User blog comment:Ceras SanMarina/The Movie (Possible spoilers! No, probable spoilers?)/@comment-2004850-20100608102833

DEEN might be. It does happen sometimes, and with something like Hetalia, they might fear fans hating them or refusing to see the film.

Yeah, Gravitation had its ups and downs. It was alright, but nothing groundbreaking; Shirohata comes off as a mediocre director to me. Hetalia is pretty big now, with DVDs and the manga making it on the "Top -- Selling DVDs/Comics in Japan" lists, but I imagine it was only moderately so when DEEN picked it up. Had a company been able to foresee the future popularity, I'm sure a better studio would have gotten it.