Angry About Anime DVD Prices...

[AvidWriter]

Anyone else? Its like just because its from Japan they feel they can charge $30 a dvd when it takes 8 DVD's to complete a set and then they release a box set for well over $100. I'm so sick of this. :evil:

EDIT : No they arent imports they are the US releases.

[Moxio]

Those cursed Japanese people know that they can rip off young American children by booting up prices.

[Mr Unoriginal]

Anyone else? Its like just because its from Japan they feel they can charge $30 a dvd when it takes 8 DVD's to complete a set and then they release a box set for well over $100. I'm so sick of this. :evil:

EDIT : No they arent imports they are the US releases.

Agreed, this is the main reason I never see any anime. You generally can't rent it, and it's rediculous to pay so much for a handful of episodes that I only want to watch once.

[scdoanintendo]

Yea, but it will probably be a while till you see anime in $10-5 bins at wal-marts, cc, bb, or target.

[PsyClerk]

You can rent them through Netflix. $21 a month can get you 20+ discs a month if you have the time.

[SneakyPenguin]

Worst one is FLCL. $90 to get all three DVD's in the set, and there are only 6 episodes total. though there are some good deals. Like 26 episodes of Outlaw Star box set for less than 40.

[xzafixz]

You know what i am sick of? People that have no idea why anime dvds are so expensive. They have to BUY THE RIGHTS!!! They have to pay VOICE ACTORS!!! They have to hire TRANSLATORS!! They have to hire SUB TIMERS!! It is a big production, they have to make SOME MONEY!!

Come on, seriously, isn't that the point of being a business, to make money? They aren't ripping you off because "its from Japan".

[Cornfedwb]

You know what i am sick of? People that have no idea why anime dvds are so expensive. They have to BUY THE RIGHTS!!! They have to pay VOICE ACTORS!!! They have to hire TRANSLATORS!! They have to hire SUB TIMERS!! It is a big production, they have to make SOME MONEY!!

Come on, seriously, isn't that the point of being a business, to make money? They aren't ripping you off because "its from Japan".

Yet somehow Disney (with a larger staff and higher expenditure) is able to sell their movies for less money.. huh.

[xzafixz]

A movie is 2 hours long at the most, where an anime series for a 24-26 episode anime series is almost 10 hours long, how is that even remotely similar?

Plus disney has a double market since they release their movies in the theaters which banks a lot of money, where anime does not go to theaters, unles of course Disney releases it.

[Renzokuken]

Thats why I mostly get my Anime dvds from deepdiscountdvd.com

[Cornfedwb]

A movie is 2 hours long at the most, where an anime series for a 24-26 episode anime series is almost 10 hours long, how is that even remotely similar?

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=00000306365334&item_id=479883
100 minutes, $31.98

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=00000306365334&item_id=218
82 minutes, $24.56

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=00000306365334&item_id=617428
85 minutes, $23.38

And that was just a quick random check.

[alongx]

I paid $25 per tape for 13 Neon Genesis Evangelion VHS tapes about 5 years ago. To get the subtitled tapes instead of dubbed ones, it was $30 a piece. And they only were 2 episodes each.
The only anime I have now was pretty cheap - got Trigun for ~$30 and Blue Seed for $40. Most prices are outrageous, though.

[Nirvanaguy777]

Worst one is FLCL. $90 to get all three DVD's in the set, and there are only 6 episodes total. though there are some good deals. Like 26 episodes of Outlaw Star box set for less than 40.

FLCL is one of my favorite animes, its hysterical, prinny dood

[Quackzilla]

Anime is has very low production costs, but when greedy American corporations buy a North America liscense for a show they raise the prices.

[hutno]

That is why adult swim and tivo kick ass

[zionoverfire]

Actually instead of dubbing they can subtitle, you used to be able to get those in a box that where done pirated by some college student for a couple bucks a tape so I seriously doubt they put a huge amount of effort into these things when they come to the US, I mean at least half of them have terrible voice overs or voice actors who aren't trying, I think they charge so much because the market is a niche who can and will pay such high prices, but I'm sure as anime continues to gain in popularity it will decrease in price.

[AvidWriter]

And have you heard some of those dubs? They arnent worth paying for....they are getting better somewhat but mostly they suck.

[Machine]

The prices are already coming down for some things (Geneon Signature Series for example) but the market for anime is pretty small. Prices won't really come down until the market is substantially larger. They can sell each unit for less once they start moving more units.

