Gonzo planning to release subbed shows same day as Japan airing

Kaizoku Mele

Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-03-21/gonzo-works-to-be-streamed-simultaneously-with-airing

This is just…Wow!

Oh well, as long as everything's good quality, won't be hearing an argument from me.

Malintex_Terek

Really, there's only one thing we can say about this -

LOL GONZO

A studio with as horrible a track record like this would only make such desperate measures in its death throws, and it's not hair raising really since nobody buys their terrible anime. If Kyoto Animation does the same with Haruhi II, I might raise an eyebrow, but seriously, most of GONZO's work is horrible.

You can already tell something's amiss when GONZO doesn't do raw streams for Japan, its primary market. It's hoping the subs will be a good incentive for people to buy localised R1s while gaining some advertising revenue, but in the end, who's going to patronize the advertisers or buy the dubs when the videos are online for free?

Besdies, streaming isn't going to prevent fansubbers from flexing their Japanese-speaking muscle; afterall, subbing projects help people learn Japanese, there's no reason to just rip a dub (like Cromartie High School) and use the R1 company's subs if one aims for practise.

This'll be an interesting move nonetheless, but I think my economic theory for minimizing consumer surplus for anime is still far superior.

Ramza

@Malintex_Terek:

Really, there's only one thing we can say about this -

LOL GONZO

A studio with as horrible a track record like this would only make such desperate measures in its death throws, and it's not hair raising really since nobody buys their terrible anime. If Kyoto Animation does the same with Haruhi II, I might raise an eyebrow, but seriously, most of GONZO's work is horrible.

You can already tell something's amiss when GONZO doesn't do raw streams for Japan, its primary market. It's hoping the subs will be a good incentive for people to buy localised R1s while gaining some advertising revenue, but in the end, who's going to patronize the advertisers or buy the dubs when the videos are online for free?

Besdies, streaming isn't going to prevent fansubbers from flexing their Japanese-speaking muscle; afterall, subbing projects help people learn Japanese, there's no reason to just rip a dub (like Cromartie High School) and use the R1 company's subs if one aims for practise.

This'll be an interesting move nonetheless, but I think my economic theory for minimizing consumer surplus for anime is still far superior.

what is ur economic theory for minimizing consumer surplus for anime?

Malintex_Terek

Talk to me in IM if you want to know, I'm not going to just give it out because I don't want another company stealing my idea. I'm looking into meeting an excellent programmer, a translator and getting some capital, if I can aquire all three I can actually start this plan up.

It's rather low cost and has huge expected returns, which is why I'm trying to avoid spilling the beans. I'd gladly discuss it with people if you're interested though.

firecrouch · Blog last updated 01/31/2013:

@Malintex_Terek:

Really, there's only one thing we can say about this -

LOL GONZO

A studio with as horrible a track record like this would only make such desperate measures in its death throws, and it's not hair raising really since nobody buys their terrible anime. If Kyoto Animation does the same with Haruhi II, I might raise an eyebrow, but seriously, most of GONZO's work is horrible.

You can already tell something's amiss when GONZO doesn't do raw streams for Japan, its primary market. It's hoping the subs will be a good incentive for people to buy localised R1s while gaining some advertising revenue, but in the end, who's going to patronize the advertisers or buy the dubs when the videos are online for free?

Besdies, streaming isn't going to prevent fansubbers from flexing their Japanese-speaking muscle; afterall, subbing projects help people learn Japanese, there's no reason to just rip a dub (like Cromartie High School) and use the R1 company's subs if one aims for practise.

This'll be an interesting move nonetheless, but I think my economic theory for minimizing consumer surplus for anime is still far superior.

Malintex Terek, your logic never ceases to amaze me . . . but not necessarily in a good way.

Malintex_Terek

I hope it's not in the Sunohara "FLAWLESS LOGIC" way.

"The strongest woman sewing my clothes…those would be the strongest clothes...". :blink:

firecrouch · Blog last updated 01/31/2013:

@Malintex_Terek:

I hope it's not in the Sunohara "FLAWLESS LOGIC" way.

"The strongest woman sewing my clothes…those would be the strongest clothes...". :blink:

Never heard of that.

But yeah, I mean, Gonzo having a horrible track record? Most fans would say the opposite. They made "Fullmetal Panic", "Last Exile", "Samurai 7", and a bunch of other popular shows. Gonzo is a pretty good company to start this type of venture because they've definitely got good name recognition.

