Ask John: What’s John’s Opinion on the American Gantz DVD Release?

Question:
John, as both a fan and a member of the industry, how do you feel about AD Vision’s upcoming 13 disc release of Gantz?

Answer:
Ironically, although I love gratuitous gore and violence in movies, I don’t like the Gantz anime series. The Japanese television broadcast of the first season was so heavily edited that it was disjointed and aggravating to watch. The home video version of the first season, and the uncensored second season were sadly little improvement as the series features annoying, unappealing characters, very little story development, and stilted, poor quality animation with distractingly bad integration of its 2D and 3D elements. However, this response is not about the quality of the show or my reaction to it.

I think it’s revealing that there’s been such an uproar over the two episode per disc format of the impending American release when American fans typically don’t give a second thought to the fact that two episodes per disc at $30 to $60 per disc is common for anime DVD releases in Japan. One could say that American consumers have been spoiled by 4 or more episode per disc anime DVDs retailing at under $30 each, or that American consumers feel an entitlement to “cheap” anime when consumers in Japan don’t enjoy that privilege. But to specifically discuss AD Vision’s announced distribution policy for Gantz, I merely present my reactions, which readers may interpret however they chose.

While AD Vision’s respect for consumers is arguable, I believe that AD Vision is wise enough to realize that such a radical departure from consumer expectation isn’t a wise business strategy. So I can only guess that the decision to release the 26 episode Gantz series on 13 discs was an irrefutable mandate from the Japanese licensor. AD Vision is premiering Gantz in America during a flood of DVD re-releases that are cheaper per disc but as much as double, on average, per episode than previous releases, so the timing of the Gantz release is appropriate. AD Vision may be hoping that the lower retail price per disc on many of their early 2005 releases will encourage sales to consumers that evaluate cost instead of value. In fact, considering the buzz over Gantz and the low $18 retail price on the discs, I anticipate that Gantz will start from the gate strong. But ultimately I doubt that the domestic release of Gantz will be entirely successful. Early volumes of the series may benefit from their low price and the anticipation for the series in the fan community. But I foresee viewers quickly tiring of getting only two episodes at a time, which is more like a tease than a satisfying purchase. And I suspect that consumer interest in Gantz will quickly die when the realization sets in that half way through the release an equal length series with typical American episode distribution would already be finished while people collecting Gantz will still be faced with buying another six or more DVDs.

The Inuyasha DVDs from Viz, with their 3 episode per disc format that mirrors the Japanese release, are successful because of the show’s television exposure. But even at 3 episodes per disc the Inuyasha DVDs don’t sell as well among anime fans as they would if they contained 4 or more episodes per disc. So if a tremendously popular series with 3 episodes per disc doesn’t achieve its maximum sales potential, I can’t see how a less recognized show will be able to perform well with even fewer episodes per disc. Despite the controversy, or perhaps because of it, I think that the AD Vision brand name and its army of loyal customers will buoy the initial American release of Gantz, but I don’t predict that the series will maintain its success through a 13 volume release. And I don’t foresee Gantz spearheading a new American trend of shorter anime DVDs with a higher per episode price tag. There are already enough consumers in America that base their anime purchasing decisions on disc running time that DVDs with a running time of under an hour just aren’t attractive to many potential customers, even at a significantly discounted price.