[doraemonkerpal]

A movie is 2 hours long at the most, where an anime series for a 24-26 episode anime series is almost 10 hours long, how is that even remotely similar?

Plus disney has a double market since they release their movies in the theaters which banks a lot of money, where anime does not go to theaters, unles of course Disney releases it.

i agree with xzafixz here. the 26 episode series are played on the television over in japan. it's comparable to the simpsons over here in the US. therefore, you should be comparing the simpsons box set price to a similar release over here. for example, outlaw star box set was around $35 last week and the simpsons box set is comparable in price. of course, i'm not talking about limited edition anime's. those are obviously going to be much more expensive than a regular edition. they can be as much as $40 for the first disc alone! :evil:

also, it's true that disney releases are mostly released into the movie theaters and they have a much wider audience than anime does. therefore, they can sell their product at a lower cost and still make more money. this is disney we're talking about here. they have theme parks, their own tv channel, etc. imo, i don't think it's a fair comparison at all.

[xzafixz]

I'll agree with the dubs, i also agree that anime is overpriced, but what can the companys do? Anime is a lot more popular than it once was, but it still isn't as popular as Disney movies. They have to make money somehow and if not a lot of people are buying it, they have to charge more. Be thankful you can even get anime nowadays. Back even just 6-7 years ago, you had to buy those tapes that zionoverfire is talking about, which were even more then the dvds and were horrible.

[Doylerulez]

Before anime was on adult swim and fox box and whatever else, it had less exposure, so I could understand the higher costs somewhat, but now it's a big thing, so why don't costs come down at least after it's been released for a while. And after watching it on tv for free, I'm less likely to spend $25+ for 3-4 episodes per disc.
I know Pioneer did a smart thing with re-releasing Trigun at a lower price. Lower costs would make it more accessible leading to a bigger market. I'm at the point where I've imported stuff I like before it's even licensed in the US, of course the quality varies. My new one is Sakigake!! Cromatie High. Good stuff.

[Nirvanaguy777]

thats why kazaa is good for downloading anime

[swick]

It could be worse: You could actually live in Japan, where they charge about forty dollars for two or three episodes. You have it easy.

[russtophiles]

Thats why I mostly get my Anime dvds from deepdiscountdvd.com

Words of wisdom. I pretty much exclusively buy my anime dvds via DDD or when Rightstuf has a sale on a publisher that has some stuff I've wanted. So although Rightstuf's default prices are BS typical retail prices ($26 for the average TV series DVD) once a 40% sale happens plus my Club Anime membership that only cost $12 for a year and knocks 10% the price after the 40% deduction, I get that $26 DVD for $18 or less, and since the sales they have are on entire publishers (ADV, Bandai, Tokyopop, etc etc) you can just wait and buy an entire series for 40% off or something, plus any order over $100 gets you free USPS shipping.

Of course many times DDD already has thier DVDs at 40% off without any sale, but there are some DVDs on occasion that they have for a pretty normal price, like for instance, I was going to reserve the last 3 Saikano DVDs from DDD for about $20 a pop when Rightstuf had a sale on Viz products so I got them for around $17 each. I've saved hundreds of dollars shopping in true cheapass tradition. I do think that some anime DVD distribution here sucks ( Not a fan of 24 episode series getting an 8 disc release ) and the lackluster extras content on anime, while steadily improving, is mostly an absolute joke. By the way, if you'd looked around, you can get all 3 FLCL DVDs for about $18 each at Overstock.com, although admittedly 2 30 minute episodes of a series that is 6 episodes on one disc is just stupid to me, I have to swap discs in my DVD player 3 times just to watch them all.

And yeah, compared to Japan's insane anime DVD releasing standards we do have it better. 2 episodes per DVD with nonexistant extras for a LONG series for 4000 yen ($40-ish) is extremely common from what I've observed. Although some people claim that the quality on Japanese DVDs is better, it sounds like a BS excuse to rag on domestic DVD releases.

[xzafixz]

It could be worse: You could actually live in Japan, where they charge about forty dollars for two or three episodes. You have it easy.

It is more like 50-60 dollars.

[Admiral Ackbar]

You ahve to realize that there are some major differences between the Anime Market and the regular DVD market.

