Bandai Entertainment will cease releasing new manga and anime in physical format in North America, the company said Tuesday.  It will continue to sell catalogue titles and to license anime for digital distribution, broadcast, and merchandising.  The company will restructure as of the end of January to reflect its change of focus.

The following planned manga releases are cancelled:

 

·         Kannagi Vol. 4-6

·         Gurren Lagann Vol. 7

·         Code Geass r2 Novels

·         Tales of the Abyss: Jade Vol. 1 and 2

The following planned anime releases are cancelled:

The underlying stresses that produced the decision to shut down new releases on anime stemmed from the North American consumer’s unwillingness to pay retail prices that would keep the licensors happy, according to an interview with Bandai’s Ken Iyadomi at Anime News Network. 

The downward pressure on anime prices Iyadomi referred to has been going on for years, driven by fairly low price points for collections of American TV series for comparison and by digital competition, legal and not.  And this is not the first time that pressure has been cited in an anime company restructuring. 

Bandai will pursue a two-pronged strategy for its anime content, according to the interview.  First, it will continue to license anime for TV and Internet delivery.  And second, Bandai will continue to release Blu-ray titles in Japan with English subtitles, which can be imported into the U.S.   

Manga has had a tough go the last few years in general, and Bandai has undoubtedly been affected by the general trends.  Among those was the loss of the Borders chain in 2011, which represented over 600 places where manga was nurtured and sold in North America. 

No news was available on what will happen to the rights for the manga titles Bandai is cancelling.  In the case of another recent manga shutdown, rights reverted to the Japanese creators, who were then free to license them to new partners in the U.S. (see “T-Pop Says Manga Rights Reverting”). 

These changes all refer to Bandai Entertainment.  Bandai America, which produces toys and games, is unaffected.