As of July 2008, FUNimation will be distributing the Hellsing OVAs in North America. If you are
just now arriving, this is great news because Geneon USA dropped distribution in September 2007.
Q: When will OVAs 5 and 6 be available in North America? I heard a rumor that
distribution had been cancelled!
A: North American distribution has not been cancelled. If FUNimation had
announced something like that, there would have been an amazing uproar! However, FUNimation has not announced North American
release dates for Hellsing OVAs 5 and 6 yet. I don't know what the delay is, and they haven't said anything about it. Heh.
I guess Hellsing is doomed to be 'fashionably late' no matter what.
Everything on this page is history, so to speak. I plan to divide it into two parts,
and FUNimation's news, press releases and other developments will come first.
PAST HISTORY
"The onetime anime distribution company Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc. has notified its retail customers that it will cease "the sales of DVDs and all related distribution and marketing
operations as of 5 p.m. on Friday, September 28, 2007." The deadline for ordering all Geneon USA products is that time and
date, and only orders for "catalog products in inventory or new releases with a street date" of November 6 or earlier will
be accepted."
AnimeNewsNetwork.com,
September 26, 2007
January 20, 2008
Right now, the situation with Geneon USA is still unclear. There has been a lot of speculation,
but very few facts that I can give you. Here are some questions I've been given, and my best guesses or ideas:
Will there be more Hellsing OVAs? Will the series be finished, or cut short?
The Hellsing OVAs almost certainly will continue to come out. There's a difference
between Geneon USA and Geneon Japan--they are not the same company. Geneon Japan produces the OVAs and Geneon USA is just
the distributor.
What does this mean for fans who want the North American DVDS?
Think of Geneon USA as a large bookstore in your neighborhood, and Geneon Japan as a
book publishing company. If the bookstore in your neighborhood closes down, that doesn't mean that books will not be printed
any more. It just means that you will have a harder time finding them, since they won't be widely available for sale in your
area.
Now, the Geneon Japan/Geneon USA situation is a little more complicated than the analogy
I just gave, and 'North America' is a larger area than my make-believe bookstore would cover. Also, Geneon USA hasn't closed
down permanently--they have just decided to stop selling and distributing DVDs for now, and to "downsize its scope of business
and increase business efficiency" (Dentsu news release, September 27, 2007).
They haven't said whether they are taking a break to reorganize, or dropping
their distribution work entirely. It looks like they are looking at how they do business and figuring out how best to continue.
They're adapting.
What did Geneon USA do that was so important?
Geneon USA's job was to take the Japanese-language Hellsing OVAs and make English-language
packaging, produce press releases, and make deals to sell the OVAs in certain North American media outlets. With them gone,
it's going to be difficult for a Hellsing fan to get the OVAs in the format that they want. It's not as if we can drive to
the next city to find another 'bookstore', and it would be best if some other North American anime distributor would help
distribute our title for us.
Why did Geneon decide to downsize their business?
They haven't said, and we don't know. I assume that they weren't making enough money
to sustain their business, and apparently there were layoffs earlier in the year. Also, Geneon USA had been planning to team
up with the company A.D. Vision, and make them the distributor of Geneon USA's anime DVDs in North America. But Geneon USA
and A.D. Vision were "unfortunately unable to reach a mutual agreement" (Dentsu news release, September 21, 2007)
Perhaps Geneon USA can find another distributor to team up with.
How long before a new distributor steps in?
Back in September, I thought a new distributor would take over immediately. Three months
later, I know I was too optimistic. But I have no idea how long such a business deal would take, even if the new distributor
was extremely interested.
EDIT 7-10-2008 Well, it took a little over 8 months.
More news when it comes!
