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A Tribute to ADV Films

ADV Films
© ADV Films

AD Vision, Houston, Texas
Anime licensing, localization, dubbing, and distribution

Remembrance of things past
This is not the kind of article that you want to write, but that does not stop one from having to write it. The warning signs were there for a long time. When ADV made their deal with Sojitz back in the summer of 2006, no one could be blamed for suspecting that all was not rosy within the kingdom of John Ledford and Matt Greenfield. They would not have sold a sizable stake in their company unless they desperately needed the infusion of cash and resources. In the immediate aftermath, however, it did not seem that way. ADV appeared to be back as if the bust in the market had not occurred. They were licensing titles left and right, and picking several that were highly prized by many fans at this very site. Who would have thought that the Kyoto Animation properties AIR and Kanon, good sellers with the collectors' crowd in Japan, would have a real chance here, where their genre (bishoujo game adaptation) and subject matter were not blazing a trail to the top of the R1 sales charts? For those with other tastes, the acquisition of the high profile titles Gurren Lagann from Gainax, and Sergeant Frog (Keroro Gunsou) seemed like the dawn of a new morning marking ADV's return to the Golden Age, when their press release boast of being the No. 1 anime licensor in North America (still appearing on press releases long after it lost its validity) did not ring so hollow as it has in recent years, when FUNimation Entertainment, propelled by Navarre's deep pockets and the tireless sales performer Dragonball, had risen to the no.1 spot in terms of market share. Life was good.

So what went wrong?

We, the annoying, nosy, sometimes far too interested for our own good internet fans will likely never know the full story of why ADV faltered and finally perished. A full accounting must be left to its surviving "offshoots," trying to keep together what they still have, and to their competitors, who will certainly want to examine the situation thoroughly, so that they may not fall into the same condition themselves. It is highly unlikely that any of them will share their conclusions with us. We, however, know the broad outlines of the story. It goes something like this:

Boom and Bust
During the boom times, ADV expanded itself far too much without a sufficient revenue base or capital reserves to underwrite their many ventures. NewtypeUSA. ADV Music. ADV Manga. ADV Toys. The Anime Network (which, ironically, is thriving in spite of the rest of the company). The fantasy of producing or co-producing a live-action film based upon Evangelion. ADVocates. They licensed far too many shows for their own good (even if we, the fans, loved them for it).

With the bust and the general downturn in DVD sales (which affected DVD sales across the board, not just anime DVD sales), ADV's cash flow began to dry up. The result was the closing of their second dubbing studio (Monster Island in Austin), some layoffs, and a vast reduction in the number of new licenses (which would have necessitated the closure of Monster Island anyway). This fallow period seemed to be the future until Sojitz came, with their cash and the promise of better access to Japanese properties. For a while the money helped a whole new slew of titles to come into the mix. It seemed as if a new Golden Age was upon A.D. Vision of Houston, Texas.

But the bounce did not last. Scarcely a year and a half into the deal, something apparently went sour. Those of us on the outside will likely never know what it was, but at the very end of January of 2008, ADV suddenly pulled all of the titles that they had acquired during the Sojitz partnership off of their website. Retailers reported that volumes which should have been shipping to them had been delayed. A few early pallets of Kanon vol.2 with the box appeared to have been shipped already, but after that, no more. Days of confusion and rampant speculation followed at this site and other internet gathering places, even if the general public probably had little to any idea that ADV was experiencing difficulties. Finally, a rather weak statement was grudgingly issued. They said to be patient, and that all would be well.

The inference has been that Sojitz was not happy (we can only assume this; no formal statements have ever been issued, and it is very unlikely one would ever be, as Japanese companies do not like to bring attention to unpleasant matters, such as business breakups). ADV suddenly was in the mad scramble for its life, trying to regain control of all of their recent licenses, so that they could complete their releases and make back the money they had already spent to localize the shows and produce physical products for sale. A second thunderbolt hit many fans with the news that NewtypeUSA, which ADV had been publishing under license from Kadokawa Shoten, was suddenly coming to an end. ADV promised that a new magazine, named PiQ, would take over for it. Not that that reassured anyone.

