Nearly 30 Presumed Dead after Firebombing at Kyoto Animation Building

From the Japan Times ->

A man screaming "You die!" burst into the Kyoto Animation building around 10:30am in Japan yesterday and set it on fire, leaving nearly 30 people confirmed or presumed dead. So far, 20 people were confirmed dead, including 12 on the first and second floors, and eight more on the third floor, Kyoto fire department official Mikihide Daikoku said. Nearly 10 others found on the top floor were presumed dead, he said. Some were found on the stairs, where they apparently collapsed while gasping for air and trying to go out to the roof.

Kyoto police said the suspect was injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. They are investigating the man, who is 41 and not a company employee, on suspicion of arson, police said.

A witness who saw the suspect being approached by police told Japanese networks that the man admitted spreading gasoline and setting a fire with a lighter. She told NHK public television that the man had burns on his arms and legs and that he was angrily complaining that something of his had been "stolen," possibly by the company. NHK footage also showed sharp knives police had collected from the scene, though it was not clear if they belonged to the suspect.

Survivors who saw the attacker said he was not their colleague and that he was screaming "(You) die!" when he dumped the liquid and started the fire, according to Japanese media. They said some of the survivors got splashed with the liquid.

Kyoto Animation, better known as KyoAni, was founded in 1981 as an animation and comic book production studio, and its hits include "Lucky Star," ''K-On!" and "Haruhi Suzumiya." The company does not have a major presence outside Japan, though it was hired to provide secondary animation work on a 1998 "Pokemon" feature that appeared in U.S. theaters and a "Winnie the Pooh" video.

Unbelievable, that someone could have that much hate in their heart. John Ledford over at Sentai Filmworks has setup a GoFund Me to help support the survivors and their families.

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!

Let's not forget what it's about....

The Opposite of Lost...

Yep, that's about right. Words to live by.

Weekend Plans...

The Rise and Fall of Music Delivery Formats 1980-2010

This chart covers all the ways I have personally bought music, from 8-Tracks to Digital Downloads.

Those of us who rely on mostly Anime DVD, BD and Manga sales for our living but can't raise the huge amount of capital required to fund our own streaming or digital download offering know the future is growing shorter. Houston has a problem, but for the content owners it will be a matter of transition. If you are in Winchester, Tampa, Grimes, New York, or San Diego, you have to be getting a sense that, while still a few years off, the end is nigh.

My dad loved what he did, and he did the exact same job for 42 years before he retired. But we don't live in that world anymore. I really love this, but the graph doesn't lie - change is inevitable. Whatever time I've had to work in this industry has been a gift. Eventually having to transition to something else is going to be hard*. But that's life, what can I tell you.

*I think the winter tends to make me a little melancholy. Can you tell? I haven't been on my motorcycle for 3 months...

MedicAlert Bracelet

Lets face it, most of us Anime fans should probably be wearing one of these...

Post Holiday Order Shipping and Bad Weather Notice

We're back folks! After the 4 day weekend we've got a huge stack of accumulated orders to work through - thanks!

The Snow Storm west of the DC area is going to hamper our operations today. The crew has been trickling in all morning getting here as best they can over the really bad roads, and as the conditions deteriorate throughout the day I'm not sure how long we will be able to stay before things get bad enough that I have to start letting folks go to head home. I'm sure outbound shipments will be impacted as well.

Anyway we're doing our best, so just try to be patient with us regarding getting your orders shipped and your e-mails answered over the next couple of days. Remember, asking us more than once about the status of your order won't help us to get it processed any faster.

We shouldn't have any problem getting all caught up by Friday before we break for the new years holiday, so keep those orders coming!

Aokigahara

A short and sad documentary about the forest at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan were between 50-100 people go every year to commit suicide.

Warning: Graphic Content. Viewer discression is advised. Seriously.



Mr. Hayano is a man of great wisdom.

Sony Admits Total PSN Security Breach - Hackers Have User Info

If you are like me, you have not been able to log onto the PlayStation Network since the middle of last week. What you might still not know is why - it's because the PSN got hacked, and it looks like it might be one of the largest single consumer security breaches in history.

Sony finally came clean today about the "external intrusion" that took PSN down, and admitted that all 69 Million PSN user accounts have probably been compromised. Here is the data that Sony is SURE has been compromised if you have a PlayStation Network Account:

-Your name
-Your address (city, state, and zip)
-Country
-E-mail address
-Birthday
-PSN password and login name

Sony says it is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained,". While the company claims that there is "no evidence" that credit card information has been compromised, it won't rule out the possibility.

