Well, it comes as something of a shock to find out that Geneon, producer and distributor of many fine anime series we've come to know and love, is abruptly shutting down their production house--SOON...like in the next month or so!
Quoted from animeondvd.com
Geneon Entertainment Exits (10:46 AM EDT): Though the finality of things is still up in the air, Geneon Entertainment has sent out information to retailers regarding their 4th quarter plans. According to the information, Geneon will be shipping all releases they have in the queue for street dates through 11/05/2007. All orders placed after this coming Friday is non-returnable. As of 12/31/2007, they will be shutting down, apparently completely as AnimeNation is listing everything past 11/11/2007 as canceled. Plans for beyond 12/31/2007 are still up in the air but what little is being said indicates that they're intending to focus on their own properties in a similar way to Kadokawa Pictures USA is doing things.
End Quote.
Now what in the hell does that mean? And what does it mean for those knee deep in investing in current and ongoing series? Who knows. Maybe their stuff will be sold to a liquidator and it'll be a serious sale. Maybe they'll just say screw it and shut down everything at once after 11/11...a lot is still up in the air, but this most likely has a lot to do with their fall thru deal with ADV recently. ADV backed out of picking up their catalog to take over sales, marketing and distribution for whatever reason.
Who is Geneon you might ask?
Well, their catalog is huge and includes:
Hellsing
Saiyuki Reload and Gunlock
Chobits
Black Lagoon
Read or Die--The TV Series (a personal favorite)
Fate Stay Night
Ergo Proxy
Kyoh Kara Maoh!
...just to name a few.
What about the stuff that's not finished yet, like Hellsing and a newer one called When They Cry which is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai in Japan? Will the Sanzo party EVER get to the bloody West? Who knows. Sooo...if you've been meaning to pick up something of theirs, you might want to get it now if you can't live without it. If titles aren't picked up by another house, when they're gone, they just may be GONE. And if you try eBay or Amazon if that happens, you can be sure the prices will be sky high.
Read more about it here...
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-...-deal-cancelled