Japan's Weekly Blu-ray & CD Rankings for Jul 15 - 21

Kaioshin_Sama said:

As symbv mentioned though a major reason it's mentioned in this thread is because of it's record establishing Blu-Ray sales. Personally I don't like how some Madoka fanboys love to lord that distinction over other shows like it's supposed to mean anything more than the number it adds up to in terms of units sold, but that's a whole other can of worms.

symbv said:
BTW, seems somebody indeed managed to get Aku no Hana v1 from some internet retailer (Rakuten in this case) - just goes to show how abrupt the suspension of sales was decided right before the official release date:

kuuderes_shadow said:


It's DraconisMarch. You can't expect any post by him to be uncontroversial.

symbv said:

*3, *3,036 *3,036 Saki: Achiga-hen - Episode of Side-A vol.9

Kaioshin_Sama said:


A perfect example of what I'm talking about.

Yeah good job Madoka, you keep those lesser shows in their place. :/

Kaioshin_Sama said:
Anyway Titan provides yet another good counterculture scenario (or is it just culture?) to modern anime trends that hopefully ensures that creators are kept honest with regard to appealing to folks like me that get a kick out of the big bombastic fantasy action shows. It shows that it's not all about the "moeshit" taking over Japan like some people try to imply (though god knows people will still find a way to complain about moe being the "cancer that's killing anime") and that there's still a place for old school fans like me to stand up and be counted. That's cool, I like that and no matter what the SHAFT fanboys say they can't take that away from it.

ihateeveryone said:
Jesus Christ can you all stop with the Madoka fanbase hating? It really has nothing to do with the topic and quoting a post on the first page that really contributes NOTHING to this topic and adding to it is just flamebait.

symbv said:
But then I remember Madoka being mentioned as not following the prevailing culture of how an anime series is done. I also remember how back then some anime fans mentioned what great thing that very serious mahou shoujo show is being made so fans who prefer drama to frivolous shows are finally having something to cheer for. I also remember how characters in Madoka were dismissed as not moe enough and destined for failure by fans in Japan just before the season started. The brand of Shaft or the name of Urobuchi did not really give rise only to hype but also huge amount of skepticism too (particularly Urobuchi)

Now once we put it in perspective I think it is fair to say that there are things we can appreciate from both Madoka and SnK for how they succeeded without following the prevailing formula of making an anime series or picking the type of story and subject. Is Madoka moe show ("moeshit" has no place in a balanced discussion so that is out) ? The question is pretty vague because as I said it took quite a while for fans to develop a moe view of the characters, which are mainly based on fan-arts. Does SnK have no moe? The scene where Levi opened the window from inside a long disused castle while waring a mask got enormous moe brownie points from female fans. So are the two shows so different for what they said about anime industry and anime fans? I would say that we may actually more similarities than we are sometimes willing to admit.

As for "old school fans", let's not forge one big reason why SnK sells as much as it does is by drawing in new fans, many of them young and/or female, and they may have never seen much old school stuff. So while SnK's success can be considered a boon to old school fans, it would be a stretch to interpret that it is all because of old school fans standing up and pushing for (and getting) what they want. It is more like a manga has established a solid fan base and then a studio managed to do a decent job in the anime adaptation which, combined with massive marketing, managed to draw in new fans and existing fans alike. Fans start to contribute in the buzz (and fan-arts) and a "phenomenon" started to develop. Surely old school fans are part of it, but I kind of doubt how many of those who bought the BD/DVD are the old school fans who do not find the anime being broadcast these days to be appealing.

Kaioshin_Sama said:
If the worst elements didn't sort of bring it on themselves I doubt it would be an issue here. I think it helps to pay attention to the context in which the Madoka sub topic was brought up in the first place.

symbv said:
I am surprised to see not one but two people so allergic to mentions of Madoka.

symbv said:






Here's a good example of what got this whole argument started. The logic is immediately faulty as it implies that a show that finished over a year ago is somehow in direct competition with a show that is currently still airing. It implies that there's some sort of zero sum game at play rather than a matter of statistics to be observed. Personally I've never understood this tendency towards some fans to live vicariously through the sales number of others in a market they typically have little influence over. If that's ones measuring stick for appreciation of a particular franchise than that's incredibly shallow stuff.

