Kimi ga Nozomu Eien... Rumbling Hearts? D:

[Sir Alex]

Originally Posted by Leo_Otaku

I never actually liked KGNE why can't they licence Kanon already >.<

I can kinda answer this. It isn't a lack of knowledge on the companies' parts - you bet your socks that every major English anime distributor has teams of people paid to know about Kanon, and AIR, and Utawarerumono, and Bleach, and a hundred other shows you and I have probably never heard of. It's about money. The typical process of licensing an anime for English distribution usually goes along these lines:
1. English company pays Japanese company a licensing fee, generally an utterly outlandish sum of money, up front. We're talking over $1 million (US) for decently popular series.
2. English company pays more money to localize the show (big name voice actors don't come cheap), print it on DVD and promote it.
3. English company sells DVDs and merchandise and fervently prays they at least recoup their costs from steps 1 and 2 - and all too often, they don't...

How expensive the licensing fees asked for a show are depend on quite a few factors, of course, but being a 'big name' series and/or popular in Japan is sure to raise the price quite a bit. I'd imagine that the price tag on the Key shows is quite high, and their popularity (and projected sales) among Western audiences doesn't seem like it would be enough to cover that. Disappointing, true, but that's pretty much the way it is...

*performs the traditional first-post-of-rabid-Kanon-fanboy wave*

I'm pretty sure that Kimibou was released in Singapore (as well as some European country?) as "Rumbling Hearts", too.

Edit:

And Rumbling Hearts is the name of the theme song, so Air would be "Bird Song". :P

[zalas]

or more artistically: Avian Instrumental Refrain? =p

Hrm... didn't know Air was also a musical term:

Originally Posted by OED

IV. In Music [= musical mode or modulation].
18. Connected succession of musical sounds; expressive rhythmical sequence of musical tones; song-like music, melody.

19. a. concr. A connected succession of musical sounds in expressive rhythmical arrangement; a piece of music of this nature to be sung or played as a ‘solo,’ with or without a distinct harmonized accompaniment; a melody.

{dag}b. spec. A light or sprightly tune or song. Obs. (Perhaps due to popular confusion with airy, or with other sense of aria in Ital.)

20. That part of a harmonized composition for voices, instrument, or instruments, which manifestly predominates and gives character to it (supplying what, if sung or played alone, would be an ‘air’ in sense 19), as distinct from the other parts which form an accompaniment. In part-music this is usually the highest or soprano part.

{dag}21. A harmonized melody, a part-song. Obs.

With that in mind, an air in music seems to be more about an individual melody across time, whereas a canon seems to be more about harmony and similarity between concurrent parts. Sure gives a nice comparison to the layout of the story in the two games...
now if Clannad featured leprachauns...

[Haeleth]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

I'd imagine that the price tag on the Key shows is quite high, and their popularity (and projected sales) among Western audiences doesn't seem like it would be enough to cover that.

Yes, I suppose there is a qualitative difference. Kiminozo is easy to sell in the west: it's a love triangle with lashings of teenage angst and a coma subplot that Americans have already seen in at least half a dozen Hollywood blockbusters. But Key's works have less focused plots, with many fantastic elements that western audiences won't be expecting. I sure wouldn't fancy trying to sell a plot based on an itinerant puppet magician trying to end a cycle of reincarnation.

Seems the studios have calculated that a story won't have mass appeal in America if you can't describe it as "X meets Y", where X and Y are the names of other well-known stories. And it's pretty hard to think of suitable values of X and Y to describe AIR.

Originally Posted by zalas

now if Clannad featured leprachauns...

...sorry, couldn't resist.

[Shii]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

1. English company pays Japanese company a licensing fee, generally an utterly outlandish sum of money, up front. We're talking over $1 million (US) for decently popular series.

I thought your figure was too high, but I googled around and you're right. Localizing Kanon would cost ~$2m total.

http://www.forbes.com/archive/forbes/2004/0906/178.html

Well then, Funimation, best of luck with Rumbling Hearts!

[Bust Nak]

Meh, I am more interested in the game then the anime...

Originally Posted by zalas

Hrm... didn't know Air was also a musical term...

Wasn't there something about Kanon, Air, and Clannad all being musical references?

And then there's how Little Busters seems to be the name of a song and album.

Originally Posted by omgwtflolz

And then there's how Little Busters seems to be the name of a song and album.

Thats the Fight theme from the last episode of FLCL. it was created by The Pillows. a Wicked song if i do say so myself. Its the last track on the first FLCL OST.

.... really don't see how it would be good as a referrence for lolli though...

Originally Posted by Song

Chorus:
With the kids, sing out the future
Maybe, kids don't need the masters
Just waiting for the Little Busters.... oh yea..

<It is non-fading kidnap music
Hand and Hand are known
I want to knock on the same door
When you hear this voice, get out>

Chorus x 2

<The teen-age gear which is easy to come off
The everyday life that simply rolls
The sky, sea and ground stay the way they are
and they don't escape forever>

Chorus

[GreatSaintLouis]

Key totally needs to license that track for the theme of Little Busters, except I'd constantly be waiting for a guest cameo by Haruko in the game.

[zalas]

Originally Posted by omgwtflolz

Wasn't there something about Kanon, Air, and Clannad all being musical references?

And then there's how Little Busters seems to be the name of a song and album.

Well, AIR was originally considered to be a reference to Bach's Air, but I didn't know it was also a general term as well.
Well, it really shouldn't be surprising that a company by the name of Key would have their games all named after musical pieces. By the way, was there also a song called "It's a Wonderful Life" or was that only a movie?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds recorded a song titled "It's a Wonderful Life": it appears on the album Nocturama.

[Aero]

Originally Posted by omgwtflolz

Wasn't there something about Kanon, Air, and Clannad all being musical references?

And here I was thinking it was called AIR due to all that babbling from the girls about flight, sprouting their wings, flying away, etc. >_>

Originally Posted by zalas

I dare them to make it "The Adventures of Magical Kanorin and Super Potato!"

although its a bit late, but this reminds me of this

Click Here

[AetherParadigm]

..I go home for the weekend and what do I miss? KGNE being licensed! Aaaaah!
That said, at least FUNimation did a decent job of Kodocha, which is a fairly tough series to dub and sell, so there's hope for good work

And of course, while we're on the discussion of Key works being related to music:

Clannad is an Irish folk music group.

... don't know how well any of their songs fit the themes of clannad though?
"I will find you" lyrics
"Of this Land" lyrics