In the spirit of our giveaway, we though we’d share our own holiday wishes for anime and/or manga!

Narutaki’s Wishes:

• Wider Releases for Animated Films
  Yeah this one goes beyond anime but anime is certainly included! I am lucky enough to have access to many independent theaters as well as GKids and the New York International Children’s Film Festival which bring many foreign animation over for limited viewing. But I know most people aren’t that lucky and even being that lucky there is still a lot we miss out on. Just for anime alone the easiest titles to overlook are the films because of the limited access and let’s face it, by the time a fan-sub group can get their hands on it you may have completely forgotten the movie existed. Anime films that came out this year include the 2nd Mardock Scramble movie, fantasy-based To Aru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku, and a film adaption of Hotarubi no Mori E from manga-ka Yuki Midorikawa of Natsume Yuujinchou fame; titles from elsewhere of interest include music drama Chico and Rita, children’s animal tale Leafie: A Hen Into the Wild, and comedy adventure Un Monstre a Paris. Sure I might not want to see every animated film from across the pond east and west but options are sure nice.
  
• Finishing the Swan Manga in English
  CMX picked up this seminal and beautiful classic 70’s shojo story that has more than a few of the sports tropes we’ve all come to enjoy. It was one of their first releases but still they weren’t able to bring it to completion before closing their doors. Now I beg, plead, and offer money to any company willing to finish the missing five volumes.
• Make More Brave Series Anime
  The Brave series rides high on super robot and combining robot love bringing joy to us all. The last also happens to be the most famous title: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar. This part of the franchise came out way back in 1997 and despite its popularity no new anime iterations in the Brave line have been released.

Hisui’s Wishes

• A Viable Way To License Older Mecha Series
  There are a bunch of really good or at least fun older mecha series that have not been licensed for English-speaking markets. They include but are not limited to Blue Comet SPT Layzner, Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3, Galaxy Cyclone Braiger, Giant Gorg, several shows in the Brave series. The main problem is mecha never sells particularly well in the US and if you add age into the equation you get sales poison. But Vertical has shown with manga that titles that are classically poor sellers can be profitable if correctly chosen and marketed. I wish there was some small anime publisher with enough skill and savvy to get these older mecha titles and find a way to at least make them marginally profitable. This may be crazy talk but that is what holiday wishes are for.
• Some Neglected Type-Moon Characters Get Some Love
  I love Saber. That is no real secret. Equally obvious is that only a handful of characters like Asuka and Rei get more figures a year made of them than Saber. But for all the Saber and Ryougi Shiki figures that exist they could make one or two more pieces of merchandise for other characters. Caster, Bazett, Miyako, and Riesbyfe could get some nice figures that I think would sell well. Also unless your name is Archer there are almost no male Type-Moon characters with figures. Maybe some nice Shiki, Nrvnqsr Chaos, Lancer, Gilgamesh, and Rider figures would be a good start. I know several people would instantly buy a well made Iskandar figure.
• A Little More Diversity in the Anime Line Up Next Year
  I know that the anime industry is getting slightly conservative and insular with its choices because of the bad economy. They want to go with what they feel is sure to sell just enough to make a profit more than take a risk on a show that might bring in a wider audience. But I would love to see a bit more experimentation and diversification of genres next year. I am not asking for a radically different line up of show next year. Just a move towards a more robust selection. It might also help some people from constantly getting on a soap box whenever they can about the death of the industry. It won’t ever stop. Even Holiday wish has so much power. But a little reprieve might be nice. And maybe just maybe it will not just help stop the decline of the industry but help foster some growth.