Hopeful signs, even if that hope was tempered
For a brief time, between March and May of 2008, they seemed to have weathered the storm. Somewhat. While the vast majority of ADV's recent titles were back and began shipping again to retailers, one of the big prizes, Gurren Lagann, was gone. A dubbed trailer was already finished for that show and had been included on a few ADV discs that shipped shortly after the restoration of distribution. Soon, however, Gurren Lagann would be announced as the latest acquisition for a newly resurgent Bandai Entertainment (whose own health people had been speculating about for a time as well, when the "home" company decided to create their own direct subsidiary, Bandai Visual USA, to operate in the North American market. That venture did not turn out so well for them, but that is now old news). The rights had been lost.

Adding to fans' fears, there was no sign of Sgt. Frog. A dubbed trailer had been leaked onto YouTube, a very early Diamond Previews solicitation for a two-disc vol.1 release had mysteriously appeared and just as enigmatically disappeared. Yet, there was no sign of a real solicitation, or any verifiable indication that the show was ever going to be released on R1 DVD by ADV Films. On the other hand, no official word of cancellation or loss of the license surfaced either, so fans were left in limbo, and the uncertainty continued.

And now, there were whispers and rumors. Why were there no new license announcements, while other companies were letting new titles be announced here and there? The only new license ADV announced was Kiba, a show mainly meant as an advertising sign for a card trading game that would accompany it. Yet, that too never saw the light of day as time passed. Why were there no new vol.1s being solicited by ADV? Why suddenly were there a spate of thinpak set releases and even thinpak re-releases dominating ADV's solicitation calendar? Word also came out of hurried production being done on some titles, while production was delayed for others. One show, The Wallflower, apparently had production temporarily halted, until a deal with the online streaming video distributor Crunchyroll seemed to provide the needed infusion of cash to continue dubbing. During this period, ADV remained silent. Natural opportunities to speak, panels that convention organizers had scheduled for an ADV representative to use, had they so wished to take advantage of them, were not held. As the panels were scheduled by the convention organizers and not ADV, the cancellations could not be taken as a sign of trouble in and of themselves. The fact remained, however, that the senior management at ADV must certainly have been aware of the unease caused by their silence, and yet they chose to remain so. Certainly, internet fans are annoying and prone to believe the first piece of disinformation they hear, while not really having any significant effect on the larger anime fandom out there who do not hang upon the words of every new forum post or blog entry. But one would think that ADV could have taken the time simply to reassure the fans that all of the speculation was bunk, and there was nothing to worry about. Silence is not always golden, especially in the realm of public relations and public perceptions.

A Massive Blow to ADV; A New Hope to others
Finally, mere weeks before the important industry convention Anime Expo 2008 in California slated for the July 4th weekend, the rumors began to take a more serious turn. There were hints from John Sirabella of Media Blasters and Chris Beveridge, who runs this site, that an "era-changing" event was on the horizon. At the time, a random rumor was posted that ADV was holding an auction. The rumor turned out to be true, though it was later downplayed by others, stating that it was surplus office furniture and supplies, not a sign that the company was in serious trouble. Yet it was also around this same time that two current releases that were just about to ship to retailers, the final volume of Kanon and the second volume of Shattered Angels (Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora), suddenly were delayed owing to issues with the replicator. Wags had it that ADV had not paid for the production runs, and auctioned off their surplus office equipment in order to pay that bill. At the bitter end, came news that ADV had again lost control over licenses: Welcome to the NHK for certain, Kanon, Shattered Angels, and the other unfinished series more than likely.

Then came the thunderbolt with the announcement at AX 2008 that ADV has lost all of the titles which they had from the Sojitz deal. While ADV was not dead yet, the future did not look too rosy at this point.

The upshot, however, was the FUNimation, ADV's rival to the north, would suddenly become the savior for fans desperate to finish off the "Sojitz" series. For FUNimation announced that Sojitz/ARM had come to an agreement with them to distribute the shows. It would be months before the ball would get rolling, but the fans were pleased. The further news that FUNimation would be releasing the "Geneon orphans" (those shows left in limbo with Geneon's self-induced coma in September 2007), made their move to the top of the North American anime pile complete.