And I don't think anything's amiss, I mean they are providing streaming of their shows in Japan as well. And the point of this isn't to increase DVD sales, it's to provide a legal alternative to fansubs. Gonzo's international head Arthur Smith has been talking about how harmful fansubs are, so the company is trying to cover those losses.

Also, I'm interested in your theory idea, but if you want to keep it a secret, I respect that.

Malintex_Terek

@firecrouch:

But yeah, I mean, Gonzo having a horrible track record? Most fans would say the opposite. They made "Fullmetal Panic", "Last Exile", "Samurai 7", and a bunch of other popular shows. Gonzo is a pretty good company to start this type of venture because they've definitely got good name recognition.

FMP is the only of those three I actually know by the way, and it was remade by Kyoto Animation because people thought the first series by GONZO was terrible.

I'm not as big a GONZO patron as most though, so I can't give you a list of their bad shows; all I can say is a lot of their stuff is poorly received (look at the comments in GONZO topics) like Saikano, NHK, R+J, Hellsing (remade), GANTZ, Solty Rei, Black Cat (manga bad as well), Trinity Blood, Pumpkin Scissors, Dragonaut…a lot of stuff!

The only good GONZO show I've heard of is Gankutsuou and the one I've seen Seto no Hanayome…the rest are said to stink!

@firecrouch:

And I don't think anything's amiss, I mean they are providing streaming of their shows in Japan as well. And the point of this isn't to increase DVD sales, it's to provide a legal alternative to fansubs. Gonzo's international head Arthur Smith has been talking about how harmful fansubs are, so the company is trying to cover those losses.

How is this supposed to be successful? No ELC advertiser is going to touch anime with a ten foot poll unless "Miyazaki" or "Ghibli" is attached to the title, GONZO hasn't given us any explanation of how they're going to fund this. If GONZO wants people to buy DVDs, there's no reason to do so unless one likes dubs, and there's a growing dub-hate crowd on the internet as-is.

The whole "fansubs hurt the industry!!11" complaint by the suits is just their excuse for explaining why sales figures aren't high. It's easy to blame the internet because it is doing something illegal and pretend that only the richest people have internet anyway - everyone forgets anime was in a steep decline throughout the 1990's, steeper than since the 2000's when it jumped back thanks to online subs.

How dare these companies get record breaking sales for Geass, Lucky Star and Haruhi and continue to complain about fansubs. How dare ADV refuse me rights to use a short Gurren-Lagann clip for Wikipedia when the show only became popular because Gainax explicitly allowed fansubs to be distributed, and even watched people watching the show on MoonTube.

If GONZO wants higher sales figures, it should cater less to Japanese otaku and find some fresh creative writing talent. Who knows? It might end up with a sleeper hit like Madhouse's The girl who leapt through time.

@firecrouch:

Also, I'm interested in your theory idea, but if you want to keep it a secret, I respect that.

Again, talk to me in IM. PM me if you want my IM since I don't want someone who doesn't like me to put my IM on some "singlewomen.com" website or something so I'll get spams like poor old Osamu.

Sandai Mera

@Malintex_Terek:

Hellsing

Surprised you didn't label this as bad.

@Malintex_Terek:

The only good GONZO show I've heard of is Gankutsuou

It's alright but nothing great.

@Malintex_Terek:

How dare these companies get record breaking sales for Geass, Lucky Star and Haruhi and continue to complain about fansubs. How dare ADV refuse me rights to use a short Gurren-Lagann clip for Wikipedia when the show only became popular because Gainax explicitly allowed fansubs to be distributed, and even watched people watching the show on MoonTube.

Ugh don't get me started on Youtube's bullshit.

firecrouch · Blog last updated 01/31/2013:

@Malintex_Terek:

FMP is the only of those three I actually know by the way, and it was remade by Kyoto Animation because people thought the first series by GONZO was terrible.

I'm not as big a GONZO patron as most though, so I can't give you a list of their bad shows; all I can say is a lot of their stuff is poorly received (look at the comments in GONZO topics) like Saikano, NHK, R+J, Hellsing (remade), GANTZ, Solty Rei, Black Cat (manga bad as well), Trinity Blood, Pumpkin Scissors, Dragonaut…a lot of stuff!

The only good GONZO show I've heard of is Gankutsuou and the one I've seen Seto no Hanayome…the rest are said to stink!

