Anime Distributor CPM kicks the Bucket

[zakkrusz]

Well it seems Central Park Media/US Manga Corp/Anime 18, one of pioneering US anime distributors has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed up shop. Among the series and films it brought to the US which are now defunct were:


Angel Sanctuary (OAV)
Animation Runner Kuromi (OAV)
Animation Runner Kuromi 2 (OAV)
Armored Trooper Votoms (TV)
Ayane's High Kick (OAV)
Battle Arena Toshinden (OAV)
Birdy the Mighty (OAV)
Black Jack (OAV)
Cat Soup (OAV)
Cyber City Oedo 808 (OAV)
Demon City Shinjuku (OAV)
Descendants of Darkness (TV)
DNA² (TV)
DNA² (OAV)
Dominion Tank Police (OAV)
Genocyber (OAV)
Grave of the Fireflies (movie)
Harlock Saga (OAV)
Ichi The Killer: Episode 0 (OAV)
Kakurenbo (movie)
MD Geist (OAV)
MD Geist II - Death Force (OAV)
Mermaid Forest (OAV)
Night on the Galactic Railroad (movie)
Nightwalker (TV)
Now and Then, Here and There (TV)
Patlabor The Mobile Police (TV)
Patlabor The Mobile Police (OAV 1/1988)
Patlabor The Mobile Police: The New Files (OAV 2/1990)
Project A-Ko (movie)
Project A-Ko 2: Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group (OAV)
Project A-ko 3: Cinderella Rhapsody (OAV)
Project A-Ko 4: Final (OAV)
Record of Lodoss War (OAV)
Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (TV)
Revolutionary Girl Utena (TV)
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie
RG Veda (OAV)
Roujin Z (OAV)
Shadow Star Narutaru (TV)
Shamanic Princess (OAV)
They Were 11 (movie)
Urotsukidoji (OAV)
Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (movie)
Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (movie)
(The) Venus Wars (movie)
A Wind Named Amnesia (movie)
(The) World of Narue (TV)
Wrath of the Ninja - The Yotoden Movie
Yotoden (OAV)
Yu Yu Hakusho The Movie: Poltergeist Report

among many others. Well, frankly I can't say I'm surprised they've been silent for over a over a year and a half not releasing anything new, so I guess this is just the final nail in the coffin. I can't say there's much they had that appealed to me personally aside from Armored Trooper Votoms, Birdy the Mighty, Black Jack, Dominion Tank Police, and the Patlabor frahchise. Still it's another loss to the industry.

 

[Leroy]

Huge bummer about this I thought they were a great company and they did a superb job with VOTOMS. I remember when I ordered my collectors tin from them they even called and e-mailed me to make sure I got it! Try getting that from Funimation. Now here's hoping someone will pickup and release Super Beast Machine God Dancouga on DVD.

 

[miraclefan]

WOW! I really was not expecting this! I mean, I knew they had trouble, but closing shop? WHOH!

 

[clint g]

Honestly Im not surprised at all. They didn't really put out anything that I felt like buying, and I've purchased my fair share of anime. As a matter of fact, all I really knew about the company is that they were the people who licensed Narutaru and thats about it

 

[Heeroyuy]

Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090304f1.html


http://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime (Animation critic Amid Amidi's reaction to the news)


It's certainly been a rough decade for anime. Despite off to a promising start with anime on Adult Swim and a large number of imports, there has been increased criticism/backlash of the limited animation and somewhat generic character design of the stuff, once strong companies such as Genoen and Central Park Media have folded, and the economy has been difficult for both the United States and Japan.....

 

[Heeroyuy]

One more nail in the coffin of anime.

 

[Leroy]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Just goes to show important it is to buy anime instead of downloading it or free and not caring.

 

[clint g]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

The real issue is the whole illegal downloads thing. Unlike many other forms of media, anime in particular is very weak to piracy due to 1-The very limited niche market it holds and 2-Many anime viewers fall into the age group that is both knowledgeable about downloads and willing to follow through

 

[Norrin Radd]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

I am pleased.

Let it die.

 

[Leroy]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Norrin Radd wrote:
I am pleased.

Let it die.

Any particular reason why?

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Let it die.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Norrin Radd wrote:
I am pleased.

Let it die.

Any particular reason why?

