From ICv2:

"DC is closing down its CMX manga unit, effective July 1st. The company will cease publishing all CMX titles other than Megatokyo (its OEL title) which will continue under the DC Comics imprint.

We asked DC whether U.S. publishing rights would revert to the Japanese publishers or if DC was planning to try to sell or sub-license the rights, and received a 'No comment' from a DC spokesperson.

In a statement on the shutdown, DC Co-publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee said, 'Over the course of the last six years, CMX has brought a diverse list of titles to America and we value the books and creators that we helped introduce to a new audience. Given the challenges that manga is facing in the American marketplace, we have decided that CMX will cease publishing new titles as of July 1, 2010.'"


The news story speaks for itself, but this one has really caught us by surprise as CMX is one of the few imprints we considered 'large' and 'safe'. It's not just the little guys that are getting hit hard by the economy now, and this news comes on wake of last weeks announcement that Viz was reducing their staff by 40%, and that both the Video Game and Domestic Comic sales crashed in April. Sadly, there are other layoffs and down sizing's going on in the industry that you aren't hearing about.

The folks at CMX said that they will ship the following June volumes:

Musashi #9 Vol 17
Orfina Vol 8
Polyphonica: Cardinal Crimson Vol 1
Stolen Hearts Vol 2
Teru Teru X Shonen Vol 7
Two Flowers for the Dragon Vol 6
Venus Capriccio Vol 4

These will be the final volumes published by CMX, and I think we can assume that their entire back catalog will effectively fall out of print as of July. We'll be updating those items to 'stock on hand' on the store site as warranted, but we will continue to restock them from distributors and other sources until replacement stock is no longer available.

So again, where is that economic recovery I keep hearing about in the news?

Get An Exclusive Gourry Coin When You Order Evolution-R from RACS! (BUMP)

RACS Exclusive!

While supplies last, every Slayers Evolution R set will include an exclusive Gourry Gabriev coin!

"May he protect us all from her!"

This coin goes along with the original Lina coin Funimation was giving away with the Revolution sets at many Anime conventions.

So get your orders in today! :-) And thanks very much to our brand manager at Funimation for hooking us up with this great promotion!


Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Funimation August 2010 Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Funimation has sent out their August 2010 release schedule and we've got it posted to the store site. Here's what's coming:

Big Windup! Oofuri Season 1 Complete DVD Boxed Set (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Black Blood Brothers Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Viridian Collection)
Black Blood Brothers Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (BLURAY)
Casshern Sins Part #1 DVD Collection (Eps #1-12)
Casshern Sins Part #2 DVD Collection (Eps #13-24)
Casshern Sins Part #1 DVD Collection (Eps #1-12) (BLURAY)
Casshern Sins Part #2 DVD Collection (Eps #13-24) (BLURAY)
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Part 2 DVD Boxed Set
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Part 2 DVD Boxed Set (BLURAY)
Full Metal Panic Season 1 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Remastered)
Full Metal Panic Season 1 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (BLURAY) (Remastered)
Kodocha (Kodomo No Omocha) DVD Collectors Boxed Set #1 (Eps #1-24) (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Kodocha (Kodomo No Omocha) DVD Collectors Boxed Set #2 (Eps #25-51) (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Master of Martial Hearts (Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~ ) Complete DVD Boxed Set
Nerima Daikon Brothers Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (S.A.V.E. Edition)
One Piece Season 3 Part 2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #154-165) (Uncut)
Project Blue Earth SOS Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Red Garden Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-24) (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Sasami: Magical Girl Club Season #1 DVD Boxed Set (Esp #1-13) (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Sasami: Magical Girl Club Season #2 DVD Boxed Set (Esp #14-26) (S.A.V.E. Edition)

Shattered Angels Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12) (S.A.V.E. Edition)
Wallflower Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-25) (S.A.V.E. Edition)

Casshern Sins
A revamp of the classic anime series, the world is plagued by a decay
of all life both natural and robotic. The light of the world, it's sun called the moon, Luna, was kill by the cyborg Casshern; bringing with him the end of the world called the Ruin. Now Casshern wanders in the wasting lands he created in an immortal body and no memories of his past; searching for clues to who he was, meaning to his life, and redemption. Casshern continues to fight against bandits and those who do wrong, as well as himself and those who desperately cling to life; driven by the legend that one can gain new life by consuming Casshern. After the murder of Luna, the robot society that rules the planet starts to rust and decay. Death and despair spread through the land like wildfire. The only one unaffected by what becomes known as "The Ruin" is Luna's assassin, Casshern. Unable to remember if he really triggered this capital sin against the entire mechanized civilization, Casshern embarks on a journey to unravel the mystery that connects him, Luna, and the plague.

