Many titles are licensed and then forgotten, while others are obtained without a license despite the demand and popularity.
This article looks at 10 currently uncertain anime licenses in the Western market.
1 – Concrete revolutionized
Shortly after being licensed by FUNimation, we heard nothing about this title when it ended broadcasting.
While Funimation has already taken its time and is said to be no longer allowed to get a license as they are only paying good money, it seems strange that no progress has been made for this title.
Perhaps the Japanese side is holding on to the release, but one thing is for sure, the release date of Cricket Ravolutoi seems to have expired.
2 – In Zinta
Largely ignored in the West, Ginta was finally released in the western regions for the first time after Sentai Filmwork released the first 49 ep episodes on subtitled DVDs in 2010 and 2011.
Eventually, the animated film will also see release, this time dubbed in English, by Sentai; But since then, they have not released the property in a single giant. It is safe to assume that suffrage is right on Santa's agenda.
But then hope was recently revived for fans when Crunchyroll began releasing dubbed episodes of the series, and Funimation recently released a DVD / BD of a batch of episodes.
So what's the problem? Problem Funimation only released episodes from the northern parts of the series, not the beginning.
So now that we have more than a hundred episodes that are admittedly not authorized by Crunchiorol, we can only assume that Sentai has a license they don't use, leave without any thought if they ever dub. In physical media.
It might not even be worth releasing those episodes very well, although only Crunchy and Funny know this point.
3 – Lyrical Nanoha
The franchise's first and second seasons were licensed by Xenon Entertainment and have been dubbed since the mid-2000s.
Despite the crash of the anime market, there has been no other development in the West since the Nanoha franchise.
Strikers, Viv's season, and movies both remain without physical release, leave a dub alone, and we're all allowed to get our hands on these legal streams for some of the titles.
Anything can happen as the franchise is still getting stronger, but no one is guessing at this point why nothing has happened so far and what happens to the unreleased series and movies.
There are also speculations that Aniplex may be involved, although no concrete evidence exists.
One ray of hope is the Western theatrical release of the Nanoha film, which indicates that the Japanese side is at least still interested in the Western market.
4 – luck / kaleid liner prisma – Illya 3rei !! (Or season 4) + movie
Sentai Filmwork was licensed, dubbed, and released the first three seasons of the series in the West. The fourth season and the movie are yet to be released, and no word has been made about their license.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. It is a part of big fortune/suffrage and therefore does not seem to be profitable or abandoned.
Crunchyroll and Sentai were fighting for the top post a long time ago, and maybe it's FUNimation; through Crunchyroll, now it's right to a new franchise, but if so, why didn't they talk about it?
Of course, Funimation has demonstrated a serious lack of etiquette regarding titles they release through other companies because we saw little warning for Iron Fortress and Ray Zero's Cabernet.
However, one later confirmed for a physical release and re-revealed that Zero has already been dubbed into works.
For now, there is no word on what will happen to any future work in this segment of the franchise, and for someone, the deadline has been announced as soon as he has obtained the license.
5 – Phi-Brain Season 3
The first and second seasons were released on both BD and DVD by Sentai Filmmakers with dubbing, but that came back in 2013.
In the third and final season since then, although licensed, Sentai has never spoken out for physical and physical contact. Media.
Maybe we can guess that seasons one and two were not selling well, so they decided to stay on the license, but you would think they would have released it to get the cost back.
Of course, Sentai said that any future sequel or spin-off they started dubbing would also get a dub, so they may have decided that if the third season didn't qualify for dubbing, it wouldn't be worth releasing.
Whether dubbed or not, it still looks curious that when Sentinel moved their title from the anime network to HIDIVE, the series one and two episodes were transferred to both games, but season three did not.
At this point, it seems highly unlikely that we will see a physical release of this title soon, but it is even more disappointing that Sentai refused to update fans on the situation.
6 – Rock Lee and his ninja friends
In 2012, VIZ licensed, dubbed, and then Stream Rock Lee and his ninja friends, but unlike other assets of the Naruto franchise, it never saw a physical release.
Australia also (via Madman Entertainment) released a title on the home video, Although only on DVD.
It seems strange that VIZ never did anything with it, maybe the streaming numbers were bad, but in this case, the release does not appear on the surface, or at least not from VIZ.
7 – Boruto: Naruto Next Generation
The popular new entry in the Naruto franchise, Boruto, seems certain to have a physical release at some point. However, the lack of information in the series is distracting to some extent.
VIZ holds licenses for Boruto and physical release rights. While it's currently streaming on Crunchyroll, there's no news of a dub or home video release; There is no confirmation that such projects are working.
While we've seen through the handling of Draw Ball Ball Super and VIZ's Hunter x Hunter by Finemation that high-profile series may remain silent until they're ready to be released, it can still be a long and uncertain wait for fans.
If I had to bet, the physical release could probably be announced either after they crossed episode 100 or when the Shippuden DVD sets ended their release.
8 – Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow
Both the Strike Witch and the movie seasons have been licensed, dubbed, and released by Funimation, and the new Brave Witch series has already received a dub and is guaranteed to be released shortly.
But what happens to 201 OVA Operation Victory Arrow?
Funimation has neither licensed nor cited OVA, nor has its established franchise had an unequal history with OVAs, and since its release, it is doubtful that we will ever see a physical release of this segment of the franchise.
9 – Blood +
The series premiered in 2005 and found its way, dubbed American TV in the 200s. It was then released on DVD and is still incomplete in volume release and was released on 200, 2 ep episode box sets.
Both of these sets are now out of print. We still don't know what's going to happen in this series: if it ever comes back, gets a BD release, and so on… but with Sony, who holds the license, bought Funimation, it might open a new one.
Prospects for the near future, Or fans expect.
10 – Mushishi: Next Chapter (or Season 2)
Mushishi was licensed by Funimation, dubbed and released in the 2007-2002 segment, hit the box set in 2008, and finally hit the Save version in 2011.
The first season, however, was not re-released on Blu-ray, and it seems unlikely to see such a treatment shortly.
The Mushishi series eventually saw a sequel 1 Hour Special (Hihamukage), a sequence series (another chapter), and a movie (Magga's Final Arc Adaptation); All of them have been licensed by Aniplex but have never been issued.
At one point, Madman Australia listed a release for the second season and indicated that it included a dub, but the list was removed within days.
With so much time, Mushishi is unpopular (or at least not attractive enough to take care of big companies). There are so many conflicting signs about the status of franchises and licenses in the West; no one else is guessing when the rest of Mushishi will be released.
This is at least for now. There are countless more headlines in the same situation, and I will probably write another article on this topic. But for now, I want to go into different topics.
In general, do not hesitate to comment if you have information or opinions about the following titles and their status.