Updates Roundup

I have good news and bad news to report this morning!

First, the Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny #3 DVD that has been delayed so many times in the past few months has arrived and is now IN STOCK and SHIPPING! We have plenty of copies everyone, so come and get them. YEAH!!!!!

On the heals of the arrival of Vol #3, Media Blasters informed us that the Dragon Destiny Boxed set has now been delayed. It is being removed from the current release schedule and will reappear for release sometime next year. So for you folks that were holding out for the cheap boxed set, you'll need to buy the singles if you want to see the entire series this year.

Funimation, due to the wrong content being on one of the disks, has recalled the new Birdy the Mighty: Decode Part 1 DVD Box (Eps #1-13) (Part # FN-06720) - you know, the one that just arrived a couple days ago. Funi will be remaking a batch of new Birdy boxes, and they will ship them to us together with the 2nd half boxed set which is due to street on November 30th. We have suspended all in process shipments of Birdy (they will automatically become pre-orders for the fixed box), and will be pulling our remaining inventory for return to Funi. For you the folks that already have it, just e-mail us to request a replacement ticket. We will setup an automatic shipment to you for a fixed box once they arrive next month.

One more delay to report - Funimation moved the upcoming One Piece Season 3 Part 4 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #179-191) from December 21st to January 25th. ~sigh~

And finally, Funimation has reduced the MSRP on the Negima Season 2 Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26) FN-07763 from $69.98 to $49.98. We lowered our regular price from $49.98 to just $34.98, and the set is in stock and shipping at the new price now!

2011 Import Calendars - Now Available for Pre Order!

We'll, after lots of consideration we've decided to take the plunge against a really terrible exchange rate and bring a few 2011 import calendars in this year. We've placed advanced orders for these, and they are now up on the site fore pre-order:

Angel Beats 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Bleach A 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Bleach B 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (B2)
Code Geass Lelouch Rebellion R2 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
DragonBall Kai 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Gintama 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Hetalia 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import)(A2)
Ikki Tousen Xtreme Xecutor 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Ladies Versus Butlers! (Redi x Bato!) 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Maid Sama! 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Mayoi Neko Overrun! 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Naruto Shippuden A 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Naruto Shippuden B 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (B2)
One Piece 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun 2011 Calendar (Japanese Import) (A2)

We'll close the pre-order window on each as our allocation sells out, and we should start shipping these in December. I told our vendor in Tokyo to try to ship them all to us at one time if possible.

Funimation's January 2011 Releases - Now Available for Pre Order!

Funimation has given us their January 2011 release schedule, and we now have it available on the store site for pre-order. Here's what's coming:

Black Butler Season 1 Part 1 DVD Collection (Eps #1-12)
Disgaea Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26)
Gantz Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26) (Classic Collection)
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom DVD Collection #1 (Eps #1-13)
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom DVD Collection #2 (Eps #14-26)
Sacred Blacksmith Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE OVA Collection DVD
Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE OVA Collection DVD (BLURAY)

This release schedule, if you'll notice, is significantly different than what we've been getting from Funi for the last few months. Gone are the dozens of recycled series reissues, reprices, and economy boxes and replacing them is a streamlined list that contains lots of actual new material. It's good to see they are actually listening to us. :-)

More here.

Section 23's January 2011 Releases - Now Available for Pre Order!

Section 23 has given us their January 2011 release schedule, and we now have it available on the store site for pre-order. Here's what's coming:

11 Eyes Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Ghost Sweeper Mikami TV Series Collection #2 (Eps #13-23)
Kampfer Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-12)
Koihime Muso Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-13)

All sexy Anime series that fall right into Section 23's niche. Note that there are no dubbed shows on the list, and Section 23 seems to have settled into a routine of about one release per week - of course, at 12 or 13 episodes of something per week, it's really quite a lot of content coming in small economical packages. After their experiment with dubs over the summer I think they have discovered that in the current environment it's really hard to recoup the cost to dub a niche show. They may dub more shows going forward, but I'm sure they will choose which titles very carefully.

More here.

State of the Industry - Market Share By Company

ICv2 recently sent us a copy of their quarterly industry magazine, which included a detailed analysis of Anime company video market share. The results may be a surprise to you:

Percentage of Anime market share:

Funimation 39%
Disney 25%
Viz 13%
Bandai 6%
Sony 4%
Section 23 3%
Media Blasters 3%
Manga Video (Starz) 2%
Other* 5%

*'Other' would include folks like NIS, Nozomi, Discotek, and companies like Urban Vision, AnimEigo that still have legacy products that, while probably discontinued, are still shipping from distributors warehouses. I figure Nozomi and NIS's market share are probably around 1% each.

