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Discotek Lupin Part V rights lapsing.
- Thread starter GATSU
- Start date
It does seem to be a bit shorter than usual (usually licenses are between 5-7 years but can apply for extensions or restrictions, plus Part 4 is still in print in the US) meaning that there are a few possible theories:
1) Sentai got rights to Part 5 as they released some of the modern Lupin entries physically (Part 6, Zero) and is on HIDIVE. They have also rescued a few Discotek releases but either did their own dub or not include one, it won't apply in this case as TMS owns the dubs. It wouldn't be the same in terms of quality as Sentai do their own discs but second best scenario if any more physical releases happen. (Since I can't check HIDIVE, do they still have the Adult Swim TV broadcasts on there with their logo and everything for Part 5? That would be an issue...)
2) Something has gone down between Discotek and TMS that we won't know the full details. While we are getting more Lupin entries, it's pretty much mopping up at this point with the last few TV Specials on Blu-ray and anything else that can be licensed. There are hints that something has gone off more recently... Detective Conan isn't getting any more physical releases (including recently dubbed movies) as when asked Discotek said it was down to TMS and any Funimation dubbed Conan entries are off the list as the licensor (TMS, YTV and/or the manga company as they were part of the committee) have not allowed the older English dub to be used. Since Discotek seems to try to include an existing English dub, it would affect sales as some subbed releases have flopped for them (mainly kids anime that are more known for their English dub). They also aren't doing the 4K release of Mamo due to quality reasons even though it was considered at one point. Yowamushi Pedal and Tomorrow's Joe film have also gone out of print. GKIDS did rescue Panda Go Panda though and most of their series are safe... for now.
Personally though, it's not as a big issue as it is claimed elsewhere. It's just that Discotek do seem to be focused on other things including live action again and a fair amount of TMS's library is on Blu-ray, much of it still in print.
2b) Something is going down with Discotek in general. Their disc author MediaOCD have started doing releases as they have bought AnimEigo (yes, the same company that did The Fuma Conspiracy release before Discotek existed). It might not be now as they are still going to work together but something in the future may pop up.
3) It's not just TMS... NTV were co-producers of Part 5 (as well as most of the TV Specials, Part 6, Farewell to Nostradamus, Dead or Alive and a few other things including the live action Inspector Zenigata series). The licensing would be different in this case and apparently Goodbye Partner has stock issues on Crunchyroll. When people asked Discotek when Voyage to Danger went OOP, they said that they will try to reprint some of the TV Specials but... Well... We know if they do or they don't. Just depends whether Discotek has to go through TMS USA, TMS then to NTV or they go to NTV directly. Legend of the Gold of Babylon going OOP is a combination of an expired license and Toho, the latter are notorious when it comes to licensing. The latter would affect Fuma.
If this is the case, it would be best to grab anything that NTV had involvement with while you can... in terms of collecting Discotek Blu-rays. Goodbye Partner and Prison of the Past were around the same time as Part 5 so they are probably next but yet to be announced. While Nostradamus and Dead or Alive are more recent of the Discotek Blu-rays, they are still at risk. Any existing TV Special especially older releases (Bye Bye Lady Liberty), subbed only (this is what Discotek have said in the past in general) or the Funimation dubbed ones are more at risk. Since Part 3 had a different licensing agreement as it was done by YTV but technically part of the same company, that is also likely to go OOP soon. Having a quick look at TMS's International Website, they do not have the overseas license to Parts 2 & 3, Babylon, Nostradamus, Dead or Alive, Goodbye Partner, Prison of the Past or The First. Fuma curiously isn't listed...
Since it's OOP now, the only option for now if someone has access to a Region B or a multi-region player, the Anime Limited release is still available both regular and collector's editions. I don't know for how long though.
1) Sentai got rights to Part 5 as they released some of the modern Lupin entries physically (Part 6, Zero) and is on HIDIVE. They have also rescued a few Discotek releases but either did their own dub or not include one, it won't apply in this case as TMS owns the dubs. It wouldn't be the same in terms of quality as Sentai do their own discs but second best scenario if any more physical releases happen. (Since I can't check HIDIVE, do they still have the Adult Swim TV broadcasts on there with their logo and everything for Part 5? That would be an issue...)
2) Something has gone down between Discotek and TMS that we won't know the full details. While we are getting more Lupin entries, it's pretty much mopping up at this point with the last few TV Specials on Blu-ray and anything else that can be licensed. There are hints that something has gone off more recently... Detective Conan isn't getting any more physical releases (including recently dubbed movies) as when asked Discotek said it was down to TMS and any Funimation dubbed Conan entries are off the list as the licensor (TMS, YTV and/or the manga company as they were part of the committee) have not allowed the older English dub to be used. Since Discotek seems to try to include an existing English dub, it would affect sales as some subbed releases have flopped for them (mainly kids anime that are more known for their English dub). They also aren't doing the 4K release of Mamo due to quality reasons even though it was considered at one point. Yowamushi Pedal and Tomorrow's Joe film have also gone out of print. GKIDS did rescue Panda Go Panda though and most of their series are safe... for now.
Personally though, it's not as a big issue as it is claimed elsewhere. It's just that Discotek do seem to be focused on other things including live action again and a fair amount of TMS's library is on Blu-ray, much of it still in print.
2b) Something is going down with Discotek in general. Their disc author MediaOCD have started doing releases as they have bought AnimEigo (yes, the same company that did The Fuma Conspiracy release before Discotek existed). It might not be now as they are still going to work together but something in the future may pop up.
3) It's not just TMS... NTV were co-producers of Part 5 (as well as most of the TV Specials, Part 6, Farewell to Nostradamus, Dead or Alive and a few other things including the live action Inspector Zenigata series). The licensing would be different in this case and apparently Goodbye Partner has stock issues on Crunchyroll. When people asked Discotek when Voyage to Danger went OOP, they said that they will try to reprint some of the TV Specials but... Well... We know if they do or they don't. Just depends whether Discotek has to go through TMS USA, TMS then to NTV or they go to NTV directly. Legend of the Gold of Babylon going OOP is a combination of an expired license and Toho, the latter are notorious when it comes to licensing. The latter would affect Fuma.
If this is the case, it would be best to grab anything that NTV had involvement with while you can... in terms of collecting Discotek Blu-rays. Goodbye Partner and Prison of the Past were around the same time as Part 5 so they are probably next but yet to be announced. While Nostradamus and Dead or Alive are more recent of the Discotek Blu-rays, they are still at risk. Any existing TV Special especially older releases (Bye Bye Lady Liberty), subbed only (this is what Discotek have said in the past in general) or the Funimation dubbed ones are more at risk. Since Part 3 had a different licensing agreement as it was done by YTV but technically part of the same company, that is also likely to go OOP soon. Having a quick look at TMS's International Website, they do not have the overseas license to Parts 2 & 3, Babylon, Nostradamus, Dead or Alive, Goodbye Partner, Prison of the Past or The First. Fuma curiously isn't listed...
Since it's OOP now, the only option for now if someone has access to a Region B or a multi-region player, the Anime Limited release is still available both regular and collector's editions. I don't know for how long though.
Speaking of that website, something i've always found weird is how some of their anime have been listed as having an overseas license for a long time and they just... never did anything with them?
Stuff like Lupin Shanshei or other Monkey Punch anime like Botchan, Mankatsu, etc.
