OK, Funimation didn’t quite license that much, but they went on yet another licensing spree today, picking up both Tower of Druaga shows, Dragonaut – The Resonance, and Blassreiter from GONZO and Bamboo Blade from D. Rights.
Now, personally, I’m not sure if any of these are actually good licenses except for Bamboo Blade. Part of the reason is just because none of the three GONZO shows exactly lit fires under anyone as far as I could tell, but also because, at least in the case of Blassreiter and Druaga, they were previously released legally with english subs (or in the case of the second Druaga series, still being released). I guess Funimation figures that people already download shows, so it’s no different than that, but we’ll see.
Of course, I’m still waiting on Shakugan no Shana II sooo….
Posted Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 11:56 pm |Permalink
Out of these three, I like Druaga the best, followed by Blassreiter. But I already have all of those episodes, and I can’t see myself buying them again. Weird that Funimation is choosing to release them again. Digital >>>> DVD anyway. ;) I haven’t seen Bamboo Blade, but it doesn’t really interest me based on what I read about it, so I’m not sure about that…
Posted Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 12:36 pm |Permalink
Yeah, that’s with me, at least with the first season of druaga. I already dumped like $25 or $30 on the series…why would I dump another $30 just to have a dub (presumably) and on DVD? I mean, yeah, those are nice, but not worth the extra price of buying it again
Posted Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 9:05 pm |Permalink
Regarding Druaga, I suppose that not everyone bought it the first time round. Sub-only is an inexpensive way to put out a license and get a quick return on it, but while in anime fandom there are subbers and there are dubbers, and ne’er the twain shall meet, only a portion of people go for subs-only, which means that profit margins are smaller as well as costs (equivalent exchange, natch). Druaga must have been successful enough amongst the subbers to suggest that it would be worthwhile trying to snag dubber custom, too.
4 Comments
Out of these three, I like Druaga the best, followed by Blassreiter. But I already have all of those episodes, and I can’t see myself buying them again. Weird that Funimation is choosing to release them again. Digital >>>> DVD anyway. ;) I haven’t seen Bamboo Blade, but it doesn’t really interest me based on what I read about it, so I’m not sure about that…
Yeah, that’s with me, at least with the first season of druaga. I already dumped like $25 or $30 on the series…why would I dump another $30 just to have a dub (presumably) and on DVD? I mean, yeah, those are nice, but not worth the extra price of buying it again
I jumped for joy when I heard the good news about Bamboo Blade and Blassreiter. Both series are my absolute favourite.
Regarding Druaga, I suppose that not everyone bought it the first time round. Sub-only is an inexpensive way to put out a license and get a quick return on it, but while in anime fandom there are subbers and there are dubbers, and ne’er the twain shall meet, only a portion of people go for subs-only, which means that profit margins are smaller as well as costs (equivalent exchange, natch). Druaga must have been successful enough amongst the subbers to suggest that it would be worthwhile trying to snag dubber custom, too.