This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#1 | Back to Top04-28-2009 06:20:38 PM

Nights1stStar
Ballgoer
From: Clawing Out of Her Coffin
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 157

News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 … bankruptcy

The Crain's New York Business news source reports that the anime and manga distributor Central Park Media (CPM) filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and has closed its doors as of Monday. According to Crain's, the company owes US$1.2 million to creditors. The company has not been active in releasing new titles in the past 12 months.

CPM and its Software Sculptors, U.S. Manga Corps, and Anime 18 adult labels were once the North American homes of such prominent works as Grave of the Fireflies, Utena, Mobile Police Patlabor, Record of Lodoss War, Slayers, Project A-Ko, Dominion Tank Police, Demon City Shinjuku, Urotsukidoji, and La Blue Girl. It later branched out into the book publishing field by releasing Comic Party, Record of Lodoss War, Slayers, and other titles under the CPM Manga imprint. It sponsored the Big Apple Anime Fest earlier this decade.

Companies that file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States will face liquidation — unlike Chapter 11 and 13 bankruptcies which still allow companies to restructure and continue to operate.

The American distributor of Utena's gone bankrupt. This first appears to be a bad sign, except I theorize that Funimation or a different company may scoop up and redub/rerelease some of its more successful titles just like it did with Geneon. Had Central Park Media stayed afloat, it would've likely forgotten about its RGU license altogether considering its bad anime track record, and we'd never see another rerelease of RGU again. But if a company like Funi buys CPM and the RGU license with it, we still have a chance. Of course, that's assuming CPM still had the license to RGU when it went bankrupt. In the current economy, there might not be a new RGU dub, but sub-only releases are getting more common these days. And I personally think RGU has a good sales potential b/c it's right up there with Marimite, arguably even higher, in terms of yuri-fame and fandom popularity, and Marimite's American DVD releases kept selling out on preorder.

So what do you think? Do you think CPM's bankruptcy will ultimately help/hurt the chances of seeing an RGU redubbling/rerelease, whether its the old or remastered version? And does anyone know if CPM still had the license for RGU before going kaput?


"To copulate is to enter another...and the artist never emerges from herself."
-Charles Bauldelaire

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#2 | Back to Top04-28-2009 06:25:41 PM

spoon-san
Someday Shiner
Registered: 03-18-2009
Posts: 3423

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

All I know is that before going rock bottom, they decided to stop distributing Utena making DVDs scarce.  I hope when I'm able to do more to build my anime collection in the future that it will be available on DVD, but who knows, really.

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#3 | Back to Top04-28-2009 07:27:39 PM

Imaginary Bad Bug
Revolutionary
From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2171
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

I'm sorry to see CPM go... I don't have a lot of stuff from them, but what I do I like.

I'm cautiously hoping for a license rescue for Utena.  The chances are probably slim, but if there's even a 1% possibility, I'm hoping for it.  I'd definitely peg Nozomi (who is releasing Marimite) as the type of company to pick it up, were it available for the right price.  Nozomi is excellent with niche titles, and let's face it, in today's anime climate Utena is niche. The main thing working against an Utena rescue is its age. Unless you're Evangelion, I don't know how much incentive there is for a company to pick up a decade old series, no matter how good it is.

Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (04-28-2009 07:31:22 PM)


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#4 | Back to Top04-28-2009 08:57:25 PM

J-Syxx
Banned
Registered: 04-25-2007
Posts: 102

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

CPM was really dead for a while, so this was sort of a foregone conclusion.  This is actually great news becuase they're titles can get license rescued.  License rescues I think are becoming more popular lately because the largest overhead cost (dubbing) was already done by someone else.  I could see this getting scooped up by somebody like Funimation possibly or even Rightstuf, they would just take the dub from the old DVDs and use the newly remastered video with it.  Perhaps new subs as well.  It would be a great deal.  Biggest obstacle though is how expensive the license is.  I gotta think licenses are probalby more reasonable now than when they were trying to rape companies over them a few years ago, so maybe this is actually more likely than we think.  I'd also definitely go for a Project A-ko rescue.  Slayers and Agent Aika of course already have been rescued and being given better quality video masters.