In a separate article, ICv2 recently estimated the current size of the R1 Anime market this year at around $160 Million, which represents about a 65-70% decline over the peak 4-5 years ago. That peak was in 2005-2006, before Geneon went under in 2007 and pulled all their titles off the market.

Now, as much as we like all the Miyazaki titles that Disney publishes, we really need to take those numbers out of the equation when speaking about the 'core' Anime market. Disney's marketing machine can put titles like Spirited Away (which have a unique position in the market to begin with) in high volume places that will never ever see a regular Anime show (places like Costco), and thus they tend to sell in such high quantities that they schew the stats. It's worth noting, by the way, that Disney is still carrying 25% of the market and has only released one new title in the Anime category in the past year. Wow.

If we take Disney out, we see a picture of a 'core' R1 industry that currently has around $120 Million in annual revenue. The leading company, Funimation, carries half of the market share, while Viz has around 17-18% (which is mostly made up from sales of Bleach and Naruto), and then all the other regulars (Bandai, Section 23, and MB) are left to fight for what is left over. In fact, if you calculate the probable annual revenue for companies like Section 23 or Media Blasters based on market share vs. market size (maybe what, around $5-8 Million in annual revenue each?), you get a picture of how small these companies really are - i.e., why Section 23 isn't dubbing much, why Media Blasters is looking to vending machines for alternative sources of revenue, why Bandai is going off the handle starting their own store (setting the dial to dumb - again), and why Navarre wants to sell off Funimation while it's still worth selling.

As a final note, these market share numbers clearly demonstrate that 'how Funimation goes, so goes the industry', which is why we're so concerned about what's going to happen to Funi under new ownership. But I guess that's just Karma.

Anyway, no one has done a 'market share' chart for awhile, and I thought it might put some of the happenings of late, and some of our collective worries, into a little clearer perspective. It also shows clearly why some companies can do certain things, and others can't.

Anime Word of the Week

Will return next week... - until then, a little online philosophy - click here for more.

Entertainment figure and former Morning Musume idol singer Nozomi Tsuji posted a Sunday blog entry to deny reports that she wanted to name her second baby after the Dragon Ball anime hero Goku. Tsuji was responding to reports by Nikkan Sports and other media outlets that claimed otherwise last week. HEH.

Advertising for the seventh volume of Minari Endo's Maria Holic manga has revealed that the second season of the television anime adaptation has been green-lit. Akiyuki Shinbo is returning to direct the animators at SHAFT. I wish I had been so creative when I named MY company! :-)

Finally, the official website for the K-ON! anime franchise has announced on Friday that production on a new side-story episode has been green-lit for K-ON!! Pony Canyon will include the episode in the ninth Japanese Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume on March 16, 2011.

Hot off the Truck - Just Arrived!

Just one new early arrival today from Funi that has just hit the dock:

Blassreiter Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-24)

This title won't be updated on the site until later today, but it is in stock and available to ship with orders going out today!

New Arrivals In Stock this Week

This week we have more great new DVD arrivals, including the much anticipated Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny, Vol #3, Sousou's Ambition (Eps #9-12)! We also have the UtaKata DVD Complete Collection, the Oh! Edo Rocket Season 1 Collection, and the reissue of three series - Trigun, Gunslinger Girl Season 2: Il Teatrino, and the 2nd season of World of Magic Knight Rayearth Complete Collection Season 2 - all for your viewing pleasure!

New manga in stock this week include Bamboo Blade , Vol #6, Tena on S-String , Vol #4, Cat Paradise , Vol #5, Kingyo Used Books , Vol #2, Vagabond, Vol #33, Graphic Novel, and several new series like the Darkstalkers/Red Earth: Maleficarum Graphic Novel, March Story , and the Card Captor Sakura, Omnibus Edition #1.

