One Week Ramblings: 3/29/14 Birthday in Kyoto Edition

Yes, it's my birthday today! And I'm posting in Kyoto, the ancient capital and location of many anime series and many anime school trips! I'll post more details about my trip later, as I don't get Wi-Fi access too easily around here.

Also, the title of the Weekly Ramblings series has changed to "One Week Ramblings", in anticipation of the upcoming Spring 2014 series "One Week Friends", which is easily the show I'm most looking forward to this coming season.

Anyway, this week's ramblings will be quick...

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Sentai Filmworks has recently posted their July slate of releases, and it is huge. In addition to their recent license Problem children are coming from another world, aren't they? (which will be dubbed), they also have almost every single Winter 2013 series (except Tamako Market) and every Spring 2013 series they licensed on that list, plus To-Love-Ru Darkness and even Gatchaman Crowds! But if you're a Blu-ray fan, you might be disappointed to see that a large number of titles are DVD-only: Devil Survivor 2, Photo Kano, Yuyushiki, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, and My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU all are being released without Blu-ray counterparts. (Note that Devil Survivor 2 will still be dubbed; the rest are subtitled-only.)

In response to concerns about this, Sentai has posted the following on their Facebook page:

Hey guys! We'd like to address something that our fans have been asking us quite a bit recently. Here is our official word on why some of our programs are being releases DVD only as of late:

"Occasionally our programs may be subject to release parameters that are determined by underlying rights holders and which are otherwise outside our direct control. For example, a program's inclusion on certain media formats such as Blu-ray disc may be subject to a holdback that expires following release of a Japanese domestic version in that format."

So, there you have it, guys. Comments are appreciated. Thanks!

And the following has been posted on their Twitter:

- So then we can expect the blurays later?

- In most cases, yes.

Of course, there are a lot of unknowns as to exactly when Blu-rays of shows being released DVD-only might pop up, or even if they will at all. That said, it's still good information to know.

If you want to check out titles on their July slate that will have Blu-rays, there's The Severing Crime Edge, The Flowers of Evil, and the first part of Majestic Prince, as well as the aforementioned Problem Children, To-Love-Ru Darkness, and Gatchaman Crowds. (Note that, of those, only Majestic Prince, Problem Children, and Gatchaman Crowds will be dubbed.)

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That's it for this week's ramblings. Next time I'll be posting from back in the States, and there'll be new anime and possibly new news to talk about.