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[Jubenhimer]

Funimation has Dragon Ball Z and One Piece, Viz has Naruto and Bleach, even 4kids had Yu-Gi-Oh!. These were all shonen anime that helped fuel the american anime boom in the 2000s, and still remain popular today. However, famed anime distributor ADV Films, despite being one of the early pioneers of American anime distribution, never really seemed to have had its own long running shonen giant, and was more known for shorter, niche anime, rather than ones with mass market, TV appeal in America. While they had Evangelion, and while it was hugely influential in japan, the problem was that it was only 26 episodes. And despite a brief, heavily censored run on Cartoon Network (2 episodes during Toonami's Giant Robot Week), it really seemed to be more popular with hardcore anime fans in America rather than the pop-culture juggernaut of something like DBZ.

So I've been thinking, would ADV still be around today if they had a few of their own long-running, mainstream shonen hits like DBZ or Naruto? The vast majority of shows ADV aquired were around 26 episodes or less. I remember before Funimation got Sgt. Frog, ADV had the series, and apparently was looking for a TV deal. And just when ADV started production on it, it along with 29 other anime were suddenly transfered to Funimation. This was a sign ADV was falling. So, maybe Sgt. Frog could've been the mainstream TV hit ADV supposedly wanted. Now I understand you don't always need 100+ episodes to be a mainstream success in America, FMA had around 63 episodes, but it was extremely popular when on Adult Swim. And not all 100+ episode anime make it to mainstream TV popularity, and I understand television wouldn't be the end-all-be-all solution (as it would also require good marketing, licensing deals, and merchandising as well)

I guess what I'm trying to say is, did ADV needed a few long-running shonen?

 

[Narag]

I don't think longer shows would have helped if they also still licensed everything under the sun at ridiculous prices.

 

[Jubenhimer]

I don't think longer shows would have helped if they also still licensed everything under the sun at ridiculous prices.

Yeah, that was another problem. Instead of overspending on tons of random, 26 episode shows. They should've focused more on trying to get shows that could have had potential for long-term success in the West. The problem with ADV was that they had no long-term plan, which led to them throwing everything include kitchen sink at store shelves in the vein hopes that something sticks. While they put out some cult favorites, all this strategy really did was drive the company in financial hell. This is very different compared to Funimation or Viz, which have the help of multiple big shonen juggernauts and fan favorites to keep them going because (in their early years at least), they actually put thought into what they licensed. ADV didn't do that, and the company suffered because of it.

 

[Man God]

They sucked at getting tv deals.
They had no consistency on their dubbing. Some shows would be world class, others total train wrecks.
They licensed everything with very little quality control.
They licensed stuff that even at the peak had little interest to most folks.
They licensed...well, too much stuff!

Remember that Funimation was made with the idea of getting DBZ big in the US. Viz of course was the international wing of a Japanese media company. Same with Bandai of America. Those were three of the big players.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

was adv the one who put out 3-4 eps of an ova for £15-£20?

that didn't fly once dvd replaced vhs.

 

[bagandscalpel]

As much as I wanted to like ADV-

Samurai X

SAMURAI X


Of all title localizations.

 

[Fat4all]

at the very least they got the best version of the Azumanga Daioh manga out there

yen press made a few too many questionable decisions for my tastes

poor Osaka...

 

[Jubenhimer]

Remember when I mentioned how ADV was trying to get Sgt. Frog on to Nickelodeon when they had the license? Well turns out, there's also a lost intro theme to what would've been the syndicated version of ADV's dub. Unfortunately, the video was removed from YouTube, so I can't play it here. But there's some info here of you want.

 

[Shard]

Probably not because ADV fell apart, literally, due to internal politics.

 

[Shard]

Also, they tried to do this with of all anime City Hunter, in the early 2000s.

 

[Snaku]

You can only rerelease Evangelion so many times...

 

[Jubenhimer]

Probably not because ADV fell apart, literally, due to internal politics.

TBH, I'd argue this wouldn't have happened had they just made better business decisions. As I said, ADV's problem was that they lacked a long-term corporate strategy. Instead of making sure they had a few consistent, big name titles under their belt like Funimation, they instead overspent on obscure shit like Kuaru: Phantom Memory. I bet you never even heard of that title till I mentioned it. And as someone else mentioned, they licensed too many titles with very little thought behind their acquisitions. This is why I suggested they should've had at least a couple big name, easily marketable shonen under their belt as it would've at least given some sort of cushion to help pay off all those debts. It probably wouldn't have solved all their problems (they still had to figure out what to do with their Sojitz deal), but it would've helped to have at least one long-term hit.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

ADV still lives on as Sentai Filmworks.

 

[androvsky]

Iirc the Sojitz deal is what destroyed them, since they couldn't compete with Pioneer and Bandai in the bidding wars. Sojitz ended up owning a huge chunk of ADV's catalog, ADV had a ton of debt, and they had no choice but to spin off new companies to move forward.

 

[Yasumi]

A long running series would probably be even more costly to license. With dvd sales dropoff as series go on, and the initial licensing cost probably being high, they'd likely lose more than they gain.

Remember when I mentioned how ADV was trying to get Sgt. Frog on to Nickelodeon when they had the license? Well turns out, there's also a lost intro theme to what would've been the syndicated version of ADV's dub. Unfortunately, the video was removed from YouTube, so I can't play it here. But there's some info here of you want.

Bilibili link: http://www.bilibili.com/mobile/video/av3390271.html

Bleh.

 

[Clov]

ADV still lives on as Sentai Filmworks.