First, it's a niche market. It's amazing that you can find a Anime Display at Best Buy or FYW that is larger than the many of hte genre's. As had already been stated, anime is more popularthan it once was. I attribute this specifically to the usage of DVD. Suddenly you could have a dubbed and a subtitled version of the same show on one disc.

Still, it's base is increadibly small. So why are there so many Anime DVD's if there are so few buers? Well, there are a lot of reaosns... One reasons the shelves are so large isn't necessarily because of high demand. It can also be slow turnover. Second;y, Many Anime companies just translate and package it for the american audience. They license the show from Japan. So they can tackle a large number of shows for translation depending on fan demand...

Then there's the fact that Anime does not have the distribution model of movies. Taking Disney... yes there are Anime toys, shows on TV etc. But the level of that compared to say, "The Lion King" is miniscule. That goes from Major release to pay per view to rental to video to television. Making major moolah at each stage of release. Throw in soundtracks, merchnadising, etc... and it's a pretty penny. You may point out that is also true for Anime. But it's not at nearly the same scale or in such a diurect model. For example... the american company might license and release an Anime DVD, but they might also have no part of merchandising or any oth the other revenue streams. They may go somewhere else. In the Lion King Model everything goes back to Disney because they're the owners of the material. Thus they can afford more competative prices.

Frankly, very few people understand the difference in prices between the US and Japan. You think you got it bad here? It's not uncommon, actually more the norm, for a DVD of an anime in Japan to cost the equivalent of $50-$60 US and only contain one or two episodes. In the US you get the same material with sometimes 4-5 episodes and if you shop around you can find it for probably around $20. Compared to Japanese in their native country, Anime is half the price with double the material in the US. That's due to the different expectations in the American consumer. No one will buy a $60 DVD with 60 minutes of material over here.

But to take an alternative comparidson, look at manga. Hell, in Japan it's not uncommon for 500 page Manga books to come out costing around $3. But thewy sell hundreds of thousands of copies. In the US, that same Manga will be half the size and doublt or triple the cost. That's becauyse they sell less than a hundred thousands. It's the economies of scale.

Going back to DVD's and why doesn't the economy of scale work in japan, most anime's are aired on TV or in Theatres. So many people casually see it there and then don't bother to buy the DVD. Or they Tape it. Also, the Japanese are use to paying such high prices. Like you guys are used to seeing $50 price tags on video games at release. Raising it to $60 and poeople don't buy... Lowering the price doesn't automatically translate into more sales. The same with DVD's in Japan.

Now considering that they sell anime for $60 a pop in Japan, you could see how a company would be hesitant in selling that same show in the US. It has a limited audience and they frankly won't make as much money per sale. So the Japanese license holders force high licensing fees and those are passed along in the cost of Anime in the US.

Finally, I want to see cheap Anime too. But the economics of the industry are different from normal DVD's. Crying about it doesn't change the economics. It's like people who compare CD's to DVD's. Just because they're on small plastic discs does not mean the economics of each industry is the same. If that were true we could say that for all items on disc... "I can get a DVD for $10 so why can't I get all my video games for $10 or Anime for $10 or CD's for $5 or Software for $10 or..." It's just not a reasonable or intelligent comparison. It's like comparing apples and bananas. They're both fruit, but not the same.

If you do look around you can find cheap anime. I got the Gasaraki boxed set for $35 at Rightstuf. Found Generator Gawl 1, Raxpheon 2, Walmart for $5 and they had a ton of Robotech I passed over. Got Macross Plus DVD's 1&2 for $40; 33% off the list price. And this weekend at Right stuf they have some very VERY tempting Items. I'm definately getting the Boogie Pop Limited Edition Boxed set with two soundtracts and some goodies for $40. That's $10 per DVD plus 2 CD's a box and extras. The Blue Seed perfect collection is $35, but I may pass on that. I dunno. They still have Sailor Moon Seasons 1 and 2 for $50. Also they have a bunch of DVD's 1's with box for $15 that normally list for $40. Going to get His and Her circumstances and maybe one more. I'm also eyeing the Gundam Movies for $30.

Yeah, you can't get everything. But if you pick your spots you can get some good stuff.

