ADV Films: News

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ADV Comments on Relisted Titles, New Release Schedule

Company's SVP Mike Bailiff also touches on Sojitz's relationship, future licenses

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In late January, the North American anime distributor ADV Films quietly placed three dozen titles on hiatus. No official announcement was issued by the company; however, the titles were removed from the company's website, and retailers did not receive their orders for those titles. Among the removed titles were all of ADV's ongoing series, and a significant number of earlier catalog titles. All the removed titles had been licensed by ADV in the period since Sojitz Corporation of Japan invested in A.D. Vision, ADV Films' parent company, in 2006. The titles were licensed in conjunction with ARM Corporation, a subsidiary of the Japan Contents Investment fund that was co-founded by Sojitz.

A leaked article on the ICv2 retailer news resource indicated that the hiatuses were a result of a suspension of certain aspects of ADV's alliance with ARM. However, ICv2 went on record stating that the article had never actually been posted and was incorrect. While the status of ADV's alliance with ARM remains unknown, ADV Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Mike Bailiff explained that Sojitz is still an investor in A.D. Vision and stated, "There have been no changes in ADV's corporate structure."

Bailiff also explained why the company made no official statements regarding the removed titles. "There are a lot of parties involved in any anime production, and that can complicate even the best of negotiations. Frankly we had to keep quiet in the interest of resolving this situation as quickly as possible. My staff and I have been in touch with most of our retail partners, who have been remarkably patient and understanding.

"I understand fans' frustration — particularly those who follow the business of anime so closely. But this wasn't a situation that could be worked out over the Internet. I just hope fans understand that we're doing what we must to get back to the business of delivering first-rate anime. That's our focus. We'll be issuing further updates as we work through this backlog and establish fresh delivery dates for additional titles."

As reported on Tuesday, ADV has announced new shipping dates for many of the titles that were removed in January. Some of the titles appear to have accelerated shipping schedules, with subsequent volumes being shipped shortly after the first re-scheduled volume. For example, Project Blue Earth SOS Volume 2 will ship on March 11, only two weeks after the first volume. Likewise, Moonlight Mile Volume 2 will ship on March 18, only three weeks after the first volume. Most notably, Kanon Volume 3 will ship on March 4, only seven days after Volume 2. Regarding the shipping schedule, Bailiff stated that the company is working through the titles scheduled for release earlier this year and added, "Our goal is to get fans' favorite titles out to them as soon as possible, and that means a few weeks of heavier than normal shipments."

In regards to titles that have yet to re-appear on ADV Films' release schedule, Bailiff told ANN that the company is working hard to get all its removed releases re-scheduled. "We're working with all of ADV's licensing partners to get our titles back on track and into fans' hands just as soon as possible. Obviously we can't comment on ongoing negotiations, but I can assure you that a lot of people are working very hard to deliver all the titles fans have been asking about."

While the shipping schedule announced earlier this week made no mention of removed catalog titles (for example, 009-1 and Guyver), all of which had been licensed with ARM's involvement, Bailiff explains that his company is already filling back orders for those products.

Finally, Bailiff stated that not only is his company working through its backlog, but it is also preparing to announce new titles. "We're readying a few announcements for the not-too-distant future. Of course, I can't tell you what they are until negotiations are complete!"

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ADV Picks Up Upper Deck Japan's Kiba TV Anime

51 Kiba episodes produced by Madhouse; no new word on Gurren Lagann

At his company's Anime Boston 2008 panel, David L. Williams of ADV Films announced that his company has acquired the North American distribution rights to Kiba. This 51-episode alternate-world adventure television series, with animation produced by Madhouse, was sponsored by the Japanese division of the trading card company Upper Deck. Williams was not able to make any comments about ADV's plans for the Gurren Lagann anime.

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As usual, David L. Williams hosted Anime Boston's ADV panel, but for this year, he was joined by production coordinator Janice Williams.

David's duties at ADV have involved production, marketing and directing dubs. Currently, however, he is working mostly in what he calls the company's "black ops" section, involved with evaluating potential new anime to acquire the rights to. In this capacity, he has also been involved with ADV's broader plans, some of which have been aimed at buying out other companies in the North American anime industry.

Overall, in Williams' words, "stories of ADV's demise have been greatly exaggerated." "We are still around...and I guarantee you, we will continue to be around," he announced a few minutes into the panel. As an indication of this, he also confirmed that ADV has licensed the collectible card game-based 51-episode series Kiba.

