MisterPL Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 April Fool's Day is the WORST day of the year to make announcements like this but here's what I came across over at TNI.com: Diamond Comic Distributors and VIZ Media, LLC have reached an agreement that will distribute Japanese merchandise based on the company’s highly sought after properties in North America for the first time, including products based on the commercially successful and acclaimed titles NARUTO, BLEACH, TIGER & BUNNY, BERSERK, DEATH NOTE, and INUYASHA. Diamond Comic Distributors will carry a broad selection of action figures, toys, and collectibles from licensed VIZ Media titles, previously unavailable outside of Japan due to licensing restrictions. “From the top entertainment districts of Tokyo’s Akihabara to Harajuku and beyond, many great licensed products from the top anime and manga brands will now be available for fans to purchase outside of Japan,” said John Parker, Diamond’s VP - New Business Development. “We are excited by the potential and even more thrilled to introduce some of the best-of-Japan merchandise to North American consumers.” According to the press release, it's more than just Naruto but that seems to be the big dog among the properties listed, at least in the North American mass market. Your mileage may vary. Just to be clear, this doesn't appear to be a license agreement to manufacture new product, just to distribute existing product into North America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Death Note! Naruto is diverse enough to have a good character selection and good stylization for the Minimate medium, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youbastards Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 No thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 They'd probably be a huge seller, though. I can tell you that my library circulates those books like crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 My son tore through Naruto Anime for quite a while. The thing about some of these anime titles is that there are not many toys for many of them. Death Note is deep and kinda out there, but small scale figures would be cool. Naruto would make awesome Minimates. All the Viz media stuff is quite popular in the anime circles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniFiend UK Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 is this the animation withe the cat bus.if it is i cant see more than a box set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prowlar Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I'll hold of getting excited for at least 24 hours. However, the possibility of getting Naruto, Bleach, and Inuyasha minimates is almost too much to dream of. Just the thought of getting Naruto characters ties with actually getting Aliens and far outranks Walking Dead and Tomb Raider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh2382 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I think the characters would fit nicely as minimates, but I always have expected Dragon Ball Z to be before Naruto IF they were made. But either fit the mate style nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hailtotheking Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 As awesome as Death Note minimates will be, I think this just means Diamond can distribute already existing Japanese merchandise not the license to do what they please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeycrumb Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I'd take Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon minimates before any of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TENIME_art Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 InuYasha would be awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 I'd take Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon minimates before any of these. As would my daughters and I. Add The Legend of Korra to that list with some steampunk vehicles and robots and you've got a deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Collector Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 is this the animation withe the cat bus.if it is i cant see more than a box set No that's Totoro. I would love Studio Ghibli minimates, from any of their films. Naruto would be a good seller, but DST would have to ensure good distribution through Asia, as it would massively increase their potential for success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterMiracle Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I would not be interested in these at all. I do see kids read a ton of these books at libraries though so maybe there is a market for these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawcanada Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 As a former anime/manga fanatic I alas would like nothing less than Naruto minimates. Of the various Shonen series I read, Naruto quickly ran out of steam for me (and all but killed the credibility of ninjas in my eyes) and at times seemed to borrow ideas from better series (check out Hunter x Hunter to see what I mean. It came out a year or so before Naruto and had some ideas that Naruto seemed to later adopt, plus it's an AMAZING series that never seemed to get the praise it deserved). Personally I'd rather see minimates based upon the top Shonen series in Japan - One Piece (and yes I am aware they aren't always very pirate like), but any fan worth their salt knows how unlikely it is due to the impact the series failed to make in the west, both due to legal issues preventing scans and fansubs circulating (apparently they weren't a problem when Naruto came around, making it easier for that series to make an impact) and the less said about the 4Kids "adaptation" the better. Having said that I did enjoy other series like Bleach, Shaman King, Death Note (at least up to volume 7), Roruni Kenshin and of course DragonBall so if anime/manga minimates could lead to characters from any of those series (hell I'd love to see characters from Rave Master and Fairy Tail but they're owned by a different company so unlikely) I could tolerate SOME Naruto minimates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macross-Junkie Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 The idea of licensed Anime Minimates isn't such a far fetched idea. Many of the Dragonball Z toys and Naruto toys licensed by Bandai were exclusive to the U.S. market. And lets not forget Toynami with their various Macross and Mospeada (Robotech) toys that were geared towards collectors and exclusive to the U.S. Personally I'd jump at the chance to get some InuYasha Minimates. Plus with all the spikey hair and crazy accessories and outfits, the customs would be sensational... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zak Katz Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 If there was a Goku minimate would he have a chest Tampo with a pull over orange gi or a tampoed gi? Guesses? Who Cares? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh2382 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 If there was a Goku minimate would he have a chest Tampo with a pull over orange gi or a tampoed gi? Guesses? Who Cares? I do care..quite a lot more than I should, haha. I guess, for me, it depends on whether or not the series spanned more than one wave. A removable gi makes for easy battle damage. The thing about Dbz(and Naruto, since this thread is titled for this purpose), is that there are far too many "forms" for a lot of the characters. We all see how bent out of shape we get when a marvel mate doesn't come with a hair piece at all, but imagine how upset some of us would be if Goku didn't come with(or be made at all as)his super sayian forms. Along with Naruto having many "tailed" forms as well, it's incredibly huge ground to break. I personally would rather have Goku. Explosive babble, over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zak Katz Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 If there's a Super Sayin form of any character they'll require a second head as well. I would be happy with any set like: Goku with kamehame wave and removable gi and Perfect Cell with a Cell Junior like Snarf haha and a dragon ball! I wanted to try to make a Piccolo custom from Panthra's head but I got no skills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TENIME_art Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Sorry, PC, but I would rather have Naruto 'Mates than One Piece. I've never liked the character designs for OP at all, but have liked the looks of more than a few Naruto characters. Regardless, DBZ would be amazing. I'd probably put it second on my wishlist after Studio Ghibli, and above Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma more than anything). Oh, god, Ranma 1/2 Minimates... Ranma could come with pieces to turn him into a girl, Genma could be inside the panda pieces, P-Chan & Shampoo's cat form could be accessories...AAAUUUGGGHHH WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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