Favorite Anime Distributor

[Milkymagic]

That's right, you get to show some love for all those companies that release anime year round for all of you to enjoy...but if you don't purchase I'll accept favorite fansubbers for all your downloads or what have you. Also, this is based on whatever factors you wish (retail/deals, selection, quality of releases). This is only an opinion, not a guideline, now show some love.

1. Bandai - Thanks to the Honnamise label (which released HUGE favorites like the first two Patlabor movies, and are working on Gunbuster along with The Wings of Honneamise) I can safely slap this company way above Manga Entertainment, especially since all of that former company's properties are given massive boxsets with special goodies (thank you!). Plus their bid for the Anime Legends lineup is smart business, and their selection is quite essential with some of my favorites including: Mobile Suit Gundam, Saber Marionette J, Cowboy Bebop, Blue Submarine no 6 (not on Anime Legends?), Haunted Junction (not this one too!) and too many others to mention.

2. AD Vision - They're duking it out with Bandai for largest anime selection overall (I think they're winning so far), and many are in Thinpacs for easy collecting, here's some pesonal picks: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, Golden Boy, and Gunsmith Cats.

3. Animeigo - Anyone crazy enough to choose Madox-01 over Project A-ko deserves a freaking hug, I love these guys. They aim for older anime, and seem quite "Down to Earth" when it comes to communication with the fans, though I'm not too crazy about their dubs (with the exception of You're Under Arrest). Plus they released some big favorites of mine such as: Bubblegum Crisis, Otaku No Video, Urusei Yatsura, You're Under Arrest OVA, Madox-01, Macross (I have their version), Spirit of Wonder, Kimagure Orange Road Movie 1, and Riding Bean.

4. The Right Stuf International - I love their store, I love their selection, rather easy to list in my opinion. Totally enjoyed Boogiepop Phantom and Kare Kano, though I was also a fan of Leda when that was on VHS...

5. U.S. Manga Corp. - Sadly, they might have one of the spottier catalogues within the industry, but they release some real gems and give them the collector's facelift when needed. Check out Grave of the Fireflies, Project A-ko, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Roujin Z, NTHT, and They Were 11.

Sorry about the length, but I had a bit to say this time, feel free to share your opinions.

[Grasshopper]

Geneon has my vote. I always find myself buying their products because they license a lot of the good anime. I can always expect good quality from them.

[Milkymagic]

Geneon definitely does a great job, they release some quality titles with excellent transfer. I really liked their releases of Last Exile and Koi Kaze (got both in boxsets!).

Under Pioneer, I rather enjoyed the effort they put into bringing back 3x3 Eyes along with Akira, and I loved Serial Experiements Lain to boot.

[Tremolo]

I'm a big fan of the following three companies:

Geneon - They release undoubtedly the highest quality anime DVD's you can get. The downside is they're the most expensive, especially their boxsets, but they release lots of great series and their transfers and packaging are exceptional.

Bandai Ent - A huge amount of quality titles under their belt, and of course they're the main purveyor of GITS: SAC and Gundam which is a Good Thing. They're also not too expensive and release brilliant complete collections.

Media Blasters - They often release slightly less well known titles and are occasionally lampooned for their spelling mistakes, but they're cheap and release titles that I love (Berserk, Twelve Kingdoms) and ones that I'm interested in (Tekkaman Blade, Gaogaigar) in great collections for highly reasonable prices.

And an honourable mention to ADV for their thinpaks and general high quality. They've just been licensing and releasing generally utter bollocks no one cares about at the moment is all.

[Milkymagic]

I met the Media Blasters folks at Animefest 2006, they were cool people, and I loved all the sets they advertised (Rurouni Kenshin, Genshiken, and Giant Robo - which I purchased). They definitely put up some quality titles, no doubt about it, and I am a fan of Kite as well as Mezzo Forte. Berserk was also excellent, and I would like to check out Twelve Kingdoms sometime, along with Tekkaman Blade (they only had the first set there when I saw it).

We even talked about their Tokyo Shock selections, in which I was a huge fan of Pistol Opera and expressed my gratitude, in turn they told me about Takeshi Miike. Definitely fun.

[NausicaaBoy]

Geneon is one of my favorites,

ADV also ranks among the top - im suprised no one has pointed them out

And Bandai is also a good bet

US anime corps....not soo much theres a few good titles

[Milkymagic]

I mentioned ADV (I listed them as AD Vision on my list, making them #3 ^_-) along with Tremolo (as an honorable mention). So it's all good, and I will agree US Manga Corp has the largest selection of crap out of all the distributors, but they've done enough good to make my list and not screw up completely.