Master of Martial Hearts (Zettai Shougeki ~Platonic Heart~ )
Walking home from school Aya Iseshima stumbles upon a brutal brawl between two girls fighting over something called the "Platonic Heart". Being a martial arts master herself Aya interferes in the fight to break it up. Afterwards Aya befriends one of the fighters and finds out the Platonic Heart is a jewel that can grant one wish for any girl that posseses it and there is a battle royal tournament going on for its control. Unfortunately for Aya it seems her interference has now registered her as a participant in the fight and it looks like there's no way out but to win.

Monday, May 17, 2010

New Funimation License Announcements!

I know this will make a lot of people happy! Funimation announced a whole basket of new licenses over the weekend during Anime Central. They include:

Rosario + Vampire
Rosario + Vampire Capu2
Chaos;HEAd
Chrome Shelled Regios
Rideback
Sora no Otoshimono (Heaven's Lost Property)
Gun x Sword


All of the new titles are scheduled as 2011 releases except for Gun X Sword and Regios which will release late this year (4th Quarter).

Rosario + Vampire
13 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural
Due to poor grades, Tsukune Aono, an average high school student, has been unable to get accepted into any private academy of his choice. By exceptional accident, the only school to accept him turns out to be anything but ordinary; the school is attended by youkai disguised as humans. Fearing for his life, he attempts to escape only to meet Moka Akashiya, a beautiful girl who just happens to be a vampire. Despite this, Tsukune decides to stay at the academy, hiding his human nature from students and teachers. Tsukune also discovers that when the rosary around Moka's neck is removed, her true nature emerges.



Rosario + Vampire Capu2
13 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural
A new semester has arrived for Tsukune and the gang featuring a handfull of girl obsessed female first years and it seems like among these first years emerges another vampire who holds a grudge against her sister Moka. What shall this grudge lead to in the future and shall Tsukune suceed in taming this new problem child into his friend, no one knows what the future holds.

The new season is set to continue to follow the manga, introduce new characters from the manga and characters created strictly for the anime.



Chaos;HEAd
12 Episodes
Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural
Takumi is a high school student. He is withdrawn and is not interested in 3D things. In his town, a mysterious serial murder case happens and people get panicked. One day, when he chats on the internet, a man suddenly contacts him and gives him an URL. He goes to the website and finds a blog image that suggests a next murder case.... On the next day, it really happens.... Takumi Nishijō suffers from intense delusions as a result of his apparent schizophrenia and the extremely secluded lifestyle he lives as a hikkikomori. One day he accidentally stumbles upon a gruesome murder scene, a part of a chain of events called "New Generation." After this, his life gets caught up in these events, and he meets a bunch of increasingly insane anime girls with swords.



Chrome Shelled Regios
24 episodes
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction
In the distant future, a polluted world has been overtaken by havoc-wreaking creatures called filth monsters. Humanity, having been forced to relocate itself, must live in isolated mobile cities called Regios. A mysteriously skilled fighter named Layfon Alseif enrolls in the Academy city of Zuellni and is immediately noticed by Nina Antalk, leader of the 17th Military Arts Unit. He then reluctantly joins her squad, uncertain of what future awaits him and his new teammates within the city as well as the impending dangers in the midst of a plagued world.



Rideback
12 Episodes
Genre: Science Fiction
In a future world where an organization called the GGP has taken control of the world, Rin Ogata was a promising up-and-comming ballet dancer, but suffered a serious injury and decided to quit. Years later in college she comes across a club building and soon finds herself intrigued by a transforming motorcycle like vehicle called a Rideback. She soon finds that her unique ballet skills with balance and finesse make her a born natural on a Rideback.



Sora no Otoshimono (Heaven's Lost Property)
13 Episodes
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Tomoki Sakurai often encounters a strange girl in his dreams asking for his help, but he can't remember her face when he wakes up. When an Unidentified Mysterious Animal (U.M.A.) falls out of the sky, his life of pacifism suddenly becomes complicated. The animal turns out to be an angel, Ikaros.



Gun x Sword (previously released on DVD by Geneon)
26 Episodes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
Armed with a metal sash that straightens into a sword, lanky swordsman Van is traveling through the desert, searching for the mysterious clawed man who killed his bride. Along the way he picks up a fellow traveler: Wendy, a young girl whose town he saves from bandits by summoning a mecha with his sword. Wendy is searching for her missing older brother, whose engraved gun she carries on her back. In their mutual quest they run afoul of more bandits and villains, a mysterious woman named Carmen99, and more mecha battles a la Wild West.

Ahhhh, Monday Mornings...

Jeremy writes this morning:

"A style of animation developed in Japan, characterized by stylized colorful art and often adult themes. Huntik is not an anime, a crappy American show, this is a seriously disgusting trash you guys even carry it. I ask you guys do something about this, remove it from stock, or give some relief from this outrageous incident."

