Which series will first be licensed for region one DVD: Fractale, Mahou Shoujo Madoka?Magica or Rio – Rainbow Gate!? (Haven’t been watching Rio? Neither have I, but Wonderduck has. You can share his pain here, here, here, here and here.)
Update: And the winner is Fractale. I suppose I should be glad it wasn’t Rio, but bleah.
Hasn’t Funimation already licensed Fractale? They’ve been simulstreaming episodes as they are broadcast in Japan, and it’s hard to believe they’d be doing that if they didn’t intend to eventually release DVDs too.
I would hope that’s the case, but as I understand it, the right to stream a series doesn’t necessarily imply the right to release the series on DVD.
It’s not one of your three, but Section 23 has licensed Yumekui Merry.
Which is why I stopped downloading it. If I read that it ends well, it will go on my to-buy list, but it’s not an essential show like Madoka.
Let me know when Funimation announces the R1 DVDs for The Tatami Galaxy.
Madoka is the one I voted for, even though I’ve already stated in my episode reviews that I think Rio will sell really well. Say what you want about it (and I have!), but there’s some awfully good fanservice in that series.
I’m going for Madoka. At this point, Yutaka is a pretentious ego, copying Miyazaki’s style, but Shinbou is the king of the hill, breaking new ground in which the cute sidekick may be the real villain, and the titular character isn’t even a magical girl.