MD Geist, Roots Search, Genocyber vs Grave of the Fireflies, Project A-ko, NTHT

I think it's a give and take sort of deal.

Can't go wrong with Geneon and Bandai either, which seem to be the companies most AA members are buying from on this thread so far (just stating a fact is all).

[7Raven7]

I third Geneon.

Bandai definately does makes it easy to be a fan due to their selection. I also have always had a soft spot for Pioneer.

[Illjwamh]

There are some good comments in here. I'm also a big fan of Geneon and ADV for reasons already mentioned. Another one I'd be remiss not to mention is FUNimation. They've got a bad rap because of some of their earlier projects, but they're doing good stuff these days - Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist to name some of the best. Nowadays when I hear FUNimation has gotten the rights to a title, my reaction is "all right!" as opposed to what it used to be, "dammit!".

[soundchazer]

For the record, Pioneer and Geneon are the same company. Pioneer became Geneon in 2003.

As for the companies I like the most, Bandai and Geneon have the vast majority of the titles I like.

Had you asked that question 10 years ago I would have said AnimEigo, hands down. It is a shame that they have had such a hard time making a good buck out of their business. For years they had the best anime titles. I'm still grateful they picked up Yawara! and I will continue to support them, It would be a shame to see them go under. They seem to be only old-school anime friendly distributor.

[madpierrot]

Bandai and Geneon are my two favorite just b/c of the quality of their shows and they usually do a good job with the release two.

To a lesser extent I also like Media Blaster and FUNimation.

[L-sama]

I've gotta add another vote for Bandai. Half of my DVD's are from Bandai, and I have no complaints on any of them. Though I also have to show some love to Pioneer for one big reason: Tenchi Muyo!

[Milkymagic]

Don't get me wrong, I knew Geneon and Pioneer were the same company, but some of their titles are still released under the name Pioneer (though I didn't know the exact year they changed, cool fact). And yes, I too feel the sorrow for Animeigo, and I gave them a $1000, hopefully that helps. Just can't get much older anime these days, y'know?

Funimation is another I missed, loved Blue Gender and Fruits Basket, and their persuit of Lupin movies cements a spot for them being great (I wasn't big on Funimation back in the day before all their new licenses).

If there was a poll for this, obviously Geneon would win, and Bandai would be second. Good thing I didn't try it, but threads are more interesting like this anyway.

[Tyrdium]

FUNi's definitely doing some great releases now. Really, all of the big companies are putting out pretty nice stuff in terms of quality. Now, the prices and titles, on the other hand...

[Ojisan]

Mognet ftw.

[Lupin the 3rd]

Funimation is becoming one of my favorite new company with titles like Fruits Basket, FMA, Trinity Blood, and the Lupin the 3rd movies / specials.

[NausicaaBoy]

yeah I tottally agree with the funimation - thats a good choice - I like what they are developing with

[Starwind Amada]

4Kids. Al Kahn really knows how to treat anime. Those other companies can't compete, what with their unedited shows and everything.

[Milkymagic]

Yeah, 4kids! They should make a comeback! j/k!

Does anyone remember Funimation's lineup when it first existed? I only remember Dragon Ball and its various other incarnations being in their lineup for some time, did they have more before their surge of great titles? Just curious.

I've also heard of Mognet, word up Ojisan.

[C0MPL3X]

The guy who created BT. My hero.

[Ghostmaster]

I Geneon definately does the best dubbing and they are done with very good quality. Funimation is getting better I suppose, Yu Yu Hakusho's still good. And US Manga Corps does a decent jobs with movies and stuff.

[Starwind Amada]

The guy who created BT. My hero.

Get off this board if you mean what I think you do. Preferring fansubs to the legit version is wrong. BT is completely illegal (and the thing takes forever to work). Whoever created it should've been arrested long ago, and shame on you for preferring stealing over buying DVDs. Fansubs are okay, but only if you buy the DVDs when they come out. Downloading anime and refusing to purchase it is stealing, and shows that you expect to be given anime like it's your right or something.

I Geneon definately does the best dubbing and they are done with very good quality.

But Geneon doesn't dub. They hire studios, such as Bang! Zoom! Entertainment in LA.

US Manga Corps does a decent jobs with movies and stuff.

Are those guys still in business? Didn't they fade away back in 2000 or something?

[Perrin]

Geneon is by far my favorite distributor followed by Bandai and ADV. Can't be too mad at Disney for releasing the Ghibli movies either.

[Tyrdium]

Get off this board if you mean what I think you do. Preferring fansubs to the legit version is wrong. BT is completely illegal (and the thing takes forever to work). Whoever created it should've been arrested long ago, and shame on you for preferring stealing over buying DVDs.I believe the correct response to that is: LULZ.