Not trying to be xenophobic. I just feel that companies are lazily rebroadcasting and repackaging anime retreads instead of developing new forms of "homegrown" animation. I hate the dominance of any one artform. I'd like to see more North American or European style animation. Not saying they'd be superior to anime...just different. And I like different instead of the same ol' shit. It's made me bitter.

 

[clint g]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Norrin Radd wrote:
I am pleased.

Let it die.

Any particular reason why?

Not trying to be xenophobic. I just feel that companies are lazily rebroadcasting and repackaging anime retreads instead of developing new forms of "homegrown" animation. I hate the dominance of any one artform. I'd like to see more North American or European style animation. Not saying they'd be superior to anime...just different. And I like different instead of the same ol' shit. It's made me bitter.

There's plenty of American produced animation. There certainly isn't the large amount of animation being brought into America like you say there is, and what anime that is brought over is usualy put in death-slots.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Any particular reason why?

Not trying to be xenophobic. I just feel that companies are lazily rebroadcasting and repackaging anime retreads instead of developing new forms of "homegrown" animation. I hate the dominance of any one artform. I'd like to see more North American or European style animation. Not saying they'd be superior to anime...just different. And I like different instead of the same ol' shit. It's made me bitter.

There's plenty of American produced animation. There certainly isn't the large amount of animation being brought into America like you say there is, and what anime that is brought over is usualy put in death-slots.

Last time I turned on Sat. morning cartoons (which I admit don't exist much anymore) it was virtually ALL anime. When I go to the DVD racks at the average comic book store in my city, it's virtually ALL anime. And I'm not even exaggerating here. It really is.

 

[clint g]

Re: Anime is dying in both Japan and the United States.

Last time I turned on Sat. morning cartoons (which I admit don't exist much anymore) it was virtually ALL anime. When I go to the DVD racks at the average comic book store in my city, it's virtually ALL anime. And I'm not even exaggerating here. It really is.

What shows are you referring to?



*EDIT: And BTW, if you're judging anime based on Saturday morning cartoons, you're probably not giving the medium a chance what so ever

 

[zakkrusz]

Last time I turned on Sat. morning cartoons (which I admit don't exist much anymore) it was virtually ALL anime. When I go to the DVD racks at the average comic book store in my city, it's virtually ALL anime. And I'm not even exaggerating here. It really is.

Sounds like paradise.

Anyhow, the people you really should direct your annoyance at are domestic companies for not producing enough good animation here, not CPM who licensed mostly older violent 80's and 90's titles and hardly ever put stuff on TV here aside from premium channels. I mean seriously I've tried lots of domestic shows but they don't make many mature and complex enough for the 26 year old me. Anime actually has variety and caters to more age groups but anyhow that's a different topic.

I also agree that Saturday morning is terrible place to find anime. Try Saturday nights on Cartoon Network or Monday nights on The Sci-Fi Channel. Although I admit both blocks have been weakening lately.

 

[Sephiroth]

there is no one person/group to blame for the downfall of anime, the anime distrbuters are partly to blame because the DVDs are disproportionaly expensive,then you have fansubbers and dubbers who download and burn to DVD or vhs, which I don't understand why people buy because every fan sub/dub I have bought was in piss poor, grainy quality, then there's the networks, like CN & Adult Swim, who saw fantastic ratings for "safe" anime, and tried to air some of the more niche anime (like wolf's rain blue gender, ect) and completely over reacted and practly droppedanime alltogether when the niche stuff got turned out

 

[melancholymecha]

why is it dieing in Japan? is it like 2d animation here where everyone would rather make/watch cgi animted films?

 

[ancient]

When most people think of Anime they're probably thinking of Pokemon.

Personally there are only a few Animes I can stand to watch, most of it is too odd and/or the characters are all bitches and/or the plot is waaaay too abstract. That's not to say it's all that way, but that seems to be the sort of thing that's most popular with whoever the biggest fans are, so that's what I usually see.

 

[Checkmate]

Here's to hoping the fad finally passes sooner than later.

I wonder what culture American kids are going to adopt next in lieu of creating their own? First is was being faux gangsta black, then it was omg I'm Japanese!, and next? Hmm. Norse Vikings gets my vote, I think.

I kind of feel bad for how embarrasing it's going to be for them when they look back on it. I know the "wiggers" sure as hell should.