Natalie is a writer who works at her local library. She enjoys writing reviews, watching anime and TV shows, and playing video games.

Aniplex Is Reverting Their Anime Licenses Back to Them; So Many Popular Shows Are Going out of Print

Baccano!, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Shiki, Birdy The Mighty: Decode, Angel Beats, Black Butler, Persona 4: The Animation, and Sekirei.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like these anime titles have any similarities whatsoever. They’re different genres and from different animation studios. But they have two things in common: They’re distributed by Aniplex, and they’re going out of print.

Aniplex is reverting the licenses of these anime back to them so that the companies that licensed and distribute these anime can no longer manufacture DVD and Blu-Ray sets or have video streaming for these anime on their website. That’s a major problem for people who buy and collect anime because once these titles go out of print, unless Aniplex decides to reprint or stream these titles, purchasing a physical copy will become difficult as the titles are price gouged by scalpers seeking to make an enormous profit off an out of print DVD or Blu-Ray set.

Aniplex Licenses Going out of Print!

Expiriation Date: Title: Status: 02/08/16 Baccano! Expired 03/31/16 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Back in Print, streaing on Netflix, Crunchyroll, FunimationNow 03/31/16 : Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa Expired 07/31/16 Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) Streaming on Netflix 10/14/16 Birdy The Mighty: Decode Expired 10/28/16 Sound of the Sky (Via Manga Entertainment) Expired 12/31/16 Wagnaria!!2 Expired 02/09/17 Sekirei Expired 05/29/17 Black Butler Back in print, streamin on Netflix, Crunchyroll, FunimationNow 08/02/17 Angel Beats! Streaming on Netflix, Crunchyroll 08/12/17 Night Raid 1931 Expired 06/01/18 Mardock Scramble: The First Compression Expired 06/02/18 Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion Expired 06/30/18 Black Butler II Expired 06/30/18 Shiki Expired 07/02/18 No. 6 Expired 08/31/18 Darker Than Black Season 2 Expired 10/02/18 Persona 4: The Animation Expired 10/02/18 A-Channel: The Animation Expired 12/01/18 Inu X Boku Secret Service Expired 12/31/18 Mardock Scramble: The Third Exhaust Expired 03/12/19 Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc Expired 04/01/19 tsuritama Expired 10/12/20 Guilty Crown

This pricetag is, "Freakin' unbelievable!"

Out of Print Anime Is Expensive, Especially If the Title Was Popular

Anime is already more expensive than the average television show released on DVD or Blu-Ray because it’s an import item unless it’s a mainstream anime like Naruto, Bleach, or One Piece, it can be very pricey to collect unless you know how to look for really good sales online at RightStufAnime or Amazon.

Even my favorite franchise, Fullmetal Alchemist wasn’t cheap for me to buy, but I got it because it is my favorite anime. Still, being an anime collector costs about the same price as being a gamer, but unlike buying video games which depreciate very quickly where you can find new games for $20.00-$30.00 a year after the release, it takes anime a very long time to price drop to be decently affordable for casual fans.

And once any of these popular titles go out of print, the price will skyrocket because price gougers know that people who really want to collect these titles will pony up the money to purchase them.

Aniplex USA knows people are willing to pay more for anime because their DVDs and Blu-Rays do sell. I love Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 2014 and Fate/Zero, so I imported the DVDs from the UK because they’re so expensive.

There Are Positive Aspects of This, More Titles Available for Legal Streaming

There’s an upside to this, Aniplex USA tends to stream a lot of their shows for free in Japanese with subtitles. They also put a lot of their anime catalog on Netflix with the English dub. The reason I got into Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014) is because they had the English dub up for streaming on Netflix.

Maybe it will mean that more of Funimation’s English dubs for these shows will be available for free legal streaming because Funimation used to put a lot of these titles behind the paywall of their streaming service, while the subtitled version was free, except for popular shows like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. If there is more legal streaming for the English dub then that will gain the anime more attention.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has been added to Crunchyroll in English dub and Japanese with English subtitles along with the Conqueror of Shambala movie. Black Butler Season 1 is streaming in English and Japanese with English subtitles on Netflix.

The Packaging for Aniplex USA Releases Are Really Nice

I don’t have a lot of Aniplex USA’s anime releases because they are expensive. But the DVD set of Durarara!! is a very nice set, it came in a neat case and with some very nice art cards. It was expensive but it’s a purchase that I really enjoy and I’m happy I have a physical copy.

I like Aniplex USA’s unique packaging, Funimation usually does typical DVD packaging, except when you’re buying a collector’s edition. My Aniplex DVDs stand out compared to my Funimation sets that I own.

You shouldn't give your arm and leg for this!

What Should Anime Collectors Do?

So you collect anime, and you see the titles that are going out of print. Should you try to buy them all? Should you buy them to resell? I dislike scalpers because that’s the only reason they buy titles that are going out of print, just so they can scalp fans.

Now if you decide to sell your set you’ve owned because you don’t want it anymore, that’s a lot better than buying a new copy just to resell it when someone else who actually wanted to watch the anime could have bought it.

So I recommend that anime collectors buy the titles they want before the expiration dates, that way collectors can at least avoid the scalpers' price gouging.

Birdy Cephon Altera and Tsutomu Senkawaleft us in October, 2016. It sucks!

Take Good Care of Your Discs!

