Items Tagged With license

I'm amazed by the efforts that Sailor Moon fans have made to get out the vote for the poll. Sailor Moon rose above all comers, getting two out of every three votes cast! The final results show Sailor Moon with 2535 votes out of 3979 cast, well ahead of second place winner "Digimon." If you voted in the poll, and/or told friends etc. to vote too, great job!

I hope that through this survey, Toei and other anime companies can get an idea of how strong the love for Sailor Moon is among English-speaking anime fans, and that we can see Sailor Moon's return to these (and other) shores in the near future.

Update: 8/16 - 5:30pm EST -  ANN bumped the poll back to the homepage twenty minutes ago.

Have you voted in the official Toei poll on which series Toei should make available for subtitled download? Sailor Moon is on there. Don't miss this opportunity!

Sailor Moon already has a huge lead thanks to the efforts of fans like yourself, with over 60% of voters checking the series. I'm awed by the efforts the Sailor Moon fan community has made to get out the vote. Great job!

The poll probably isn't going to last for much longer. Soon it'll be off the ANN front page, so Sailor Moon has an even better chance to blow the competition away. Keep asking other fans to vote in the poll if they haven't already. Toei is the poll's sponsor and are checking to see what market there is for their video-on-demand service, so this is the best chance to make sure Toei's staff knows how much Sailor Moon is loved outside Japan.

Also, Sailor Moon Channel has updated. The fifth act of their animated version of the Sailor Moon manga, "Prism Channel," is ready.

Check out this Official Toei Poll.

Toei wants to know which of its shows it should offer via download or Cable IPTV, subtitled, in the US market. Sailor Moon is on there. Go vote now!

The poll connects a number of curious dots. In March, Toei began offering the show as part of its AnimeBB package in Japan (and as we reported earlier in the week , it's also part of a new "unlimited" package.) In May, Geneon mentioned the license is on lockdown . Now Toei is looking to see which shows they should offer to US customers, and if this Sailor Moon is listed there, it's more then likely they've got the rights to bring it here. In addition, all five seasons are included as part of the poll. (See forum comment.)

So go vote! Tell every forum, newsgroup, friend, family member, etc., to check "Sailor Moon" on that poll. Watch the results here.

There are a number of questions left unanswered, such as whether it'd be a completely new translation. What's most important right now, though, is that fans make their voices heard.

Don't miss the update on the Wii game below. 

Lilly-chan received a response from the Yes Asia team as posted in this thread telling her:

Thank you for shopping at YesAsia.com!

Regarding your enquiry about the game "Sailor Moon (Working Title) (Japan Version)" YesAsia catalog number: 1004513672, please kindly note that it is relesase by Namco officially. The manufacturere's name is written in our product introduction page also. According to the supplier, this item is going to be released at December 31, 2007. You are welcome to place the order after the price is determined.

Once again, thank you very much for your continued support of YesAsia.com. 

We'll see how it goes. Great job, Lilly. 

Updated 7/28: 9PM EST (Links section) 

The latest story with TokyoPop is that they're trying to renegotiate the manga. As I wrote earlier in the week, and as others are saying around the Sailor Moon web, it ends up being something we've heard before, but it's important in that it shows companies like TokyoPop still see the series as having market potential here. I don't forsee further updates to the Otakon-related story.

Moving on, I hope to have the Otakon PGSM panel video available sometime next week. (I have to get my camera back from Yoshimoon then encode and edit it.)

Updated: 7PM EST 7/23/07

I'm now able to confirm/disconfirm news that came in to us from earlier today. I'm putting up information as I receive it, and making changes as people clarify what happened.

Word from the Otakon PGSM panel is that TokyoPop is still attempting to renegotiate the rights to the Sailor Moon manga.

Tokyo Pop Panel video is now available at ANN. Skip to the 28 minute mark. They mention the licensing issue is still a problem for them; whatever's been blocking TP for years now still seems to be in place, but they're pursuing. The video contradicts earlier word received; as the video is solid evidence, we're sticking with what the video says. We'll continue to bring you information as we hear it.

In some ways, this is a repeat of what they've said in the past, but it's good to know they're still active. Assumption is TokyoPop would want a new translation (now that DiC's not in the game anymore they don't have to stick with "Bunny.")

See forums thread for latest details.

The person who put the question to TokyoPop was PGSM panel chair Lilly-chan. Great job! 

I'd like to thank Solarchos and Senshi Guardian from Suburban Senshi and Yoshimoon and Moon Jump from the Genvid Forums for sending in details. If you know anything, contact us . 

I'm mentioning this just because people are bound to speculate. There was a bumper on Adult Swim earlier tonight which was a letter from a fan complaining about them showing Voltron. It said something like "Why don't you just air Sailor Moon? It would be as gay as Voltron."

Voltron used to air along with SM in the old Toonami blocks. But something tells me this isn't a hint they'll actually do that, just a joke. People at CN have stated repeatedly in the past that Sailor Moon does not match their current programming aims compared to those of some five+ years ago.

Another Genvid scoop for you tonight. I've taken a look through a Japanese book called the "Licensing Character Directory 2007," published by Nikkei, which is one of Japan's premiere business media sources. I present my findings to you below.

A bit of background: This book is an industry tome, weighing in at 900+ pages and costing over $700 per copy. I don't have the kind of money to buy something like this myself; I looked through the copy available at the Tokyo Central Library in Arisugawa Park. I also don't have a scanner in Japan so I'm afraid we'll have to make do with digital photographs of copies that I took.

Thanks Jon for sending me the following from the Washington Post:

A few weeks ago Tokyo Anime Insider dropped a nice little bomb in one of their video podcasts, yet somehow no one noticed: Toei Animation , one of Japan's oldest animation studios still in existence is in talks with Apple to distribute anime from its catalog via iTunes.

There's currently no word on what titles they're considering releasing, or even if non-Japanese consumers will be able to access them. But a glance through their catalog still makes me jittery with anticipation. Several Toei titles are already distributed in North America, such asDragon Ball,Digimon, andSailor Moon; but there are plenty of other classic/fascinating/geeky/just plain weird titles that I'd love to see, likeKen, the Wild Boy,Cutey Honey, and--crossing fingers!--the delightfully bizarreBoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo.

This news is third-hand stuff, I'm not sure where the original source is coming from and it's sounding a lot like the rumor mill game with the Lohan movie, but is interesting nonetheless.

Something like this would work out fine with the Japanese market, but could be very difficult in the English market, where Toei's works are spread out among difference licensers, dubs, subs, etc.