Len has already welcomed all of you into 2009, and so now's a good a time as any to talk about what we're expecting from the anime and manga companies in 2009. There are certainly a lot of expectations, what with the interesting year 2008 has been.
Between the fall of ADV and Geneon, and FUNi solidifying itself as the Lordgenome of the anime industry, I'm curious to see if anyone can climb up the ranks and pose any sort of threat to FUNi's market share. On the manga side, we've had the fallout of Tokyopop matched with the creation of Kodansha USA -- something that we're still waiting to see the fruits of. Oh, and there's the eternal question: When is the next Yotsuba&! coming out?
So, we've got a list of suggestions for all of you companies out there. I know there's some magical formula that helps along your choices for licensing, but we've got all of the staff's suggestions for what titles you should make your top priority in the licensing war. We'd also like to hear from you readers as to which titles you want to see licensed. You never know who'll license things because of what you say...
Without any further ado, let's get into the staff's "DO WANT" choices for 2009.
Zac Bentz
Um...anything by Tsutomu Nihei and Junji Ito? I can haz moar Yotsuba and Evangelion manga?
Rio McCarthy
My major DO WANT to be released in the US would definitely be Kuroshitsuji. I would love to see both the manga and the anime make their way here, as I absolutely love Sebastian and can't get enough. Pleeeeeease bring us goodness in 2009 Anime Gods! Oh! And the Persona anime and the manga series if they haven't been licensed yet.
Matthew
Hidamari Sketch and Hidamari Sketch x365: Yen Press is releasing the 4-koma manga here as Sunshine Sketch. It's getting good reviews, so why not? And, Yuno's cute.
Kurenai: One of my favorite anime of 2008, even though it did depart from the original light novel in character design and plot quite a bit. Should be a good enough sized audience out there (much more than anything else I watched during 2008, probably) to make it viable for release here... right?
Huamulan
My do wants: Vampire Knight and VK Guilty: Bishies and emo. 'Nuff said. Hatenkou Yuugi: Short, fun, intelligent eye- and mind candy. Plus OT3. As for manga, I might as well include this: Q.E.D. Shomei Shuryo by Katou Motohiro. I'd like to see an English version released because the version I'm reading is flopped.
Omo
Macross Frontier: It's Macross. It's fun. 'Nuff said. Kaiba: It's so art-house, it transcends cultural and national barriers. Plus there's a kickass story behind it to boot. Kara no Kyoukai: So pretty, so pretty, my pretty.
Colette
Duh, I can't believe I didn't think of Kuroshitsuji. That and Chi's Sweet Home are my most wanted.
Dale
Persona anime on DVD please!
Zero-chan
My Christmas wish is for US companies to not waste money and skip the Persona anime on DVD because it's TERRIBLE. Trust me on this one, guys - it's, like, one step above FF Unlimited.
Meanwhile, I'm hoping some brave companies will step up to the plate and release more overlooked classic anime series. It's a damned travesty that there's still no North American version of Macross DYRL. I'd also love Turn A Gundam and a Robot Carnival re-release. Manga-wise, I want Jojo's English releases to start up again, along with an English release of my favorite under-the-radar manga, Otogi Matsuri. Game-wise, somebody release Dodonpachi Daioujou X and Ketsui eXtra stateside, stat!
God Len
They need to defienitly pick up a Super Robot Wars game, I don't care what they have to do to get it, just GET ER DONE. Or I'd be happy with the space epic Legend of the Galatic Heroes.
Webimpulse
I want more cheap box sets to be available so I can actually become an anime veteran instead of the n00b I've always portrayed myself to be.
John Martone
Kaiba, because too often we license anime that sells, rather than is good. While not for everyone, viewers need the occasional extreme show in order to help maintain perspective.
Brad Rice
Like everyone else, I'd love to see Kaiba come over here, and I'm really itching to hear a distributor announce that they've grabbed Spice and Wolf. In terms of manga, I'd really love to see someone take a chance with some of Shimura Takako's works -- Hourou Musuko and Love Buzz. They're minimalistic and cute, with something a bit heavier lurking beneath the surface. Oh, and Highschool of the Dead. Never enough zombies.
19 comments