Along with Maiden Japan, another Section23 company. Still, when they formed all those different companies/labels they had to start from the bottom again, with a huge portion of their licenses gone.

Like everyone said though, overspending+the whole deal with Sojitz really killed what was known as ADV. I don't think a few shounen series would have saved them.

 

[Cheerilee]

TBH, I'd argue this wouldn't have happened had they just made better business decisions. As I said, ADV's problem was that they lacked a long-term corporate strategy. Instead of making sure they had a few consistent, big name titles under their belt like Funimation, they instead overspent on obscure shit like Kuaru: Phantom Memory. I bet you never even heard of that title till I mentioned it. And as someone else mentioned, they licensed too many titles with very little thought behind their acquisitions. This is why I suggested they should've had at least a couple big name, easily marketable shonen under their belt as it would've at least given some sort of cushion to help pay off all those debts. It probably wouldn't have solved all their problems (they still had to figure out what to do with their Sojitz deal), but it would've helped to have at least one long-term hit.

Apparently ADV partnered with a company that did their license buying for them (Sojitz), and as part of that partnership deal, that company was allowed to put executives on ADV's board (seems sensible, business partnerships are built on trust, right?).

Then this company deliberately overspent ADV's money, because they selfishly increased their own commissions by jacking up the price ADV had to pay, and by arranging overpayment they forged very positive relations between themselves and Japan (relations which they threatened to turn against ADV if ADV tried to get rid of them), all at ADV's expense, and there was nothing ADV could do about it, because ADV had foolishly given these people control over ADV's own board.

 

[Man God]

Apparently ADV partnered with a company that did their license buying for them (Sojitz), and as part of that partnership deal, that company was allowed to put executives on ADV's board (seems sensible, business partnerships are built on trust, right?).

Then this company deliberately overspent ADV's money, because they selfishly increased their own commissions by jacking up the price ADV had to pay, and by arranging overpayment they forged very positive relations between themselves and Japan (relations which they threatened to turn against ADV if ADV tried to get rid of them), all at ADV's expense, and there was nothing ADV could do about it, because ADV had foolishly given these people control over ADV's own board.

Drove up prices for everyone else in the dubbing game as well which lead to the near crash of the entire industry.

 

[WickedLaharl]

I wish aniplex of america would fuck off and die.

 

[Mr-Joker]

As much as I wanted to like ADV-

Samurai X

SAMURAI X


Of all title localizations.

As a big Rurouni Kenshin fan I just vomit at that title, there was nothing wrong with the original title.

 

[Scavenger]

As much as I wanted to like ADV-

Samurai X

SAMURAI X


Of all title localizations.

Sony came up with the title, and Media Blasters put it out on DVD in the US, not ADV.

I'm glad we got Rurouni Kenshin in the Netherlands, and not that edgy Samurai X bullcrap.

 

[Korigama]

I wish aniplex of america would fuck off and die.

I'm rather surprised that they still manage to survive with the prices they charge even after how many other distributors in the US have already had to shut down.

 

[distantmantra]

ADV still lives on in their spinoff companies, but I'd love to know how much money they sunk into that live action Evangelion movie (with WETA) that never resulted in anything.

 

[Shard]

I suppose another thing to keep in mind is the west during that time wasn't really craving more endless battle shonen. Indeed for the sake of supposition let us say this idea is workable, what exactly could ADV have picked up?

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I'm rather surprised that they still manage to survive with the prices they charge even after how many other distributors in the US have already had to shut down.

Aniplex survives precisely because of the prices they charge. They're aware that Internet streaming has become the dominant form of television series delivery for most people, so they provide streams of their licenses on multiple services such as Crunchyroll. Physical releases are a niche for collectors, so targeting their discs at that niche who are willing to pay higher prices makes sense. Reducing their physical disc prices wouldn't be likely to bring in enough additional customers to still bring in the same revenue.

 

[Korigama]

Aniplex survives precisely because of the prices they charge. They're aware that Internet streaming has become the dominant form of television series delivery for most people, so they provide streams of their licenses on multiple services such as Crunchyroll. Physical releases are a niche for collectors, so targeting their discs at that niche who are willing to pay higher prices makes sense. Reducing their physical disc prices wouldn't be likely to bring in enough additional customers to still bring in the same revenue.

Ah, I see. Hadn't taken revenues from streaming into account.

 

[Clov]

I wish aniplex of america would fuck off and die.

I'm not sure what this has to to do with ADV, since they're an entirely different company. Aniplex isn't likely to go anywhere in the near future though, given that their releases have been quite successful.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Sony came up with the title, and Media Blasters put it out on DVD in the US, not ADV.

I'm glad we got Rurouni Kenshin in the Netherlands, and not that edgy Samurai X bullcrap.

Grrrr SOOOOOOOOONYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! *Shake fist angrily in the air.*

 

[Zippedpinhead]

My biggest regret with ADV is not buying the macross (original run) series on DVD. The final single discs and the boxed set are absolutely ludicrous in their price. And the old harmony gold/robotech dvds are reasonable, but the ADV release had the original Japanese pacing and had the original audio, something harmony gold hasn't allowed before or since.

Unless I'm wrong... I would love to be wrong about this.

Follow up: apparently robitech AND macross are on amazon prime... I guess I know what I'm binging

 

[bagandscalpel]

Sony came up with the title, and Media Blasters put it out on DVD in the US, not ADV.

Interesting tidbit about the Sony decision, but it was definitely an ADV release in the States.

I do recall that Media Blasters localized the rest of the TV anime.