Media Blasters Confirms Several License Expirations

John Sirabella of Media Blasters has made a statement updating us on the state of several of their licenses. As of now, Media Blasters no longer has the rights to:

Bakuman
Rurouni Kenshin
Berserk

He also confirmed that while Media Blasters once had optioned to rights to Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei, Squid Girl Season 2, and Moyashimon, they no longer have any planes to release those titles and they are open to be licensed by other companies. Sirabella also said many other licenses they previously had have expired, but did not mention any others by name. We can pretty much guess what those are by what has gone on 'out of produiction' status with their distributor.

Going forward AnimeWorks, Tokyo Shock, and Kitty are the only Media Blasters labels that will continue operations, and that they are going to specifically focus on new Kitty (Adult Only) releases this year. Aside from that they are going to focus on producing and releasing original productions through Fever Dreams, which they have established a studio for in Belleville, New Jersey. He said that previously a "major back accident in Media Blasters warehouse" (WTF is he talking about there?) slowed down the company (oh yeah, that was what it was...), and did admit that he was planning on letting Media Blasters end as a company (umm, we knew that John) to pursue original productions through Fever Dreams, but has now decided to 'rebuild' Media Blasters (apparently around mostly the Kitty label).

Honestly, no surprises here folks. I'm not sure what sort of 'back accident' he's talking about regarding their warehouse, which has been closed for almost 2 years after they sold the distribution operation end of their business to Allegro and outsourced distribution of all the Kitty stuff to the third party warehouse. Since then everytime their active stuff has gone out of stock it has pretty much stayed on the backlist for months at a time. I just figured they were too broke to continue to replicate everything on a regular basis. Last week when we started getting updates on their inventory through Allegro, I thought that might mean some big change was in the works - or a 'going out of business' announcement was going to be forth coming. Apparently not yet. While he does say that they are going to continue to 'aquire and release new titles' I'm not sure what that will add up to outside of Kitty. So as always, we'll have to wait and see what happens.

You know what we say in the biz - Anime studios never die, they just fade away...

Item Updates Roundup

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Funimation Confirms Retirement of More Geneon Licenses

I know this is probably old news, but here we go anyway. Sophie McNutt, an online community lead for Funimation, confirmed yesterday that Funimation has, or will soon, let their license on the following Geneon titles expire:

Familiar of Zero
Kamichu
Kyo Kara Maoh
Paradise Kiss
The Story of Saiunkoku
The Law of Ueki
When They Cry

All of these have been out of print basically since last fall anyway, but now at least it's official. They are already commanding ridiculously high prices in the secondary market, but I suspect that's because these editions will be the last DVD pressings that we'll ever see of these titles released in R1. I don't suppose anyone has tried to pickup one of those Cardcaptor Sakura DVD bricks lately? Ouch! Sophie also said:

"As far as I know, there are no plans to re-acquire these titles."  Well, no kidding.

My question? What the heck does an 'online community lead' do? Is that an actual job? If so, I'm guessing that is one of those 'gateway gigs' for that fresh outta college, newly framed business degree guy or gal (you know, the one with the minor in advertising) that you hire by pitching them that the position is some sort of fantastic entry level marketing opportunity but just ends up vampiring their professional (and probably personal) life away working your facebook, twitter, blog, and forum accounts?

Yeeesh, I wouldn't want that job...

...oh yeah, I forgot.

Wagnaria!! Premium Ed Final Pressing Now in Progress - Restocks Due May 11th

NIS informed us today that the next pressing of the Wagnaria!! (Working!!) Premium Complete DVD Boxed (Eps #1-13), which has been pretty much sold out everywhere since late March, will be shipping to retailers on May 11th. This will be the final printing of the premium edition, and NIS closed up the re-order period to retailers today and fixed our qnties.

This means that our next shipment will be the last batch of these produced, and they are already selling out quickly. RACS will be getting 156 more sets, of which about half are already spoken for. If you want one of these, and at the current price of $44.98, go ahead and get your order in now to reserve your place in line.

Don't forget, Toradora is already sold out at wholesale, and we are down to about the last 20 or so sets of each. Once they are gone, that will be it. Just FYI.

Media Blasters Discontinues a Few Titles

Media Blasters sent us a big list of discontinued and out of stock items earlier today, and while most of them are older stuff versions of more recent issues that have been out of stock for awhile anyway, there were a few notable end of life versions that I wanted to mention.

We will no longer be able to restock:

Iria: Zeiram the Animation DVD
eX-Driver, Perfect Collection DVD Set
Figure 17 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
If I See You In My Dreams Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set
Jewel Hunter Lime BEM DVD
Babel II DVD Collectors Box Set

All of these titles have been placed on 'limited to stock on hand' status. In addition to these, they also listed:

Voltron: Fleet of Doom Movie(BLURAY)
Dairugger DVD Collection 3 (Eps #37-52)

So I think it's safe to assume they have just put the Kibosh on the BD version of Fleet of Doom. Dairugger 3, on the other hand, actually shipped recently and we should be getting a few copies shortly. It seems that they are letting us know that whatever has already shipped to us is all we're going to get and that they are not going to press any more copies.

