Crunchyroll Acquires Suzumiya Haruhi
|Crunchyroll has acquired limited distribution rights to the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya franchise. Episodes of the anime TV series have already begun appearing on the Crunchyroll site. The spin-off Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya and Nyoron Churuya-san anime series originally distributed on YouTube will also soon be available through Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll also states that it will “handle download sales and print-on-demand merchandise for the title.”
The 28 episode Suzumiya Haruhi television series is presently licensed for American DVD release by Bandai Entertainment. The original novels and manga adaptations are presently published in America by Yen Press & parent company Hachette Books.
Is this a sign of discontent or lacking confidence in Bandai Entertainment from Japanese master licensor Kadokawa Pictures, or just a sign of Kadokawa’s effort to expand the franchise’s market presence?
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Bandai probably did the best it could with the show, but it just doesn’t have the same domestic market value it might have when it first came out in Japan. Hell, even in Japan, the movie spin-off seems to have disappointed. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11120&page=-5