>Bradster:
>
>Tim:
>
>[wait- didn't you unsub last year?  What brought you back?]


Yeah, I did unsub last year. Since one of the parties that help me 
make my decision to leave is seemingly gone (not on the ML Sub list), 
I figured I'd resub and check things out for a while. I've been kind 
of lurking for a couple of months.

>
>  >>It might go back up again with the next crop of newbies-
>  >>it's been a while since we had a decent-sized group
>  >>come in all at once.
>
>  >I think it has more to do with the waning popularity of Ranma--Viz
>  >has really driven it into the ground with their slow releases
>  >(someone please tell them to join the rest of the companies in
>  >releasing volumes with more than 2 eps on them) and the fact that
>  >Ranma has been over and finished in Japan for quite a while
>
>As to your last (and first) point, I don't know if that really 
>applies since we
>rarely have any members coming from there anyway- most of us come from the US
>(I'm not forgetting or ignoring the other countries), and Ranma is still
>popular here, if the number of websites is any indication (or sales of non-Viz
>dependent merchandise).

Yeah, but the actual amount of people I know who are really excited 
about Ranma and want to talk about it has been steadily declining. 
Back when the anime started coming out, there wasn't as much 
competition as there is now. ADV has a ton of exciting titles in the 
queue, Animeworks/Media Blasters have has some, Anime Village/Bandai 
have a number of good titles, etc. In terms of anime, Viz just keeps 
trotting out Ranma at their sloth like pace. It that pace that has 
neutered the anime release of Maison Ikkoku. Hopefully they will 
continue the sub version until the end. If Viz decides to put it on 
DVD, I'm there. I'm already getting the Ranma OAV DVDs, even though I 
have them already, just because I'm supporting the DVD format (well, 
plus I liked the OAVs too).

>About the anti-Viz stuff, what can I say, since you know I agree 
>with you?  Viz
>still thinks it's 1992 and they're the only game in town.  Didn't someone here
>even experience their fan-snubbing firsthand with something that ended up
>essentially as "Go to hell, we're Viz?"

They tend to think that way, or at least that's a perception that 
some have. That perception being that they don't really listen to the 
fans.

>I think their main problem is overextension- too many series, too many
>magazines, too much anime to handle.

Perhaps they are over-extended--they release so much manga--something 
the other anime companies don't do much of. But Viz needs to get with 
today's market now, or their anime division is gonna really suffer. I 
haven't kept a close eye on Viz, but what anime do they have upcoming 
besides Ranma? When I say that, I mean titles that are going to 
generate a lot of excitement.


--Tim
tenton@mac.com
ICQ#: 24590345 AIM: animemedia
#113 Megumi Hayashibara Internet Fan Club
<http://welcome.to/animeweekly>

3 songs I could be humming
1. "All I Need is Change"--Noriko Sakai (Work Out Fine)
2. "Roketto de"--Sora Izumikawa
3. "A Short Lived Love"--Pamelah--(Hearts)