UK Anime post MVM interview

Dave from the froums recently noticed that UK Anime Net have posted up an interview with MVM‘s Tony Allen, the head of the company about success of the past 18 months and how they’re looking forward to 2009.

The major talking points of the interview were:

2008 was a busy year for MVM, what with the fall of Geneon, the Funimation split and the credit crunch – yet MVM seems to be releasing more titles than ever – do you see 2009 as being a big year for MVM?

2008 marked the end of an era and has changed the face of our industry.

So it follows that 2009 is going to be exciting and with a whole new approach.

It will also be a big year for MVM given our decision to expand into Japanese live action movies, although anime will remain very much our core business.

What was the biggest title for MVM in 2008? And what didn’t hit expectations?

Easily the biggest by a long stretch were Witchblade and Black Lagoon. Biggest surprise was Daphne in the Brilliant Blue (I guess fan service sells after all!)

Good performers were FLCL, Shana and Starship Operators.
Gravitation – not so good.
 

Are there any series you won distribution rights for that surprised you? Are there any series you wanted but missed out on?

Yes – Blade of the Immortal. Cost a packet but I still thought others would have outbid me.

Mind you we have an excellent relationship with Kodansha.
Maybe they have a soft spot for the spirit of independence that MVM represents.

We missed out on “RIN” and the new “FIST OF THE NORTH STAR”OVA. Very annoyed!

How do you think the performance of other key distributors has affected the market as a whole? ADV in particular has gone through a sticky period – did that affect you?

The biggest danger is that the market and representation of the anime genre will evolve to a small number of major players that, in my opinion, will stagnate things and lead to a loss of vibrancy in what is available to fans. Just like any genre, anime has its blockbusters but also an immense wealth of other material that deserves an outlet.
MVM is proud of its independence and has had to fight its corner. Good relations with those studios that can see the ‘bigger picture’  has helped us maintain that position.

To check out the full interview head over to the UK Anime Net site.