It’s hard to deny that FUNimation Entertainment puts a lot of resources into the Sakura-Con anime convention. The majority of domestic guests came from their Texas talent, while free giveaways and previews were seen all around the con; for example, the screens of the main stage played the first episode of xxxHolic in between the concert sets of Ketchup Mania and Ali Project on Saturday. With that kind of an effort, it becomes less surprising that their Industry Panel held at noon on day 1 (March 28th) was so incredibly optimistic in contrast to the usual industry songs.
“DON’T PANIC!” covered the projector screen as I walked in a little late to the panel of FUNimation's Adam Sheehan. “The anime industry is fine,” he told us emphatically. After watching the evolution of the North American Anime Industry for so long these past years, I was completely shocked to hear such words; never in my life had I ever heard an industry representative say something so outright… positive. And boy, for the next half hour he certainly backed up his words.
While several analysts point to the declining DVD sales as an immediate sign of industry troubles, Sheehan counter-argued that other things like convention attendance have been rising (Sakura-Con 2008’s projected attendance is 14,000-15,000 attendees, at least 3,000 more than last year).
Digital downloads look to be a major force in FUNimation’s future. In an effort to cut down the time between initial license and final distribution, they plan to begin releasing subtitled, Japanese audio anime (at $1.99 per episode) from their redesigned website before the eventual DVD releases. Sheehan also stated that they would likely be MPEG-4 or something similar, which reasonably leads to the idea that these won’t just be tiny, low-resolution downloads. Off the website, FUNimation also already has a dozen shows downloadable from both iTunes and Xbox Live (English dub, $1.99/episode or $38.99/series).
Sheehan went on to mention a highly ambitious new FUNimation sponsorship program called “Operation Anime”. The general idea is that anime clubs registered with Operation Anime will be privileged with screenings of FUNimation’s newest and upcoming titles. For example, every month a school anime club could make a DVD request and FUNimation could deliver for their screening date. The program is still in the works, but any further information can be found at:
http://www.operationanime.com/
The next topic was the current “FUNimation Channel”. As well as showing brand new FUNimation titles, they are also willing to show other non-FUNimation shows as well. Their goal, as described, is to turn it into an overall “anime channel” as opposed to just a FUNimation-exclusive thing. As for cities and towns where the FUNimation Channel is unavailable, Sheehan was quick to tell a story of a small town in the American Midwest that had five people who basically bugged their cable company, calling the office around the clock for months, until they relented and acquired rights to air the FUNimation channel.
After finishing with the new plans and programs with which FUNimation intends to set out, the panel moved back into the more traditional discussion of anime DVDs and box sets. Sheehan quickly mentioned the “Viridian Colletion” re-release process of older shows for cheaper prices before getting into the “FUNimation Green Initiative”; in effect, all DVD sets with the FUNimation Green logo will have been packaging with recycled materials, printed by energy-saving, sustainable methods. “So if you see a box with both the Viridian label and the Green logo,” he said, “you can feel good that you’re saving money and the environment!”
The panel shifted into current projects and new releases, with quick presentations for Shuffle, Black Blood Brothers, One Piece, Aquarion, Dragon Ball Z, Baldr Force EXE, School Rumble (Season 2 and the OVAs specifically), xxxHolic (which got a huge convention push in general all weekend), Vexille, and finally Claymore (hopefully out within the year). There were trailers for most of these, but technical difficulties meant most of them could only be shown at the end of all the presentations.
Of the titles – among the many coming out in May – One Piece and Dragon Ball Z tended to make for a lot of interesting thoughts and feelings from the people in attendance. People were ecstatic to hear that FUNimation had the rights to “start from the beginning” with One Piece using new scripts and a new cast. Myself personally, I found myself laughing during the One Piece trailer they eventually showed due to the voiced-over line, “…from the beginning as it was always intended…” that described the new production. As a further promotion for One Piece, the FUNimation table in the dealer’s room was also handing out free bookmarks cut from the actual Japanese animation cells – a Sakura-Con exclusive treat.
If nothing else, FUNimation’s Dragon Ball Z DVD sets prove that they certainly understand the nature of the show and the people who love it. As well as always being willing to promote Dragon Ball Z – it was the series/license that really allowed FUNimation to succeed and grow in its early years – the new DVD box sets have a most unique feature: “Marathon Play”. In Marathon Play, the DVD will play the opening credits, then all of the episodes on the disc uninterrupted, and then finally the ending credits; it’s features like this that only help show that the company understands its audience (at least better than what many might think sometimes). The presentation for Dragon Ball Z also answered a long-standing question I had always had about anime on hi-definition Blu-Ray Disc: how can you make an old show/feature high definition if it was never originally animated/recorded as such? In the case of feature movies like “Dead Zone” and “World’s Strongest”, FUNimation actually remasters their discs from the original 35mm theatrical prints – I was very pleased to learn that.
The panel moved into a question and answer period for the final bit.
In response to the shorter questions, FUNimation hopes to release the first bits of Ouran High School Host Club by late spring or so, and that yes, it would be uncut (though I did have to wonder for a moment what people would possibly cut from Ouran to begin with). They are also definitely looking into acquiring several titles like sequels/OVAs to other titles they’ve already licensed; going through the old Geneon lists is also part of the current work. Of course, FUNimation is also definitely interested in acquiring the rights to the original Dragon Ball, which is not up for grabs by anyone as the rights aren’t being sold by the original producers at present.
One audience member asked Sheehan’s thoughts on Gonzo’s recent partnership with Crunchyroll. Sheehan’s best response was that “it’s not FUNimation’s business.” It’s hard to deny there’s a sense of conflict of interests, but ultimately the deal was unrelated to FUNimation itself so all Sheehan could say was that he wished Gonzo all the best in their business.
Probably one of the more quickly-mentioned but noteworthy pieces was that FUNimation has had several long chats with the overseas Japanese companies, explaining the North American DVD industry and its styles and methods. The belief is that in Japan they’re finally starting to understand the need for immediate box set releases, so hopefully that will reflect on the market later in the year.
That was about where the panel ended.
Coming out of the panel at about 1pm, I was still a little dumbfounded by how incredibly positive the atmosphere felt in there. Again as we were all leaving the room, Sheehan reminded us all, “don’t panic!” FUNimation Entertainment definitely seems to understand that complaining about a problem and working towards a solution for a problem are two very different things. I’m definitely curious to know how the other big anime companies are changing in comparison now, though sadly I was unable to attend those particular panels or those panels weren’t present in Seattle this past weekend. In any case, it seems that FUNimation is here to stay…
…and that in light of today’s warnings of industry crises and disasters, the Texas-based anime powerhouse has been stocking up on more than enough bottled water and portable radios for years to come.
