YMMV / Aniplex USA

• Broken Base:
  • The whole company is fairly polarizing among American anime fans to say the least. While there are defenders who feel that the series they release are quality enough to be worth the high prices, others feel they're not much better than scam artists.
  • Many Aniplex USA titles often receive subtitle only releases and this includes popular shows such as Bakemonogatari, Nisekoi, and Blast of Tempest. Unlike Funimation, Sentai Filmworks or NIS America, Aniplex does not go back and re-dub their shows (Blue Exorcist, however, was an exception). For the most part the only shows that Aniplex USA ever releases with English dubs are ones that have mainstream popularity usually being action shows or shows with Gen Urobuchi attached to them. Some do not like this at all as many fans of these shows want to see them receive English dubs, will only buy the release if it has a dub (especially since Aniplex's releases are expensive), and especially because these are popular shows the possibility that dub only watchers will never see them. Others do not care as for one reason or another these shows do not justify a release with an English dub, and that because these shows aren't released with dubs it allows for higher quality releases. It should also be noted that avid Aniplex USA supporters are often those who don't support the dubbing industry and would much rather have a high quality subtitle-only release with extras rather than a bare bones release with a dub.
  • The fact Aniplex releases are more expensive than any other anime distributors and some of their releases follow the original model of releasing four episodes on one disc. There's also the fact that Aniplex USA generally does not drop prices on their releases nor do they sell them anywhere outside of their online store and Right Stuf. It all really depends on your values as to what owning an anime means to you. Those who simply want to own the series do not like this at all since it's too expensive and it doesn't help that their standard edition DVD and Blu-Ray releases are very bare bones. However for hardcore anime collectors, Aniplex USA releases are of general higher quality than other distributors. Aniplex USA supporters often defend their distribution philosophy by noting that their packaging is nicer and their releases are often devoid of the technical problems in releases from other anime distributors.
  • In terms of English dubbing the only studio Aniplex USA ever uses for recording is Bang Zoom! Entertainment. Some don't mind this as they find Bang Zoom's talent pool to be very competent and it's a good way to give Los Angeles based voice actors work as most anime dubbing is in Texas these days. Others however would like to see Aniplex branch out and use other studios in Los Angeles (like Studiopolis, which is known for doing All-Star Cast dubs, and usually union dubs) since their constant use of Bang Zoom often has many of their dubs using the same voice actors.^note This does seem to be changing somewhat, in the 2010s such as Sword Art Online's Alicization arc using a variety of completely new actors, both in main and side roles, such as Brandon Winckler, Lizzie Freeman, Michelle Marie, Deneen Melody, Jackie Lastra, Reba Buhr, Maureen Price, and Armen Taylor.
• Fandom Rivalry: With Funimation and Sentai Filmworks. Many Aniplex detractors are often fans of these companies because they release their shows at more affordable prices and dub their shows more often. However Aniplex supporters aren't a fan of these companies' policies as their releases aren't of the same quality usually having sub-par packaging and technical issues. It's only more apparent among the Aniplex USA supporters who are indifferent to English dubs.
• Growing the Beard: While the prices are still higher than normal anime distributors many felt that their releases of Blue Exorcist^note The re-release with the English dub and Fate/Zero were an improvement over their previous releases. Instead of releasing those shows in four episode sets they instead got their first and second halves as their own releases. This would eventually become Aniplex USA's model for most two-cour anime.