BlackAdder

EX 14 may have had to close down his thread since the original debate was going no where, but there was one issue that was raised in that thread that I felt HAD to be raised here

Yes. Aside from...

Now here's the thing: I admit, Gonzo may not have benefitted from crunchyroll, but that was only one example of a studio that did not take off, and secondly, it's not very common. The frontier is still young before you can easily say that online free-to-air is not a good idea.

And there are other studios, licensing and original, that are taking this approach:

http://www.youtube.com/user/funimation
http://www.youtube.com/user/KADOKAWAanime

Admittedly, for Funimation, they have to enable region lock to make their free-to-air available only in the U.S. And, Kadokawa has yet to air the new episodes of Haruhi, subbed, online (though theya re using Haruhichan as a tester)

No, it is NOT insane.

~

Internet free-to-air is no different from free-to-air radio in its early days:

The same would go for early television, and, in this modern age, Internet TV. Who would pay for a message/music/show that anyone can recieve and access anywhere ?

And yet, radio took off, thanks to heavy advertising, and it being the main form of entertainment in that day, just as TV became the main form of entertainment in the latter 20th century, and now, new media provides a larger, far more unpredictable form of mass entertainment that can reach more people than before.

~

It is not insane to make it accessible anywhere by anyone, provided you find another way to skin money off people.

If it was insane, then I really see no benefit for the producers of South Park to put the entirety of the show online:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/

And, it is not just accessible anywhere in America: as far as I know, there is no region-lock: anyone in the world can watch it. [That being said I used to watch episodes of the Boondocks on the online adult swim channel before they region-locked it, but there's no certainty that merchandise for a show like the Boondocks would be viable in an area like here (unless the opportunity arises)]

Another way to look at the issue is this; is it less coss-effective to air a show, on the Internet, in one place, or in various places ? If it's along the lines of having to acquire the show, then maybe. But in the case of studios, there may be no additional cost to air data over a larger amount of space.

The way I see it, the best way to boost such sales is to heavily fill Internet TV with advertisments and not-so-great quality, and provide a better, high quality DVD version for the people who are willing to buy.

Internet free-to-air is no more insane than television free-to-air is insane. The difference, however, is that internet free-to-air now allows the possibility of airing a show over a larger, transnational boundary. Effectively, it opens a new world of possibility, provided that corporations know how to handle such a boundary.

I feel the point is relevant, since people still percieve matters of internet free-to-air viewing as being like normal television free-to-air viewing, but it is just not the same. All it requires is understanding. Kadokawa, Gonzo, Funimation and Comedy central are already testing the frontier.

Gonzo may have failed, but that hasn't stopped the others. After all, crunchyroll isn't exactly the same site as youtube: again, I emphasize understanding. IIRC, one can download easily from crunchyroll, but not from youtube, and definitely not from sites like the adult swim and comedy central's free to air. Also, from further understanding, Gonzo was airing a series that may not have inetrested viewers (i.e, the Tower of Druuaga). Now, if a show like Macross Frontier, Gundam, etc. had been aired, and on a more popular and well-known free-to-air site, I can imagine that the opportunity for merchandise would be far greater than putting a relatively mediocre show on a slight-well-known internet site.

In short, I don't think it's insane to consider it, or even condemn it: all it requires is understanding of the WWW and internet communities to be able to figure out how to profit them, and the regions that they come from.

And, hopefully, Kadokawa won't lose 'millions' when they start free-to-air on youtube next week.

And, as always: beware the naysayer.

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ColourlessWind

Free-to-air and videos for download are good first moves. If successful, can spell the doom for Odex which is just great.

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BlackAdder

To be honest, I'm less interested in seeing Odex fall then in than the possibility of lowering the role of the licensing middle man globally, and having a greater access to media all across the world.

Currently on /co/, the hot topic is the french animation, Wakfu. Russian aired First Squad not too long ago. Season 3 of the Boondocks would be airing on Adult Swim this year's Fall, and Animax is doing Lamb.

Now, imagine a platform that can allow any viewer to appreciate any animation from any nation all across the globe. The way I see it, this particular platform has possibilities that were unavailable prior to the age of new media.

And why stop at animation ?

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sentinel011

Any effort to increase awareness through legal means, so that people won't complain when they break the law, is good. Streaming and Youtube are good alternatives; companies need to learn how to make use of the Internet to create avenue for income through anime streaming and the such, instead of ostracizing it.

MistaYoH

Personally i don't support full episodal releases due to my own mindset as an artist that stops me from "giving out my art for free". But heck, there are other ways.

