Top 10 Forgotten Anime List (part 2)
It’s time for round two of the forgotten anime list. Just though I’d clear something up – this list is all about physical copies, so even if a series is still available on some streaming service somewhere if the physical copy is unavailable it can fit this list. Most anime viewers are not using streaming services. Plus, streaming a series only gives you a temporary “right to watch” that series. At the end of the day, you don’t own anything you stream and physical copies are all about owning that precious little thing. So without further ado, here are three more forgotten titles:
Short introduction:
A science fiction suspense anime with a post-apocalyptic gloomy setting, Ergo Proxy was a very intelligent take on the roles religion and technology plays in our lives and our future. Ergo proxy aired in Japan during the second half of 2006 and was quickly licensed by Geneon Entertainment, which managed to release its first volume at the end of the same year. The series was praised for its elaborate plot, futuristic character designs and atmospheric nature.
Current State:
Geneon still holds the license for the series, but Ergo Proxy has long gone out of print in the U.S., with prices hiking to the hundreds.
Chance of revival:
Good. Ergo Proxy was a sleeper hit and can still hold its ground today. Since Geneon is out of business and thus will not be printing new editions it’s safe to say that the series will stay dormant until Geneon’s license ends. After which an acquisition and revival at the hands of another U.S. distributor is possible. As a side note, although Ergo Proxy is insanely priced in the U.S. right now, Madman Entertainment has released it in Australia and England at a very good price point. Consider getting this version if your DVD can play other regions (remember: buying an anime series from an Australian or European distributor still supports the Japanese artists and the global anime industry as a whole).
Short introduction:
A prophetic cyberpunk anime that foresaw the irreplaceable place the internet will play in our lives long before all the modern social networks and MMORPGs existed. Serial Experiments Lain touched more taboos than any other (non-hentai) anime. It portrayed drug use, computer addiction, child abuse and rape. Yet it contains no obscene content. Everything it shows exists to give you food for though. To this day this series is highly regarded as one of the most famous anime masterpieces. Lain aired in Japan in late 1998 and was released in the U.S. by Geneon Entertainment starting 1999.
Current State:
Geneon has lost the license to Serial Experiments Lain. Although the series is long out of print it can still be found for a reasonable price if bought as singles. This stems from the fact that Lain had received countless rereleases during its life cycle in the U.S. and thus many copies of it still linger on. Lain has been retouched and rereleased in Japan on DVD and Blu-ray during 2010. This retouched version not only contains new material and was redrawn for HD, but was also priced very competitively. If not for the lack of English subtitles and an English dub this could have become a great import item.
Chance of revival:
Very high. In contrast to common believe FUNimation doesn’t own the license to the current iteration of Serial Experiment Lain. FUNimation only has the license for the old-looking VHS quality master Geneon used. FUNimation has no intention of reviving this old version when a better one was so recently released in Japan. In a recent interview for ANN FUNimation Entertainment’s marketing manager Adam Sheehan admitted that the company is very interested in licensing the Blu-ray and has already started working on the paperwork for obtaining it. Serial Experiments Lain was one of the first anime series to be released on DVD, at a time when companies didn’t master DVD authoring yet. It suffered because of it, a fact that FUNimation took note of when deciding not to use the master they probably received from Geneon. When released, the new high-end Blu-ray version is sure to attract old time Lain fans as well as newcomers alike.
Short introduction:
An action fantasy series with a Matrix flavor, Shakugan no Shana had an O.K. story that expended exponentially and became very rich as time passed. The series aired in Japan late 2005 and early 2006. It was hastily licensed by Geneon, which managed to release its first volume in late 2006. Shakugan no Shana was very popular in the U.S. and Japan, prompting a second season, an OVA, a movie (which is just a super-condensed version of the first few episodes of the first season) and a third season (which is currently airing in Japan).
Current State:
The first and second seasons of Shakugan no Shana are out of print and out of reach. The prices are laughably high. Similar to Ergo Proxy, you can grab the first season of this series from the Australian based Madman Entertainment for a more reasonable price. Sadly, the second season is gone for good.
Chance of revival:
Good. FUNimation currently holds the license for Shakugan no Shana, and the third season is sure to be a good stimulus for a rerelease of the first two seasons in the U.S. That said, the series’ OVA and the movie, which were released in Japan over two years ago, remain untouched in the U.S. – a bad omen if there ever was one. Moreover, releasing two seasons just to get to the now-hyped third season seems a little bit unreasonable.
Bandai Entertainment USA Folds
What a bad way to start 2012! As you might have heard by now Bandai Entertainment, the U.S. based subsidiary of Namco Bandai Japan, will stop releasing new titles in February. That includes all of the companies’ manga and anime line. According to the ANN’s article:
“Bandai Entertainment will focus on licensing rights to other companies, particularly in digital distribution, broadcast, and merchandising.”