I sort of think it's good enough to just have an affection for a show and leave it at that, but then I'm not so horribly insecure or egotistical about what I enjoy that I feel I need some big number beside it to justify it. I mean I like Gundam Unicorn for example and would enjoy it just as much if it was a catastrophic financial failure as I do with it's record breaking sales numbers. It makes little difference to me cause I feel the work should speak for itself. I don't see it as "beating" other OVA's and anime it has nothing to do with. I freely admit to being a huge Sunrise fan too for example, probably even admittedly a fanboy, but again I'm a fan of the content itself not the numbers. I've seen the sales charts plenty of times, I know where they stand in terms of big selling shows throughout, it's nice but I don't see them as "beating" other studios in this manner and that's not why I like their stuff. If I'm going to get people interested in a show of there's I enjoy which I do do a lot my approach would never be to quote the sales charts at them, it'd simply be to match up that persons interest with a show from their stable.

Anyway I digress, the point is I draw a clear distinction between statistics and content and I find the idea of a zero-sum competition to be beside the point. I feel genuinely sorry for the fans that have to suffer the backlash for the commentary of the bad apples and sales champions, but it's not going to stop me calling them out a little.

Kaioshin_Sama said:
As symbv mentioned though a major reason it's mentioned in this thread is because of it's record establishing Blu-Ray sales. Personally I don't like how some Madoka fanboys love to lord that distinction over other shows like it's supposed to mean anything more than the number it adds up to in terms of units sold, but that's a whole other can of worms.

Kaioshin_Sama said:


The second quote I can see where you're coming from, but the first one? Not really. All they're saying is how people would talk about that Kyojin would beat Madoka, and it didn't. If you're taking that as "fanboyism" that's your own fault.

It was the people that said "I don't see what's so great about Madoka" that brought in the people defending it. I don't think people understand that with the amount of criticism/hate you give a show, you're likely to get the same amount of defense/love back at you.

Unchou said:
Not sure but doesn't it matter that madoka had 13 episodes and shingeki has 25? People sometimes buy after the series have ended and know what they're going in for. But then again I don't really know what were the circumstances with Madoka.

ultimateninjax said:
Even Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon hit like 24k so 39k for shingeki tells me it was too hyped up and they messed up with the pacing of the story at the latter end of last season

Unchou said:
No, it just started with gorgeous action and not major development, now it has normal pacing and light is shed to many events that happened. It will start getting unstoppable again in 2 episodes max.

@Hoppy even if its not the best idea people tend to follow it.

symbv said:


Blu-ray
*1, 37,339 37,339 Shingeki no Kyojin vol.1


DVD
*1, 19,454 *,*19,454 Shingeki no Kyojin vol.1

SatelliteCannon said:
Yea, I saw some of this when GuP started overtaking SAO's average. You're right, it is unpleasant when a show gets attacked just because of good vs better sales figures. I like to believe that there's room for both series in the market.

_Yamainu said:

As a fan of the manga, this sadden me because the anime is a mediocre piece of shit that don't do any justice to the manga.

Those sales should have been for something that successfully brought life to its source material like Aku no hana.

_Yamainu said:

As a fan of the manga, this sadden me because the anime is a mediocre piece of shit that don't do any justice to the manga.

mistress_kisara said:

It was VERY loyal to the manga I don't know if we're watching the same show

Takuan_Soho said:


In that I believe I was the only person who was happy that GuP overtook SAO, I guess I should clarify my comments.

My happiness of GuP doing well was more a marker of how successful it was. Don't forget that SAO was one of the most marketed shows of last year, whereas GuP wasn't even predicted to sell 3K. That it sold better was for me the clearest possible proof that a good show determines sales, not just marketing.

This isn't to say that I thought SAO bad (actually I like the stories very much), but there is little doubt that it was heavily anticipated and marketed. I will say that I did think that the animation team did a very bad job at adapting SAO. Unless you read the novels the first 4 episodes were a complete mess, and if I hadn't then read the novels I would have dropped it, and I do think they cut nearly all the humor out of the show as well.

I make no bones that I adore GuP, I think the blending of the writer and director was perfect, the story flowed extremely well, there was excellent humor, and they anticipated issues and answered them either in the series or the OVAs. What excites me the most is that both the OVA and the Movie will feature the same combo. That bodes well for the franchise.

Kaioshin_Sama said:
Because SHAFT fans, at least in my experience, are extremely loud about the stuff they enjoy if you haven't already noticed. I found it to be a pretty good show but it's nowhere near the earth shattering all encompassing whatever that some make it out to be. It's not the kind of show I'd go on and on and on about and be constantly namedropping personally. I think that's probably what bothers people most about it's legacy.

mistress_kisara said:

It was VERY loyal to the manga I don't know if we're watching the same show

Hoppy said:


Aku no Hana was DOA due to the art style and probably the recall as well, which means it could be a studio killer.

hpulley said:

I think the Aku no Hana comment by Mountain Dog was a troll but still... the question is, would the packaging/disc defects be a Zexcs issue or Starchild problem? Zexcs/Starchild also made the Sukitte Ii Na Yo bomb (which I loved, bought them all but... they didn't even rank) so if Aku no Hana is similarly bad for sales that doesn't bode well. Will Diabolik Lovers even come out in the fall one wonders?

