Crunchyroll to Broadcast Linebarrels of Iron

[Quarkboy]

Originally Posted by ArcticMech

Uh, yes. There are people out there who try to avoid using CR if at all possible given CR's shady past. People should do what they feel is right for them after all. Hence the discussion about alternate venues (BOST and YouTube) for viewing the show.

Well in my case the only alternative is actual broadcast television... BOST, CR, and youtube are all region locked for Japan. I was just curious.

[Moe Moe Taiga]

Originally Posted by ArcticMech

Uh, yes. There are people out there who try to avoid using CR if at all possible given CR's shady past. People should do what they feel is right for them after all. Hence the discussion about alternate venues (BOST and YouTube) for viewing the show.

Oh, sorry about that. I was just trying to help and yes I tend to avoid CR as well. I just misunderstood. (I assumed you guys thought it wasn't up anywhere)

Oh and it was decent by the way. I'm not really in to mecha, but the story seems like it will be pretty good.

[Danj]

I watched ep1 on Crunchy and it seems moderately interesting. Do we know if it's going to be on that same sort of silly time limited schedule like Strike Witches? Or is it going to be sensible and be available all week.

[einhorn303]

I'm going to wait till it's available for download on BOST. CR is still partially a piracy site, I like BOST much more...they're legit, nice guys (they're really just fans, not California investment capitalists like CR), and have a more honest business model.

Originally Posted by Danj

Do we know if it's going to be on that same sort of silly time limited schedule like Strike Witches? Or is it going to be sensible and be available all week.

Hey, they have the same sort of "silly limited time schedule" in Japan too...except the time period is only 30 minutes. It's supposed to be a analogue to TV broadcast. And if you want to watch it at other times, you can always just pay for it to download.

[Fencedude]

Originally Posted by Mafty Allegro

especially since this is their biggest show of the year outside of Tower of Druaga.

Strike Witches says hi.

[Kusaja]

I'll rather just stream it, don't care enough about it to pay for a download yet.

I found Kouichi to be far more annoying than Lelouch ever was at his worst, to say the least, but it's just the first episode so his character could improve. I hope it doesn't take the entire series for him to change his tune though.

As for the action and CGI...alright, I guess. Nothing too impressive, nothing too bad either.

Too much throwing around of terms whose importance I ignore, but I'll give the show time to deal with that as well.

[something]

Originally Posted by Fencedude

Strike Witches says hi.

Definitely. I know R2 success can't be based on DVD sales alone (huge shounen shows often sell a couple thousand a disc, and yet bring in bajillions in other goods), but Druaga is averaging barely 2,000 copies per volume. Strike Witches clocked in at almost 9,000 for its Vol. 1 initial sales.

The two can't even seriously be compared.

[bci110]

Just finished watching the first episode. So far it looks like a decent start to the series. The last 10 minutes of the episode was pretty good, but the little twist at the end didn't really shocked or surprised me. The characters are alright, but haven't yet grab my attention, especially the lead character Kouichi. Vocals are excellent, but considering that there's a lot of A-class talent on this show (Mamiko Noto, Jun Fukuyama, Aya Hirano, and Tetsuya Kakihara just to name a few) I didn't expect anything less from this particular cast. I'm going to give this series a chance to develop the characters and storylines before I decide whether to continue following it or not.

[Mafty Allegro]

Originally Posted by something

Definitely. I know R2 success can't be based on DVD sales alone (huge shounen shows often sell a couple thousand a disc, and yet bring in bajillions in other goods), but Druaga is averaging barely 2,000 copies per volume. Strike Witches clocked in at almost 9,000 for its Vol. 1 initial sales.

The two can't even seriously be compared.

To clarify, I meant in terms of hype and expectations from the studio. GONZO was pushing Druaga hard in the months before its debut and really was holding it up as one of their crown jewels of the year. LINEBARRELS is their other centerpiece and they've spared no effort in getting people to notice it (that animation, staff, and cast has got to pay for itself somehow ).

Strike Witches wasn't up there with them in terms of showcasing, but it's of little surprise to see it doing so well. GONZO knew it was premium otaku bait (just look at the way it was made) and it would most likely only appeal to them, so that didn't get as much promotion work and maximized their profit intake at the same time (North American distributors do the same thing, though too often nowadays, IMO). While on the subject, Blassreiter, falling in between Druaga and Strike Witches in terms of profile, was probably tagged with Druaga to perhaps get the attention to something that wouldn't have gotten it had it been webcasted by itself.

Strike Witches was a big hit and will perhaps be mentioned alongside Druaga and LINEBARRELS at the end of the year by the studio, but those two are still what they are banking on the most and holding as their two biggest shows of 2008.

[Draneor]

Originally Posted by Mafty Allegro

To clarify, I meant in terms of hype and expectations from the studio. GONZO was pushing Druaga hard in the months before its debut and really was holding it up as one of their crown jewels of the year. LINEBARRELS is their other centerpiece and they've spared no effort in getting people to notice it (that animation, staff, and cast has got to pay for itself somehow ).

I take it you mean outside Japan? Because they did push Strike Witches (and pushed it for a long time). Perhaps you didn't see the advertisements, but they were there. Remember that the vast majority of Gonzo's revenue ( > 85%) is from domestic sources (based on the most current information we have). Also, only otaku buy anime DVDs in Japan.

Originally Posted by Mafty Allegro

Strike Witches was a big hit and will perhaps be mentioned alongside Druaga and LINEBARRELS at the end of the year by the studio, but those two are still what they are banking on the most and holding as their two biggest shows of 2008.

Neither Blassreiter nor Druaga sold well, as Something said. Perhaps they did bank on them, but as of right now, Strike Witches is the only show that sold well so far this year. Could Druaga eventually pay off if it gets licensed for overseas distribution? Perhaps. I admit I don't know how much revenue Gonzo did generate from it online. I suspect it can't be that significant.