1 thing you hate about Anime DVD's
- Thread starter Fox1
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Yeah, it's pretty fucking ridiculous that no matter how old a title is, it's still the same god damn price!! I've been trying to buy Shin Tenchi Muyou for quite a while now!! Still $30 a DVD wherever I go...
Q
qube
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LOL, great thread!
Anime, more expensive than a crack habit
I hate when you buy a series DVD, and there are only 2 freaking episodes on it
I also hate when the quality of sound or video sucks. We pay too much damn money to have to put up with that kind of shit!
Q-
Anime, more expensive than a crack habit
I hate when you buy a series DVD, and there are only 2 freaking episodes on it
I also hate when the quality of sound or video sucks. We pay too much damn money to have to put up with that kind of shit!
Q-
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qube said:LOL, great thread!
Anime, more expensive than a crack habit
I hate when you buy a series DVD, and there are only 2 freaking episodes on it
I also hate when the quality of sound or video sucks. We pay too much damn money to have to put up with that kind of shit!
Q-
Case in point Evangelion boxset, god, yea we want that jumpy video...NOT
MegaDrive20XX
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My only complaint when buying DVDs is whenever it's released by MEDIA BLASTERS / Anime Works. On the DVDs you cannot bypass their stupid celestial-galaxy-of-stars-with-annoying-music pre-title scenes and go right to the content's main menu. You must watch the damn things... one back to back.
Other than that I feel that the companies over here are a bunch of rip off artists. DVD is a high quality format that allows for a shitload of memory. An example of this would be my beloved series Armored Trooper VOTOMS... the series has 52 episodes and is at 16 DVDs... split into 4 volumes per story arc. But with the capacity a DVD holds, the company could have scaled that size down to one DVD case holding TWO DISCS that had the content of 4 DVDs. This kind of marketing is done just to milk the product more... which is bullshit. If it's a 25 minute episode, you could fit around 8 to 10 episodes a disc... not charge someone $25.99 + for 4 episodes on a disc.
MD20XX / Storm Rider
Other than that I feel that the companies over here are a bunch of rip off artists. DVD is a high quality format that allows for a shitload of memory. An example of this would be my beloved series Armored Trooper VOTOMS... the series has 52 episodes and is at 16 DVDs... split into 4 volumes per story arc. But with the capacity a DVD holds, the company could have scaled that size down to one DVD case holding TWO DISCS that had the content of 4 DVDs. This kind of marketing is done just to milk the product more... which is bullshit. If it's a 25 minute episode, you could fit around 8 to 10 episodes a disc... not charge someone $25.99 + for 4 episodes on a disc.
MD20XX / Storm Rider
Dash no Chris
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$20 is a high price? Sheesh, no wonder so many people approach my booth at anime conventions and ask why my Region-2's are so expensive -- try paying $50-$60 per disc (with only 1-3 eps each, and no English language options). If I'm not mistaken, your complaint is that you don't want to have to put up with adverts/trailers at the start of the disc? After collecting anime since 1987, I'd have to say you should be glad the stuff's coming out here at all (with or without adverts) -- 16 years ago, there were no U.S. anime distributors and you had to import everything in raw Japanese (or watch it as a 15th generation VHS copy).Fox1 said:
If there aren't any retailers who'll mark down their older titles, find a local used CD/DVD shop -- that's basically the simplest way to get the stuff cheaper than MSRP.zorro said:they always cost the same no matter how in demand they may be. Old or new, bad or good. And there are thousands out there so it's hard to know what's really good anymore (everyone thinks they have excellant taste in titles)
The thing that drives me nuts is when the Region-2 DVD release of an anime lacks some of the bonuses that were included on the original Japanese laserdisc. Recent example: on 9/26/03, "THE MOTION PICTURE Garou Densetsu" (aka "Fatal Fury The Motion Picture"), "Samurai Spirits Haten Kouma no Shou" (aka "Samurai Shodown The Movie"), and "Battle Spirits Ryuuko no Ken" (aka "Art of Fighting") were finally released on Region-2 DVD. The original Japanese LDs included trailers/commercials for the anime, plus live-action commercials for the games behind the anime. None of this was included on the R-2 DVDs. Instead, we got a portion (not all, mind you, just a portion) of the Pony Canyon / Scitron strategy videos for Garou Densetsu Special, Shin Samurai Spirits, and Ryuuko no Ken 2 (these were originally released on VHS and LD, circa 1994~5). I'd've forgiven the missing commercials and trailers if only they'd've given us the strategy videos in their entirety.