Funimation Discontinues BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad

Funimation sent over a notice today that they has discontinued all versions of BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, including the most recent S.A.V.E. edition. They will no longer be shipping any of the previous DVD releases to retailers as of today so the title is now officially discontinued and out of print.

We have placed the title in 'out of print' status in our catalog, and once our existing stock is sold out we will remove it from the store site.

UPDATE: Funimation is still holding the Beck license and say they do plan to re-release the series at some point in the future, so (according to them) it's only going "out-of-print" for the time being. It was my understanding direct from the top at Funimation that a S.A.V.E. edition was going to be the final version and thus the end of the release cycle for any particular series. Apparently, that is no longer the case. So hey, maybe we'll get a BD version in the future? Hope springs eternal. :-)

Funimation Discontinues Several former Geneon Titles

Funimation just sent over a grocery list of discontinued items, all former Geneon licenses. The following have been discontinued as of December 10th and are now limited to stock on hand:

Black Lagoon Season 1 & 2 Complete DVD Boxed Set GN-08318
Ergo Proxy Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Re-Release) GN-08662
Gungrave Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) GN-08653
Hellsing Ultimate (All regular and LE volumes)
Kamichu Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) GN-08441
Karin (Chibi Vampire) Complete DVD Boxed Set GN-08741
Kyo Kara Maoh Season 1 Complete DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-39) GN-08665
Kyo Kara Maoh!, Season 2, Complete DVD Boxed Set (Eps #40-78) GN-08664
Law of Ueki Complete Series Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-51) GN-08301
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13) GN-08697
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) (Eps #1-13) GN-08557
Paradise Kiss Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set GN-08692
Rozen Maiden + Traumend Season 1 & 2 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set GN-08744
Shana (Shakugan no Shana) Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) FN-08355
Tales of Phantasia DVD GN-08551
The Familiar of Zero DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13) (S.A.V.E. Edition) GN-08695
Story of Saiunkoku Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) GN-08693
When They Cry: Higurashi, Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set GN-08743

Some of these will probably be brought back later under Funi's new 'Classics' label, but will likely end up being sold out and unavailable for an extended period of time between when these sell out and any are re-issued.

Funi Admits DragonBoxes are Limited Editions

After much speculation and rumor, Funi (through a contact at ANN) has confirmed that their release of the DragonBoxes, the latest full iteration of DBZ, was a 'limited edition' release only. This means that the current 4 boxed sets won't be repressed, and no further boxes are likely to be released. At least that's what I think.

The reality is that regardless of whether Funi originally intended these to be 'limited' or not, the Dragonboxes have just not sold well, and what I think Funi is probably doing is discontinuing the release in favor of a new version in BD format next year. We have put the current DragonBoxes on 'stock on hand' status, but will continue to keep the older (but complete) orange box version in stock as long as we can.

Funimation Reduces the Price of Nerima Box and Origin BD, Discontinues Gelade

Funimation has reduced the price on the Nerima Daikon Brothers Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Thin-Pak) from $49.98 to $19.98 MSRP. They have also reduced the price on the Origin: Spirits of the Past the Movie DVD [BLURAY] from $34.98 to $19.98 MSRP.

We reduced our regular price on both to $14.98 and they are in stock and shipping now at the new price.

Funimation also informed us that they have discontinued all iterations of Elemental Gelade. We still have a few of the Thin-Paks left in stock, and we will take the item page down once that inventory is exhausted.

Yen Plus Magazine Ending With July 2010 Issue

Not yet two years young, Yen Plus Magazine will join the ranks of so many other Anime and Manga print anthologies that have gone the way of the Dodo bird - the July 2010 issue will be the last print edition and Yen Press is moving the magazine online. Yen Press will be making content changes [to the new online edition] will announced at a later date.

Yen Plus has said they will issue subscribers refunds for any outstanding issues on their subscriptions beyond the July 2010 issue.

We had really liked the magazine, and had been stocking back issues for fans all the way back to the first issue in August 2008. We will no longer be restocking back issues, and all issues will now be limited to whatever stock we have left on hand and will be removed from the store site once they sell out.

Funimation Officially Discontinues Sonic X DVD's

Not like it's been replicated in quite a while, but Funi has finally send out a notice officially putting their Sonic X and Code Lyoko DVD's to bed.

DVD's for both series are now discontinued, and while we have been sold out of Code Lyoko for some time, we do still have a few Sonic X DVD's left in stock.

They will be limited to stock on hand and the Sonic X page will be taken down off the site once they are sold out.