Yes, outrageous indeed! We simply could not have gone another day without knowing his thoughts on the subject... -_^

UPDATE: It actually gets better. I wrote back to Jeremey and said:

"Hi! We do carry several shows that aren't technically Anime per our customers request. Huntik is one of those that a few customers requested that we carry."

Jeremy then wrote back:

"Thank you for responding, however this does not fulfill my request that something be done about this, can you allow me to speak to your supervisor? Thank you for your understanding."

He wants to speaks to my supervisor. Poor Jeremy clearly has a screw or two loose.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Darker Than Black Complete Collection - Fixed Sets Now In Stock!

We finally received the new fixed Darker Than Black DVD Collection from Funimation, and they are now shipping.

We have also sent out replacement disks (today) to everyone who previously received a set with the defective disk #3 and requested it be exchanged. Those should start arriving in your mailboxes by the end of the week! :-)

The Hits Just Keep on Coming...

Lots of interesting news from the Anime Economatrix today:

"The Publishers Weekly trade magazine reports that the North American manga and anime publisher Viz Media has laid off up to 55 people at its San Francisco headquarters and closed its New York branch, which had five employees. According to the magazine, the layoffs represents about 40% of the publisher's workforce. Viz confirmed the layoffs with Publishers Weekly on Tuesday, but not the number of layoffs."

Wow, 40% of their staff. This will be the second big downsizing for Viz in the last 18 months, but the last time they only let go a dozen or so people. We all know what going on in general with manga, but on the Video side they have only themselves to blame. The switch in marketing and distribution last spring from S&S to Warner effectively killed their video line in the direct market (that's the domain of guys like us and Nation and Brand X), and the sacrifice was in vain because the mass market sales they were hoping for have not materialized. The effects of that move are probably transparent to most of you folks, but it causes us pain every day because Warner makes it SOOOO hard to sell Viz Video, and we service the market they need to build from. That's life I suppose, but I do feel very bad for the folks that had to loose their jobs because of it.

Also being reported today, and not a surprise at all to us, is that manga publisher Go Comi! has finally been put to bed:

The North American manga publishing company Go! Comi has let its website domain expire as of May 8. Former Go! Comi Creative Director Audry Taylor has also told ANN that she is no longer working at the company. According to retailers, the last volume of manga published by Go! Comi had shipped in October of 2009. The website had shut down its user forums in April. Go! Comi's Twitter account has also been deleted. A Google cache of the website from April 8 indicates that its last Twitter update was on February 1. Go! Comi had posted an update on its web forum regarding the status of the company and its publications in January. In the post, the site administrator apologized for the company's delays and explained that the company was being hit hard "due to a combination of economic downturn and digital theft." The post also said Go! Comi may need to scale back on its website and online community or may need to shut it down altogether "until the economy picks up again."

But the economy never did pick up again, and now they are gone. Like I always say - "old Anime companies never die, they just fade away". Sometimes that's true.

It looks like 4Kid's, while still hanging on, needs an angel investor [really] fast:

"4Kids lost $3.5 million in its first quarter, representing deterioration from the $2 million loss in its Q1 a year ago. Sales were $4.2 million, down from $9.3 million a year ago. Revenues were challenged in a number of areas. The company reported “substantially no revenue” from the Chaotic TCG in Q1, and acknowledged that “over-all lack of demand for the Chaotic property” required 4Kids to grant $300,000 in allowances and promotional markdowns on Chaotic during Q1. Other drop-offs included reductions in licensing on Monster Jam and AKC Properties; the elimination of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles revenues as a result of the sale of the property; reduced international sales of Dinosaur King and Yu-Gi-Oh! TV shows; and reductions in advertising on its TV show and Websites, including make goods from Q4... ...4Kids is in danger of having its stock delisted by the New York Stock Exchange because its market cap is too low. Kahn did not offer any hope in the company’s conference call that he would be able to get the company’s stock price up in time to avoid the delisting. If the company’s stock is delisted from the NYSE, it would trade on pink sheets. "

When you start looking at quarterly losses comparable to gross revenue, you know it's all over. 4Kids is a classic example of a company where management got a few hits early on and then had no clue where to invest those new found riches, so they spent years throwing darts at a board until they ran out of money. Chaotic is a great example. Holy crap Batman, what were they thinking?! Hopefully Al Kahn has a good parachute clause in his contract.

And finally - OMG! - Stu Levy has dreamed up yet another HAIR BRAINED SCHEME to try to promote his Manga brand. You just can't make stuff like this up:

"The North American manga publisher Tokyopop will be touring the U.S. this summer to promote the company and film a reality show called "America's Greatest Otaku," in which Tokyopop CEO Stu Levy, Associate Producer Daisuke Kinouchi, and six interns will "search America for the #1 otaku." The tour will visit conventions, bookstores and libraries across America and interview fans competing for the title. Tokyopop had been searching for someone to be the tour's manager. Tokyopop has also launched a dedicated website for the tour."

