Today I got the first Maho Shojo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS R2 DVD in the mail. Even though I haven’t watched it properly yet (I plan on doing so tomorrow) I can say I’m already impressed. Usually Japanese DVDs are little more than improved video tapes: they provide just the bare minimum (and not for a cheap price). However, this is not the case with Nanoha StrikerS.
According to the Anime News Network, Geneon Entertainment has bought the license for distributing Maho Shojo Lyrical Nanoha and Nanoha A’s in the United States.
Fans rejoice? I think not. Being outside of the USA market, I view things with a different approach. The companies here in Italy have all their problems, but to a certain degree they care about delivering to the user something more than just the episodes. Extras that can also be an incentive over downloading (illegally) over the Internet.
However in the USA market not many care about such things. Geneon has a bad precedent (but don’t get me started on ADV…) in this case, as they offered a “limited” edition of Fate/stay Night for $10 more… while the “limited” only meant a DVD box. Come on, where’s the value for the money? Most of those DVDs aren’t cheap, anyway.
I’ll be watching news for the releases, but as of now I’m more inclined towards R2 DVDs (I’ve already preordered the first StrikerS volume, by the way) than the USA version.
UPDATE: I just read that ADV Films has got the rights for Devil May Cry. Given their record with production quality (i.e. abysmal), I’m not going to spend a single cent on that one. Not to mention that announcing the license now will not speed up the process to get it into the West…