At the same time, ADV has experienced a period of release schedule delays. The delays were largely due to the original ownership of the affected titles in Japan transfering from their original owners that ADV had acquired them from to new companies. The issues that led to the delays have now largely been resolved, and ADV is working to return the anime affected to the release schedule. The two that are still held up in negotiations, however, are Gurren Lagann and Keroro Gunso, for which ADV is "negotiating to maximize the value of the title in the U.S.", strongly suggesting ongoing negotiations to place it on American television.

With these issues out of the way, the panel turned to Williams using his licensing and negotiating experience to talk about some of ADV's more long-term goals. The company still does not have any firm plans to embrace the Blu-Ray format. At this point, Williams also dismisses the potential of high-definition releases beyond what is being made available on the Anime Network and via the XBox live Marketplace service.

Similarly, while some other companies are beginning to look into novel release formats, such as half-season sets, he argues that for the industry as a whole, abandoning single DVD releases is not yet economically feasible. Ultimately, those remain a significant revenue generator to recoup licensing and production costs. ADV may consider full-season distribution for some future "C-level" titles, but even for those, half-season sets are not likely.

He also claimed that, although Geneon Entertainment USA has effectively ceased operations, its Japanese corporate parent, Dentsu, is still not sure of the direction they want to take with the company and its licenses. Personally, Williams is beginning to question how much value is left in both the series that Geneon dropped mid-release, but argues that the other companies in the industry are still interested in "rescuing" the series that Geneon licensed, but was never able to actually begin bringing out.

Looking at the bigger, industry-wide picture, in Williams' view, both the sheer number of anime DVDs that companies are releasing, and the typical price points will have to decrease. while, as the Japanese anime production and licensing firms become fully aware of American market conditions, licensing prices will begin dropping. Previously, especially in 2003-2004, even the excessive fees charged by some Japanese companies for their licenses were sustainable by actual sales numbers, but that is no longer the case. At the same time, figuring out how to successfully implement truly simultaneous releases of anime DVDs in the U.S. and in Japan will be one of the biggest puzzles the entire industry will have to solve. He also argued that even making English-language dubs available at the same time as the Japanese release is not impossible. Ultimately, in his words, day-and-date releases between the U.S. and Japan will happen "because they have to happen", if the entire industry is to survive.

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Crunchyroll to Stream ADV's Welcome to the N.H.K.

America's Top Anime Distributor Teams Up With World's
Largest Online Anime Community

HOUSTON, May 22, 2008— Today ADV Films, the number one producer-distributor of anime outside of Japan, announced a special promotion with Crunchyroll, the leading destination for Asian content on the Internet, that will bring the fan-favorite series Welcome to the NHK to the web. In a progressive campaign to leverage digital promotion, ADV has made the first two installments of the 24 episode series available for at www.crunchyroll.com. Two additional episodes will be added each Thursday over the next five weeks.

Coming just in time for the long holiday weekend, Crunchyroll's internet broadcast anchors a summer long campaign to bring this critically-acclaimed anime series to a mainstream audience. To help new viewers jump onboard, ADV has arranged for select national retailers to offer volumes 1-3 of Welcome to the NHK DVDs at 50% off the regular suggested retail price. In addition, Crunchyroll is running a community contest to find the “Top Otaku,” where fans can win free Welcome to the NHK DVDs.

Welcome to the NHK is an unconventional anime from Studio Gonzo (Afro Samurai, Chrono Crusade) and director Yusuke Yamamoto (Sgt. Frog). The series turns a humorous eye to the NEET generation (Not in Employment, Education, or Training). Throw agoraphobia into the mix and you have one of the strangest anime comedies in years. Originally a hit novel from critically-acclaimed author Tatsuhiko Takimoto, Welcome to the NHK has also been adapted into a manga series of the same name (published in North America by TOKYOPOP).

Welcome to the NHK is a dark comedy filled with social satire, interesting characters, and crazy conspiracy theories that is sure to appeal to anyone with a little nerd in them. “Whether you are a proud otaku, a fan that lives in constant fear of being perceived as a geek by your friends, or a borderline hikikomori, you will see a part of yourself in it, and have lots of fun in the meantime” (Protoculture Addicts).

Crunchyroll is airing English dubbed versions of Welcome to the NHK, which are accessible to Internet users across Canada and the USA.

The first four volumes of Welcome to the NHK are available on DVD in stores now. The fifth volume in the six DVD series is scheduled to go on sale July 8.

