Interest
Media Blasters' Founder Reveals Company's Worst-Performing Title
posted on by Choo Sum Lee
Over the past month, John Sirabella, the founder of Media Blasters, has released a series of videos on his YouTube channel chronicling his company's history. In a recent video, he addressed one of his most frequently received questions: Which of the titles acquired by Media Blasters performed the worst over the years?
His answer? GaoGaiGar: King of the Braves.
Sirabella called Gaogaigar a “fan title” – titles that fans are really passionate about getting licensed.
“People loved Gaogaigar in the office. It was really a favorite…It just didn't perform,” Sirabella continued, “We did sell some units, don't get me wrong. The hardcore people don't let you down; they do buy it. There just wasn't enough of them.” Sirabella added that Gaogaigar was expensive to license due to its number of episodes, which further hurt its profits.
Sirabella also mentioned Bakuman as a title that initially seemed promising but performed poorly. “We really thought that title would have a bit more legs to it. It was from the same guy who did Death Note, but just because it was the same guy doesn't really mean a whole heck of a lot.”
The GaoGaiGar: King of the Braves television anime, part of Sunrise's Brave Saga franchise, debuted in 1997 and spawned the Brave King GaoGaiGar Final OAV sequel, which in turn inspired the Brave King GaoGaiGar Final Grand Glorious Gathering television anime that retells the OVA's story with an alternate ending. Media Blasters released the series in North America, but their license has since expired. In turn, Discotek licensed the series in 2022.
