i reeeally hope u dont want me to read aaaaallll of that! im to lazy but i will subscribe!

I actually don't think it's unreasonable to offer both subs and dubs on the one package.

Having considered the different comments I've seen here, I think it's worth making one important point: as you said, some of the market is interested in dubs and some is interested in subs.

So, I guess I'd ask, what is your solution for the distributors?

It seems to me that you're suggesting companies release two versions of the same package, with one excluding the dubs (thus making the "lite" version cheaper).

I don't necessarily think that such an approach would lower the prices across the board though. In fact, it could easily increase the price at the retail end.

Although I agree that many producers release multiple versions of a single product, eoschild does have a legitimate point: distributors are all fighting for retail space and that has to be a consideration for them.

At the end of the day, as long as a DVD contains the option to switch off the dub track, I don't see too much of an issue. It depends how much the dubbing actually costs - I would tend to doubt that dubbing pushes retail prices up very far, because the distributor would do one dub and then they'd be selling in high volume. In other words, it would be an economy of scale issue, which shouldn't increase prices exponentially.

I don't know what anime DVD prices are in the US as compared to their equivalents in other countries, but I would question whether or not dubbing in and of itself is solely responsible for any price differences. It may be a factor, but I'd say there are other legitimate factors too.

I suppose we all hate feeling that we're being gouged by a particular distributor, which is a valid point. On the other hand, you can ask how long is a piece of string - in other words, distributors are reasonably allowed to make a slight margin and I would be interested to know what the margin is. If it's exhorbitant, then fine, but if not... well, bad luck really. If they didn't exist at all, it would be even tougher for the majority of people to consume anime in the United States.

Ultimately digital distribution would be best. It could be platform independent, but probably not software independent (at least, not completely). Still, if you could choose which format you want to buy (or buy a license and be able to download all formats or something), that would be a wonderful option.

As it is, I'm still waiting for the movie store to hit iTunes here in Australia. We still don't have movies, TV shows or rentals. Only video podcasts. Sucks to be us.

- James

@SomeGuy:

We hope, but the big question is if they will be locked down to specific software/hardware. My hope is that they will realize the futility of such measures and don't do it.

-Ichigo

@animepulse:

Thankfully digital purchases should more or less be right around the corner too, eh?

@eoschild:

I was referring to Bandai Visual. Their prices may be high, but they are doing good business, because they are serving the market need. And Media Blasters might have done sub-only in the past, but if you look at their current lineup, all the big titles like AMG are dual language releases.

As far as the problems in releasing two versions, companies already release multiple versions of the same shows all the time, so that argument doesn't hold too much water. Companies release multiple versions all the time hoping that one will sell better. Additionally, I don't care. I'm a consumer, I don't care what hoops a company has to jump through or what trials and tribulations they go through. Either they meet my need or I take my money elsewhere.

Also note, my ideal preference was a digital version that was platform and software independent.

Thanks,

Ichigo

A few corrections, Bandai Entertainment offers dubs while Bandai Visual USA omits them (but suffers from inflated prices and low episode counts in an attempt to emulate the Japanese releases). The company that almost consistantly releases DVD's sans a dub are Media Blasters, minus their big name titles.
While the companies should explore other distribution methods for getting the product to consumers, it would actually be more of a problem to release hybrid and sub-only DVD's of the same series, retailer shelve space is limited. Products like cars and stereos allow for customization, DVD's generally do not. Digital distribution is better suited for this.

@haseo luver92:

I didn't say that current releases don't have the original audio with subs as well as dubs. My whole point is that the industries approach has been to offer both, which drives the price up due to the ADR work. I don't want to pay more to buy a product, some of which I will never use. My experience is that most people watch either subs or dubs, and some people watch both from time to time. But if the industry's not meeting my need as a consumer I will not consume from that industry.

-Ichigo

@SomeGuy:

I will absolutely be buying Bandai's 9 episodes on a disc for $30 release of Gurren Lagaan. I'm hoping they'll be selling them at AX so I can pick the first one up before I go to Japan, and then have Batou send me the other two. Because, as my article said, I'm a consumer who will pay for the product that meets my need at the right price :-)

Thanks,

Ichigo

well, in all due respect, i agree with most of your article, except that alot of anime industries are starting to put the original japanese voices as well as the dub. dvds from a ways back such as yu yu hakusho even have the original voices. azumanga daioh, cardcaptors, full metal alchemist, all the studio ghibli films, and so many more! (unless you're buying a VHS). so while they might not advertised that way, more than likely they do have the option to watch the japanese version with subtitles. and my argument is not that i dislike watching subs, that's never been a problem with me. i enjoy watching studio ghibli films especially in japanese, BUT, i don't believe that they are considerably better or if at all than the dubs (with the exception of some, because like with all things, they're are bad dubs). as for addressing the market, i've found that many of the older fans enjoy watching both versions, so the way the dvds are selling now can satisfy most of the general market. which is more than likely why they don't cater to the 10 percent that just want subbed versions that you can easily access on the internet.

haseo

Hardball debates are fun!

Personally, I enjoy both subs and dubs. Sometimes, I even think that the English dubs are better than the original Japanese (Of course, that's just my opinion).

The problem is that the market is so varied with the different wants and needs, it's hard to find compromises.

Hardball with Ichigo. Good times.

I really can't argue with very much, if any, of this. The furthest I could really go would be that in terms of paying less for less content, there's gotta be some midway hiccup from Japanese companies that are selling their 3-episode, single-audio bare-bone DVDs for pretty much the same price as a North American 5-episode dual-audio + features disc. It's very possible there's something in there I don't have in my head right now, but that's just the feeling I get, is that money/licensing issues would come into that. Speed/time getting the stuff to market would definitely be better, though, no doubt.

Other than that, the only other thing I can say is that the companies are starting to change. FUNimation's done a buttload of negotiations in the east about how western audiences work, Bandai Entertainment's got that crazy double-release experiment planned for Gurren Lagann . . . heh, so here's the new question, then: if Bandai Entertainment does do this thing where they cater to the audience that just wants a lot of sub-only anime for a fair price, will the audiences buy it? 'Cause all these years they've been saying they will . . . but y'know . . .

In any case, thanks for being intelligent and rational about this and for approaching the tried-and-true anti-purchase excuses from a nice and stable position.