[dtcarson]

The random Miyazaki or Pokemon release notwithstanding, anime is nowhere near as popular as, say, The Lion King or what have you. They have to license from the Japanese owner/distributor, then of course process it for an American release, and most anime fans are that, fans, and the companies realize the true fans will buy the product almost regardless of the cost.
I also remember paying 25-30 bucks for a subtitled VHS anime with 4 episodes on it; I am quite pleased at the price/value of *some* anime releases [just bought Excel Saga Imperfect Collection for under 50 bucks, not bad at all].
Just means you have to be a more discerning shopper--The Right Stuf international, for example, has weekly deals that are sometimes excellent. I got Sailor Moon unedited S1 and S2 for under 100, and 14 volumes of Cardcaptor Sakura for about 9 bucks a disk.
The issue about 'rental stores don't carry them' applies not only to anime, but to other film styles as well. Does your local Blockbuster have The Decalogue? Or many Troma films, for example?

I wholeheartedly recommend Netflix for your anime fix. They don't have everything, but for what they do have, it's very much worth it--I'm very glad I rented NGEvangelion and Cat Soup through them, rather than blind buying them.

[coolsteel]

I don't really mind it , it cost them money to release it and they still need to churn a profit. But then i've been watching anime since back in the days when it was on vhs for 40 bucks for 2 episodes subtitled. Damn near everything today is better then those dark times.

If the prices bother you then learn to shop around, buy used when you can and wait on boxsets instead of buying when the stuff first comes out.

[vherub]

I strongly agree with what has been written, when an anime dvd is selling 10-20k vs the 500k of a disney release or the mil+ of a simpsons/family guy your going to see a large price difference.
And yes, anime has lowered in price significantly even within the last few years. It has become more common to see a 6 disc season as opposed to an 8 or 7 set.

But there certainly are areas of improvement. Bandai has recently announced some complete collections for recent series such as Scryed. But they are not only for hideous bricks, the price is still msrping at $100-$150. I feel a "good" msrp price range at the moment is as follows:
26 eps series- $100
12 eps- $50
6 eps/movies- $30

[BigBen]

Doesn't bother me that much, although it is a damn addicting habit. I've started to get more selective with my purchases, let's just say that my unwatched Anime pile is bigger than my unplayed game pile, both of which are huge.

[Renzokuken]

Btw, has anybody noticed Best Buy has increased the prices of their Anime Dvds?

[OldSchoolNinja]

I don't understand...I haven't paid any more than $70 for a complete anime series, and that was Rurouni Kenshin. 95 episodes for about $70, including shipping. That is an official, box-set release that has 12 DVDs. Eng and Jap dub, Eng subtitles, and even some extras (like some hilarious outtakes by the American voice actors).

I also purchased the complete sets of Berserk, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and Outlaw Star for about $35 each, not to mention Hellsing for a mere $20. And yes, these are all official releases imported from Japan. All include Eng and Jap dub, Eng subtitles, etc. High quality DVDs that come in awesome cases with a protective clear plastic slip cover. Incredible stuff.

The best part is, they fit like 8 episodes on a DVD! For example, the complete 26 episode series packs are only 3 discs! Thats incredible. We should take a cue from that...

Just go to eBay, seriously. FLCL is going for about $20, last time I checked (and I don't know why; it is only 6 eps. Must be rare...). Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller. Thus far, I have not been disappointed.

So I guess my point is: Anime really isn't all that expensive if you know where to look.

[Final Starman]

Are they hybrid or region 2 DVDs?

[OldSchoolNinja]

NTSC (in the case of Berserk) and Region-free. Hey, they play on my PS2, X-Box, or standard DVD player, so I'm not complaining.

[rebenns]

It's the same reason Capcom charges full price for lesser system ports (RE 2,3, CV, MVC2). It's because they know the market is limited to hard core types, and this demographic tends to pay more. Charging less will not cause a significant enough increase in sales, so they don't.

[epobirs]

You know what i am sick of? People that have no idea why anime dvds are so expensive. They have to BUY THE RIGHTS!!! They have to pay VOICE ACTORS!!! They have to hire TRANSLATORS!! They have to hire SUB TIMERS!! It is a big production, they have to make SOME MONEY!!

Come on, seriously, isn't that the point of being a business, to make money? They aren't ripping you off because "its from Japan".

Yet somehow Disney (with a larger staff and higher expenditure) is able to sell their movies for less money.. huh.

Disney recently laid off a large portion of their animation talent due to severe losses on recent releases. Bombs like Treasure Planet will do that. Without Pixar Disney has a pretty lousy animation track record since the mid-90's.

