Awful bootlegs for The Exceptionally Dense. What a deal.

RBM

RBM

CAGiversary!
Here is the Season 1 box set for $40, and here's the season 2 box set for $30. Shipping came to $5 by US Postal Service air mail for me (from the West coast to the East coast!) That's ten bucks per DVD. There are four discs for season 1 and three for the second season.

I have to admit that I wavered over posting this, because I honestly wonder if these are bootlegs. I've ordered DVD's from this site before, however, (although it was a good while ago and I don't remember what it was,) and I don't get the impression that it's a shady site...however, I haven't seen this series sold in such box sets anywhere else (so I couldn't compare prices directly with other vendors) and this seemed like an excellent price. I just ordered them, so those who would like to could wait, and I'll mention it if they look illigimate upon arrival. :?

In case any of you have seen the movie(s) but not these TV series episodes, I wouldn't support the hype that this series "equals or even surpasses" the animation quality of the movie (I haven't seen Innocence....only the original film.) It's not bad, however, and I think the quality of the storylines improves noticeably over the course of the first season, alone.

[edit: hmm. seems I'm quite the sucker. I wonder why I had a vague sense that this was a normal site. Probably ordered some run of the mill jackie chan flick from them a few years ago or some such.]
 
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Definitely a bootleg. Its pretty obvious considering the fourth DVD barely got released officially in the US
 
Those are almost assueredly bootlegs, don't bother.

Also the animation quality does surpass the original film technically, but given the age difference and the budget of the TV series that's no real surprise. Besides animation quality doesn't mean much without an excellent story, characters, etc. to back it up.
 
Subtitles only in English and Chinese? Definite bootleg, no question. That would've been pretty awesome, though.
 
Yep. Big tipoff is no Japanese language track- WHOOPS!

Besides, whilst I don't want to spark a debate, this is one of the few series I absolutley believe is superior with American voice actors. The Major's voice fits like a glove for her, and I can't stand Togusa and Batou in their Japanese voices.
 
[quote name='Watchman']Yep. Big tipoff is no Japanese language track- WHOOPS![/quote]

Never underestimate the power of literacy. It can work for you! It clearly states in the descriptions of both box sets "Dialogue : Japanese."
 
Wow....I *am* quite the sucker. Despite ample consensus regarding these box sets, I thought I'd at least give them a chance when they arrived today, in case they were fine (I'd ordered them before starting this thread). What was I thinking. Sure enough, the video quality was sub-par and the subtitles were incomprehensible. It only occurred to me after scanning through a few episodes that I had opened DVDs...not a good idea if you're even considering returning them. :dunce:

Somehow, it made a crazy sort of sense beforehand: how can I tell if they're of normal DVD quality or actual bootlegs without watching them? The box itself certainly seemed professional and legitimate. The forty-dollar lesson here is: before committing reckless acts of idiocy, carefully grip both ears with your hands and gently but firmly pry your head OUT of your butt so as to avoid monetary loss and personal sorrow. ...and here I thought bootlegs were ten dollar affairs hawked by greasy kids in T-shirts on the street. Nope. They can come masked under retail prices & in professional-looking packaging.

 
In general, if an anime dvd is all region encoded, it is probably a bootleg. Other signs to look out for on the actual dvd casing (hopefully before opening) is if it is made by a company called "fx," if there are unofficial looking email addresses on the back of the case (I hold in my hands what turned out to be a bootleg copy of X with a yahoo email address printed on the back), text marked out in marker or pen on the back of the sealed packaging, or if it's just an incredible deal considering all the dvds have yet to be released in the US. Also watch for anything claiming to have an entire series or 20+ episodes on only 3 dvds. Unfortunately, I didn't know this about 4 years ago, and now I'm stuck with bootleg dvds that I can't sell, and are sub-par quality.
 
Be aware of the real distributor of the anime you're purchasing. Sites like AnimeOnDVD.com can assist with this. If you can't find information about a show there, DO NOT PURCHASE THE DVDS. Chinese subtitle tracks are another red flag. A little awareness goes a long way in preventing yourself from making such an obviously stupid mistake like this again. I mean, come on, not even all of Stand Alone Complex is out on DVD in America yet! Maybe you deserve to be out the money this one time. Consider it a life lesson.
 
The GITS tv series 1 was not worth a purchase at any price. Season 2 is better, but i'll stick with my $20 Gasaraki boxset.
 
Lets see, where should i begin.....

1. 26 episodes on 4 discs and 26 eps on 3 discs- Biggest clue right there
2. Chinese subs
3. Discs are all region
4. The price
5. The cover appears to be quite poor print quality
 
i bought the cowboy bebop bootleg, it was Mac.tv or something. back when i was first getting into anime and had no idea what was going on.

3 discs, all 26 eps, eng dub, and the quality is the same as the session dvds.... yes, im going to buy the special editions, but these are really really nice. even has a dvd intro w/ animated backgrounds and stuff, they put alot of work into it.
 
The biggest problem with bootlegs is they have packaging that rivals the best of official-type packaging, in some cases.
I recently watched Burst Angel in total (for a project, not to get ahead of the game) and the colors and packaging were top-shelf all the way.
Ultimately, the Asian market doesn't have as stringent guidelines and protective measures to prevent bootlegging- in turn, however, bootleggers have gone out of their way to make exceptional copies and boxes that rival official ones. If they were smart, the production companies should hire them as subsidiary duplication houses and bring them under their umbrella, thus potentially lowering the cost of production.
I have a Bebop set that I love- and like the previous poster, I too will buy the collector editions- that is if Bandai will keep it out longer than the stringent 4 months they had with the original box set at over 200 dollars.
 
I buy HK DVD's when It looks like they will never realesed here. Currently own Legend of Galactic Heroes core series, Macross 7, Macross 7 Movie/OVA, Macross: Do You Remember Love. Tekkaman Blade(Was realesed but was a crappy Dub only realese and it had episodes cut from it.) Orguss(They only realesed half the series here dub only back in the 80's or 90's. Don't think this makes me Dense. and the Sub quality varies even not being fluent in Japanese I can spot some mistakes but Better then not seeing it for me at least.
 
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