Ask John: Why Hasn’t Blood+ Been Released on American DVD?

Question:
Why hasn’t Blood+ been released on DVD? I’ve never heard of a series that’s gone directly to TV first instead of video release. Exactly what’s going on?

Answer:
On the contrary, anime released to American television without a DVD release, or prior to a DVD release, are relatively common. The primary delineating factor between anime with strong home video support and those without seems to be the series’ distributor. Typically, when anime series licensed for distribution by companies within America’s core anime industry receive television broadcast, they also have a significant home video release. However, anime series distributed by companies outside of America’s core anime industry may often receive only a TV broadcast, or TV broadcast with limited home video follow-up.

For example, shows including Idaten Jump, Ojamajo Doremi, Battle B-daman, Tokyo Mew Mew, F-Zero, Duel Masters, Daigunder, Bistro Recipe, Mushrambo, and Moncolle Knight have aired on American television but have never had any American home video releases. Dragon Quest, Cat Ninden Teyande, the 2001 Cyborg 009, Jiku Tantei Genshi-kun, Hare Tokidoki Buta, and Digimon, among others, have aired on American television and received only limited or partial home video release. The one thing that all of these titles have in common is that their master American distribution licenses have been held by companies outside of America’s core anime distribution industry.

The American master licensor of Blood+ is Sony Pictures, not one of America’s primary anime distributors. While Sony has previously distributed some anime in America, anime is not the company’s primary concentration. America’s anime distributors rely on revenue generated by their anime titles. So mainstream television exposure is highly beneficial, and diligent home video distribution is essential. Such is not the case for distributors like Twentieth Century Fox, Saban, Nelvana, 4Kids, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures. For these distributors, the anime they distribute is supplemental to their core business, so these companies may not want to invest a significant amount of time, effort, or money into the anime titles they distribute. In many cases, that lack of investment is justified. I haven’t seen much demand from American consumers for DVD releases of Fighting Foodons, Mew Mew Power, or Shinzo, for example.

Specifically in the case of Blood+, when Sony acquired international distribution rights to the show, they acquired TV broadcast and home video rights. However, Sony has never confirmed plans to release the series on American DVD. With a title with as much audience and sales potential as Blood+, I imagine that Sony would deem the series worthy of an eventual domestic DVD release. But at the present time Sony seems to have bigger projects to focus its attention on, so only time will tell if an American DVD release for Blood+ ever materializes.