Hello!I've been a subscriber to the subreddit for a while now, and I've noticed that submissions of UK specific news seems to be a bit sporadic, in contrast to the pretty heavy coverage of US companies and anime availability. I thought it might be nice to make a roundup of the latest news affecting the UK market, upcoming disc releases and a comprehensive list of where seasonal shows are streaming in the UK. I'm currently thinking this might be a monthly thing, that will give time to let a fair amount of news build up while still being fairly current, but I'm open to hearing opinions on what other people think the format should be. With that being said, let's get started!NewsProbably the biggest news affecting the UK market is the announcement of FunimationNow, which will finally give Funimation a direct presence in the UK market. For most US readers, this probably isn't a big change, just a fancy new website/apps, but I think it has the potential to change the UK anime market considerably. Funimation has previously had a policy of hardly ever licencing to Crunchyroll, even abroad where they don't operate themselves. This has meant Funimation titles often end up in streaming limbo. The UK distributors, with the exception of Anime Limited, have little interest or capacity for streaming outside of Netflix. Funimation titles often end up spread across several different services, as AL sub-licence streaming to Viewster, Animax occasionally remembers wakes up from their coma to do some work (currently three weeks late on just about everything, woooo!), and Daisuki picks up some of the remainders. The fact remains that finding these shows is a crapshoot currently, and a lot of these services just aren't very good. Funimation has the potential to shake up the market by being a central provider for these shows that either went missing altogether or were being provided in a subpar manner, and I think the new service has a lot of potential at the right price point.Universal Pictures have announced plans to stop licencing their titles to local anime distributors moving forward and take over distribution of their titles in the UK for themselves. Their initial launch titles will be Seraph of the End and The Heroic Legend of Arslan. Universal will be targeting the high end collectors market with their initial collections it seems, the RRP listed on Amazon for Seraph is £60 for the 1st season. This will include an 130 page book with interviews, artwork etc. translated from the Japanese release as well as artcards/poster/trading card etc. Arslan will have a similar package, with it's release split across 2 Collectors Editions. Anime Limited have shown that high end collectors editions can work for an initial release in the UK market, and if Universal want to get into UK anime this seems like a good strategy, and standard editions can still come further down the line.UK Anime Network has an interesting article discussing anime sales for the year 2015. They don't go into detail on numbers, preferring to keep it vague. They're citing a wish to respect distributors desire to keep those confidential, which I can understand, and it's still an interesting look at how different titles are performing relative to each other, and what has just completely tanked.The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2016 includes several anime movies which will be appearing at various UK cinemas over the next few months, namely Miss Hokusai and Anthem of the Heart. Both films will be showing in Aberystwyth, Derby, Dundee and London. AOTH in Birmingham and Nottingham and Miss Hokusai in Bristol, Exeter, Kendal, Leicester, Manchester and Sheffield. The notable exceptions here are Glasgow and Edinburgh, home of the Scotland Loves Anime festival. Glasgow isn't part of the tour at all, and the Edinburgh leg is showing live action films only. I won't say much on the subject only that I find these odd cities to leave out, as they clearly have a fairly large audience for this kind of stuff. Might this point to some kind of SLA expansion or mini festival? Regardless, if you want to see these films, make sure to book if it's on close to you! You can find details of films and venues on the Japan Foundation website.The Boy and the Beast will be showing at the Glasgow Film Festival on the 21st and 22nd of February. Details of venue and tickets on their website.Anime Limited have announced several new licence acquisitions, including Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, Psycho-Pass 2, Free - Eternal Summer and the currently airing Erased. Nothing from other distributors this month on new licences as far as I know.There have been several new additions to Netflix in the past month, including Black Lagoon, Gunslinger Girl and Tenkai Knights.Physical Releases in JanuaryTitleCompanyFormatEpisodesBBFC RatingBeyond the Boundary (Kyōkai no Kanata)AnimatsuDVD/BlurayComplete Season15The Last:Naruto the MovieMangaDVD/BlurayMovie12Persona 4: The AnimationKazeDVD/BlurayComplete Series12DBZ: Battle of Gods/ Resurrection F Double SetMangaDVD/BlurayMovie12DBZ: Resurrection FMangaDVD/BlurayMovie12Hidamari Sketch - Season 1MVMDVD/BlurayComplete Season12Maid-Sama! - Part 2MVMDVD14-2612Oreimo - Season 1MVMDVDComplete Season18The Eccentric Family (Uchouten Kazoku)MVMDVDComplete Season12Upcoming February ReleasesWorld Conquest Zvezda Plot - Complete Series CollectionGankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo - Collectors EditionMobile Suit Gundam - Part 2Naruto Shippuden - Box Set 23Nyan-koi! - Complete Series CollectionOreimo - Complete Season 2 CollectionSasami-san@Ganbaranai Complete Series CollectionLove, Election and Chocolate - Complete Series CollectionMirai Nikki: Future Diary - Part 1Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) RedoHaikyu!! Season 1 CollectionSeason SimulcastsShowStreaming ServiceShowStreaming ServiceActive RaidCrunchyrollMyriad Colors Phantom WorldCrunchyrollAo no Kanata no Four RhythmCrunchyrollNurse Witch Komugi-chan RCrunchyrollAssassination ClassroomAnimaxOjisan to MarshmallowCrunchyrollBubuki BurankiCrunchyrollOoya-san wa Shishunki!CrunchyrollDagashi KashiAnimax/DaisukiPandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost UrnAnimax/DaisukiDimension WAnimaxPhantasy Star Online 2: The AnimationCrunchyrollDivine GateAnimaxPlease tell me! GALKO-chanCrunchyrollDurarara!!x2 KetsuCrunchyrollPrince of Stride: AlternativeAnimax/DaisukiERASEDCrunchyroll/DaisukiSchwarzesmarkenCrunchyrollGATECrunchyrollSekko BoysCrunchyrollHai to Gensou no GrimgarAnimaxShouwa Genroku Rakugo ShinjuuCrunchyrollHaruchikaAnimax/DaisukiSnow White with the Red HairViewsterKonoSubaCrunchyrollTeekyu 7CrunchyrollLuck & LogicDaisukiMahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desu KaraCrunchyrollAnd that wraps it up for this month! I'm interested in hearing feedback from you all. Is this something you'd be interested in me continuing? If so, should I give more detail for upcoming physical releases, or for ones which came out last month like I did here? If you know of any shows I missed in the streaming section, or if you have any other corrections, let me know and I'll fix it. http://ift.tt/1VH9wmB
No comments:
Post a Comment