Ask John: Will Utena Ever Get Re-Licensed?

Question:
Is there any U.S. anime company currently interested in re-releasing the Revolutionary Girl Utena series?

Answer:
I can’t provide a concise answer to this question. I don’t know what particular American anime licensors are interested in licensing, as licensing houses have always kept that sort of information very confidential. I can only speculate on the possibility of the Utena anime franchise getting released in America, and unfortunately, that possibility seems remote. Despite being a masterful series that was tremendously successful in Japan back in 1997 when it premiered, the series never really became a tremendous hit in America. Although highly praised and respected, the American fan base for Utena has always been a bit small. However, that alone may not be enough deterrent to prevent the series from getting an American re-release. After all, current American distributors continue to acquire titles that have a rather small potential American audience.

Central Park Media’s control of the Utena anime franchise expired long before the company itself did. Over the years, a number of anime titles formerly distributed by Central Park Media have relocated to other domestic distributors. Media Blasters has picked up Angel Sanctuary, Iria, Zenki, Here is Greenwood, and Lodoss War. AD Vision/Sentai Filmworks acquired Area 88, Graveyard of Fireflies, MD Geist, and Darkside Blues. Bandai re-licensed Aika. FUNimation has acquired Slayers. La Blue Girl found a new home with Right Stuf, and Angel Blade migrated from CPM to Media Blasters to Right Stuf. However, despite all of these license rescues and the years that have passed since domestic distribution rights for the Utena anime expired, the series has never been re-licensed for American rerelease. In fact, there’s been no word or rumor of any domestic licensors ever previously even considering acquiring the series for domestic rerelease.

Ironically, while Utena may have been ahead of its time in 1997, it may be right at home now, especially in America, since yuri-themed shows including Strawberry Panic, Simoun, Aoi Hana, and Sasameki Koto have been officially released in America. The popularity of abstract, bizarre, and dialogue heavy anime including Bakemonogatari and Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei demonstrate that contemporary American otaku aren’t opposed to embracing unusual anime like Utena. And recent domestic acquisitions including Nozomi’s license of the significantly older Dirty Pair TV series and Discotek’s acquisition of the Hokuto no Ken television series demonstrate that domestic licensors aren’t opposed to acquiring older titles. So the only reason I can presume that explains why the Utena anime franchise hasn’t been re-licensed, short of its Japanese licensor inexplicably refusing to negotiate new American distribution, is that American distributors don’t consider it a viable contemporary acquisition – either because it’s too expensive to license or because it’s not expected to sell well enough in America to generate profit.

There’s been plenty of time for American licensors to acquire Utena if they wanted it. Domestic licensors certainly haven’t been opposed to re-licensing former CPM titles. And I’m positive that I’m not the first American fan to publicly wish for the Utena franchise to return to American DVD. The seemingly only logical explanation is that domestic licensors aren’t interested. If Utena hasn’t seen a reacquisition after this many years and this much opportunity, I can only presume that it’s simply never going to get reacquired for domestic release. I can only hope that I’ll be proven wrong, sooner rather than later.