Last edited by J-Syxx (04-28-2009 08:57:59 PM)

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#5 | Back to Top04-29-2009 08:32:21 AM

Leroy
Eternal Castellan
From: Plano, TX
Registered: 11-16-2008
Posts: 276
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

I know somebody that works for (or, well, at this point worked for) an anime company. I've already heard a little bit of a little something something. That's probably all I can say at the moment, even though she was fired I'll be good with the informations I have.


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#6 | Back to Top04-29-2009 08:55:21 AM

PrinceoftheLostEternity
Rose Assignee
From: Castle of Eternal Dark
Registered: 04-06-2009
Posts: 1720

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

As unfortunate as it is that the company shut down, another company would be morons if they didn't take the opportunity to pick up a gold mine like SKU, which I less than three.


I want your love and I want your revenge, you and me can write a bad romance.

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#7 | Back to Top04-29-2009 09:12:11 AM

Bluesky
Chpn Dlst
From: Your window
Registered: 10-25-2008
Posts: 1939
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Well, maybe the fact that Utena still has a sizeable established fanbase several years after its original release could bump its chance of being re-released? One can but hope, anyway....emot-rolleyes


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#8 | Back to Top04-29-2009 09:21:58 AM

PrinceoftheLostEternity
Rose Assignee
From: Castle of Eternal Dark
Registered: 04-06-2009
Posts: 1720

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Pretty much, but honestly, I'd be surprised if Utena WASN'T picked up.


I want your love and I want your revenge, you and me can write a bad romance.

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#9 | Back to Top04-29-2009 09:29:22 AM

J-Syxx
Banned
Registered: 04-25-2007
Posts: 102

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

And there's another CPM property that has been much maligned, Maze.  I wonder if the Maze movie will ever see the light of day.

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#10 | Back to Top04-29-2009 09:58:12 AM

Imaginary Bad Bug
Revolutionary
From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2171
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Leroy wrote:

I know somebody that works for (or, well, at this point worked for) an anime company. I've already heard a little bit of a little something something. That's probably all I can say at the moment, even though she was fired I'll be good with the informations I have.

Hm.. well.. you're in Texas, which points in the direction of ADV or Funimation.

Vedy vedy interesting...

Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (04-29-2009 10:02:12 AM)


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#11 | Back to Top04-29-2009 01:24:04 PM

hollow_rose
Egghead
From: Ohio
Registered: 10-26-2008
Posts: 1074

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

That's too bad about it going under. It seems like there's only a few companies left now, unless there are new ones cropping up to replace the ones that keep dying off.


20 threads dead so far.

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#12 | Back to Top04-29-2009 03:22:49 PM

Riri-kins
World's End
From: Cloud Nine
Registered: 09-22-2008
Posts: 2354

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Shojo titles aren't doing well, so I'm a little scared for Utena. This doesn't mean I'll never be able to purchase the series, does it? I've only seen the OnDemand episodes.


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#13 | Back to Top04-29-2009 07:13:59 PM

Nights1stStar
Ballgoer
From: Clawing Out of Her Coffin
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 157

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Riri-kins wrote:

Shojo titles aren't doing well.

Only relatively speaking. While it's true that most shojo titles don't make DBZ level waves (and incidentally, I'll never forgive the human race for letting moronic shows like Naruto prosper while leaving RGU relatively in the dark), most seinen/josei or even other shonen shows can't match up with Naruto/One Piece/Bleach sales, yet Western licensers do more than just license or market these big three. That's because enough of those other shows are intelligent/marketable enough to generate sales in their own right. It's like failing to conquer the planet and settling for a well-off country; it still leaves you in good shape, and enough American anime licensors know this. One example I gave earlier is Marimite, full name Maria-sama ga Miteru, known as Maria Watches Over Us in English. To those unfamiliar, Marimite is the current all-the-rage yuri anime out there right now, (even if most of it's subtext), and it's one of the most shojo, girliest anime I've ever seen. The entire plot (and I use the term plot loosely) revolves around a bunch of Catholic schoolgirls making friends. It's elegantly/slow-paced, and it's an obvious niche market, yet Right Stuff released a subtitled version in America complete with phone charms to boot. The result: all of its volumes sold out on preorder. Thus, companies should now realize that there is a sold, dependable market for yuri, and RGU is one of yuri's flagships.

So, I don't think the chance's of another RGU release is small. It might be an overwhelming majority, but it's too big to dismiss.


