Ask John: Why Are There So Few Next Gen Anime Releases?

Question:
I’d like to answer both of these similar questions.

Where are the HD DVD and Blue Ray anime DVD releases? A few months ago I bought a new 1080P DLP TV and I can buy HD & BR DVDs of regular movies but not anime yet. HD trailers of many anime films can be viewed from the Japanese production companies’ websites. After seeing these, I don’t know if I what to buy regular definition releases any more if I know a HD version is available in Japan.

The people that I regularly talk to would really like to see anime released on HD DVD or Blue ray. Have any of the people you know expressed interest in seeing anime released on HD media? And do you know what the current opinion is among producers and licensors of anime in Japan and America of HD anime.

Answer:
Right now, the cost of pressing HD and Blu-ray discs is, on average, more that double the expense of manufacturing standard definition DVD discs. And that cost doesn’t include the expense of remastering video footage to high resolution, or next generation media authoring. High definition DVD authoring can cost as much as four times the cost of standard definition DVD authoring! Under present market conditions, there just isn’t evidence of a large enough consumer market for anime on HD or BD media to convince most distributors to invest so much on releasing anime on high definition media. Furthermore, the majority of America’s anime distributors are hesitant to move into production of HD or Blu-ray media because there’s still no certainty about the longevity or dominance of either format. Asked about the plans for HD or BD releases in the August 5-11 issue of Home Media Magazine, Bandai Entertainment sales manager Sam Maseba said, “We’re still thinking about it.” ADV Films’ Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Mike Bailiff said, “Once HD DVD or Blu-ray catches on, everyone will bring their best catalog titles out. But now it’s hard to commit.” Geneon’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing Jim Yardley said, “What we’re going to do is take a very long look at the market.” And Viz Media’s sales director Brian Ige said, “We’d have to take a very long look at it.”

Bandai Visual has already begun releasing HD and Blu-ray anime discs in America. Freedom and Wings of Honneamise are already available in America, but they’re relatively expensive. A larger number of HD and Blu-ray titles are currently available in Japan, or are scheduled for release, but they are likewise relatively expensive. Films including Akira, Jin-Roh, Steamboy, Ghost in the Shell cost roughly $90 each on Japanese high definition media. The Air TV series Blu-ray boxed set costs roughly $260. Paprika on Japanese Blu-ray costs approximately $50. Brave Story costs a little over $40 on HD or Blu-ray, yet ironically the less expensive standard definition edition includes optional English subtitles which the HD and Blu-ray versions do not.

It’s clear that there is more anime available in high definition in Japan than in America at the present time, but the majority of Japan’s current and planned high definition releases are catalog titles, not new release titles. The majority of new anime being released on DVD in Japan is still being released only on standard definition disc instead of being released simultaneously on standard and high definition media. This trend probably illustrates that Japan may have a slightly larger market for HD and BD anime than America presently does, but even in Japan right now there’s not enough consumer support for expensive high definition anime releases to justify their production cost.