Anime Is it worth it?

[Otaku America]

[QUOTE=Solo Tremaine][COLOR=#503F86]This isn't a discussion just about bootlegs- it's primarily about whether it's wrth importing anime into the UK. And unfortunately, since bootlegs cover such a huge portion of the market, it's silly just to deny that they exist.

I only buy genuine releases now. In fact, I intend to buy all eight Trigun DVDs to replace the FX set I bought on eBay some time ago. But a lot of people simply don't have the money to spend. And when you're faced with a choice between a whole series for $120 and the whole series for $25, which is the one you're going to go for, realistically?

I'm sure a lot of people don't know the difference, and won't until they get the DVD. Even buying genuine soundtracks is getting increasingly hard. I ordered an Outlaw Star CD which I was told on the listing was released by Victor Records, but when I got it back, it turned out to be an Ever Anime bootleg. I'm going to re-order that, too.

I'm not an advocate of bootlegs. Or downloads, for that matter. I hate them. But until there's proper control over what is sold in internet shops (and really, I don't think most eBay sellers actually care- they just want to make money in the same way the bootleg companies do), they are going to be the foremost provider of anime around the world. It's sick and irritating, but that's just how it is.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[COLOR=Navy]Most ebayer's that sell bootlegs are from China & Malaysia, the pirate capitals. The ebayers that sell these on ebay buy them in bulk sizes. 500 Trigun FX dvd's cost about $200. They sell for about $25 plus $1 shipping (from China? too cheap, if you ask me). If one could sell all 500 FX bootlegs that would be about $12,500 in return.

The uninformed group would no doubt choose the $25 3-disc set intead of the $180 8-disc set. These individuals that buy these FX sets don't even know that they're bootlegs because they're professionally made. To the uninformed eye, these are just everyday dvds. But for every $25 dollar set bought, the creators lose some serious dough. The only thing that keeps anime creators going is their pride.

The pay is poor for their area but in the near future if these pirates keep making dough, the artists will soon tire out and there won't be any creative anime features anymore. Why buy it if you can download it? Downloaders don't make money but they do take away from the profit if that individual doesn't care watching anime on a 17" monitor.

Pirates may be the foremost provider of anime in the world but they are hurting anime not helping. Fansubs help anime, even distributors watch fansubs to tell if the anime is worth bringing stateside. If I can't afford anime I would sell my furniture just to buy a boxset. I'm currently going to college, have no job, and yet I'm still able to buy anime.

To the guy above, $650 per month isn't bad at all, that's better than my $1000 a year college check I receive. Let's face it, if certain individuals stop buying bootlegs we all would have reasonable anime retail prices. 8-set dvd sets wouldn't cost $180 but instead would retail at a mere $120.

Anime isn't cheap, but it's sure worth it.[/COLOR] :D

[gwynva]

[QUOTE=Otaku America][COLOR=Navy]
To the guy above, $650 per month isn't bad at all, that's better than my $1000 a year college check I receive. Let's face it, if certain individuals stop buying bootlegs we all would have reasonable anime retail prices. 8-set dvd sets wouldn't cost $180 but instead would retail at a mere $120.

Anime isn't cheap, but it's sure worth it.
[/COLOR] :D[/QUOTE]
Well, if you have to pay your rent, buy some food, and want to have a descent living, it is just enough. And yet, i know nothing else entertains me as much as the animes, so that is why personally i try to buy the movies original. (some sort of a compromise by my side at least until i graduate and find a nice job that is)
By the way there are also so many animes that, some are just not worth all the effort and money if you actually don't know what they are about or whether you'll like them. This way it becomes easier to make your selected archive of favourites.

[Dagger]

[quote name='Otaku America][COLOR=Navy']Let's face it, if certain individuals stop buying bootlegs we all would have reasonable anime retail prices. 8-set dvd sets wouldn't cost $180 but instead would retail at a mere $120.[/COLOR][/quote]
I'd like to think that what you said is true, but it's a big jump, logically speaking... and not all that different from how people assert that exterminating fansubs will drastically lower R1 prices. Piracy is bad, of course, but there are more immediate reasons (moral & otherwise) to avoid it.

~Dagger~

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Otaku America][color=navy']Pirates may be the foremost provider of anime in the world but they are hurting anime not helping. Fansubs help anime, even distributors watch fansubs to tell if the anime is worth bringing stateside. If I can't afford anime I would sell my furniture just to buy a boxset. I'm currently going to college, have no job, and yet I'm still able to buy anime.[/color][/quote][color=#503f86]I [i]know[/i]. I never said pirate companies were good. But I'm dubious as to how beneficial fansubs actually are. There are bound to be people who'll just download the anime subtitled (not even fansubbed) and have done with it.

If I couldn't afford anime, I wouldn't buy it. Simple as that.[/color]

[quote name='gwynva']By the way there are also so many animes that, some are just not worth all the effort and money if you actually don't know what they are about or whether you'll like them. This way it becomes easier to make your selected archive of favourites.[/quote][color=#503f86]I can't say I agree with that- just because there's so much doesn't really justify creating a pirate library to save you money. Regardless of the quality of the anime itself, buying pirate DVDs still supports illegal companies, and adding to an archive of favourites means nothing with regards to actually supporting the companies that you like. All are capable of both good and bad animes. At least by buying only Volume 1 of a series you don't have to sit through so many episodes before you decide you don't like it. And then you can sell it off on eBay...[/color]

[gwynva]

[QUOTE=Solo Tremaine][color=#503f86]
I can't say I agree with that- just because there's so much doesn't really justify creating a pirate library to save you money. Regardless of the quality of the anime itself, buying pirate DVDs still supports illegal companies, and adding to an archive of favourites means nothing with regards to actually supporting the companies that you like. All are capable of both good and bad animes. At least by buying only Volume 1 of a series you don't have to sit through so many episodes before you decide you don't like it. And then you can sell it off on eBay...[/color][/QUOTE]
Sorry, my writing must be misleading i didn't mean that, what i meant was i definitely buy original stuff when i really like them, so in a sense i spend those huge amounts to make an archive of originals only when i believe they are worth it and that is after watching them from bootlegs, web downloads or whatever. This is of course subjective, but for example i know that i will never buy original yugioh animes, and yet i'll definitely buy age of innocence.
And for those bootlegs, i don't buy them alone, as a group of friends we share each anime we have after watching it, and sometimes we make anime nights watching as many episodes as we can till down. This way even bad animes can be fun to watch :) and even the low-price bootlegs become even cheaper.

[Guest juzzam]

I still havent been able to find a shop that has alot of anime, but i found a shop near me (middlesbrouugh) where they have a large selection of manga. I advise people to look for a Forbidden Planet near them, or go on the website.

[COLOR=#503F86][SIZE=1][b]Link removed. Linking to commercial sites is against OB's Rules, but discussing them is fine. -Solo[/COLOR][/SIZE][/b]

[Leofski]

HMV and Virgin normally have the most popular/recent anime in stock so it's always worth a look.

[Lord Dante]

[quote name='Leofski']HMV and Virgin normally have the most popular/recent anime in stock so it's always worth a look.[/quote]
Where i live, this strictly isn't true. i went into virgin, and asked them if they stocked neon genesis evangelion. the guy looked at me and said "uuuhh... umm.... what's that? some kinda alternate rock band?"