Media Blasters Licenses Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Squid Girl) on DVD

CEO John Sirabella of the North American anime distributor Media Blasters confirmed with ANN that his company has acquired the license to the television anime series Shinryaku! Ika Musume (Squid Girl). The company will release the first six episodes of Squid Girl on DVD on September 27. The release will include English-dubbed and -subtitled tracks and have a suggested retail price (SRP) of US$24.99. The solicitations also describe the release as "loaded with extras."

The anime adapts Masahiro Anbe's comedy manga about a squid girl who vows to invade the beaches of mankind since humans have polluted the seas. However, her invasion is less than successful, and she ends up on dry land. The first season premiered last October, and the media-distribution website Crunchyroll streamed the anime outside Japan as it aired. The upcoming second season is called Shinryaku!? Ika Musume.

Source: Fandom Post [Via ANN]

2.2% of Consumers Purchase 81% of Blu-ray in Japan

According to a survey conducted by Japan Video Software Association, very small number of consumers support the DVD and Blu-ray market in Japan. 4.1% of the consumers spent >30,000 yen ($370) on DVD and Blu-ray software in 2010 and their consumption made up 67.4% of the whole disc media sales. Within the Blu-ray market, the tendency gets even stronger: 80.9% of the Blu-rays were purchased by 2.2% heavy users, who spend >30,000 yen on Blu-ray softwares a year. The biased distribution of consumers reflected the fact that anime videos account for 63.2% of the Blu-ray market in Japan.

In 2010, the percentage of DVD & Blu-ray buyers was 21.2%, down 10% from the previous year. However, the average expenditure on DVD & Blu-ray has increased by 30%: $289 in 2010 and $221 in 2009. These data show that the disc software market has been losing general customers and the heavy users have been getting even "heavier".

Source: Anime!Anime!