--Chris
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Fox1 said:
That's just about the best example of all -- that drives me nuts.
What I hate most is when the DVD is dub-only. Some dubs are okay, but at least give me the @%$$# choice! Or when they've edited something out of the movie for whatever reason, but don't mention it in the advertizing or packaging (Casshan DVD -- stupidly edited and the voice acting sounds like people reading from a phone book).
slerch666
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Fox1 said:
That's funny you bring that up. ADV went back and reinstated the jumpy video because people complained about it on the first disc. That's why disc 1 was released and then 5-6 months later, disc 2 with jumpy video was released after a delay. Did you see it with the "corrected" video? It's totally unnatural and unnerving in action. I'm GLAD we got the jumpy video (which can all be attirbuted to cell crawl and not anything ADV fucked up, amazingly enough).
On Topic I fucking HATE the ADV "What is Anime" shit they slap on the DVDs now. Thankfully I can just hit MENU as soon as the FBI warning shoots up to get past that. I also hate that little clip they play at the end of their DVDs for the company who does their DVD authoring.
And anyone that complains about episodes per disc remember this, it costs a lot of money to license shows. Per Pioneer (now Geneon) at Otakon, the more popular a show, the more it costs (obviously). Every Pioneer/Geneon (and likely every other distributor) title is put through the wringer to see how many eps per DVD are needed to recoup losses and *oh no* turn a profit.
Remember it costs money to pay those English voice actors everyone seems to love. So add that into the equation.
As a matter of fact, think about the amount of up front costs that are incurred when a show is licensed before it makes it onto a DVD. They pay the licenser. They pay the dubbers. They pay the subbers. Then 6-12 months later, it's FINALLY on DVD, ONE disc out of 5-8. That's a hell of an upfront cost to pay for a show you really don't know will be received well.
Why is Ai Yori Aoshi, a great series from Pioneer/Geneon, only 5 discs, when X TV is 8 from the same company? Simple. X was ridiculously popular in Japan, so Pioneer paid out the ass to get it and wishes to turn a profit.
Personally I don't like paying as much as I do for Anime, but that doesn't stop me from buying it. The 1042 DVDs I have can attest to this fact.
Something people who argue for bootlegs say is that "I can get series "whatever" on less discs getting the bootleg and get the English dub and the Japanese dubbed/subbed versions and pay less." You pay less because these fuckers don't pay for a license. They don't pay to translate it. They don't pay the Japanese VAs. They don't pay the English VAs. Yeah, they can cram more on a disc because the less discs they use, the more money they make. Anyone who knowingly buys bootlegs is a rat fuck in my book. And anyone who makes the argument that it's too expensive to support the legit companies, you should go the next best way and get everything fan subbed for free. Don't pay the bootleggers to continue to ply their shit.
One final tidbit, did you guys realize that Media-Blasters was in danger of going under earlier this year? The company responsible for giving us Berserk was looking at having trouble paying it's bills. It was so bad for them, in fact, that they were a shoe in for the Kite TV seriesbut they had to give it up and brokered a deal with another company to get them to release it (they were the middle man, and of course thet asked for some compensation). They kept what they felt were better investments, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Twelve Kingdoms and Gunparade March, than to go with what was possibly a niche market item, seeing as how it would be geared toward the older Anime fan. People complain about the amount of discs for Kenshin (I own them all, thank you). Well, think about how much it cost them to dub, license (I'm sure the cost on this was HUGE, since it was pretty popular in Japan) and release that.
I'd rather pay the "extremely high prices" and have things continue to be released than to have NOTHING come out, as Dash no Chris stated.
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slerch666
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Lets Gekiga In said:
Why not buy them from DVD Planet for $19-$23 apiece? $2.50 for shipping on the first disc, $.50 each additional disc, and you get off saving more money.
slerch666
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Shinji said:
I paid $130 shipped for the Ah! My Goddess LE (w/ DTS track, no subs, Japanese only) shipped. Yes, I paid a lot, but I got a hell of a movie. I felt it being one of my all time favorite Anime series I had to buy it. I didn't even see the fansub before I shelled out that cash for it. I am an Anime freak!