hpulley said:

I think the Aku no Hana comment by Mountain Dog was a troll but still... the question is, would the packaging/disc defects be a Zexcs issue or Starchild problem? Zexcs/Starchild also made the Sukitte Ii Na Yo bomb (which I loved, bought them all but... they didn't even rank) so if Aku no Hana is similarly bad for sales that doesn't bode well. Will Diabolik Lovers even come out in the fall one wonders?

symbv said:
CD Single
*3, 29,747 158,857 Shingeki no Kyojin OP "Jiyuu e no Shingeki"
54, *1,097 164,559 Kakumeiki Valvrave OP "Preserved Roses"

CD Album
11, 8,046 *8,046 Hikasa Youko "Glamorous Songs"
21, 4,569 33,141 Shingeki no Kyojin Original Soundtrack
33, 3,117 *3,117 Kaze Tachinu Soundtrack
37, 2,617 29,459 Yanagi Nagi "Eurau"
49, 1,802 50,501 ClariS "Second Story"

Kaioshin_Sama said:
Here's a good example of what got this whole argument started.

Shuhan said:


This is why I hate Japan

Ghostbooster said:

and finally before you laugh at japan for liking that horrible Madoka show
Usa has is version of it it's called my little pony so yeah every country has it's fare share of stupid fans

ihateeveryone said:


Part of me wants to report your comment for the blatant trolling and baiting but the other part wants it to stay up so everyone else can get the same laughter and enjoyment that I did out of this

ihateeveryone said:
Part of me wants to report your comment for the blatant trolling and baiting but the other part wants it to stay up so everyone else can get the same laughter and enjoyment that I did out of this

symbv said:
His not-too-fluent English makes it look like trolling but in fact I think he isn't. What I read from his comments is that he meant to say

and finally before you laugh at Japan for liking that "horrible" Madoka show, America has its version of it which is called My Little Pony which also has its fair share of "stupid fans" (as haters like to call them).

I think he is not trying to trash MLP but instead trying to comment on how in every country there are popular shows and fans of them which get insulted by the haters at every turn. And this is what is happening here -- I have not seen much Madoka fanboys gloating in this thread, but so far I have seen quite a number of users who could not hold back from attacking Madoka and its fans without any good reason.

jmal said:

Almost all the volumes of Shingeki have some nice bonuses in them, which might guard against any drop.

jmal said:
What I read elsewhere is that this is equal to the first week sales of all their singles since 2010 combined, including the Kurobas one. So yeah, definitely a good thing for them.

ultimateninjax said:
there just wasn't enough material for 25 episodes

phoenixalia said:
Really? All of them have bonuses? Wow, that's great then. So they won't drop much.

phoenixalia said:
That is just amazing.

ultimateninjax said:


You're so right I'm sure the fanboys are just attacking Madoka because Shingeki didn't beat it and even if it had beaten it I could totally see them saying how bad Madoka sucked either way. The attacks were inevitable as soon as people started comparing sales records and its just like sports teams(in this case anime) everyone wants their favorite to win. Just another day in life and part of it is defending the things you love.

Newhopes said:
Never understood why people are so obsessed with Madoka I found it boring as hell.

Raigrex said:
Yeah, me too. Don't know why they like it.

ultimateninjax said:
and even if it had beaten it I could totally see them saying how bad Madoka sucked either way.

VioLink said:
Okay now lets take a look at these "Shingeki fanboys" who were mean to poor wittle Madoka-chan
Key word in what this person said: "I". He never said Madoka was a boring as hell anime he only said he found it boring as hell.

VioLink said:
And you answered his question didn't you?

symbv said:
The problem (which is serious in my view) is why he said so in this thread. It is not whether he made it clear it is his opinion, but where did he draw the idea of "people are obsessed with Madoka" from the posts in this thread when he posted that. The end result is he effectively derailed the discussion towards bickering over the merit (or lack of it) for Madoka and whether it deserves such record sales. This is immediately confirmed by the next post, and then DraconisMarch's trolling followed, even Kaoshin_Sama's posts look like grabbing an excuse to bash Shaft's fanboys which do not seem to even exist in this thread as far as I can tell -- in no way did his post help and in fact he muddled the waters even more, and this is regardless of whether he likes or dislikes or just ambivalent about Madoka.

Yes to set the record straight. But it did not prevent the likes of DraconisMarch from going back to the misguided topic. So I had to do this over and over again.

symbv said:
Yes to set the record straight. But it did not prevent the likes of DraconisMarch from going back to the misguided topic. So I had to do this over and over again.