Ask John: Why Hasn’t Kurau Been Released in America?

Question:
I’m a big fan of the show Kurau Phantom Memory and I was wondering of the possible reasons why ADV hasn’t released the show. As you are in the anime DVD distribution business, you might know the reason for licence hold ups. If ADV doesn’t release Kurau Phantom Memory, could you see other companies like Bandai or Geneon or yourself (AnimeNation) picking it up if the chance came along? Is the Bones name big enough to sell this show?

Answer:
I did discuss the possibility of an American release of Kurau ~Phantom Memory~ recently, but with this question I’d like take a different approach to an answer.

Since I’m not privy to AD Vision’s internal workings I can only speculate. So rather than try to discuss the status of Kurau extensively, I’ll use it as a starting point to answer your third question. To address the first question, there are virtually a countless number of possible reasons why Kurau ~Phantom Memory~ hasn’t been released in America yet. It’s possible that AD Vision does have distribution rights to the show and is delaying it to wait on receiving materials, or waiting until a select staff is available to work on the show. It’s possible that AD Vision has a first option to license the series, but has not exercised that right, meaning that the show isn’t licensed, but also isn’t available to competing potential licensors. AD Vision may not have the funds necessary to license the series or funds available to finish paying for distribution rights. Or ADV may have changed its mind about acquiring the show. It’s also possible that the delay lies on the Japanese end. Ownership disputes or conflicts over royalties may tangle up international distribution. Or the original Japanese licensor may have arbitrarily decided not to license out international distribution rights after all. Without any hints, there’s literally no way to accurately guess why the series hasn’t reached American DVD yet.

Considering the interest in the show present within America’s fan community and the quality of Kurau itself, I can easily envision the series being brought to American DVD by some company – if not AD Vision, than someone else. But the possibility of Kurau reaching American DVD depends upon whether or not the show is available for licensing and the costs involved. Kurau is a show that would generate respect for its licensor, but probably not a great deal of profit. The show is relatively obscure in America’s fansub community. When even hardcore American anime fans aren’t largely interested in watching a show for free, there’s probably little chance of it becoming a major American commercial success. However, Geneon has licensed a number of good shows that have niche market appeal, such as Kamichu, Strawberry Marshmallow, and Zipang. And Media Blasters recently stated its strategy of prioritizing smaller and lesser known acquisitions instead of high profile titles that cost so much to license that they can’t generate profit. And AN Entertainment has always prioritized licensing shows that we respect and enjoy; however, the relative success of AN Entertainment’s domestic releases makes perusing additional titles a remote possibility for us right now.

There are certain Japanese studios whose names are virtually enough alone to sell anime in America. Those studios include Production IG, Gainax, Gonzo, and Ghibli. Bones may be very popular in America’s fan community, but I don’t think the studio is respected and revered enough by American fans to command instant attention. However, on a larger scale, I’m not positive that any anime studio name alone is enough to guarantee success in America. The closest to name recognition that exists for mainstream American consumers is Ghibli, but even in that case I think it’s more Hayao Miyazaki’s name that attracts the attention of mainstream American consumers than the name “Ghibli.” Especially within America’s hardcore anime fan community, studio names like Production IG, Gainax, and Gonzo cause consumers to pause and take notice. I don’t think Bones has quite that level of recognition yet.

Studio name recognition may be a moot point in America regardless. I’m increasingly getting the impression that typical anime titles are becoming less profitable in America. I have the nagging, but unconfirmed, suspicion that sales of American anime DVDs are beginning to heighten among the best known and most widely promoted titles, leaving the remainder struggling or unable to generate profit or capture a sustained audience. But even relatively high profile titles in American release may not actually be generating any profit. Media Blasters’ John Sirabella recently admitted publicly that the licensing fees for the Ah! My Goddess television series were so expensive that Media Blasters is just hoping to recover its costs on the show by the end of the series’ American home video lifetime! Hardcore anime fans, I think, would like to believe that series quality and production studio lineage have some significant impact on sales, but I’m not convinced that’s true. Increasingly I’m of the impression that the trend in American anime DVDs sales gravitates to whatever titles consumers have heard of and recognize by sight. Lesser known titles, regardless of their quality, don’t generate significant sales and don’t earn substantial profit. If that’s true, Kurau ~Phantom Memory~ may be an outstanding show, but it’s virtually doomed in America because it’s not a title that very many consumers are familiar with and therefore not a title which very many consumers will purchase.