New Licenses?……False Hopes?
While many were already counting ADV dead, a surprise was in store. ADV would apparently be "distributing" a few new shows, and a lot of live-action features, thanks to a new deal with an outfit calling itself "Sentai Filmworks." There would also be a few more risque titles from a label calling itself "Happy Carrot." Window dressing at best. The designs of the producers' logos were very similar for these two new outfits, and the packaging design for these titles screamed "ADV." Among the noteworthy titles that were to come was Clannad, the third of the Key/Visual Art's–Kyoto Animation trilogy.

Disappointing news for dub fans struck in January of 2009, however, with news that Clannad and other new shows would be coming out sub-only. While many cheered at the inexpensive release plan (two half-season sets at $40 each), others saw the lack of a dub and the cheap price as signals that ADV was in deep trouble. The only company no one thought would resort to cheap sub-only sets had done just that. Discontent and a sense of foreboding followed for some; others were just happy at the thought of cheap anime.

That was not the end of the January Surprises, however. Suddenly, most of ADV's release calendar for March, the live action shows they were going to distribute under the Sentai Films label and several thinpak and double-pack re-releases of back catalog shows that were to keep them afloat, were suddenly removed from the online solicitations. What was going on? We never really found out.

The Future is the Past
For most of 2009, ADV entered into a holding pattern. Very little new anime came from them (they did manage to release all of Clannad in two sub-only sets, as well as the OVA Indian Summer (Koharu Biyori), Princess Resurrection, and several license renewals of others' former properties—including former Geneon titles such as Mahoromatic and Tsukihime). They also released a number of live action movies that only some in the anime fan world cared about. Sticking firmly to their "alliance" with Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Pictures, ADV receded from the scene. Many hardcore fans refused to make the distinction that ADV's top management wished them to make between ADV and their new "partners."

As we entered into the summer convention season of 2009, while R1 market powerhouse FUNimation went on another licensing spree, ADV spent its resources picking up abandoned licenses from defunct distributor Central Park Media. Notably, they secured the rights to Now and Then, Here and There, and The World of Narue. They even planned to include the original CPM dubs on their new releases of these shows. Sadly, these releases would comprise the most recent ADV releases that would be dubbed.

Last Rites
So, where does this leave us today, with this final announcement? The people involved with ADV are not just disappearing. Many will be working for the new companies to which ADV's old assets have been transferred. The names will be changing, but the people will not, for the most part. And yet…

This is a sad day for anime fans, especially those who have been fans of quality anime dubbing into English. For ADV was one of the few licensors from whom one could expect that almost every title would receive a dub of an acceptable standard. The range of titles that they licensed as well was a boon for those whose interests are not limited to childrens' fare or the action shows which disproportionately make up the bulk of the top sellers of anime in the R1 market. With the collapse of Geneon Entertainment USA, ADV became even more important for those who liked niche shows. Bandai Entertainment traditionally licenses fewer shows. FUNimation, while they have been expanding the range of titles that they offer, had a corporate master to answer to, and were unlikely to expand to the range that ADV or Geneon had (though they are continuing to expand to an extent, and they do surprise us on occasion). Viz continues on its merry way, licensing 100+ episode shounen action franchises, while running as far away from anything else (as demonstrated by their abandonment of properties such as Full Moon o Sagashite and Hikaru no Go; Nana and Honey & Clover show they are willing to go off script on occasion, but not very often). Bit players Right Stuf and Media Blasters have begun to move to sub-only releases for niche shows. Better than nothing, I suppose, but far from ideal if you wish to expand the market for anime.

It's the symbolism that matters here. ADV Films was once a name that was closely tied to anime in North America. Whether you are a regular convention goer, or an internet fan, and even for some casual fans who merely bought a show here and there in a bricks and mortar store, ADV, while not a household name necessarily, would be a producer's logo you would likely find on any anime buyer's shelves. So, let us take a brief moment to mark the passing of a name that has been in the thoughts of anime fans for many years, and which now moves on to the afterlife, along with brands such as Streamline and Central Park Media. Gone, but not entirely forgotten.