Disney has ventured into anime importing but only with titles that did huge business theatrically in Japan and could manage a good return in the US thanks to Disney's marketing power. Most of the companies bringing anime material to the US are tiny operations with budgets dwarfed by what Disney spends on its janitorial staff in their executive offices. They haven't anything like Disney's marketing power nor is the material they're dealing in capable of reach all that big of an audience. Those limitations result in high prices to make lower unit sales profitable.

[danny-o]

Anyone else? Its like just because its from Japan they feel they can charge $30 a dvd when it takes 8 DVD's to complete a set and then they release a box set for well over $100. I'm so sick of this. :evil:

EDIT : No they arent imports they are the US releases.

So dont watch that jap crap anymore. I got sick of anime a long time ago.

[epobirs]

Before anime was on adult swim and fox box and whatever else, it had less exposure, so I could understand the higher costs somewhat, but now it's a big thing, so why don't costs come down at least after it's been released for a while. And after watching it on tv for free, I'm less likely to spend $25+ for 3-4 episodes per disc.
I know Pioneer did a smart thing with re-releasing Trigun at a lower price. Lower costs would make it more accessible leading to a bigger market. I'm at the point where I've imported stuff I like before it's even licensed in the US, of course the quality varies. My new one is Sakigake!! Cromatie High. Good stuff.

Pioneer was also taking advantage of the huge free marketing boost that Trigun running perpetually on Adult Swim has offered. It a much lower risk to charge prices requiring higher volume movement when there is an established fanbase vs. trying to move something that is virtually unknown to 99.9% of your market.

[Renzokuken]

I don't understand...I haven't paid any more than $70 for a complete anime series, and that was Rurouni Kenshin. 95 episodes for about $70, including shipping. That is an official, box-set release that has 12 DVDs. Eng and Jap dub, Eng subtitles, and even some extras (like some hilarious outtakes by the American voice actors).

I also purchased the complete sets of Berserk, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and Outlaw Star for about $35 each, not to mention Hellsing for a mere $20. And yes, these are all official releases imported from Japan. All include Eng and Jap dub, Eng subtitles, etc. High quality DVDs that come in awesome cases with a protective clear plastic slip cover. Incredible stuff.

The best part is, they fit like 8 episodes on a DVD! For example, the complete 26 episode series packs are only 3 discs! Thats incredible. We should take a cue from that...

Just go to eBay, seriously. FLCL is going for about $20, last time I checked (and I don't know why; it is only 6 eps. Must be rare...). Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller. Thus far, I have not been disappointed.

So I guess my point is: Anime really isn't all that expensive if you know where to look.

I believe those are HK dvds due to the description of them.

In other news: Tokyo pop is going to release Rave Master(Groove Adventure rave in japan) on dvd. Its also going to be on Cartoon Network by fall. I just saw the opening to it and my god wut the hell is Tokyopop doing?

[Dead of Knight]

I don't understand...I haven't paid any more than $70 for a complete anime series, and that was Rurouni Kenshin. 95 episodes for about $70, including shipping. That is an official, box-set release that has 12 DVDs. Eng and Jap dub, Eng subtitles, and even some extras (like some hilarious outtakes by the American voice actors).

I also purchased the complete sets of Berserk, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and Outlaw Star for about $35 each, not to mention Hellsing for a mere $20. And yes, these are all official releases imported from Japan. All include Eng and Jap dub, Eng subtitles, etc. High quality DVDs that come in awesome cases with a protective clear plastic slip cover. Incredible stuff.

The best part is, they fit like 8 episodes on a DVD! For example, the complete 26 episode series packs are only 3 discs! Thats incredible. We should take a cue from that...

Just go to eBay, seriously. FLCL is going for about $20, last time I checked (and I don't know why; it is only 6 eps. Must be rare...). Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller. Thus far, I have not been disappointed.

So I guess my point is: Anime really isn't all that expensive if you know where to look.

You got fed in the a. Those are bootlegs.

[Tromack]

A movie is 2 hours long at the most, where an anime series for a 24-26 episode anime series is almost 10 hours long, how is that even remotely similar?

Plus disney has a double market since they release their movies in the theaters which banks a lot of money, where anime does not go to theaters, unles of course Disney releases it.

Ok, then why can I buy a normal TV series (which costs so much fucking more than an animated series to produce) for about 40-60 a series.

Do you seriously think that voice actors get paid more than live actors? And that making a real set costs less than drawing a picture?

[OldSchoolNinja]

Bootlegs? You question me? Hmph. Sure don't seem like it to me. I'll take some pics.

