One of the most popular anime franchises in the last year was Yuri!!! on Ice as it gained huge amounts of attention on social media around the world. But, brace yourself – there’s bad new coming for Yuri fans. As of tomorrow, fans will no longer be able to order the show’s home media and have it shipped outside of Japan.
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The online retailer CDJapan announced last year in December that Avex Pictures is going to be restricting exports of their physical media. That means the company will no longer be exporting Blue-ray Disc, DVD, and CD titles. Avex is well known for work such as Yuri!! On Ice, Assassination Classroom, and Noragami. So, of course, some fans will have a problem with their recent announcement.
The shipments will be unavailable for shipment outside of Japan on Wednesday February 15. As of then, customers will no longer be able to order Avex Pictures’ items to be shipped outside of the US. This applies to all online stores that sell merchandise from Avex Pictures. However, there is some good news for fans: the restriction does not apply to figures and character goods.
If you are not familiar with the franchise, Yuri!!! on Ice follows Yuuri Katsuki, a promising Japanese Skater as he tries to make his way back into the spotlight after a crushing defeat. With the opportunity upon him, he makes his journey back onto the world stage as he competes against fierce competition when Russia’s biggest skater Victor offers to coach him. The anime’s first season premiered last fall, and there is a second season has been teased.
With another season surely on the way, fans will no doubt want to catch up on the show, but Avex’s recent shipping restrictions will make that difficult for many. The first BluRay Edition of the anime topped the animation disc rankings for two weeks in Japan. The opening song also reached number 43 in the Billboard Japan Hot 100 while the closing song peaked at number 11.
So, what do you think? Do you hope other studios will be able to license the DVD and BluRay sales for international fans? Is this move a bad one for the industry?
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