L.S. Production, President's Office
Lin Zhiyan reviewed the sales report for Death Note merchandise with great satisfaction.
He had licensed the rights to sell the merchandise through a combination of upfront licensing fees and revenue sharing.
According to the report, the best-selling item was the Ryuk-themed notebook. This item had sold like hotcakes, with major retailers selling out within hours of stocking it.
The notebook was projected to sell over 200,000 units per month.
Beyond the notebook, other merchandise included T-shirts featuring Ryuk, "L's Favorite Cake and Pudding" items, mugs with Death Note character portraits, and Misa Amane-themed cushions.
While these items didn't sell as well as the notebook, they still performed quite well.
The animation figures were also selling well.
However, figures were relatively expensive and time-consuming to produce, so their sales volume remained lower.
While they wouldn't make Lin Zhiyan a fortune, they still generated a decent profit.
The revenue from licensing the surrounding merchandise, while not enough to fully restore Lin Zhiyan's health, at least restored about a fifth of it.
Moreover, this was just the current income. As long as the products continued to sell, he would receive a steady stream of revenue.
The remaining revenue stream came from manga.
The manga serialized in magazines was part of a collaboration and didn't generate profit. However, the tankōbon volumes were different.
The first volume of the manga had already been released and sold well. Although the publishing house took the lion's share, the high sales volume meant that even a tenth of the revenue was substantial for his company.
Of course, these were just small gains for now. The real profit would come from the upcoming DVD sales.
DVDs for Japanese animation were quite expensive. While the animation studios set the prices, the market dictated the cost. A volume containing two episodes typically cost around 6,000 to 7,000 yen, while three episodes might approach 10,000 yen.
Deluxe collector's editions were even more expensive, starting at over 10,000 yen.
Although Japan has a relatively high average income and cost of living, 10,000 yen still represents a significant expense. Especially since anime DVDs are rarely sold as single volumes; a half-year series with 26 episodes typically comes out in eight or nine volumes, and buying the complete set would cost 80,000 to 90,000 yen.
Ordinary viewers simply wouldn't buy the full set, at most purchasing one or two volumes to support the series as much as they could afford.
This doesn't apply to those with plenty of money. Generally, only core fans—those who truly love the anime to a certain extent, or who missed some episodes on TV and are still obsessed with the show—would go the extra mile to buy the complete set.
Even for core fans, being asked to fork over 80,000 to 90,000 yen for the entire DVD set at once would be a considerable financial strain. That's why these DVDs are usually released one volume per month, and a complete collector's edition is only considered after all volumes have been released.
The implication is this: you're given a month to prepare the money. Whether you save it from your allowance or work a part-time job, if you truly love the anime, you can definitely manage to set aside a few thousand yen each month to buy a single volume.
Once all the volumes had been released, the producers figured most of the dedicated fans would have already bought them. But to catch any remaining fish, they decided to release a complete collector's edition. Though the numbers would be small, they were certain some would still buy it.
Still, they couldn't treat their audience like fools.
Since fans were willing to buy the DVDs, the production company naturally had to give them something in return. That's why DVDs often come packed with extras: interviews with the animation staff, keyframe art, special edition animations—basically, anything you couldn't find elsewhere.
For anime adaptations of games, they might even throw in special in-game items or character cards. This is why you sometimes see cases where buying game items comes with a free DVD. It's also why some anime with mediocre quality still achieve high Blu-ray and DVD sales.
The release of the Death Note DVD had been confirmed. The first volume would be released on December 14th, containing three episodes, and priced at 8,000 yen.
This price was considered reasonable—not too expensive, but not cheap either. It should be an acceptable price for core fans.
As for the bonus features, each volume will contain different content.
Currently, Lin Zhiyan's plan is to include his personal Death Note keyframe or illustration collection in the first volume, followed by animation-related interviews in the second. Starting with the third volume, he'll add voice actor programs, and the final two volumes will each include a specially produced short episode.
His original keyframes and illustration collection are already quite valuable; they could sell for a considerable sum on their own. Moreover, recent media coverage, fueled by Death Note's success, has been relentlessly promoting him, significantly boosting his popularity. In this climate, these bonuses should effectively increase DVD sales.
Voice actor programs are likely to be well-received as well, and the specially produced short episodes are even more compelling—they should further incentivize viewers to purchase the DVDs.
Of course, the primary factor remains the animation's quality and its ability to cultivate a large, dedicated fanbase. If the animation itself is poor and lacks popularity, even the most lavish bonuses would struggle to boost DVD sales.
Conversely, if the animation's quality and popularity are exceptionally high, it should sell well even without any bonus features.
Lin Zhiyan had considerable confidence in the quality of the [ Death Note ] animation. The first volume, which contained three episodes that had already aired on television and proven immensely popular, was a sure thing.
However, he couldn't be certain how many DVD sales the [ Death Note ] animation would ultimately achieve.
In the original timeline, the manga had sold over 15,000 copies per volume, but that was for a total of 37 volumes, boosted by the popularity of the manga itself and two live-action films. The anime had also aired during the 2006-2007 period.
This timeline was different, the environment was different, the length was different, and the bonus content included with the DVDs would also differ. The final sales figures would inevitably deviate significantly from the original.
Fortunately, the other two hit anime of the season, [ Hajime no Ippo ] and [ Inuyasha ], primarily targeted the television market and wouldn't directly compete with [ Death Note ] in the DVD space.
In the original timeline, [ Code Geass ], a more popular anime, had also premiered in the same month as [ Death Note ], and the male leads of both shows shared some similarities. [ The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ], which premiered in April, was also a strong contender. Although it finished airing in July, it still had a significant impact on the disc market.
In 2000, the DVD market lacked any major competitors, which was a stroke of luck.
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