About ADV Films:
ADV Films is the #1 producer-distributor of Japanese animation (“anime”) in North America and has the largest English-language anime library in the world. With best-selling titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Elfen Lied, Gantz, Robotech, Azumanga Daioh,, Hello Kitty and Guyver, ADV Films' extensive catalog is fueling the popularity of anime around the globe. Parent company A.D. Vision, Inc. encompasses a variety of complementary media divisions, spanning publishing, television, licensing and merchandising and continues to expand into new areas. Founded in 1992, the company is headquartered in Houston. For more information, visit www.advfilms.com.

About Crunchyroll:
Crunchyroll is the largest online community and destination focused on Asian anime, drama, music, gaming, and car content. Crunchyroll's distribution channel and partnership program helps content providers monetize and deliver content to over four million passionate fans worldwide. Founded in September 2006, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA and backed by Venrock. Check it out at www.crunchyroll.com.

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Anime Expo 2008
ADV Sneak Peek


Representative: Matt Greenfield

ADV's Sneak Peek panel was well-attended by fans, even though its existence was a bit of a surprise to Matt Greenfield, who confessed to not knowing about the panel until the previous night. He brought two episodes of Kiba to show the audience, but spent some time beforehand answering questions.

Greenfield wasn't ready to talk about ADV's current situation, but did acknowledge that the company's separation from their partnership with Sojitz left recent titles with their “fate undetermined.” He also expressed his wishes that whichever company ends up distributing the titles will hire the same voice cast to continue the production of the episodes.

Although Greenfield didn't think that ADV would be announcing any new acquisitions this weekend, he mentioned that they were in negotiations for 23 titles. No information was given as to when they might be revealed.

In response to a question about ADV's liquidation of their furniture, Greenfield said that most of the furniture was from their warehouse division and the PiQ offices. As posted on ANN earlier in the ear, all of ADV's online sales are now being distributed by The Right Stuf.

Another question was asked about ADV's presence in the exhibitor hall. While previous Anime Expo attendees may remember ADV's trademark tower, the space has been replaced this year by a simple DVD sales booth. The booth space was reserved by ADV, but is being occupied by a distribution service owned by one of ADV's employees.

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Anime Expo 2008
ADV Films

Representatives: John Ledford, Matt Greenfield

The atmosphere was somber at the ADV Films panel, and it was packed to the last seat with fans wanting to know about the status of the company. Earlier in the morning, North American distributor Funimation announced through a press release that they had picked up 30 anime titles, all of which had been previous ADV titles. John Ledford acknowledged that their former business partner Sojitz had withdrawn their financial support and management, and several anime licenses.

Ledford started the panel with a prepared speech, thanking the fans for all their support throughout the years, and for showing up to the panel, which marked ADV's 16th year at Anime Expo. “It's no secret that it's been a very bad year for ADV,” said Ledford, but assured fans that they already found a replacement for Sojitz. He also said that they were in active negotiation for a “large quantity of new titles.” No announcements have been made about those acquisitions yet, but the representatives said that some news may be ready by Otakon. The representatives are also waiting until Otakon to announce who their new business partner is, citing that “we're waiting for the blood to dry.”

When an attendee asked for reasons the partnership with Sojitz went sour, Greenfield commented that, “from the very beginning, it was difficult working in their world where everything is run by spreadsheets and so on,” and knew that, “this is simply not going to work out.”

During the questions and answers portion, the panelists said that a live-action Evangelion was still in the works, and that they had pitched the project to three studios. Weta is still on board to work on the movie.

Along those lines, ADV has several original productions that are “in the works.” As for new Japanese products, their in-house dub studios won't be producing anything “in the new future” until negotiations for new titles are finished. However, it was mentioned that with some of the new titles, ADV is working with Japanese companies to have simultaneous broadcasts in Japan and the US by releasing titles online with English subtitles.

ADV is still planning on releasing titles on Blu-Ray, but aren't able to do so until the Japanese licensors give the green light.

As for their manga department, Greenfield confessed that he didn't know what was happening there, but said that there wouldn't be any new acquisitions in the next year. They're still eager to continue the series that have already been started, meaning their remaining ongoing titles, like Yotsuba&!

A short question & answer session was followed by a screening of the first episode of Kiba, which had also screened at ADV's Thursday panel.