Genshiken II Vol #3 w/ Art Box Has Been Canceled

Media Blasters informed us a few days ago that the Genshiken 2 - The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Vol #3 + ART BOX that was scheduled to street on January 19th has now been officially canceled.

Sorry folks, no art box for this one.

Please note that all pre-orders for Vol #3 with the Art Box will automatically be converted to the Genshiken II regular edition Vol #3 DVD which is streeting later this month on December 29th.

Two #@$%$ing Figure Cancelations from Amiami

Amiami told us today that they have had to cancel the international releases of two of their figures due to licensing issues:

All pre-orders for these figures will automatically be canceled, and any refunds will be made as needed. Damn, I really wanted both of these too...

The Transition to A 'Rare Book Model' as a Manga Dealer

This may be happening under the radar for many of you, but the US manga market is quickly transitioning into a 'rare' books model similar to what regular US Comic book dealers have been for decades. Hundreds of older manga issues have already gone out of print, and this year the process has been accelerated by a truly awful consumer economy. And a lot of this has been happening under the radar because past print runs were too large and the overhang of book inventory has remained in the supply chain for a long time, even after the decision as been made not to re-print them, at least until now. We, on the other hand, see the process in real time as every week manga volumes sell down and when we go to re-order some copies, that might have been available last week, are now sold out and listed as no longer in print. The manga publishers, for the most part, don't usually give us official lists of what's going 'out of print' either, they just decide not to reprint and once existing stocks dry up the books are no longer available for 're-order'. Tough luck Mr. Retailer if you didn't buy enough copies to begin with. Tough luck Mr. Customer if you didn't buy it when it first came out.

Now before you manga collectors out there start going crazy over this, let me remind you that there have probably been around 8,000 or 9,000 manga volumes published in the US over the last 10 years, and those back issues could not stay in print forever, so it was inevitable that the manga companies would eventually reach a point where they just start letting series go off the market en-mass as their sales cycles wind down. The process has really accelerated in 2009 though, and I'd guess that by years end there will probably be at least 1,500 older manga volumes that are no longer in print, and I would estimate by the end of 2010 fully half of the previously released catalog of English language manga will be out of print. Think most anything TokyoPop pressed before 2007, or anything published by DMP that is older than 8 or 9 months, for example. To complicate matters further, many of the smaller manga publishers are responding to current economic conditions by doing very short print runs of new releases and then not reprinting volumes that didn't sell very well to begin with. This is creating a 'shorter window of opportunity' situation for marginal titles (and that category is growing) in which any particular new volume may only be available on the market now for a few months before it's out of print forever. This goes for ongoing series as well and answers the frequent question we get via e-mail asking (for example) how vol #15 of a particular series is not longer available when Vol #17 just came out this month. Well, Vol #15 is the one where X,Y, and Z finally got naked together and sold out really quick. Hey, it's a rich tapestry. -_^

To counter these supply problems, we've setup an extensive network of manga vendors and distributors over and above the publishers themselves so we can check stock at multiple vendors for a particular volume before finally resigning ourselves that we can no longer get 'that one' anymore, and this is a process that we are now going through daily. We check all these retailer sources each time we need restocks on any particular issue, and for some niche titles (good examples would be certain issues of Basara or Red River or Let Dai or....etc. etc.) we even are going into the rare book market in an attempt to keep certain out of print volumes in stock for as long as possible - though once we do this the prices usually start to escalate as the rare book dealers might make us pay $20 or $30 or $40 or more for a particular issue and we have to price those accordingly on the store site. In fact, we've seen a disturbing trend this year of people doing a lot of 'fishing' for our inventory of rarer volumes. Some of these folks are clearly running a little side business trying to pickup out of print volumes we still have in stock at retail and arbitrage them into rare book circles (even on E-Bay) for 10x the original price. I have to admit, I've declined filling a few of those orders this past year so that we can keep these books in stock longer at the regular price for our regular customers. It's a bit disconcerting, but we remain vigilant.

This is all prompting the joke around the office that we are rapidly transitioning from a premier manga dealer to a 'rare books' model, but if that's what it takes for us to keep as many manga issues as possible in stock for as long as possible, that's fine with me. :-)

Rozen Maiden Season 1 Out of Print for Awhile

Funi has informed us that they are now out of stock and no longer shipping the first season Rozen Maiden Thin-Pak (GN-08440). It will not be repressed, so the sets are now limited to the stock we have left on hand. Just a note, because if you have it on backorder with someone else, like someone who was offering it a week ago for a really low price but didn't have any in stock, you're unlikely to ever get that order filled.

I made an inquiry to Funi about the future status of the series, and they told me that the box will be re-released either late this year or early next year (probably as a Viridian label), but the time and date has not yet been decided.

So while it will be coming back in the near future, it may or may not be available over holiday season this year. Something to think about if you were planning on giving either the first season or Traumend as gift this year. :-)