And finally ,we have a few more new figures in stock this week from Kotobukiya including the gorgeous Evangelion: Rei Ayanami Yukata Version 1/8 Scale PVC Figure, the latest Armored Core: Silent Line Potable Crest Assault Type Fine Scale Model Kit and the Black Lagoon: Second Barrage Revy 1/8 Scale PVC Figure that Jun planning denied us last year. That REALLY BIG figure shipment that I promised you last week actually hit the dock this morning, but it's going to take the better part of today to sort through and unpack the pallets, so all that stuff won't be updated on the site until probably Monday - unless I decide I absolutely can't wait and do a small update over the weekend. Hmmmmm..... -_^

Two years ago, Shibuya was ravaged by a biological terrorist attack using the deadly Ua virus. Maria Osawa was saved when her father inoculated her against the virus, but is left with partial amnesia from the shock. Now working as a cameraman, she reunited with her friend Canaan in Hong Kong. Canaan is an assassin gifted with synesthesia, and she's being targeted by the terrorist squad Snake. Meanwhile, numerous groups converge on Hong Kong, all after either Canaan or Maria.

Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny, Vol #3, Sousou's Ambition (Eps #9-12)

With Sonsaku's apparent death, Nanyou's position in the Kanto region is in question. Discussions with Seito bring Koumei's long-term plans into focus, and the two schools join forces against their common foe, Kyoshou. Its leader, Sousou, continues to lose more of himself to his ancient namesake and when he is consumed entirely, it's his friend who pays the price. History continues to be replayed, and the circumstances leading to another Battle of Red Cliffs fall inexorably in place. When dragons appear in the sky, only an ancient orb can change the tide for those fighting against their destinies.

Oh! Edo Rocket Season 1 Collection #1 (Eps #1-13)

In Edo during the mid-1800's, fireworks maker Seikichi Tamaya and his friends struggle to live under the harsh frugality laws imposed by the strict city magistrate, which ban all luxuries, including fireworks. One day, a strange girl stops by Seikichi's shop with an equally strange request: she wants Seikichi to build a firework that can reach the moon.

Trigun Complete Collection DVD Boxed Set (Eps #1-26)

Vash the Stampede is a wanted man with a habit of turning entire towns into rubble. The price on his head is a fortune, and his path of destruction reaches across the arid wastelands of a desert planet. Unfortunately, most encounters with the spiky-haired gunslinger don't end well for the bounty hunters who catch up with him; someone almost always gets hurt - and it's never Vash. Oddly enough, for such an infamous fugitive, there's no proof that he's ever taken a life. In fact, he's a pacifist with a doughnut obsession who's more doofus than desperado. There's a whole lot more to him than his reputation lets on - Vash the Stampede definitely ain't your typical outlaw.

Gunslinger Girl Season 2: Il Teatrino DVD Boxed Set (Viridian Collection)

The girls of the Social Welfare Agency are no ordinary children. They are the grizzly remains of human wreckage pieced back together with cybernetic implants and trained to kill by the government. The oldest, Triela, pursues her targets with a ferocious enthusiasm - unwilling to settle for less than total annihilation. Her mirror in this bloody stalemate is Pinocchio, a shell of a boy raised as an assassin by the FRF - a terrorist faction at war with the SWA. Cold and cruelly efficient, he wields sharpened steel as though it were his own hand. Once human, these shattered souls have become murderous machines with only vague recollections of what it meant to be real - and a brutal compulsion to be the last killer standing.

World of Magic Knight Rayearth Season 2 DVD Boxed Set (Eps #21-49) (Remastered)

The Pillar of Cephiro is dead. The Magic Knights, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are filled with the sadness of the tragedy and resolve to return to Cephiro and do something to help its people.

Upcoming Figures Recently Posted for Pre-Order:

Bakemonogatari: Hitagi Senjougahara Non Scale Action Figure [Griffon]
Black Rock Shooter: Dead Master Figma Action Figure
Fate/Unlimited Codes: Saber Lily ~Golden Caliburn~ 1/7 Scale PVC Figure
Ikki Tousen: Ryomou Shimei Taisougi Version 1/7 Scale PVC Figure
Lucky Star: Iwasaki Minami Gym Uniform Version 1/4 Scale PVC Figure
My Bride is a Mermaid Akeno Shiranui 1/7 Scale PVC Figure
Ninja Girls: Kagari 1/8 Scale PVC Figure
Nitro Super Sonico: Super Soniko Striped Panties Version 1/7 Scale PVC Figure
Saki: Nodocchi 1/8 Scale PVC Figure
Secretarial Section Drop Kyoko Kaneda 1/7 Scale PVC Figure
Voices From Har Megiddo: Buddy 1/8 Scale PVC Figure

Checkout our Pre-order section here to see all of our upcoming figures!