Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - (Page 24)

PRODUCT GUIDE ANIME Edited by Kyra Kudick www.homemediamagazine.com Anime Expo Indicates Industry Climate Chris Tribbey OS ANGELES — Something was amiss at this year’s Anime Expo, held July 3-6, and L it wasn’t the new location at the Los Angeles Convention Center. On the convention floor, the booth for leading anime DVD dis- “I just work here,” a young man tributor ADV Films looked like a mom-and-pop DVD sidewalk selling DVDs said. “I can’t tell you store, with no signage and no rep- anything.” While ADV’s set-up was bare resentatives from the company. bones, anime powerhouse Viz Media wasn’t on the show floor at all. Neither was The Right Stuf International, though they have a habit of avoiding convention booths. All three companies held panels to discuss their plans for the rest of the year and beyond, but their absence from the show floor was reflective of the slowdown of domestic anime DVD. “You can see the decline in the industry,” said Adam Sheehan, senior events manager for Funimation. “A lot of the companies in the past were pushing every title as an ‘A’-list title, and it was too much for the market to handle.” A simple look at the new release title output for anime at the halfway point of 2008 is telling: According to figures from The DVD Release Report, anime distributors are on pace for fewer than 400 DVD releases in 2008, the lowest output since 1999, when only 153 were released. Four companies that were releasing product in 2007 — Central Park Media, Manga Entertainment, JapanAnime and AN Entertainment — have not yet put out a new release in 2008, though at least one has plans. Geneon Entertainment, which was No. 2 in terms of SKU output, bowed out of the domestic DVD business last September (Funimation Entertainment will now distribute roughly 20 of Geneon’s titles, see story below). And the companies that are still steadily releasing anime — ADV, Funimation, Viz, Bandai Entertainment, Bandai Visual, Media Blasters and Right Stuf — are all releasing far fewer DVDs compared to last year. “I think the market has definitely gone through a realignment,” said Robert Napton, director of marketing for Bandai Entertainment. “Blu-ray will help, but the number one problem we’re still facing is piracy.” Bandai Entertainment will release Ghost in the Shell: Innocence as its first Blu-ray Disc. Chet Brier, account executive for Media Blasters, said that while DVD has declined for anime, other avenues for revenue could help make up for it. “There’s a lot of downloading, and then there’s Blu-ray,” he said, adding there are still anime titles from decades ago that haven’t seen a DVD release. “It may level off thanks to these other areas. … Shelf space is still a fight.” As for the subdued presence at the show of some of the anime business’ biggest players, Brier said companies such as ADV are watching their bottom line. “The industry is a little rough right now, and it can be prohibitive to do all these shows,” he said. “It took a while, but anime hit its peak. I don’t know how much larger we can grow the fan base.” Funimation Gets Geneon, ARM By Erik Gruenwedel and Chris Tribbey OS ANGELES — Funimation Entertainment picked up two distribution deals at Anime Expo July 3-6. The anime subsidiary of Navarre Corp., this summer will begin distributing select Geneon Entertainment titles on DVD. The selection includes between 18 and 22 DVDs, including several series that did not see complete DVD releases when Geneon ceased distributing product last September. Minneapolis-based Navarre had announced Funimation’s intent in February. Under the deal, Funimation will handle manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of Geneon titles such as Ergo Proxy, Hellsing If you can’t wake up from the nightmare, maybe you’re not asleep! COMING SOON! L NOW AVAILABLE! “Master Junji Ito’s images and ideas are enthralling and powerful ” —Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) Ultimate and Black Lagoon. “So many fans bought the first edition with the boxed set for the rest of the series, and they’ve been waiting to fill in the missing DVDs,” said Adam Sheehan, senior events manager for Funimation. He said Funimation will be careful not to “cannibalize” its own properties, staggering the Geneon releases between Funimation’s current release schedule. Funimation also has grabbed the DVD, broadcast and digital rights to properties from ARM Corp., including “Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV” and “Devil May Cry.” Previously ADV Films owned the rights to ARM properties. Funimation plans distribution of the titles beginning later this year. 24 Home Media Magazine July 20–26, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008

Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Commentary Horror/Halloween Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008

Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - June 20-26, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Commentary (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Horror/Halloween (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Reviews (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - July 20-26, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4) 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