How is this supposed to be successful? No ELC advertiser is going to touch anime with a ten foot poll unless "Miyazaki" or "Ghibli" is attached to the title, GONZO hasn't given us any explanation of how they're going to fund this. If GONZO wants people to buy DVDs, there's no reason to do so unless one likes dubs, and there's a growing dub-hate crowd on the internet as-is.

The whole "fansubs hurt the industry!!11" complaint by the suits is just their excuse for explaining why sales figures aren't high. It's easy to blame the internet because it is doing something illegal and pretend that only the richest people have internet anyway - everyone forgets anime was in a steep decline throughout the 1990's, steeper than since the 2000's when it jumped back thanks to online subs.

How dare these companies get record breaking sales for Geass, Lucky Star and Haruhi and continue to complain about fansubs. How dare ADV refuse me rights to use a short Gurren-Lagann clip for Wikipedia when the show only became popular because Gainax explicitly allowed fansubs to be distributed, and even watched people watching the show on MoonTube.

If GONZO wants higher sales figures, it should cater less to Japanese otaku and find some fresh creative writing talent. Who knows? It might end up with a sleeper hit like Madhouse's The girl who leapt through time.

Again, talk to me in IM. PM me if you want my IM since I don't want someone who doesn't like me to put my IM on some "singlewomen.com" website or something so I'll get spams like poor old Osamu.

I've heard lots of good reception about pretty much all those anime you mentioned. Where do you get your info from anyway? Besides, "Gantz" and "Chrono Crusade" wouldn't have sold as well as they did if they were poorly-received.

And I don't see why this can't be successful. Plenty of people use YouTube and Crunchyroll and they get enough ad-space there already, the one big problem is that crunchyroll is entirely (almost) based around and founded on illegal file-sharing so that could be taboo down the road as other companies become interested in putting their content there. And hell, I don't think Gonzo really cares about DVDs specifically, just being able to make money off their shows in any shape or form. And liking a dub isn't the only reason to buy a DVD, some fans just like collecting the series physically. If and when I get "Gurren Lagann" on DVD I'll probably watch the Japanese track first.

And the suits blame fansubs for the sales decline because it is hurting sales, there's no denying that. There's other factors too that they acknowledge, definitely, but it's definitely justifiable to put fansubs at the top of the list. And I don't sales went up the early-to-mid 2000s primarily because of online subs, I think it has to do primarily with more T.V. exposure, more retailer exposure, and just the move from VHS to DVD format helped. The Internet helped too, but it wasn't just fansubs. And what's this about a decline throughout the '90s; when, why, and how?

And yes, some anime do make record-breaking sales these days but the companies have every right to complain. It's their show so they should be allowed to have authority over it, and the industry isn't doing as well in comparison to just a few hit shows. And anime does depend plenty on foreign markets, it can't flourish just with Japanese revenue alone. And I doubt that "Gurren Lagann" only became popular because of fansubs, that's certainly the main reason, but it could've built plenty of anticipation among Americans even if they didn't see the whole series before it's released here. And where did you hear Gainax was specifically tracking fansubs and allowing them, and what the heck is MoonTube?

And I'll PM you later, but right now I gotta get some shut eye.

Buuhan1

GONZO's GANTZ failed for it's filler ending.

Sandai Mera

If it's anime based on a manga that comes out every so often like Gantz or Hellsing of course it's going to fail as an anime.

firecrouch · Blog last updated 01/31/2013:

That's why I'm sticking with the manga. It's a shame how in Japan they have to stay caught up with the manga instead of being allowed to go into reruns for a while.

theAMAZINGboo

This would be better if Stage 6 was still up and running so it could be watched in decent quality.

Pretty neat I guess, I don't watch a lot of GONZO stuff so I guess I'm a bit underwhelmed.

Ramza

gonzo's black cat was gay, 95% filler

Sandai Mera

What do you expect when you turn an 185ch manga into a 23 episode anime.

Lobster Pot-Sticker

Well Gonzo animated Afro Samurai, and that aired in Japan and America simultaneously

hur hur hur

Sandai Mera

I thought it aired in Japan after it premiered in the states?

Either way 5 episodes regardless with the advent of a 2nd season in the works
kind of feels like a cop-out like Samurai Champloo.

Lobster Pot-Sticker

I think it was like.. a week after or something like that. Better then us waiting 20 years for One Piece DVDS, or an infanate amount of time for Zatch Bell DVDs

And maybe you are, but I'm not a f*%#ing immortal. I can't wait around forever..

So props to Gonzo for changing and releasing things within a reasonable time yeckament. They have certainly earned my round of applause.