Anime ADV going bankrupt [unconfirmed]

[vegeta rocker]

For those of you that don't know; ADV is in huge financial trouble.

They put so much money into the Anime Network that when the channel started failing they were hit pretty hard.

They are now putting out "double barrels" of Saiyuki to try and up sales.

They say if there is any title you want from ADV you should get it before the end of the year. Technically anything they have now would be delicensed and you could legally get bootlegs.

So what do you think will happen, and what are you going to do?

[Dagger]

Mm... this is more appropriate for the anime forum, so I'm going to move it.

That said, any reports of ADV going bankrupt are pure hyperbole, as far as I'm concerned. [i]Every single[/i] North American anime licensee has felt the effects of the current market slump; ADV went a little more crazy than the others in terms of licensing so-so shows right and left, but I'm still sure they'll be fine.

Also, FYI, [b]bootlegs are never legal[/b]. That's why they're called, um, bootlegs. Just because (to give a random example) ADV's old Sailor Moon collections are long since out of print doesn't give anyone the right to run around dropping money on illegal copies of those seasons.

I have no idea why the Saiyuki Double Barrel collections strike you or whoever you've spoken with as a desperate grab for cash, haha. If that were the case, we'd really be in trouble, because FUNimation is putting out similar collections for Tenchi Muyo! GXP and Kiddy Grade, while Bandai is taking the same approach to re-releasing s-CRY-ed.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about ADV, but I love some of what they've been doing lately, such as designing gorgeous thinpak collections (I'm come to terms with the fact that they'll be stripped of extras) and creating promotional torrents. Keep up the good work, I say.

~Dagger~

[vegeta rocker]

My friends in Phoenix Ent. are also affiliated with ADV workers. ADV is at every con
promoting hardcore. They are almost as bad off as Funimation. (who is being sued for insider trading.) Funimation have been bought by some corporate ***** and they only have so long to buy themselves back

I hope neither of them do; but we will see.

Technically you can't consider an illegitimate copy illegal if there is no license. Thats why some animes can be found at Cons in between license. Like at A-kon, they have a little set of people called Black Ops that find bootlegs and kick the offenders out of the con.

But if an illegitimate dvd was made bewteen certain dates they can't do anything about it.

Why? Because at the time the license was non existent. The artists can't sue becuase they sold the rights. Its up to the rights holders, and they haven't completed the transaction; nobody sues.

[Dagger]

Show me a major company that isn't "promoting hardcore" at tons of cons.

Navarre is in hot water of some variety, but it's hardly Enron-level. The industry overall is in trouble, but not [i]that[/i] much trouble. Even though there's a grain of truth in most of what you've said, I can't help thinking your interpretation is insanely fatalistic.

Anyway--yes, it is illegal. There's no guarantee that someone will sue your butt off for it or whatever, but it's still illegal. C'mon... if we're going to venture into supposedly gray legal areas, isn't this what fansubs were sort of intended for? Isn't it preferable to get the darn thing for free--assuming you have no other way of acquiring it--than to give money to people who have made it their business to blatantly exploit the work of the original creators?

~Dagger~

[vegeta rocker]

I never said that I promote boot legs, i was just saying if you want a title bad then to get it before the end of the year. Otherwise you may be left with no choice but bootlegs.

If ADV goes down there will only be like two major dubbing houses left. ADV is already running at minimum capacity; they have closed down their smaller studios.

[Bloodseeker]

Bootlegs are always illegal. That's what a bootleg is, an illegal copy sold without the owner's permission. Its just that when there's no company in your country to come after you for selling bootlegs of their property, and when the makers overseas couldn't care less because those bootlegs won't be effecting their sales anyways, its more of a technicality than a serious issue.

[Dagger]

[quote name='vegeta rocker']If ADV goes down there will only be like two major dubbing houses left. ADV is already running at minimum capacity; they have closed down their smaller studios.[/quote]
????

Um, okay, so they shut down Monster Island. That's old news. But only about two major dubbing houses left? This really makes me wonder if you have any idea what you're talking about. "Major" dubbing studios--few of which, aside from ADV's and FUNimation's, are linked to a specific company--include Animaze, Bang Zoom, New Generation Pictures, The Ocean Group, NYAV Post, Headline, etc... The hypothetical loss of ADV's main studio would barely make a dent, especially given that pretty much all of ADV's best-known VAs also work regularly or at least sporadically with FUNimation.

~Dagger~

[kenshinsbabe]

[SIZE=2][FONT=Georgia]I'm just curious. How could a company that sells ONE ANIME DVD for almost $30 go down the drain? It seems very improbable to me. On the flip side, though, the fact that they do sell anime dvds for $30 could be the reason that they are possibly going downhill. Well, think about it. Considering the spike in gas prices and such. People can't spend their gas money on anime. Sad but true.[/FONT][/SIZE]