"To copulate is to enter another...and the artist never emerges from herself."
-Charles Bauldelaire

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#14 | Back to Top04-30-2009 07:56:12 AM

Leroy
Eternal Castellan
From: Plano, TX
Registered: 11-16-2008
Posts: 276
Website

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

It would be amazing if it was picked up that whoever did used the remastered DVD set, but I think I'd probably pick up whatever new release is made regardless just to have everything in a nice boxset as opposed to ten DVD cases. Does anybody know what Funimation did different with their Slayer box sets from what CPM originally released? I know they used the same dubs, but that's about it. New subs? Better video quality? Anything?

I lied.. I kind of know the answer to ONE of those questions. emot-rofl

Oi, if Funimation picks this up, I'd do VERY dirty things to everyone there to have the movie on Blu-Ray.


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#15 | Back to Top04-30-2009 03:31:41 PM

spoon-san
Someday Shiner
Registered: 03-18-2009
Posts: 3423

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Yeah, if anyone does pick it up, I'd hope they'd do the remastered version (which I haven't seen since the possibility exists that they might use that but probably not).  But yeah, I would love to have Utena as a nice DVD quality thing, not that I mind what is out there, but still.

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#16 | Back to Top04-30-2009 04:16:55 PM

Melancholic_Soul
Dancer Romancer
From: VA
Registered: 04-28-2009
Posts: 1514

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

This makes me very nervous. I have the last two boxsets of RGU, but I'm missing the first and the movie... I kept putting it off for one reason or other. It's already hard to find... >__<


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#17 | Back to Top05-01-2009 01:14:58 PM

Alan
Wakaba Wrangler
From: Los Angeles
Registered: 03-16-2009
Posts: 17
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Melancholic, the movie was pretty easy to find for a while - it's the one Utena DVD I was able to find in CPM's catalog a couple months back (background: when our anime club was showing SKU, a member's sister enlisted my help in trying to track down a way to acquire the R1 DVDs she was missing. The movie was still available, and there was always ebay, but CPM didn't even respond to email about the availability of other discs). I can't find it on Rightstuf, but Anime Corner Store (http://www.animecornerstore.com/revgirutmov.html) indicates that it might be in stock. Wow, some of the OSTs are $4 on Rightstuf...

As for picking it up - I think there's a decent chance of that happening. Funimation has run SKU via their streaming or on-demand TV service, and ADV recently announced that they've licensed SKU for airing on the Anime Network (another on-demand), though this was part of a much broader set of broadcast licenses from Enoki. I'd guess that Funimation will be a lot more likely to pick up SKU than anybody else, since the rest of the US anime industry is sort of in shambles right now - I mean, Media Blasters is the 2nd biggest US anime company right now, surpassing even Bandai. ADV in particular is having a hard time doing anything but picking up discount titles that nobody else seems to want, while Funi grabs new shonen sensations like Soul Eater and big ticket items like the Eva movies.

Nights1stStar: Marimite sold out on preorder, but was it like Nozomi's release of Emma, where they needed a certain number of orders before they'd release? If that's the case, they probably just printed the series to order, and while that indicates that there's enough of a fanbase to actually sell shojo series (unlike Legend of the Galactic Heroes, say) I'm not sure it's a good argument that there's a solid shojo market here in the US. Hopefully Viz's online release of NANA and Honey and Clover can move things in the right direction.

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#18 | Back to Top05-01-2009 07:06:05 PM

J-Syxx
Banned
Registered: 04-25-2007
Posts: 102

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Leroy wrote:

It would be amazing if it was picked up that whoever did used the remastered DVD set, but I think I'd probably pick up whatever new release is made regardless just to have everything in a nice boxset as opposed to ten DVD cases. Does anybody know what Funimation did different with their Slayer box sets from what CPM originally released? I know they used the same dubs, but that's about it. New subs? Better video quality? Anything?

I lied.. I kind of know the answer to ONE of those questions. emot-rofl

Oi, if Funimation picks this up, I'd do VERY dirty things to everyone there to have the movie on Blu-Ray.

They used improved video masters they improved their selves, but not really completely remastered masters, becuase Slayers had not been remastered at that point in Japan I guess.  Other than that they included a music video.  Does Utena have any of those?

Important point here is that a new company will have to license the masters all over again since CPM's contracts are dead, so they're would be no sane reason why they wouldn't go for the HD remasters.