Best bet is to assume that the hackers have your credit card information too and cancel the card you use for that account. If you stored your debit card information on PSN - well, shame on you - you should DEFINITELY cancel it and get a new one.

Even Sony said:

"If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained."

Sony really is VERY sorry about all this, and they do apologize for the inconvenience.

Yet another reason why we DO NOT allow customer accounts on the RACS store site, nor do we allow you to store your personal and/or payment information on the site. Sure that makes it easier to shop and checkout, but if PSN can get hacked, anyone can. Best way for us to secure your personal information is not to store it at all.

UPDATE: Sony released an FAQ blog post that said credit card data was encrypted and separate from the other data, which was not encrypted but was "behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack."

UPDATE 2: 2.2 Million Credit Card Numbers From PlayStation Network May Be Up for Sale

Status of the Fukushima Reactor Accidents

Herschel Smith over at the Captains Journal is posting some excellent updates on the current status and progress of the containment efforts being made at the Fukushima Reactor plant. He is doing a much better job than the main stream media at assessing the situation given the available information.

As he points out: "The Japanese are performing heroically, and the main stream media will catch up in several days (or weeks). The current efforts are focused on radiological source term and thus dose mitigation, not the prevention of core melt events."

UPDATE: A great chart that brings radiation exposure into context.

Japan Post Suspends Air Parcel Shipments to the US - Sort of...

There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of days about Japan Post suspending all Airmail and EMS shipments between Japan and the US that are over 16oz (1lb). Frankly, the press releases made by Japan Post have been somewhat contradictory regarding this, but as of this time the reports coming out of Japan look like this:

The Japan Post Office announced November 12 that from November 17 it would indefinitely stop accepting mail parcels to the United States weighing more than 453 grams. The Post Office has at this time given no indication of how long this suspension will last only saying that it is “for the time being.” This suspension includes all regular international airmail parcels, as well as EMS. The Japan Post Office (JPO) has cut Japan off from the US entirely, at least as far as airmail parcels over a pound in weight go. The reason the JPO gives for this action is that following attempts to send explosives through air cargo from Yemen to the US, American security measures for air cargo have become increasingly severe. America and Guam are included in this provision, raising the strong possibility that Christmas and year end parcels will not be able to be sent from Japan to the US, which is likely to cause massive confusion.

Another reports says this:

The Japan Post Office announced November 12 that from November 17 it would indefinitely stop accepting mail parcels to the United States weighing more than 453 grams. The Post Office has at this time given no indication of how long this suspension will last only saying that it is “for the time being.” This suspension includes all regular international airmail parcels, as well as EMS. The Japan Post Office (JPO) has cut Japan off from the US entirely, at least as far as airmail parcels over a pound in weight go. The reason the JPO gives for this action is that following attempts to send explosives through air cargo from Yemen to the US, American security measures for air cargo have become increasingly severe. America and Guam are included in this provision, raising the strong possibility that Christmas and year end parcels will not be able to be sent from Japan to the US, which is likely to cause massive confusion. According to the Asahi Shinbun, parcels to the US from Japan now account for over 15% of international mail, and approximately 200,000 parcels are sent monthly from Japan to the US. Private consumers will be affected by this ban, however individuals and businesses with JPO commercial accounts will not be affected. As of this writing, no other post services has announced similar measures, and the United States Post Office has not reported plans to limit the weight or shipment of air mail parcels to Japan. At the beginning of November when Greece had several bombs sent through the mail, airmail was stopped in Greece for two days. No other major postal service in the world has ever announced an “indefinite” ban on airmail packages. Since privatization the JPO has been the object of a political tug of war between those who want to entirely or partially end its privatization and those who support continued privatization. The management at top levels of the JPO has drawn censure across the political spectrum, with the problems of the Japan Post’s 'Yu-pack”'deliver system drawing particularly harsh criticism. Foreign users have complained about the proliferation of required documentation for mail and packages to and from foreign countries that did not previously exist and question their necessity. Banning all airmail packages over 453 grams to the US from November 17 will cause wide spread inconvenience and resentment, particularly among smaller business and individuals.

If this is true, and it's hard to believe that it is, the Japanese Postal Service has effectively cut off all small parcel business from Japan to the United states.

And while this will not effect us (as a business we have an import license and use commercial carriers for all of our import shipments), it will most certainly ruin the day of anyone who likes to order character figures or other Japanese goods, or even manga and large DVD or BD shipments directly from Japanese vendors. Japanese vendors will have to use FedEx, DHL, or UPS for small parcel shipments, and that will be quite a bit more expensive. This would also totally screw most of the small US shops that sell Japanese character figures as they tend to import directly from Japanese retail stores in small lots.