This in fact translates to “Bandai Entertainment will close its offices, but a representative will be kept in the U.S. in case any of the other U.S. based anime distribution companies wants to license a series directly from our Japanese firm.”
All the series Bandai Entertainment already released will remain in print for now, so there’s no need to panic even if you managed to miss one of Bandai’s releases along the way. But Bandai’s statement that it will stop releasing new titles is a bit enigmatic. Licensed series which have not been published yet are one thing, but what about series Bandai has been churning out in earnest, but haven’t been fully released yet? Will Bandai ever finish releasing Tales of the Abyss? and what about the second season of the very popular K-ON? These are series which were released in tiny little bits instead of a fully fledged complete series box set, and Bandai should be ashamed for not finishing them yet.
Then again, herein lies the problem: Bandai Entertainment’s current “restructuring” misfortune is the end-result the Bandai’s own inability to market its products. Back in the 90s it was common to release series in singles, with each single containing 2-7 episodes, and sell it at a premium price. ADV, Geneon, Media Blasters, Bandai, all the big distribution companies did this. But this marketing style began to lose steam in the new millennium, and eventually brought ADV and Geneo to their knees. In a recent ANNCast interview Bandai Entertainment’s former marketing manager for Jerry Chu told Zac Bertschy and Justin Sevakis that Bandai Entertainment USA succeeded where ADV and Geneon failed because it really did offer a premium package to those who bought those premium priced singles and box sets. However, what might have been true for the beginning of the millennium can become irrelevant in a few years’ time. Bandai continued to release overpriced singles in a new age where no other publisher dared to do so. Aside from the obviously exaggerated price tags (20$ for 4 episodes of K-ON after a discount? really?) the notion of having to wait a year or two for the series you like to be published bit by bit has become archaic. Other companies have often released series in two parts, but slicing a series to more than 2 parts (unless it is a long-running series) is in bad taste.
Bandai has been making bad marketing choices for years. One example would be the companies obsession with Gundam. Bandai released Gundam-related series left and right, never bothering to stop and check which Gundam series had actual potential for success and which is was garbage. But perhaps Bandai’s most recent infamous failure is its inability to market Gurren Lagann. Gurren Lagann had the potential to become a cult hit. It should have been the next Full Metal Alchemist/Naruto/DBZ (you get the point). But Bandai didn’t promote it properly, released it as over-priced singles, and only sold it through its own online store (which is now closed). Frankly, the sleepy Bandai desperately needed a heavy hitter like Gurren Lagann. Instead that great title had undeservingly mediocre sales and didn’t create any sort of hype. Bandai continued to release singles until the bitter end. I feel sorry for all those who bought the three Tales of the Abyss DVD boxes and are now nervously worried if the forth (final) DVD box for the series will ever be released.
But enough about that. Grudges aside, Bandai Entertainment also managed to release mighty good anime while it lasted. I personally want to thank the company for releasing .hack//Sign, Lucky Star and The Girl Who Leapt Throught Time. May Bandai Entertainment rest in peace.
Welcome to the NHK DVD Review
A new year brings with it a new review! The Welcome to the NHK review has been added to the reviews section. Here’s a direct link.
Welcome to the NHK was the first SD series I reviewed. As a rule of the thumb I won’t lower grades of series that have visual issues on modern HDTVs if they were created in SD and don’t have an HD master or upscale available. That is, unless they look outright awful today.
Here’s an interesting bit of trivia I found while watching the series that didn’t quite make the cut for the review: the three alien-like baby creatures Sato keeps imagining are refered to in the English credits as Hikikomorians. All three Hikikomorians have different voice actors despite the fact that the only audible thing they do on the show is laugh sinisterly or cry out in fear.
If you are interested in the light novel that inspired the anime series you might want to check Brian Ruh’s article on it. He also addresses the notion of hikikomori in general.
Top 10 Forgotten Anime List (part 1)
Anime series tend to have subjective life spans. That is to say, some series are evergreen hits (aka Dragon Ball Z) while others are quickly forgotten and put to rest. But since demand and supply play an important role in a series’ life span, ill-received series which not many buy can actually stick around longer than those hit series which everyone and their sister bought a copy of. Not only that, the sad truth is some of the best anime series out there are currently out of commission and cannot be bought easily. These shiny gems were once highly praised and sought after. They now lay forgotten, covered in the dust of time, and are not licensed due to varies reasons. Today I’ve decided to share with you my list of top 10 forgotten series which should get a new breath of life and be reachable again. Because the whole list will fill the entire blog space if posted at once I’ve decided to divide it into 3 parts. Moreover, since this is a list of series that I strongly believe should be rereleased, and not a “best of” list, the series in it are not numbered. That said, I did include each and every title because in my humble opinion they are the best forgotten anime series out there. The series’ titles are linked to their respective entries over at anidb.net, so click on them for more information about the series. Let the listing begin!
