Japan's Weekly Blu-ray & CD Rankings for Sep 16 - Sep 22

kuuderes_shadow said:
Brutal week, and not just the anime either - at least 3 of the top 5 have been taken up with other stuff every day.

jmal said:

And those two titles won't even sell a thousand copies during the whole week. Or ever.

Meddigo said:
Did Date-A-Live lose momentum after the first volume? I didn't expect it to be behind Prisma Illya on the daily rankings.

kuuderes_shadow said:
...While I wouldn't argue with the first week part, are you sure about the "ever" bit? Do we actually have any data that might indicate the size of a typical anime's long tail?

Obviously, the fairly high prices that dissuade impulse buys, the tendency to pre-order and the immediacy of release after airing on TV would all increase the size of the initial peak compared to the long tail, but having well over half of the all-time total sales in the first week still doesn't seem very likely to me.

hpulley said:

I agree it is kind of weird, not many people wait until all the discs are out to buy them at once or buy them during the holiday season. Japanese anime buyers just don't seem to do that.

symbv said:
From what I read in Japanese forums, anime fans love to see their favorite anime or touch the extras in it as soon as possible, which explains why few wait until all discs are out (which provides no additional incentive like price discount) and also they would rather spread the cost over a period so lumping it up in one go is less preferable to them. All these help lead the phenomenon of sales mostly front-loaded in the first week even first few days after release.

symbv said:
From what I read in Japanese forums, anime fans love to see their favorite anime or touch the extras in it as soon as possible, which explains why few wait until all discs are out (which provides no additional incentive like price discount)

ThangLong said:

I don't understand why Japanese companies would not discount discs that have been out in the market for too long. It makes perfect sense in Western model since the longer a creative item is out, the more it loses value. Not to mention distribution companies can't catch people who only buy an item with lower price points.

CrescentYozora25 said:
Are the releases here English subbed??

phreeak said:
curious about the HxH sales and how good/bad they are for a 3rd Season.

hpulley said:
Just watching Kitakubu's episode 4 and the wall breaking it does about having to retool itself into a fight anime and how most people decide whether or not to keep watching it (implied: buy it) at episode 3 is quite true and funny at the same time. They really are self aware. The presales figures by episode 3 are pretty telling, after that there is some movement for sure, good examples where later episodes can build momentum but in the case of that show, it was never very good and later episodes couldn't save it. Kind of funny, ironic and sad at the same time... adding fanservice, sports, battles... until Karin points out that they are in episode 4 so it's too late, very funny. Too bad it wasn't funny enough!

rederoin said:

The comedy really improves as the series progressed.

A shame it sold so badly, I would have loved to see more of it.

hpulley said:

Sorry, when I said "it was never very good and later episodes couldn't save it" I meant the presales numbers, not the show itself! It was quite funny though some of the segments were better than others. Episode four I just found quite ironic given the sales numbers; seems they should have changed more than the ED...

rederoin said:

I tried to imply that I was rather let down by the fact that even though the show improved by a lot(the comedy, in this case) the sales diden't. But I suppose it was already to late for that.


But this conversion is getting a bit confusing now, so nevermind.

ThangLong said:

I don't understand why Japanese companies would not discount discs that have been out in the market for too long. It makes perfect sense in Western model since the longer a creative item is out, the more it loses value. Not to mention distribution companies can't catch people who only buy an item with lower price points.

hpulley said:
So there are more than enough exceptions that my pet theory doesn't hold up but it still seems that most sales are decided very, very early in the season and it takes a lot to move them.

Ejc said:
Oricon Daily All-Genre Top 30 DVD/Top 20 BD Rankings for Sep 28.

DVD
*23 *24 *25 *26 *27 *28 *29　 週
*** **9 **4 *10 **9 **8 *** | -- | UtaPri 2000% 4
*10 *** *** *** *** *19 *** | -- | DBZ Kami to Kami Regular Edition
*** *** *** **7 *14 *28 *** | -- | Hakuouki Sakura no Utage 2013
*** *** *** *** *** *29 *** | -- | Servant × Service 2
*** *24 *30 *** *27 *** *** | -- | Kimi no Iru Machi 1
*** *** *** *24 *28 *** *** | -- | Date a Live 4
*** *** *** **9 *29 *** *** | -- | JoJo 9
*** *** *** *25 *** *** *** | -- | DD Hokuto no Ken 4
*** *** *24 *** *** *** *** | -- | Magi 10
**8 *** *25 *** *** *** *** | -- | Shingeki 3
*** *** *27 *** *** *** *** | -- | Highschool D×D NEW 1
*** *28 *29 *** *** *** *** | -- | RailgunS 3
*17 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | DBZ Kami to Kami Limited Edition
*18 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Tonari no Totoro
*21 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | BROTHERS CONFLICT 2

