DSTZach Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Chuck keeps an eye on all of the markets. He made Battle of the Planets figures back in the day, but Yujin did mini-figures around the same time. I wasn't a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) It's odd .....I'm odd.... in that I have been introduced to anime via my Medicom kubricks collection . The kubrick anime series' have grown on me & some of the chase figures have given me one hell of job tracking down ...esp. cheaply ! I do however struggle with anime films but then again is that surprising (?) ....'cause it ain't designed for the likes of me . One licence that I alluded to earlier is Panzer Cop, whilst Maschinen Krieger which perhaps isn't strictly anime is bloody influential on many other genres . Ma.K & Panzer Cop will one day make their mark ...check them out they're fascinating ! I'm not sure whether anime would 'translate' into Minimates especially as I'm not a particular fan of SF or Tekken etc. I think the closest we came to Minimate anime was ....& I'm not joking.... was Peter Pan although some of the C3 stuff came very close ...check out Bruce Wanime. Edited January 27, 2014 by buttheadsmate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battlecat Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Cowboy Bebop and Akira would appeal to me, but that's about it. And both of those could be done without the heavy, Kubrick-type sculpting Zach refers to. Yeah, I think Kaneda and his bike could work well as one of DST's nostalgia-friendly cult '80s releases, regardless of the wider marketability of anime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdubya Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Personally I'm a HUGE Anime fan, and I'm also a member of Senior Staff for North Carolina's largest Anime Convention, Animazement, and even though I would love Anime Minimates, I have to agree with Zach, the markets just not there for it. Granted our attendance at Animazement has increased by atleast 10% per year since the Anime bubble burst around 2006 / 2007, which would make you think that if conventions are still pulling in the cash, then why not have the merch. To tell the truth, the major draw to conventions is the Cosplay, Guests, Panels, and Artist Alley, while the dealers room is put on the back burner. You see, while Japanese fans still go Gaga over Anime toys, the U.S. market is more interested in model kits, high end statues, and highly detailed trading figures. They are interested in what looks as close to the Animated character as possible, and not a cute posable figure. This is why Kubricks produces very few Anime properties anymore, and iMen is all but non-existant. The truth of the matter is, the U.S. market has far less people truely dedicated to Anime as a hobby, and far more that look at it as a passing phase in their adolesence. Hell, thanks to streaming and bit torrent you can't even get the casual fans to purchase their Anime anymore, they rather hurt what little industry the U.S. has left and pirate it. To sum it all up, I'd love to see Anime Minimates. I think a set of Ranma 1/2, Strike Witches, or Fate/Stay Night mates would be charming and awesome, but in reality DST is somewhat familiar with the Anime toy market (seeing as they've gone to Japanese toy shows before like Wonder-Con), and I don't think we'll ever see these wishes come to fruition. As much as I love anime (primarily 70's-80's with the occasional modern title such as Cowboy Bebop), I gotta agree with Macross-Junkie on this one. The market just isn't strong enough not to mention that most are very stylized and wouldn't translate well in 'mate form. Fans generally want accurate representations of characters, though "super-D (deformed)" seems to be the exception to this (one which I've never personally understood). The only ones I'd even have a passing interest in are: Akira, Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM), Captain Harlock, Cowboy Bebop, Devilman, Gatchaman (BotP), Grey, Guyver, Lupin III, Macross/Robotech (but what good is this without the "mech"?), Trigun, Vampire Hunter D, or any Studio Ghibli (Nausicaa, Howl's M.C., P. Mononoke, M.N. Totoro, etc.). While I've never personally been a fan, the only title that comes to mind with decent western exposure and characters suited to 'mates proportions would be Dragonball Z, but Bandai seems to have a choke-hold on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undeadpool Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 (edited) The fire seems to have gone out of anime, lately. I blame the influx of GOOD western shows. And as much as people are flipping out about SNK... It's not that good. actually SNK is that good I personally dont think DST needs to make any anime merchandise, and I dont think any would translate into minimates particularly well, in terms of both sculpt and production however, if you wanna make some Soul Eater minimates, I will buy a million excalibur's Edited January 28, 2014 by undeadpool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdubya Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Now if we were talking animation in general, Hanna Barbera characters would rock as minimates. Only if they bypass the classic catalog and dive straight into Thundarr the Barbarian (or Johnny Quest)! Sure, the line would fail miserably, but I'd be thrilled..."Ee-yaaaaw-he"!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) Though I'm not disputing any of you guys on the popularity of anime, nothing Kubrick is being made nowadays. Medicom still does Be@rbricks every now and again, but minus some re-releases I don't think they've produced any new Kubs for a couple of years now. Edited January 29, 2014 by karamazov80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Rex Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Star Blazers is the only anime-ish series I would have any interest in whatsoever. Now if we were talking animation in general, Hanna Barbera characters would rock as minimates. I am 100% on the same page with you! I'd also like to see Battle of the planets (even their civies are iconic looking in my opinion) after a few days of thinking about it, Kaneda and his bike would be great, but I'd like to see Ninja Scroll, Evangelion, and maybe Robotech too. dang, voltron would be cool if they could make it work. disclaimer:I'm not sure if all those count as anime or not, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Though I'm not disputing any of you guys on the popularity of anime, nothing Kubrick is being made nowadays. Medicom still does Be@rbricks every now and again, but minus some re-releases I don't think they've produced any new Kubs for a couple of years now. You're absolutely right Sam .....kubricks appear to be kaput. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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