Would you import anime from Japan if it included English subs?
Occasionally there are games that are announced and released in Japan that gamers know will never ever see the light of day in the Western world unless they choose to pay the extra money to import the game. This obviously isn't the best option for most games, as not only does it cost more money but the titles aren't localized at all, meaning players will need to experience a title they barely understand.
While Japanese game importation has been happening for quite awhile, the importation of anime is something that has not. Recently a few anime companies in Japan have released anime that contains English subtitles and in the case of Strike Witches 2, an English dub as well.
This creates an interesting conundrum for fans and even Western anime publishers. The Japanese anime market is an expensive place, with many shows seeing only 2 or 3 episodes per disc priced at $60+. This means that while the importation of one single game may cost a fan anywhere from $80-$100, anyone who wants to fully import an anime can expect to pay up to three times that amount.
Recently Kadokawa stated to impose restrictions on FUNimation and other anime companies in North America, as seen here: http://animeshinbun.com/new... , denying the release of Blu-ray versions of their anime to prevent reverse importation. As such it not only hurts fans in North America but it also damages Kadokawa's own income as they lose the extra licensing fee that FUNimation would normally need to pay for the Blu-ray version rights.
Now it is worth noting that Kadokawa could potentially use this as a way to milk the North American audience by adding English subtitles to all of their Blu-ray releases, then charging an exorbitant importation price to those who refuse to wait. The question is, would you be so willing to import an anime release directly from Japan if it had English subtitles? Or wait however many months it takes to see the title in Blu-ray glory in North America?
Then there's the issue of only ENG subtitles. Regardless of what anyone says, I prefer dubbing. I want to actually sit back and enjoy the animation and the story, not read off the bottom of the screen the entire time. Perhaps I'm a bit more forgiving with my dubbing than others, but I generally tend to wait for dubbed versions if at all possible.
Having said that, if they were selling overseas, than that means they're realizing all those revenues themselves. The sheer increase of volume should give them significantly better economies of scale, and thus lower production costs. If they didn't then discount, then they'd be just outright price gouging, and everyone would know it.
I do wonder though if Kadokawa realize how much they're putting their foot in it with their current policies though. The reduced lag times between Japanese and international releases is what has slowly killed a lot of casual piracy. Take that away, and we can all guess what might happen.