BD
*23 *24 *25 *26 *27 *28 *29　 週
*** **1 **1 **6 **2 **5 *** | -- | Love Live! 7
*** *11 **2 **8 **8 **6 *** | -- | UtaPri 2000% 4
*** **9 **8 *11 *10 **7 *** | -- | OreImo. 4
*** *** *** **2 **4 **9 *** | -- | JoJo 9
*** **7 **6 *13 **9 *10 *** | -- | RailgunS 3
*** *** *** **5 **7 *11 *** | -- | Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 1
*** *** *** **7 **5 *12 *** | -- | Date A Live 4
*** *14 *10 *** *11 *13 *** | -- | Highschool D×D NEW 1
*** *17 *16 *** **6 *14 *** | -- | Kiniro Mosaic 1
*** *15 *19 *** *19 *17 *** | -- | Hanagai NEXT 3
**1 *** *14 *** *** *18 *** | -- | Shingeki 3
*** *** *** *** *** *19 *** | -- | Valvrave 4
*** *10 *15 *20 *** *20 *** | -- | Gargantia BD-BOX 2
*** *** *** **9 *15 *** *** | -- | Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W 5
*** *** *** *** *17 *** *** | -- | Servant × Service 2
*** **5 **9 *17 *18 *** *** | -- | GaruPan ~Heartful Tank Disc~
*** **6 **7 *** *20 *** *** | -- | Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch 5.1ch BD-BOX
*** **8 *12 *** *** *** *** | -- | Gundam SEED DESTINY HD Remaster BD-BOX 2
*** *12 *13 *** *** *** *** | -- | OreGairu. 4
*** *** *17 *** *** *** *** | -- | Neptunia THE ANIMATION 1
*** *** *18 *** *** *** *** | -- | Ro-Kyu-Bu! SS 1
*** *** *20 *** *** *** *** | -- | Uchouten Kazoku 1
*** *16 *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Index II BD-BOX
**8 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | DBZ Kami to Kami Regular Edition
**9 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Eva 3.33
*10 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Love Lab 1
*11 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Free！ 1
*13 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | DBZ Kami to Kami Limited Edition
*15 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Shingeki 2
*17 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Shingeki 1
*19 *** *** *** *** *** *** | -- | Majestic Prince 4

Xinception said:


Shit, SnK's sales are dropping? o-o

mistress_kisara said:

Of course it'll drop it was released last week, these are this week's new releases

jmal said:

As far as I know there's basically nobody left from the TTGL days. They're all at Trigger and Khara. "Gainax" used to mean something, not so much anymore.

Xinception said:
I know, I just didn't expect Vol 3's sales to drop so soon, considering that SnK is a big hit. o-o

I'm hoping that the total sales will at least match the previous 2 volumes.

Guess the sales go down to pave way for other series?

Takuan_Soho said:


You have a good point. Vol 3 tail, though normal for other shows, is not normal when compared to one and two (evident in the fact that 1 and 2 were still on the list for the at the beginning of the week). Now part of this is due to a very big release week, so the tail is being obscured, but it will be very interesting to see what the release numbers are for this volume. 2 was a big drop from 1, so how 3 compares to 2 will establish the trend for the entire series.

jmal said:

No, there's no evidence of this in the sales data. Not as a significant phenomenon, anyway. You tend to see small bumps to previous volumes when later volumes come out, but the vast vast majority of sales come in the first 1-2 weeks, with most titles not even selling enough to rank after that (even with very low BD Top 100 thresholds these days).

Xinception said:

Also, I read from some thread in this News Section, but I think someone mentioned that Japaneses (just kinda quoting/paraphrasing him/her, not trying to be racist. If I sound like one, I'm sorry!) tend to wait until all the volumes are released and go all shopping spree on them volumes.

symbv said:
Actually what I said is the opposite: That Japanese tend not to wait until tall volumes are released. From what I read in Japanese forums, most fans want to get their hands on the BD/DVD as soon as possible after it is released. You can have a look at what I wrote here: http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=667197&show=120#msg25367323

What I am interested is how the end of the broadcast of Shingeki may mean for the tail of Shingeki's BD/DVD sales. I can imagine some people may get excited about a series when a new episode is aired and proceeds to buy all the BD/DVDs that are already out. Such factor would disappear as the series ends.

Xinception said:

Well, BD/DVDs are usually released after a series ended its broadcast right (Usually them 1 cour series), so I still have hope

symbv said:
Actually most BD/DVDs are released one or two months before the end of its broadcast. For example, this week most 1-cour anime of this season end but all these anime already have 1 or 2 volumes released (and the release date of the volumes are usually one month apart).

Xinception said:
I know, I just didn't expect Vol 3's sales to drop so soon, considering that SnK is a big hit. o-o

I'm hoping that the total sales will at least match the previous 2 volumes.