Geeeze Stu, everyone already knows that I'm America's '#1 Otaku'. For crying out loud, I'd really have to be wouldn't I? -_^ Just send your film crew here and save the plane fair everywhere else. Based on how hard it is to get back stock on your books, you guys clearly need the money anyway...

Monday, May 10, 2010

Funimation Reduces the Price of MOEYO KEN by 30%

Funimation has reduced the price on the Moeyo Ken TV Series box by 30% from $29.98 MSRP down to $19.98 MSRP, which brings it down to just $15 bucks in our catalog.

The sets are in stock and shipping now at the new price. :-)

Thursday, May 06, 2010

FBI Shuts Down Comic Scan Site

From ICv2:

"The FBI has shut down comic scan site htmlcomics.com and seized its servers in a raid supported by a consortium of comic publishers, according to an announcement by Katten Muchen Rosenman, the law firm representing the publishers consortium. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Bongo, Archie, Conan Properties, Mirage, and United Media were involved. Htmlcomics.com was the largest site offering scanned American comics, according to the announcement, with an average of 1.6 million visits a day and over 6.6 million pages of comics from 5,700 series. The site was “…producing rampant copyright infringement on a daily basis and depriving artists and publishers of hard-earned and much-needed revenue", according to the publishers’ attorneys. The FBI investigation was conducted by its Tampa Field Office, which led to the search warrant served in the raid."

Can you believe that a bootleg site was getting that kind of traffic? 1.6 Million hits a day is crazy traffic, probably puts it in the top 1% on the web.

Of course these were mostly US comics, and the raid was instigated by a group of US publishers on a US bootleg site. Huge companies like Marvel and DC have the resources to go after these folks. Most bootleg Anime download and scanlation sites are overseas anyway, and thus are not touchable by US law enforcement.

Still, does the kind of traffic that site got tell anyone how huge the bootleg problem really is?

More Bandai and Media Blasters Summer Releases - Now Available for Pre-Order!

Bandai has sent us their July 2010 release schedule, and at the same time Media Blasters has sent us their August stuff. Here's what we've got, now available for pre-order:

Bandai July 2010 Releases:

Freedom Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-7) (Anime Legends)
Ghost Slayers Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-30) (Anime Legends)
Hayate the Combat Butler DVD #6 (Eps #33-38)
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Anime Legends)

We also have a couple obligatory date changes from Bandai. The following previously announced releases have been rescheduled:

Gundam 0079 Movie DVD Boxed Set (All 3 Movies!) - May 18 to June 22
Gundam 00 Season 2, Vol #2 DVD (Eps #8-13) - June 8 to July 6
Gundam 00 Season 2, Vol #2 DVD Special Edition (Eps #8-13)
- June 8 to July 6

From MB we have:

Media Blasters August 2010

Genshiken DX Collection DVD Boxed Set (TV Season 1 + OVA)
Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Wolf, Vol #2, Wolf in No Clothing DVD (Eps #5-8)

The Genshiken 'DX' collection is not new material but just a re-release of the material in the older Season 1 Economy box, this time including the 1 episode Genshiken OVA as a bonus. Also, MB has rescheduled the previously delayed Dragon Destiny complete collection box, but this time not at the originally planned $79.98 MSRP, but now at the shockingly low price of ONLY $34.98 MSRP for the entire season. Wow.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Pull It!

I saw this while reading over some financial blogs this morning and thought it was pretty funny:


But maybe I shouldn't be laughing...

In PA They Are Partying Like it's 1984...

This is what the state government is running on TV in PA:




Those darned Proles with their nice cars and nice houses, gotta make sure they pay the state their annual protection money so they can have permission to keep their stuff another year. Poor Tom probably doesn't even know he owes the state 4 large + interest and penalty. He's still busy trying to figure out the Federal tax code for his small business that is completely unintelligible:


It's still not as bad as trying to figure out PayPal's user agreement though.

Maybe Orwell should have named his book '2010' instead. Good grief people, what balls the state has to run an ad like that. If they are not careful, folks down at the tax office might start worrying about getting a 'John Malcolm'. The people know who THEY are too.

Monday, May 03, 2010

System Maintenance Notice

We will be conducting routine system maintenance on RACS's website back end from 12 Midnight (EST)on Monday May 3, 2010, to 4 AM (EST) on Tuesday May 4, 2010 (approx 4 hours).

Folks will be able to browse and place store orders as normal, however, there may be a short period (maybe an hour or 2) during which we will be be taking down the data server that keeps track of coupons and gift certificates, so these may be unavailable for a short time during the maintenance.

One of the things we will be doing is getting rid of PayPal's API code and permanently severing the link to their payment system. Won't be needing that anymore - ever. :-)