Bittorrent in itself is not illegal. Period. The Supreme Court has stated this of P2P software. Heck, WoW uses it to distribute updates. Bram Cohen cannot be held responsible for what other people do with it.

Oh, and I prefer fansubs to the legit version. Nicer typesetting, plus I generally prefer the transliteration for the names. That doesn't mean I don't buy DVDs, though.

[C0MPL3X]

Yea sorry about that. Bittorrent itself is very legal. I meant Shinsen Subs and our pirate cronies.

[Sae]

ADV Films!!!!!!!!!!! Hilary Haag is simply BRILLIANT!:love: :love: :love:

Sae-chan

[Milkymagic]

If a voice actor made the difference for the distributor, I guess ADV had a lot of my favorites (besides Bandai).

I like Disney's treatment of the Ghibli movies (can somebody tell them to release Only Yesterday? please?), and BT is not something I dabble in, though I've had a friend hook me up with some fansubbed shows (not domestically released) though it.

In a sense, I see BT as a benefit for shows that aren't released here, regardless if it doesn't support the American industry for anime in some cases (I conciously support our distributors, but usually when it involves anime I really love, and sometimes I even do the occasional purchase out of boredom too). In the end, same opinion as pirated goods (though the subtitling jobs I've seen on fansubs in general are better, most of the time anyways).

[Shadowmage]

1. Bandai: They have an amazing collection which they are willing to sell very cheaply assuming you wait for the boxsets. (Frankly, the Planetes boxset is what pushed this company over Geneon in my book.)

2. Geneon: They have some of the best titles in all of anime, but their DVDs are costly and their boxsets take a while to become truly affordable.

3. ADV: Frankly, I don't like many of their dubs; their recent titles haven't been too hot either, but something has to be said about their Thinkpack releases. Affordability meets quality meets pretty boxsets (which Bandai has yet to master).

4. Funimation: I admit; this anime has yet to completely lose its Dragonball Z stigma, but with some of its recent acquisitions, I willing put this company in my top 4. Fruits Baskets, Speed Grapher, FMA and The Second Raid are four good reasons I say Funimation has a future.

[Tyrdium]

I'll have to second Shadowmage's list. I'd probably place FUNi over ADV in terms of recently licensed titles, though.

4. Funimation: I admit; this anime has yet to completely lose its Dragonball Z stigma, but with some of its recent acquisitions, I willing put this company in my top 4. Fruits Baskets, Speed Grapher, FMA and The Second Raid are four good reasons I say Funimation has a future.Plus Gunslinger Girl. Cloth poster? Yup.

[Erigion]

Hong Kong.

[Mana]

I'll always have a special place in my heart for AnimEigo. They may not be as flashy, and they may not, well, release anything (although with Yawara that's changing), but their a good company, and they had the balls to release all of UY, which I still laugh about on occasion (in a good way).

Geneon's not bad either, though I wish their marketing drones were a bit more intelligent. Geneon's panel was a complete and total waste of time, except for the free metal board thingy which came in handy once when I was at Jewel and used it to get something.

[Ghostmaster]

I meant to say distributer not dub sorry.

[Dirty Harry]

Geneon ****ing blows, their DVDs are shit. Absolute shit.

I'm a fan of Manga Entertainment.

[Milkymagic]

I love Manga Entertainment, they released some of my larger favorites (Wings of Honneamise, Gunbuster, Castle of Cagliostro, Patlabor Movies 1 and 2, Evangelion movies), and they present most of their selection with good DVD quality.

Animeigo definitely needs some more love, even though some of their DVDs are of varying quality (but most are good enough).

[Ghostmaster]

Manga Entertainment is pretty good. They did a good job with Eva and some other things.

[laborpilot86]

Manga does a great job, but ADV are my personnal favorites, mostly because they have Macross

[Milkymagic]

Manga does a great job, but ADV are my personnal favorites, mostly because they have Macross

I've got Animeigo's version of Macross (I love you guys!), which is also well handled, though I'm sure AD Vision's has more features on it.

Still, nice choices.

[Starwind Amada]

Geneon ****ing blows, their DVDs are shit. Absolute shit.

I'm a fan of Manga Entertainment.

You, sir, are an idiot.

Geneon licenses great series and puts out great DVDs. Their Signature Series releases are a great value. Manga, on the other hand, is the company that "****ing blows." Various problems with the Eva movies, a bunch of crappy one-shot OVAs, and a bunch of useless VHS-to-DVD ports. Also, they don't respond to the fans. But of course, that's the company you'd love, since you think you're right about everything.

[kobi666]

i forgot the name (maybe genenon or something like that) but the one who made honey & clover (my favourite anime...)