[Tromack]

Bootlegs? You question me? Hmph. Sure don't seem like it to me. I'll take some pics.

No. Those are bootlegs. You are just an idiot who doesn't realize it. Try going to a legitmate store and looking for the exact same product. You won't find it. You will only find it on e-bay and other bootleg stores online.

[Renzokuken]

The bootlegs arent necessarily a bad thing. But getting the usa copy has a sense of authenticity to collectors. I have bought bootlegs because some companies like to edit to get a wider audience *cough*Tokyopop*cough*. Plus u can get anime that might never come to America like Slam Dunk.


edit: fixed a typo

[Renzokuken]

Bootlegs? You question me? Hmph. Sure don't seem like it to me. I'll take some pics.

No. Those are bootlegs. You are just an idiot who doesn't realize it. Try going to a legitmate store and looking for the exact same product. You won't find it. You will only find it on e-bay and other bootleg stores online.

Be nice. Dont flame him for his misunderstanding.

[Duo_Maxwell]

In other news: Tokyo pop is going to release Rave Master(Groove Adventure rave in japan) on dvd. Its also going to be on Cartoon Network by fall. I just saw the opening to it and my god wut the hell is Tokyopop doing?

It's already on Saturdays and yeah that opening is horrid. Tokyopop should stick to manga because their DVD releases suck...Look at what they did to Initial D when they tried to bring it over here.

[Renzokuken]

In other news: Tokyo pop is going to release Rave Master(Groove Adventure rave in japan) on dvd. Its also going to be on Cartoon Network by fall. I just saw the opening to it and my god wut the hell is Tokyopop doing?

It's already on Saturdays and yeah that opening is horrid. Tokyopop should stick to manga because their DVD releases suck...Look at what they did to Initial D when they tried to bring it over here.

I just really hope Rave doesnt get popular. It would really piss me off to see it turn out like dragonball and pokemon.

[OldSchoolNinja]

Look. My point is, even if these are bootlegs, who really cares? They have all the same content, and they still look damn fine and include everything any other release would. Take a look for yourself:

(Poor image quality = jeeran forcing me to upload gifs only :()

http://neojedah.jeeran.com/DSCN0296%20-%201.GIF
http://neojedah.jeeran.com/DSCN0297%20-%201.GIF
http://neojedah.jeeran.com/DSCN0298%20-%201.GIF
http://neojedah.jeeran.com/DSCN0299%20-%201.GIF
http://neojedah.jeeran.com/DSCN0300%20-%201.GIF

Seriously, who cares if these are fake? They sure don't look like it (Hellsing and Kenshin actually are official releases by a distribution company called FX. I'm willing to grant that the Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Trigun DVDs are bootleg). I'd rather pay $30 for a nice looking box set then $130 for a bunch of slapdash official US releases.

Same product but cheaper. Isn't that what being a cheapass is all about?

[Dead of Knight]

They are definitely bootlegs, and all you support by buying them are asshat piraters; not a cent goes to the original creators. If you cannot see that, then you are an asshat.

[Duo_Maxwell]

That cowboy Bebop set sucks and they are far from the same products...poorer audio/video quality than the official releases and often times the subtitles are really just fan-subs which suck and are poorly translated. That and your suport of bootleggers is one reason why anime is still expensive.

[OldSchoolNinja]

Same video/audio quality from what I've seen/heard (friend has an official CB DVD).

But whatever...I'll just go straight to hell.

[Renzokuken]

I only buy bootleg anime dvds when I kno a distributor is going to shaq-fu them up or an anime that will not come to America.

[Wshakspear]

COMIC CITY NOVI/PONTIAC/CANTON MI RENTS ANIME FOR $3 ANIGHT AND HAS ABOUT 500 DVD'S PER STORE...

damn caps lock, and bold... :twisted:

Seriously though, we carry quite a few for rent, and we are pretty up to date on the important stuff

[Final Starman]

Haha, I knew it had to be a bootleg or some shady HK stuff. No way are you going to get full series like RK and Trigun at that price.

[AvidWriter]

Wow I really didnt expect this post to turn out to be such a long one... :shock:

[m0rningbreakfast]

People pirate anime because prices are high.

Anime producers charge a lot because people pireate their stuff.

No win-win situtation here.

And the way they change the story to fit the off-sync mouth dialogue and the soccer-moms of America - they should be paying me to watch American-neutered anime.