This story is still developing, so I'm hoping to have an update later today.

UPDATE: More here.

UPDATE 2: I have now heard from several vendors in Japan who have confirmed that the new restrictions will not effect shipments from Japanese businesses that have commercial mailing accounts, though they all did agree that Airmail and EMS deliveries from Japan will now take longer now that US Customs is going to step up inspections of inbound parcels from Japan.

None of the new rules will effect our business operations or RACS customers.

Media Blasters Update

With all the date pushes and missed street dates recently,a lot of you have been writing in asking me about what's going on at Media Blasters. Well, the rumors floating around of their demise (like those of mine) are grossly exaggerated.

What is actually going on is that they have outsourced their warehouse operations, and moving their huge inventory plus ramping operations at the new facility is taking longer than they expected. Not only is this the reason for the recent date pushes, it's the reason for the late arrivals of several titles. Moves like this are supposed to be transparent to the customer base, but I can tell you (having done them) they NEVER work out that way.

I know this has been very frustrating for some of you, but I talked to the folks at MB in length yesterday and got a pretty good idea of where they are at with the move and what's going on with some of the titles you have been asking about. The two current late titles Genshiken DX and Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny, Vol #3 are both scheduled to start shipping late next week. Also, titles that haven't been available for awhile like the Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan Special Edition and the Ah My Buddha Complete Boxed Set are finally back in replication and should all be back in stock by the end of the month. Considering the difficulties they have experienced changing over their warehouse operations it's probably a good thing they did it mid-year so that everything will be back up and running before the holiday season kicks off next month (that's around mid-October for us).

So please continue to be patient a little longer while they get their schedule back on track.

Bang Zoom Draws a Line in the Sand

Eric Sherman, the CEO of Bang Zoom studios (who I've have many excellent dealings with personally) has issued a subtle ultimatum to the fan community regarding the state of the Anime market and what will happen if folks continue to illegally download rather than buying shows on DVD:

From ANN:

"Eric P. Sherman, President and CEO of the anime dubbing company Bang Zoom! Entertainment, has posted an editorial on the AnimeTV blog on Saturday, urging fans to buy anime instead of watching it via fan-subbed videos. In the "Anime - R.I.P." editorial, Sherman wrote that if fans do not support anime by buying it legally, "I can guarantee you that this time next year, Bang Zoom won't be bringing you anymore English language versions of it."

Sherman added in his editorial, "If people don't resist the urge to get their fix illegally, the entire industry is about to fizzle out." Sherman cited the demises of Geneon Entertainment USA, Central Park Media, and ADV Films, as well as the January 2009 layoffs at Bandai Entertainment, as past examples. In a boldfaced statement in the editorial, Sherman wrote that "anime is going to die."

Sherman also wrote about the rise of streaming content online, but added that "so far, there are no successful ways to monetize online entertainment. Not so that creators can afford to produce and distribute quality content."

Eric is absolutely right. The whole theory that Anime could eventually be monetized online in any meaningful way has been dead on arrival from day one. It's just not possible. We've all been able to scrape by until now living alongside the downloaders, the fansubbers, the free streams, the bootleggers, etc. - but the market has deteriorated so far so fast over the past 18 months that the issue is finally coming to a head this year. The R1 industry is at the breaking point and the fan base, as a whole, by their actions, is very soon going to decide it's fate forever.

PS: Of course, anyone in the industry who speaks up even a peep against fansubs and torrents is going to immediately draw the ire of the ignorant. I've been reading over some of the rather humorous thread comments posted after Eric's article. People are saying things like:

"Heh, let the US anime industry die."

"Anime = Not gonna die. R1 Anime = gonna die. get it right"

"It's not the piracy, it’s the overpriced crap."

"Too bad you’re losing your job. But it’s better for the fans who will find other means to satisfy their needs..."

"ITT the bourgiousie trying to wrest back control of the means of production from the workers. One capitalist oppressor down!" (if only he could spell 'Bourgeoisie')

"Just like they say the fans "feel entitled to their entertainment" it seems that the middlemen feel entitled to their businesses"

"No, Mr. Sherman, Anime is dieing because people like YOU won’t change. Guess what existed before your company? Fansubbers. Guess what will exist after your company? Fansubbers."

Man, as a rule I stay out of those threads, but what a bunch of hypocritical nihilistic jackasses. That one guy clearly thinks he entitled to something, but I never have. And I don't even want to know what the other guy is doing late at night to 'satisfy his needs'. Uggg. Those folks are not even fit for the soylent vats... I'm just sayin...