Last edited by J-Syxx (05-01-2009 07:06:32 PM)

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#19 | Back to Top05-01-2009 09:48:45 PM

Haku Vinevaldi
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
Registered: 02-08-2009
Posts: 160

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Well its a damn good thing for ebay boxsets on DVD, 'cause I have the series.

By why is Utena so great, yet it feels like no one besides IRG likes it. and the few people on youtube. Which probably is us.

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#20 | Back to Top05-01-2009 10:00:17 PM

Imaginary Bad Bug
Revolutionary
From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2171
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Haku Vinevaldi wrote:

By why is Utena so great, yet it feels like no one besides IRG likes it. and the few people on youtube. Which probably is us.

It's got a pretty loyal following at the (formerly known as) AnimeOnDVD boards too, so IRG is not alone.  The cries are going up there for a license rescue as well.


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#21 | Back to Top05-05-2009 08:27:26 PM

Imaginary Bad Bug
Revolutionary
From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2171
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Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Tangentially related news of interest, perhaps...  ADV has license rescued of a handful of CPM titles. Including one called MD Geist, which is apparently regarded as one of the worst shows ever, if not the worst. emot-keke;

Could Utena be waiting in the wings? Fingers crossed...


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#22 | Back to Top05-05-2009 10:05:04 PM

Aelanie
Black Rosarian
Registered: 02-04-2009
Posts: 378

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

It's an excellent sign that other CPM holdings are being rescued so quickly. Hopefully, it's just a matter of time before we hear word of Utena's triumphant return to the US market...

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#23 | Back to Top05-06-2009 02:12:06 AM

P.D.M.
Touga Topper
From: Budapest, Hungary
Registered: 06-24-2008
Posts: 54

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Haku Vinevaldi wrote:

Well its a damn good thing for ebay boxsets on DVD, 'cause I have the series.

By why is Utena so great, yet it feels like no one besides IRG likes it. and the few people on youtube. Which probably is us.

1st possibility: It's probably because most frat boys think it will turn you gay.

2nd possibility: Only a handful of the populaton is intelligent enough for SKU, and most poeple don't like feeling stupid.


Cedric X Orube: Finally a pairing I can adore!

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#24 | Back to Top05-06-2009 10:10:25 AM

Anthiena
Egghead
From: ...the space between your ears
Registered: 10-21-2006
Posts: 1108

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

The thing about the dearth of new, thoughtful Shojo is that it may become a good thing very soon. With a plethora of middling Shojo, Utena could be passed over as a wierd low budget affair. From what I understand, Utena DVDs were sold out pretty much as soon as they were released in America, were they not? At the one library in Watertown via Interlibrary loan, there was a waiting list for the Black Rose Saga, which says very, very good things about what would happen if Utena were to be rescued.

In disease terms, I like to think "Virgin Field Pandemic" lol.

It would be very stupid indeed for Anime companies to NOT rescue Utena-that show is so very bankable, inspite of it being a wierd low budget affair. emot-keke Girls are dying for a "newish" (to them) thoughtful shoujo and Utena is still very relevant. Some years ago, I put on the OST for my cousin and neice and they loved it, even though it was old and my cousin really liked both the Utena I was able to show her and she's a typical pre-teen (and soon to be teen).

I'm a fan of the art, but I also realize that Utena could very well come back as at the least a modest hit-provided that the company that rescues it markets it right.

...and this is good. We will never, ever have to fear the rise of Ursula's Kiss ever, ever again.


I stopped seeking to be sought after. That wasn't being true to myself.
I want to become someone who can exercise power. I want to become a prince. - Ikuni

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#25 | Back to Top05-06-2009 12:45:56 PM

Imaginary Bad Bug
Revolutionary
From: Connecticut, USA
Registered: 10-16-2006
Posts: 2171
Website

Re: News Flash: RGU's American Distributor Goes Bankrupt

Anthiena wrote:

I'm a fan of the art, but I also realize that Utena could very well come back as at the least a modest hit-provided that the company that rescues it markets it right.

Whoever gets Utena (assuming someone has indeed got it), if they are fortunate enough to have the restored version, they'd probably do quite well marketing a remastered and remixed release.  If all they have are ports of CPMs masters though, it'll just be a standard catalog reissue with little to no fanfare.

I'm certainly hoping for the former!  My main concern with the remastered Utena though is if rights would have to be renegotiated to release it...

Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (05-06-2009 12:47:00 PM)


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