Short introduction:
A beautifully animated series with great plot and many surprises to keep you watching, Scrapped Princess was a very high profile series both in Japan and in the U.S. It aired in Japan during 2003 and was later released in the U.S. in 2005 by Bandai Entertainment. Above all it was a very balanced anime, with a completely believable fantasy world. It even touched on political and religious issues.
Current State:
The series is unlicensed, and a bit forgotten. You can still find copies of the entire series on the net, but the price tags are in the hundreds.
Chance of revival:
Very high. This was a well-received series and it still has potential to sell today. Its license only expired recently so another company might license it soon. Scrapped Princess will probably resurface in a year or two.
Short introduction:
The most successful and memorable magical girl series to date. Despite being a shoujo series it managed to cross demographics and genders, and was highly popular. The secret to CardCaptor Sakura’s success lay in waving a complex backstory which slowly unfolds and matures as the series progress. CardCaptor Sakura aired between 1998 and 2000 in Japan. It arrived on U.S. shores in 2000 and was released by Nelvana across several years. Two very different series exist: (the original) Cardcaptor Sakura and Cardcaptors. Cardcaptors was a heavily censored and altered version, in which several episodes were omitted, the main character changed and themes recompiled to portray a different story. Cardcaptors was supposed to be the definite CardCaptor Sakura iteration in the U.S. However, due to demand by fans, the original CardCaptor Sakura was also simultaneously released. Eventually CardCaptors bombed, while CardCaptor Sakura became a huge success.
Current State:
The series is unlicensed despite lingering love from the fans.
Chance of revival:
Very high. CardCaptor Sakura was retouched and released on Blu-ray in Japan during 2009. As of now it is bound by an exclusivity contract that forbids its distribution outside of Japan. Nonetheless, U.S. anime distribution companies are probably on their toes and will snatch it up the moment the exclusivity contract expires (which should happen soon).
Short introduction:
A very charming and touching love story. While it seemed like a typical harem series at first it has been recognized for its complexity and lack of offending fan service. Ai Yori Aoshi was praised for its art and interesting characters. The series aired in Japan during 2002 and was released in the U.S. by Geneon Entertainment USA in 2003. A second season titled Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi was also created.
Current State:
The series is licensed by Funimation Entertainment, but no release date is available. The old Geneon DVDs have become very rare and expensive.
Chance of revival:
FUNimation received the licensing rights to Ai Yori Aoshi from Geneon when Geneon went under. However, FUNimation received it as part of a large bulk of series and has yet to announce whether it intends to release it or not. It remains to be seen if FUNimation will rise up to the challenge and bring Ai Yori Aoshi back at an affordable price.
Short introduction:
A pumped-up action series about lawless pirates, this series seemed frivolous yet retained a very realistic feel. Black Lagoon is the only anime series in which you can find people cursing each other in Japanese, Spanish, Russian and English!
Black Lagoon also had an unintelligible English opening theme. The main characters of the series managed to be likable despite being dirty scum bags to their cores. Black Lagoon aired in Japan during 2006. It was released as singles by Geneon in the U.S. starting 2007 and later picked up by FUNimation, which released it as a box set. A second series, as well as an OVA were later created.
Current State:
The Geneon singles are now a thing of the past. FUNimation’s box sets have gone out of print, and FUNimation has yet to reissue them. Legal copies can still be found around, but the prices are through the roof.
Chance of revival:
Very high. To commemorate the release of its brand new OVA (Black Lagoon: Roberta`s Blood Trail) both the first and second seasons of Black Lagoon were retouched and released on Blu-ray in Japan between 2009 and 2010. FUNimation will likely be issuing their own Bly-ray version of the series based on those Japanese masters in the near future.
That’s it for today. Look forward to the second part in a few days. Want to offer a different list or guess what I’ll be adding next? Head over to the comments section and write it up!
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie Blu-ray Review
The latest review is up. This time its the Cowboy Bebop movie. Read the review here or through the review page.
I really liked how Sony treated this title (note: the version I reviewed is a rerelease by Image Entertainment but the source was still authored by Sony). Although it is not really a 1080p release Sony applied some fine retouches to the Blu-ray version to make it more visually attractive. I hope someday a brave company will venture into Sunrises archives, dig up the old series and give it the same (or even better) treatment. It’s not a far-fetched dream either. Technically speaking, If FUNimation Entertainment can make an HD version of the original (super old) Dragon Ball Z series from scratch I’m sure Sony is also up to the challenge. And Because so much time has passed since Cowboy Bebop came out on DVD a new Blu-ray version has some serious marketing potential. Good series tend to resurface like that from time to time.
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