I'm not going to pay $20 for 3 episodes saying the characters are going to HFIL!

[Duo_Maxwell]

Same video/audio quality from what I've seen/heard (friend has an official CB DVD).

But whatever...I'll just go straight to hell.

Maybe it was me, but I tried watching a bootlegged copy just like that that I barrowed from somebody in an anime club for a mini-marathon ( I don't own the whole series on DVD yet). When I watched it in progressive scan the video quality seemed to drop and the 2.0 surround sound seemed more subpar.

[Renzokuken]

I'm not going to pay $20 for 3 episodes saying the characters are going to HFIL!

lol Wasnt that an edit from Dragonball z? I used to say HFIL all the time.

[Wshakspear]

Yep, another bad edit from the people who brought you Hercule (Mr. Satan)

[Rig]

I will agree with some when I say anime prices are high. I haven't bought any anime new. My local pawn shop used to receive tons of anime that I picked up cheap. There are a lot of people who are into anime (like myself) that will not pay such a high price for it.

[eldad9]

If the prices are too high for you, why don't you do what people normally do? Just don't buy the product.

[crazytalkx]

I currently have around 70 anime dvds since its an addiction for me. Btw they are pretty cheap at my Best Buy ($19.99) and I bought a crapload of them when Best Buy had a 20% off all anime sale. BOOTLEGS ARE EVIL!!!! AND SO IS TOKYOPOP FOR RUINING INITIAL D!!!!!!!!!!!

[sblymnlcrymnl]

I currently have around 70 anime dvds since its an addiction for me. Btw they are pretty cheap at my Best Buy ($19.99) and I bought a crapload of them when Best Buy had a 20% off all anime sale. BOOTLEGS ARE EVIL!!!! AND SO IS TOKYOPOP FOR RUINING INITIAL D!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought a bunch of stuff from BB during the sale too. The actually have some pretty good sales on anime, but they never advertise it. Oh well, more for us, right?

[JasonTerminator]

Seriously, who cares if these are fake? They sure don't look like it (Hellsing and Kenshin actually are official releases by a distribution company called FX. I'm willing to grant that the Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Trigun DVDs are bootleg). I'd rather pay $30 for a nice looking box set then $130 for a bunch of slapdash official US releases.

Same product but cheaper. Isn't that what being a cheapass is all about?

FX is a known bootlegger. Hellsing was released by Pioneer and Pioneer ONLY.

[1SwtDeception]

i never bought an anime dvd just rent them.. and their not that expensive to rent.. well while i was in cali. being a cheap ass (and poor) anything 10+ = expensive

the prices of anime dvds in stores (especially suncoast) i gotta say are really not worth it at times. i mean unless that the ONLY place in the world you can find it, which i highly doubt, and you love it with all your heart by all means buy buy buy. but geeez to think about it.. the dvd is like $1 and the cover and such is $2 (poor calculations yes) it's like those card games.. it takes like a penny to make one card practically.. so it sucks to be paying $20+ for something that was made so much cheaper. .. and to the bootleg thing.. i dont buy any of that.. hehe dling is fine with me (thank god bit torrent) but it sucks for animes that are licensed -.-

[Final Starman]

Procuding Anime and bringing it to the US has a lot more costs involved than making cards for a CCG.

[dtcarson]

Best Buy's anime prices have gone up. Suncoast's prices have ALWAYS been much higher than anywhere else, but that usually is the case with mall stores [gotta pay for those nice fountains and plants somehow.] I was surprised when I got Excel Saga vol 1 on release date for 17.99.
There will always be pirates, no matter what the price is. There are the people to whom 1.00 is 'too much' when they can get it free. And the people who just like to 'make' their own dvd's or whatever. I think the effect of the average 'downloading' type pirate on sales is overestimated; it's really sort of a pain in the ass to do it, and for most people, spending more money, getting a quality product you can rely on to play and possibly resell, is worth the money. It's the 'professional' pirates, and ignorant consumers or consumers who don't care, that are the problem. the ignorant consumers buy pirated stuff, which *usually* is of poorer quality, either audio, video, translation, or voice; then they get mad and think 'Anime sucks' so they don't buy it anymore. Or they'd rather buy it for 20 bucks instead of a 100, eventually that does affect the producer's revenue, and they either stop producing, or raise prices.
You don't have a right to steal product just because the price is too high for you.
If people don't buy at a certain price, the companies will either quit releasing anime, or make the price/offering more attractive.
You can be a cheapass without being a thief.
I do agree that I'm disappointed in some American releases when they edit the dialog or change the story; but I'm also very disappointed in American DVD releases that use pan and scan or zoom, and I don't pirate those to 'protest.'

