An animator with insider knowledge reports that troubled anime studio Gonzo is considering turning to ero-anime (as in hentai, rather than merely ecchi) to rescue itself, with sacking a quarter of its staff and reducing anime output by half apparently not sufficient to restore it to profitability.
The animator revealed the plan on his Mixi diary, apparently based on his conversation with a Gonzo employee:
Apparently, there are even problems paying employees? We also hear:
“If it’s Gonzo doing an ero-anime then the quality could be pretty good, right?”
“Only the worst, most useless staff are left…”
So a Gonzo produced H-anime may not be as great as one might hope.
It must be noted that this is otherwise unconfirmed, and so should be taken sceptically.
Observers point out that ero-anime titles such as eroge-adapted “Sora no Iro, Mizuiro”, with two OVA volumes, look to have strong sales, with those titles looking to manage some 20,000 in total.
In comparison, Gonzo has only two titles to have broken through the critical 10,000 copies sold milestone, those being Vandread and Strike Witches. Thus Gonzo might be lured into creating adult titles, which is considered something of a last resort in the industry.
Their other titles have managed only moderate sales of 5,000-7,500, and some have done much worse.
Below you can see the rather unimpressive sales data for Gonzo’s top sellers, showing week 1 sales for various first volume DVD releases (first number is the rank at the time, followed by first week sales and weekly period sales, with the number of weeks after):
12 *8,720 12,318 *3 ストライクウィッチーズ 1 / Strike Witches 1 LE
*8 *9,764 11,906 **2 ヴァンドレッド 1 / Vandread 1
16 *6,601 *6,601 **1 ラストエグザイル 1 / Last Exile 1 LE
*7 *6,124 *8,029 **2 ヴァンドレッド the second stage 1 / Vandread II 1
35 *5,092 *6,606 **2 ロザリオとバンパイア 1 / Rosario+Vampire
20 *3,423 *7,403 **2 ゲートキーパーズ 1 / Gatekeepers 1
19 *5,667 *6,992 **2 キディ・グレイド 1 / Kiddy Grade 1
17 *4,528 *6,376 **2 HELLSING 1
24 *4,568 *5,990 **2 最終兵器彼女 1 / Saishuuheiki Kanojo 1
21 *3,390 *5,558 **2 フルメタル・パニック! 1 / Full Metal Panic 1
29 *4,332 *4,332 **1 クロノクルセイド 1 / Chronocrusade 1
90 *3,998 *3,998 **1 BLACK CAT 1
52 *3,821 *3,821 **1 瀬戸の花嫁 1 / Seto no Hanayome 1
57 *2,759 *3,773 **2 ドルアーガの塔 ~the Aegis of URUK~ 1 / Druaga 1
53 *3,538 *3,538 **1 ウィッチブレイド 1 / Witchblade 1
50 *3,074 *3,074 **1 超重神グラヴィオンツヴァイ 1 / Gravion Zwei 1
64 *2,732 *2,732 **1 巌窟王 1 / Gankutsuou 1
67 *2,722 *2,722 **1 GANTZ 1
74 *1,978 *1,978 **1 風のスティグマ 1 / Kaze no Stigma 1
94 *1,802 *1,802 **1 ガドガード 1 / Gad Guard 1
84 *1,668 *1,668 **1 超重神グラヴィオン 1 / Gravion 1
64 *1,542 *1,542 **1 SAMURAI7 1
31 *1,508 *1,508 **1 SAMURAI GIRL Real Bout High School 1
73 *1,374 *1,374 **1 月面兎兵器ミーナ 1 / Getsumento Heiki Mina
79 *1,278 *1,278 **1 ブラスレイター 1 / Blassreiter 1
You can follow a good collation of sources here.
Perhaps they should try for a Strike Witches ero-anime? Whatever they try, Gonzo appears to be in truly dire straits…
I thought Last Exile was sell quite well, look like i was wrong. Depend on country I guess ;).
I really dont think that they will make a Strike Witches ero a second season of the anime would be much more profitable imo. If they end up going ero they will probably make an entire new H-series, not just make ero versions of their current anime lineup
LOL!
Just imagining here…
Poor decent voice actors will have to dub non-decent hentai anime if Strike Witches becomes ero…
Gonzo indeed needs to sort things out properly.
Think logically and positively in any ways.
Can’t say anymore but I really wanna have a Strike Witches second season.
And if they should make an ero out of it, make it a separate series to not affect the main plot of the story. But that’s just a thought though. *grins*
2008
* October – Rosario + Vampire Capu2,[3] Linebarrels of Iron
* July – Strike Witches
* April – The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk, Special A, Blassreiter
* January – Rosario + Vampire[4]
2007
* October – Dragonaut -The Resonance-
* July – The Five Killers[5] (in USA)
* April – Romeo x Juliet, Bokurano, Kaze no Stigma, & Seto no Hanayome (With AIC)
* March – Tenshi Sairin (Burst Angel: Infinity)
* January – Afro Samurai & Getsumen to Heiki Mina
2006
* October – Red Garden & Pumpkin Scissors
* July – Welcome to the N.H.K.
* April – Legend of the Glass Fleet & Witchblade
2005
* October – SoltyRei (With AIC) & Black Cat
* Densha Otoko Opening animation.
* Fall – G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
* July – Transformers: Cybertron
* May – Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
* April – Basilisk, Speed Grapher & Trinity Blood
2004
* October – Desert Punk (Sunabouzu) & Gankutsuou
* June – Samurai 7
* April – Gantz & Burst Angel (Bakuretsu Tenshi)
* January – Gravion Zwei
2003
* November – Chrono Crusade
* October – Peacemaker Kurogane
* April – Kaleido Star, Last Exile & Gad Guard
* February 2003 Digigirl Pop! STRAWBERRY&POP MIX FLAVOR
2002
* October – Kiddy Grade & Gravion
* July – Saikano
* April – Gatekeepers 21
* January – Full Metal Panic!
2001
* October – Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Hellsing (TV series) & Vandread the Second Stage
* July – Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School
2000
* October – Vandread
* April – Gate Keepers
From 2004-2007, not a single title reached 5,000 sales… and almost all of them were licensed overseas.
hmmm ero Strike Witches, something that I wont be watching tbh. They have left an open ending because they knew they were in trouble and wanted to see how DVD sales will prove themselves. And they did prove themselves, pretty good if you ask me.
So i dont see why they just carry on with Strike Witches and drop some of the projects filled with phail like The Tower of Druaga. But thats just me 😛
But you never know, GONZO might not survive 2009. I wonder, if they collapse, who will produce my second season of Strike Witches?!!!! T.T