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ADV Corrects Its Update to List of Out-of-Print DVDs

Best Student Council DVDs, Robotech box collection still available

The North American distributor ADV Films has corrected its update last week to its out-of-print title list. ADV Films added Best Student Council to the out-of-print list, but the company now reports that this was an mistake. Best Student Council volumes 1-6 are still available as single DVDs. In addition, ADV Films will ship the Best Student Council Complete Collection on November 11. Single DVDs and most box sets of Robotech still remain on ADV Films' out-of-print title list, but the Robotech Protoculture Collection with 85 episodes is still available.

ADV Films has not changed the out-of-print status of 5 Centimeters Per Second or Innocent Venus, the other two titles listed in last week's update.

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ADV Films Waits Out Hurricane Ike

Website down as storm makes landfall near ADV's Houston HQ

The website and servers for the North American anime distributor ADV Films have been offline this weekend as the company's staff deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. On Saturday morning at 2:10 a.m. CT, Hurricane Ike made its Texas landfall just southeast of Houston, which is where ADV Films is headquartered. Much of the metropolitan Houston area is without power, but almost all the areas that were in danger of flooding were evacuated well in advance of the storm's approach. (ADV Films' headquarters is about 50 miles or 80 kilometers inland.) There is no set date for when power will return to most of affected areas.

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ADV Reveals More of Switchblade Pictures' Lineup

12 live-action films in 12 weeks, such as Killer Bees, Death Row Girls, Maid's Secret
The ICv2 retail news source reports on the 12 Japanese live-action cult titles that ADV Films will be localizing and distributing for the newly established company Switchblade Pictures:
Horror

Cruel Restaurant
December 2
US$29.99

Attack Girls Swim Team vs. the Undead
December 9
US$29.99

Killer Bees
January 27
US$19.98


Action

Twin Blades of the Ninja
November 11
US$19.98

Ninjaken—The Naked Sword
November 18
US$19.98

Female Prisoner Sigma
November 25
US$19.98

Death Row Girls
December 16
US$19.98

Chain Gang Girls
December 23
US$19.98

Comedy

Gluttonous
January 6
US$19.98

Maid's Secret
January 13
US$24.98

Maid's Secret—Welcome Home
January 20
US$24.98

New Manager of the Sumo Club
February 17
US$19.98

ADV Films had already announced five of these titles, including Koji Kawano's splatter horror films Attack Girl Swim Team vs. The Undead and Cruel Restaurant, at Otakon 2008 in August. Another previously announced title, Gluttonous, is based on a Japanese manga series.

ADV Films will release a new live-action Switchblade Pictures title every week between November 11 (Twin Blades of the Ninja) and February 17 (New Manager of the Sumo Club). ICv2 interviewed ADV Films Sales Account Manager Chris Oarr about the company's marketing strategy for Switchblade Pictures and the possibilities for digital downloads and Blu-ray Disc releases.

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ADV Films to Distribute Princess Resurrection Anime
Madhouse's horror comedy to start shipping on March 17, 2009

The North American company A.D. Vision will be localizing and distributing the Princess Resurrection horror comedy anime for the licensing company Sentai Filmworks. The Madhouse anime studio adapted Yasunori Mitsunaga'S manga about a boy named Hiro who comes to a decrepit mansion to meet his sister. However, his sister turns up missing, and Hiro loses his life during his search for her. The mistress of the mansion resurrects Hiro and reveals herself as Hime, a princess of the monster kingdom.

A.D. Vision's Amusement Park Media production arm will handle the anime's localization, while its corporate sibling ADV Films will handle distribution. The first of six volumes will ship on March 17, 2009. Before the home video release, A.D. Vision's Anime Network plans to run episodes on its cable video-on-demand service and stream a few English-subtitled episodes online. Sentai Filmworks has merchandising rights "on ad hoc basis," but no products are in the pipeline now. Del Rey will release the fifth volume of the original manga in North America next January, while Kodansha will release the eighth volume in Japan this month. The Japanese television network TBS is the licenser for both Princess Resurrection and Clannad, another recent Sentai Filmworks anime acquisition.

When ANN asked A.D. Vision CEO John Ledford about the title's appeal, he responded, "Well, the title's cool for one thing. I've got resurrection on my mind a lot these days! But seriously, TBS is a great partner to work with, and Princess Resurrection is a show with lots of action, cool characters, and let's face it — it's a cool plot."

Update: A.D. Vision will distribute all 26 episodes of the 2007 anime series, including the broadcasted side story episode and the second side story episode which was released only on DVD in Japan in February.