[Renzokuken]

Procuding Anime and bringing it to the US has a lot more costs involved than making cards for a CCG.

What she saying is that it sucks to pay so much for something that doesn't cost alot to make.

[Rusvul2]

I agree with the point that U.S. companies have to buy the distribution rights and that must add some cost to the ordeal. What I don't understand is why they view dubbing as a must before releasing. I won't go into the huge "dub vs sub" war, but suffice it to say I don't know too many people who are so diehard on dubs that they flat out REFUSE to watch something with subs.

If companies stuck with subs only, the time to release (and thus $$) would be shorter, and less costly. Of course how much less and how much shorter I wouldn't know, but as an example this is how most fansub groups work: 1. episode of anime XYZ is aired in Japan 2. Some one in Japan TiVo's it and sends the raw untranslated footage over to the U.S. 3. The episode is translated (prolly a two step process Japanese->Engrish->English) 4. The episode is re-encoded with the subtitles properly timed, sometimes with karaoke to go along with the opening and ending songs (this is becoming more and more usual) 5. The episode is released via Bittorrent and IRC distribution where anywhere from 10 to 10,000 people could view it within the next week.

Total time for this to happen? In the range of 3-7 days, sometimes even as fast as 1-2 days, all depends on the fansubbing group. End quality? Again depends on the fansub group, but most often acceptable or better quality. There are plenty of weakness to this of course - these anime fansub groups can (and often do) up and disappear, they don't have a strict schedule with set deadlines, etc, but if groups of anime fans can donate their time and effort to do this with hardly sub-par results and a general return net payment of ZERO dollars... let's just say it's really undermining to the high prices we are seeing on anime in the U.S.

I know there are be factors I'm skipping out on - re-doing the DVD navigation menus, DVD packaging, DVD production and distribution to name a few - but it seems like these (primarily the DVD production and distribution) would be the major cost points, and translation and what (which everyone seems to be touting as the main reason) would be much less of a factor.

Anyway, my $0.02. And in the interest of Cheap Asses everywhere...
www.animesuki.com
Only torrents to animes unlicensed in the U.S. so it's still borderline legal, hehehe.

[dtcarson]

Actually, I have seen a *lot* of people post messages or say things like "Why can't they do it in English, if I wanted to read, I'd get a book" and crap like that. I don't know if those people would *not* buy a product if it weren't dub, but the feelings are there.
You're missing out on two things in your otherwise very good summary of fansubbing:
First, a official licensor has to go through all the 'legalese' to get the rights to the program, and of course every step of the way [remaster, translate, subtitle, voiceover, etc] an employee does something, so there's salary and overhead on those that they have to recoup.
Secondly, you do allude to this, but let me mention it straight out: Fansubbers do it for the 'love'. Nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, like you said, real life intrudes, or they get bored or do a not very good job, etc [I watched a fansub of Maison Ikkoku that looked like someone filmed a Japanese tv set with a handicam; would I pay extra for a 'quality' release? yes.] The companies do it for money. And there's nothing wrong with that, that's how they please their stockholders and put food on the table of every employee. They price their releases based on a carefully balanced set of priorities. They have to balance the costs of production/marketing, with the estimated purchasing fanbase, with the goal of maximizing profit. Which allows them to continue their work and produce more product. I think the number of people interested in anime is slowly increasing, and we are seeing either prices drop or more bang-for-the-buck in box sets or limited editions, but it hasn't hit 'mass market' quantity yet.
I'd rather pay 20-30 bucks for a DVD, and have the company be able to release things, than get one release for a bargain price of 5 bucks, and have them go broke giving that to me.

[JasonTerminator]

Hell, the cost of DVD sets on a whole is high. I paid $90 for the whole of Star Trek: Season 1, and that was a BARGAIN price (It retails for like $120), so the recent box sets that go for around $100 aren't too bad of a deal.

I will admit, however, that whoever released FLCL has REALLY pissed me off. With no box set and THREE separate releases, it would cost me $60-70 to get all of FLCL on legit DVD, and considering it's only 6 episodes long, that's about $10 an episode, which is far too high a price for my blood.