Guess the sales go down to pave way for other series?

kuuderes_shadow said:
Most volumes rank for 1-2 weeks max.

Ulrihs said:


SnK v3 is doing great on sales. This is extremely competitive week. v1 did 3149 and v2 did 3474 in second week for BD. In this week alone there are great chance that at least 15 BD releases will sell 3500 or more. The fact that v 3 showed already 3 times in list is great.

Also SnK v1 chart run is extremely unusual for anime. Most volumes rank for 4-5 weeks max and does more than 80% from total sales during first week. From this perspective faster drop for v3 is only normal and performance of Girls und Panzer, Love Live! and SnK first volumes are unusual. If you count only 2+ week sales for v1 then they are more than 20,000. For spring anime only UtaPri 2000% and OreImo total v1 sales are bigger than SnK v2 2+ week sales.

Xinception said:
Also, I read from some thread in this News Section, but I think someone mentioned that Japaneses (just kinda quoting/paraphrasing him/her, not trying to be racist. If I sound like one, I'm sorry!) tend to wait until all the volumes are released and go all shopping spree on them volumes.

Takuan_Soho said:


That isn't a racist comment, its a cultural comment. I meant to bring this up a couple of pages ago when someone asked why the Japanese don't drop the prices. The answer is pretty simple: the Japanese overall are a nation of early adopters. They like the "new thing". You see this in many aspects of their culture, including entertainment (this is why waiting in line to buy the latest eroge release is such a common theme in animation), so waiting to buy a thing because it has a lower price doesn't really appeal to the Japanese. If they want it, they want it now. If they don't want it now then they don't want it at all.

Because of this, Japanese business has adapted towards having an "always new release" mentality. Don't forget that there are around 20 new animation releases every season. Rare is the show that can attract attention with the flood of newness being released. This isn't just with animation mind you, all TV shows are the same way, most end after 13 or less episodes. Popular ones get a new season later. Very very few shows last longer, the exceptions are generally NHK shows which are scheduled for 6 - 12 months, and shows that achieve "tradition" status . And again, this isn't restricted to entertainment. Anyone who has spent any length of time in Japan notices this trait. If I had to pick three distinctive aspects of Japanese culture, this would be one of them.

As a side note, you were worried about making a comment about Japan (or any race) being racist. You were not. There is nothing wrong with stating a stereotype as long as you are non judgmental about it. Appreciating differences is like appreciating different spices, it makes life more enjoyable. One may be wrong about this difference, but as long as that person remains neutral, one would not be racist (or culturalist) no matter how wrong they were. The problem comes when one ascribes some value to their statement, then it is essential that that the statement be both correct, and their value judgment rational. You didn't state a value in your statement, so there was no problem, even though your statement was false (as others have pointed out). But kudos for at least asking the question, that is the true path to learning. So never fear to throw out a comment, its the fastest path to enlightenment.

Ejc said:
Oricon Daily All-Genre Top 30 DVD/Top 20 BD Rankings for Sep 23~29.

DVD
*29　 週
*18 | -- | UtaPri 2000% 4
*** | -- | DBZ Kami to Kami Regular Edition
*** | -- | Hakuouki Sakura no Utage 2013
*** | -- | Servant × Service 2
*** | -- | Kimi no Iru Machi 1
*** | -- | Date a Live 4
*** | -- | JoJo 9
*** | -- | DD Hokuto no Ken 4
*** | -- | Magi 10
*** | -- | Shingeki 3
*** | -- | Highschool D×D NEW 1
*** | -- | RailgunS 3
*** | -- | DBZ Kami to Kami Limited Edition
*** | -- | Tonari no Totoro
*** | -- | BROTHERS CONFLICT 2
...

Xinception said:
Although I think that Kill La Kill and Monogatari Series: 2nd Season will come close in term of popularity, since the former is the successor product of the guys who made Guren Lagenn and the latter is an excellent adaptation of a trending light novel series.)

jmal said:

Sure, but that's true of every form of entertainment. Some shows will get mainstream acceptance because they have the power of nostalgia (like Macross, Gundam, Yamato). But some of the most mainstream shows have very low sales - think most TV volumes of shounen action series like Naruto and One Piece.

It's... complicated. Sales and mainstream appeal definitely don't have a 1:1 ratio.

scytheavatar said:


Can't see Kill La Kill being that big of a success, it might have some hype in the Western countries but most Japanese were dumbfounded by the success of the LWA2 kickstarter and they don't feel about Studio Trigger the way many Western fans do. Kill La Kill also doesn't have the super robots and boobs that otakus of TTLG's time loved. The fact that it has an older school design and unusual animation only makes it harder for otakus to love it, just look at Blood Lad.