When will we see Gundam back in the US again?
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This question has been asked multiple times, and I think it was also on the old forum but it needs to be asked again since Sunrise doled out a bunch of license rescues at Otakon. Several people have answered with "Sunrise wants a full commitment to Gundam and anyone who gets it would have to get EVERYTHING" which started as some rumor and I find it very hard to be true. Nobody has asked them at their panels about this at all and it would be nice to get an official answer.
I know Daisuki had poll options for Gundam and is streaming Z Gundam, ZZ Gundam and SEED HD, and while that is fine and dandy the DVD sets for several Gundam series are OOP thanks to Bandai bowing out and for all we know those streams could expire like the previous Gundam streams. Japan has gotten a Blu-ray set for 08th MS Team and will be getting Blu-rays for Wing, while we're stuck with nothing. If Sunrise is actually pulling this "full commitment" thing they need to scale back their expectations for the US market. With the stuff about Gundam Origin getting an anime at some point I fear we may never see Gundam released here on video, or dubbed even, and it's just going to be sub-only streams from here on out after Unicorn finishes.
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Well nozomi got some Gundam titles. And I've heard Funi is interested in getting Wing. So hopefully we will see more Gundam trickle stateside in time.
0 A WILD MONKEY ENTERS THE FRAY! TOONS N COMIC STUFF HERE!
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Well nozomi got some Gundam titles. And I've heard Funi is interested in getting Wing. So hopefully we will see more Gundam trickle stateside in time.
As far as I've heard from the rumor mill, Sunrise is still looking for a single distributor to handle their entire Gundam catalog, and with this being their flagship franchise, I can imagine this will still be the case for a while now.
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very good question, what the US really needs is a tv channel specifically dedicated to anime e.e
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very good question, what the US really needs is a tv channel specifically dedicated to anime e.e
It's called the Funimation Channel but not many people get it. Then there's also Neon Ally, but it's not really a channel, in a conventional sense.
0 A WILD MONKEY ENTERS THE FRAY! TOONS N COMIC STUFF HERE!
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I'd hate to see it go to these guys but at the same time I think they could use it too. But Sentai would be an ok company to have the Gundam Franchise go too. Grated I would rather Funi or even VIZ get it, But. Funi has One Piece, Dragon Ball series, and Fairy Tail. All Long Running Series. VIZ has Naruto And Bleach. Also Long Running Series. So I think Sentai would be a good place for Gundam. I think it would give them a good support pillar, Like Funi and VIZ bother have event though their catalog is rater impressive as is. My only concern about that would be that since I prefer dub to sub, that they wouldn't dub any future Gundam titles to come. Then again since its a pretty popular series they just might. But as long as it were to be able to come over. I'll be happy with whoever gets it.
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It's called the Funimation Channel but not many people get it. Then there's also Neon Ally, but it's not really a channel, in a conventional sense.
There's also The Anime Network run by Sentai/Section 23/NeoADV/whatever other aliases I'm missing.
I think more Gundam might depend on Nozomi and how well their sales of Gundam Unicorn are.
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@TIL:
No it isn't.
If it weren't there wouldn't be 15 domestically released Gundam titles sitting on my shelf right now. Of course you could also argue that if it were Bandai Entertainment would probably still be around….
It would probably be more accurate to say that it used to be popular but the fanbase for it here in the states has since shrunk.
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If it weren't there wouldn't be 15 domestically released Gundam titles sitting on my shelf right now.
You're an outlier in the sales stats.
There aren't enough of you to make it popular.
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It wouldn't make financial sense to keep releasing things that didn't sell though. They must have made money then, and if they sold enough to make money, continue releasing more of them, and get at least 7 shows on TV it was popular by most people's definition.
Plus Gundam Wing was one of the Pioneering shows that aired during the Toonami/Adult Swim boom of the late 90s/Early 00s that created millions of new fans in the US. It's one of first things even casual fans will think about if asked to name iconic anime along with Pokemon and Dragonball Z.
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It wouldn't make financial sense to keep releasing things that didn't sell though
Notice that I haven't said anything about it not selling. There just aren't enough fans to make it POPULAR.
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I assume you trying to say its not AS popular over here. Otherwise there wouldn't be numerous amounts of story in the Gundam universe still being made, as well as the rumor of a possible upcoming Live Action Gundam movie. And while it may or may not be true that its popularity isn't as big over here, it obviously popular enough that there are many fans who wish for more to be brought over.
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If it weren't there wouldn't be 15 domestically released Gundam titles sitting on my shelf right now. Of course you could also argue that if it were Bandai Entertainment would probably still be around….
It would probably be more accurate to say that it used to be popular but the fanbase for it here in the states has since shrunk.
That tends to happen when your shows consists of the same basic precept/plot rehashed about 20 times.
They need to go back to the days when they were putting out much better quality writing and story-arcs that spanned multiple series / OVAs , while actually accomplish something new for the story.
It probably didn't help that the series' transition to digital production was marred with technical shortfalls. I.e Gundam SEED / Destiny being essentially SD quality work, with poor animation shortcuts and details. It was only starting with Gundam 00 and more recently Unicorn that we saw Animation start to return to a level that indicated their high production values, and looked similar enough to the old hand-drawn style that it could be considered an advancement, while still retaining a classic aesthetic.
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@TIL:
Notice that I haven't said anything about it not selling. There just aren't enough fans to make it POPULAR.
I don't get what you mean here. You do realize if something sells it IS popular right? Following the money is a valid indicator of success.
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I don't get what you mean here. You do realize if something sells it IS popular right? Following the money is a valid indicator of success.
That's completely relative, though. A big-budget Hollywood blockbuster that gets #1 opening weekend is considered a success, while a more modestly budgeted film that sits at #4 for two months is considered a bomb, despite the latter likely making comparatively larger returns for its investment.
Gundam is a massive cultural cornerstone in Japan, and it's likely that any US licensor would lose out unless it sold absolute gangbusters in NA.
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You do realize if something sells it IS popular right?
Not necessarily, that's false logic.
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Way to dodge the question. I was more confused about why you think that financial success can't be used as one way to gauge whether or not something is well-known. What do you use instead?
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I'm not dodging anything, Renzo actually summed it up better than I did.
You have a small, but dedicated fanbase. That doesn't mean your series is popular.
I would invite you to stand in the waiting line with the Detective Conan fans, but I'm sure that as soon as Sunrise/Bandai Visual/Bandai Namco can work out a fiscally responsible plan toforce-feedreintroduce theirjunktoyetic series back into the American market, they will.That puts you guys a leg up on them. ;P ~_^
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Sadly they are right, Gundam has never been as popular in America as it was Japan, not even close. And honestly the toy Market isn't right for it ATM. Even big companies like Hasbro & Mattell are having trouble selling toys to boys, Transformers sales have dropped 30% from 2010-Predent. *Odd Since Prime got good ratings on the HUB & the movies did well in the box office, but yeah, At this point getting any kid over 11 thats not already a nerd for em like you & me to buy a toy is increasingly difficult.
Speaking soley of the anime thought I could see a few more shows here's& there trickle back stateside over time.
0 A WILD MONKEY ENTERS THE FRAY! TOONS N COMIC STUFF HERE!
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tbh as much as I love Gundam it isn't popular here much anymore since Wing. I still would like to see subbed releases of older series though so I can add them on my shelf beside the Zeta, 00, 0080, Char's Counterattack, F91, and 0083 DVDs.
