Ahead of what is said to be a busy day at Expo tomorrow, MangaUK have announced that they have the licenses for Strike Witches 2 and Shiki.
Manga UK:
- Strike Witches 2
- Shiki
- Tales of Vesperia (DVD/Blu-Ray)
- Bleach: Fade to Black delayed to May 2012 due to issue with subtitle delivery. Will get both a DVD and Blu-Ray release.
- Naruto Shippuden movie 2 will get a DVD/BD release, boxset with movies 1 and 2 on BD also planned.
- Have a lot more they can't announce yet.
- Expect to see Kaze logo on MangaUK releases more. They want to work closer with AnimeOnDemand for streaming, discounts.
- Gantz: Perfect Answer out on 7th February, same date as Tekken Blood Vengeance.
Kaze:
- Have physical release rights for: Un-Go, Mirai Nikki and Persona 4.
- Might have something to announce about Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below later this month.
- Are currently looking at a couple of Spring titles that proved to be more popular than expected.
Moshidora is being looked at in particular, but may be hard to market due to the baseball premise.
- Will be pressing for anime on UK TV next year via their French department, although it is incredibly tough to do, no advertising money in it.
- Samurai Girls delayed until January 2012; DVD/BD release at same time.
- Trigun: Badlands Rumble in Q1 2012, Mardock Scramble on DVD/BD early March.
- Princess Jellyfish - Q2 2012.
Beez: (decepción)
- Warehouse fire: reprinting old titles is huge cash commitment, insurance and cash flow are problems.
- Durarara will probably be released in a boxset with English dub.
MVM: (nada nuevo)
- Relicensed Fruits Basket and Kiddy Grade for boxset release. Fruits Basket on 6th February, Kiddy Grade on 5th March.
- Welcome To The NHK - 9th January
- UK companies response to discussion of anime on UK terrestrial TV was worse than negative.
- Live-action Takashi Miike's Crow to be released in April/May next year.
Other Information:
- Akira sold 12,000 blu-ray copies this year. There were 2,500 pre-orders for the Steelbook.
- HMV is MangaUK's biggest buyer, but Amazon are MVM's.
- 85% of people in Manga UK's survey have a PS3, but only 8-9% buy their Blu-Rays.
- MVM states that as long as prices here are comparable to the US, importing isn't a huge problem.
Online VS Brick and Mortar
Funnily enough, MangaUK said that Brick and Mortar stores are more important for anime fans under 18, whereas Kaze said brick and mortar anime sales are dying. MVM said selling in supermarkets means less profit margins and larger inventory.[/u]