What Japanese Consumers Are Paying for This Season's Anime
Check out the per-episode pricing range from "Aiura" to "Date-a-Live"
Since the collapse of the anime boom, English speaking anime fans have gotten a taste of Japanese consumer prices from distributors like Aniplex and Bandai Visual. But, wonder what Japanese consumers are paying for a spectrum of a season's major titles? With the solicitation for spring 2013 out, @Yuyucow has done the math.
| Anime | Distributor | Episodes | Volume2 | Total (in yen) | Per Episode (in Yen) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiura | Pony Canyon | 12 (3 minutes) | 1 | 7,140 | 595 (4,750) |
| Muromi-san | StarChild | 13 (half length) | 3 | 14,175 | 1,090 (2180) |
| Azazel-San Z | StarChild | 13 (half length) | 3 | 15,750 | 1,212(2,424) |
| Majestic Prince | TOHO | 24 | 8 | 57,120 | 2,380 |
| Titan Attack | Pony Canyon | 25 | 9 | 67,725 | 2,709 |
| Railgun s | Geneon | 24 | 8 | 65,520 | 2,730 |
| Flowers of Evil | StarChild | 13 | 6 | 39,375 | 3,029 |
| Yuyushiki | Geneon | 12 | 6 | 37,800 | 3,150 |
| Arata The Legend | Bandai Visual | 12 | 6 | 37,800 | 3,150 |
| Devil is a Part-Timer | Pony Canyon | 13 | 6 | 42,210 | 3,247 |
| Karneval | Bandai Visual | 13 | 7 | 43,050 | 3,312 |
| Uta no Prince-sama 2000% | StarChild | 14 | 7 | 47,600 | 3,400 |
| HENNEKO (normal version) | Media Factory | 12 | 6 | 40,800 | 3,400 |
| Hayate - Cuties | Geneon | 12 | 6 | 42,840 | 3,570 |
| Gargantia | Bandai Visual | 14 | 3 (box) | 50,400 | 3,600 |
| My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU | Geneon | 13 | 7 | 47,565 | 3,659 |
| Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride | Media Factory | 12 | 6 | 44,100 | 3,675 |
| Nyarko-san W | avex entertainment | 12 | 6 | 44,100 | 3,675 |
| Oreimo 2 | Aniplex | 16 | 8 | 58,800 | 3,675 |
| Valvrave | Aniplex | 12 | 6 | 44,100 | 3,675 |
| Severing Crime Edge | Pony Canyon | 13 | 7 | 48,090 | 3,699 |
| Devil Survivor 2 | Pony Canyon | 13 | 7 | 48,300 | 3,715 |
| Photo Kano | Pony Canyon | 13 | 7 | 50,400 | 3,877 |
| RDG Red Data Girl | Kadokawa | 12 | 6 | 47,880 | 3,990 |
| Date a Live | Kadokawa | 12 | 6 | 48,825 | 4,069 |
| HENNEKO (bedsheet version) | Media Factory | 12 | 6 | 58,800 | 4,900 |
Additional notes from @Yuyucow:
-Pony Canyon’s got the most shows (6), followed by StarChild and Geneon (4 each). Aniplex lag behind for once (2), although their series are likely to print money anyway.
-Most titles are produced and distributed by the same company but there’s a few cases of split production committees like Railgun or Majestic Prince. That’s not that relevant for consumers either way so we can safely ignore it.
-This is under the assumption that all OreImo and Valvrave volumes cost the same, which is kind of a given since it’s the same MSRP every volume of OreImo’s first season had and Valvrave is nicely split in 6 similar BDs. Aniplex like soliciting volumes one at a time so blame them for the slight uncertainty.
-Taking the two editions of Henneko’s blurays into consideration since they both might rank. There’s plenty of people who’d pay 10kJPY for Kantoku bedsheets alone so it’s not surprising that one would sell, but the plain release seems like it could sell a small amount as well.
-Both Kadokawa shows are, super limited Henneko BDs aside, the most expensive series this season. Considering how often they release much cheaper BD boxes soon afterward a show has ended, it’s easy to understand why they’re disliked that much.
-And Kadokawa aside, the general rule still is that the longer the series, the cheaper the cost per episode tends to be. Half length shows being the exception to the rule since they’re better off as cheap products.
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
