Ask John: Will Twilight Q Ever Reach America?

Question:
Will Twilight Q ever be dubbed?

Answer:

I can’t say for certain whether the two episode Twilight Q OVA series will ever be officially released in America, but in light of the present state of the American anime market, I’d say that the chances are slim. Despite the second Twilight Q OVA being a superlative work by acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii, both Twilight Q OVAs are eclectic anime that don’t have much potential to appeal to the majority of American consumers. With the American anime industry in recession and domestic anime companies cutting back on acquisitions and releases, risky acquisitions like Twilight Q are chances that domestic licensors just can’t afford to take.

Japanese distributors have been progressive about officially distributing vintage anime online in Japan. For example, the Biglobe website currently hosts free sample episodes of five vintage World Masterpiece Theater series, and Yahoo Douga offers dozens of vintage anime series. Japan’s Animax television network continues to broadcast select vintage anime television series including Dokonjo Gaeru and Kinnikuman. And many 80’s television anime series and movies, and select OVAs are still available on Japanese DVD. However, Japan’s anime distribution industry has always been less eager to promote and distribute old anime internationally, choosing to favor current, popular titles. And even in Japan many, or possibly even most, of the obscure and niche market OVAs produced and released during the OVA boom have never been released on DVD.

Domestic demand for a release of Mamoru Oshii’s Twilight Q anime episode could convince a domestic distributor to pursue the acquisition, but there’s doubtfully enough contemporary American consumer demand for the title to justify such effort and expense.