And, you have to take into account on the amount of technical staff in the projects and the restrictions they set. For exp Funimation has region lock. Kadokawa uses Cheap Animation. Look at the framerate and quality of that stuff they're chunning out. The storyline's and script is ALMOST the same as the manga, so what storyboard is needed? It's less staff intensive for what Kadokawa is giving out. It's like asking an animation crew to animate a series of Chibis and showing it on youtube. In comparison, think of the money they'd churn out if they'd pack a whole animation crew to draw full actioned/backgrounded good flowing animation on youtube.

It's not even funny how much capital they would have lost already.

Meh, it's just my mindset setting in... don't mind me

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BlackAdder

Well, I can understand that mindset: I understand that some artists who do not want to see their art stolen (which is why I prefer to take note where I found a particular artwork unless its fan-made) ANd, at one time, I used to be quite protective of my ideas as a writer for the same sort of reason.

But I've sort of moved on from that perspective ever since I came to understand a peculiar nature of new media, profit and creativity, as well as some other big pictures. It's a bit of a complciated reason, and I'd need an even longer reason to explain why I experienced such a paradigm shift in my opinion on distributing media property.

Most definitely. This is, after all, still a 'young' frontier, so to speak.

While I'd disagree with that move, I can udnerstand if licensors, TV studios and the like would perform that move to ensure that they maintain the license within the region. While I espouse a more transnational view, it is understandable that current busienss practices are largely region-centric.

Cheap as it is, it at least cuts corners and still allows for some fame. I'm not so sure of the budget that Gonzo put into Druuga, but such a budget may have not bee compensated.

And yes, all further signs that frontier is still very young.

We're all entitled to our opinions. I mean, my own opinions won;t sti well with everybody, esp. noting some of its influences.

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MistaYoH

Again, it's not about maturity of the mind or not. Sometimes it's just not financially right when it comes about selling art/writings. Some people who depend on this to live will obviously value it more then people who do it as a hobby so i would think that it's about the occupational mindset.

All full feature anime episodes will have around 10 to 15 times the cost of Haruhi Chan or Chuuruya per episodes, i would believe.

While we have nothing against Haruhi as a whole (I have a lot of Haruhi merchandise... ranging to around $2000 too...), I find that there are more and other things to talk about other then this particular series.

All good anime deserves attention, like how all masterpieces should be appreciated.

Just hope that you don't get stuck in this circle and never move on... Especially since it's already 3 years old... I understand your excitement about "season 2" as well so until a real concreate episode 1 of S2 is released, I think your overexcitement is rather overdrawn and imposing in your other posts. If you get what i mean.

Of cos, that's entirely up to you again...

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BlackAdder

This I agree. Only thing is, I'm still waiting for some new anime series to be released that can impress me highly. It's not just Haruhi.

I fully understand. In fact, to some extent, it is what I hope some people would expect out of me.

However, the reason for this is due to the fact that I came to watch Haruhi after I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime that came out about 10 years ago. Evangelion is quite old, but has a relatively faithful following that lasts to this day. And the same goes for a lot of other, 'older' series. Think of any good, anime series that has faithful followings way after their ends. For me, I found a series that I felt I could stick to for, well, ten years.

A common crticism of Haruhi is that it may outlive its fad and may not have longevity in its interest. I hope otherwise. If Evangelion can still interest for ten years, I hope Haruhi could do the same.

For me, the problem is how the attention and appreciation is directed. Does financial interest and profit equal to attention and appreciation ? I can see why in some circles, but there are others that would think otherwise. Again, a long reason.

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blazin

I wonder if the Anime studios should setup donation box next to the free-to-air anime they are telecasting online, donate to support them...lolx

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BlackAdder

Well...seeing how sites like AMV.org, Something Awful and so on use such a move, I'd think it would also help to the budget (maybe add a ncie line like: "Help keep the online viewing dream alive!")

Of course, there's no guarantee it'd be very sustainable. But, I imagine that having the drive to keep some sites alive may help the animation budget, in a small way.

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BlackAdder

It's been a while the time the topic was started, but I felt like responding to this.

Yes, Haruhi is 3 years old, but Evangelion is currently 12 years old. And yet, it still has a fanbase that, guess what, is just as imposing, perhaps even more.

I admit that I have many other reasons for like Haruhi, but the above was an example: just because a franchise is old doesn't mean it has to immediately give way to some newer franchise.

Sure, Season 2 has been a lot of fail lately (and it does make me sad), but how I feel for Haruhi is perhaps the same way some people feel about Eva. Though, I guess I feel it more for Season 1.

~

Anyway, on-topic:

http://www.japanator.com/bandai-anno...ld-10932.phtml

If Bandai Entertainment's channel is indeed, then yes, I'll be all for it.

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