Be sure to take good care of your discs, because once these become hard to find, replacing them will become difficult because of the price gouging, unless Aniplex USA reprints the shows they are taking back.

I’ve taken very good care of my DVDs so I’m happy they still work and that I can watch the anime I own whenever I want.

Where Could I Try to Buy Titles That Are out of Print Already?

You could try used videogame stores, like GameXchange or Game Stop, but you’d have to know what anime bootlegs look like to avoid buying a fake copy. But you should know that legitimate releases for officially licensed DVDs have company logos on the front cover of both Funimation and Aniplex.

If you’re lucky, you might be able to find some of the older titles, such as Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), which is still in print for a decent price if you want to purchase it brand new. It won’t be that way for long as it took Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood four months to go out of print!

My soul, your beats left us on 08/02/17. The last thing on my Aniplex license bucketlist to buy.

We're Going to Lose Great Anime Titles, so Get Them While You Can and They're Still Affordable!

If there’s an anime title on the list that you were thinking about watching or purchasing for your collection, do it as soon as you can. Once these titles become hard to find, getting a good copy of them will be unaffordable.

All we can do right now is buy what we really want for our anime collections and hope that Aniplex USA will at least stream the more popular titles and if we’re lucky, reprint blu-rays for purchase. I just count myself very blessed I’ve managed to collect copies of several titles that are out of print over the years.

This has also reignited my anime collecting as I’ve been spoiled with a lot of legal streaming, I’m reminded that legal streaming can’t replace DVD collections, especially when it comes to anime going out of print because of licenses.

So be sure to pick up the Aniplex titles you really want because they won’t be around forever!

Titles Announced for Reprint:

So far only Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has been announced for a reprint on blu-ray. It will cost $99.98 per box set for two box sets and doesn't include the audio commentaries on Funimation's physical releases, but it is encoded in full 1080p, unlike Funimation's original blu-rays that were odd because of the transition from 480p to HD 720p. It was released on November 20th, 2018.

The Irregular at Magic High School is also has been reprinted on October 16th, 2018.

Black Butler is also available from AniplexUSA.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Black Butler are available on FunimationNow streaming for premium members.

Angel Beats is up on Netflix

Questions & Answers

Question: Can your explanation also apply to "The Irregular at Magic High School"? I can't get season 1 anywhere.

Answer: I can confirm that The Irregular at Magic High School is out of print as well because RightStufAnime carries all of Aniplex USA's releases and it says it's out of print.

Source: https://www.rightstufanime.com/The-Irregular-at-Ma...

© 2016 ReViewMeMedia

James H Wilkerson on July 01, 2019:

Shiki isnt expensive online im guessing it was reprinted.

ReViewMeMedia (author) on February 17, 2019:

Yes, it is upto date.

Andrew on February 16, 2019:

Is this list up to date? Rightstuf shows a lot of shows that are going out of print.

Jason on February 05, 2019:

Wow this is garbage. I really wish these anime companies would wake up and realize that a lot more fans around the world would buy this stuff if they actually priced them reasonably. So glad i got the funimation version of FMA:B. An upgrade to 1080p and some nice packaging is not worth another $200 for the full series. Even if they'd made it 4k,and really actually converted it, not just encoded it and slapped it on a 4k disk, I don't think I'd ever consider paying that much. And its my all time favorite series!

Jax on July 17, 2018:

This sucks balls they took shiki away from Funimation

ReViewMeMedia (author) on July 12, 2018:

Yes, PaganDegree, my list is up to date now.

PaganDegree on July 12, 2018:

I wish I had known about this years ago. Would have purchased Irregular at Magic High School, now its too late, and they continue to price gouge on new releases.

Is your list still mostly up to date?

ReViewMeMedia (author) on December 15, 2017:

I imported Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014) and Fate/Zero from the UK because they were cheaper!

Laurence J. Nguyen on December 15, 2017:

This is why I don’t like Aniplex, at all.

Most of their titles are great but my big complaint from them is overpricing their Blu-Ray/DVD sets after getting their shows or films back from other companies like Funi and Sentai once the license does expire.

I’m a cheapskate, I won’t lie about that and that’s all I will ever be. I’m better off streaming these anime titles while I still can before they disappear from the face of the internet. I’m so missing out on the Persona 3 movies, Kizumonogatari Trilogy and even the Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel films with first one already aired in theaters from Japan.

This proves my point that I’m not a big fan of Aniplex and I never will be. I’m better off playing Persona 3, 4 and 5 as video games instead of watching their anime adaptations.

Tsuritama is so good and underrated, IMO!

ReViewMeMedia (author) on November 08, 2017:

Japanese releases don't usually come with English subtitles.

Mauric on November 08, 2017:

Guess I could just buy the Japan releases...

ReViewMeMedia (author) on February 13, 2017:

When does Hell Girl expire? I need to add it to the list!

Wilson on February 13, 2017:

What about hell girl? It is not on that list.

Drop on January 23, 2017:

Aniplex is simply greedy-I don't and never will buy their overpriced garbage. The titles I wanted from Sentai and Funi are in my collection so no worries for me.

ReViewMeMedia (author) on September 09, 2016:

It really does suck, and most of those titles are not obscure, they're rather popular titles that a lot of fans like.

Tabari on September 09, 2016:

Damn... that sucks ass