Then I bought a copy of the US release for $110 less.
Anyone ever seen one of the LE sets for sale recently?
Nick Goracke
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I'm just upset that they aren't as COOL as the laserdisc versions. If they just increased the size of the packaging 10-fold and added bricks for weight, I'd be a happy camper...
If price is a problem, I'll just repeat myself for the 20th time... www.digitaleyes.net . I don't think you'll find a cheaper place (except when Rightstuf does their studio sales), shipping is free if you order more than 2 DVDs, they'll ship them separately at no extra cost, they ship preorders a week in advance, and you gain frequent buyer points that can be redeemed for coupons without any cost to join.
And yes, I have seen the AMG LE lately. 22 bucks at Best Buy, I believe. Planning to pick one up for myself next time I stop back there.
If price is a problem, I'll just repeat myself for the 20th time... www.digitaleyes.net . I don't think you'll find a cheaper place (except when Rightstuf does their studio sales), shipping is free if you order more than 2 DVDs, they'll ship them separately at no extra cost, they ship preorders a week in advance, and you gain frequent buyer points that can be redeemed for coupons without any cost to join.
And yes, I have seen the AMG LE lately. 22 bucks at Best Buy, I believe. Planning to pick one up for myself next time I stop back there.
Eric
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Holy! Those Who Hunt Elves season 2!
Thank you Nick for posting that link...
Something to watch since I don't want to go outside...
And I'll just say this...
One thing I LIKE about recent DVD releases is some releases have the DVD with the first volume...
No more waiting for box sets or having to buy the DVDs all over again and sell the extra copies...
Maybe the companies learned from that Cowboy Bebop box set fiasco... (Fiasco I say!)
Thank you Nick for posting that link...
Something to watch since I don't want to go outside...
And I'll just say this...
One thing I LIKE about recent DVD releases is some releases have the DVD with the first volume...
No more waiting for box sets or having to buy the DVDs all over again and sell the extra copies...
Maybe the companies learned from that Cowboy Bebop box set fiasco... (Fiasco I say!)
Q
qube
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MegaDrive 20XX said:My only complaint when buying DVDs is whenever it's released by MEDIA BLASTERS / Anime Works. On the DVDs you cannot bypass their stupid celestial-galaxy-of-stars-with-annoying-music pre-title scenes and go right to the content's main menu. You must watch the damn things... one back to back.
I was actually reffering to this exact company earlier in my statement about only 2 episodes per disc. I'm not asking for 5, or even 4, 3 is cool with me, but 2??!! I really like the Magic Users Club series, but damn, 2 episodes per disc really makes me mad.
I also can not stand the manditory opening with the shit you mentioned
Overall though, my complaints are nothing compared to how much I get out of anime. I wouldn't have kept buying it for the last 14 years if I didn't love it. We have come a loooonnnggg way since then. I can remember paying 60 bucks for Vampire Hunter D in 1989. I also paid $200 USD for a Japanese copy of Street Fighter the Movie back in 1992 or 1993, don't remember which exactly.
Does anyone else remember how hard it used to be to get things here in the US? I can remember going to anime club meetings just so I could see 7th generation fansubs of things on VHS that we wouldn't get over here for years. In fact, I was looking through a box of old tapes not too long ago, and I found the first season of Maison Ikkoku fansubbed that I got from the owner of Planet Anime here in Houston in 94. He coppied the tapes for me, at no charge of course b/c people used to have respect for the medium, and it was a dub of his dub of the original. The quality was shit, but I couldn't have been happier to have it
Anyway, I think we have it 100,000 times better than we used to. Especially with the internet nowadays. Things are just a mouse click away. Hell, I get most of my anime at Best Buy these days for Christ's sake!! 10 years ago that would not have been possible.
Long live anime
Q-
slerch666
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It's possible they were trying to recoup their money in case the series bombed, but 2 eps per DVD is fucked up either way (how come no one's complained about SyncPoint's FLCL?). I also have MUC. At least they went to 4 eps with the TV series (the first 3 DVDs were the OVAs I think).qube said:
AND FLAME SHIELD ON, back on topic... ENGLISH DUBS!
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Q
qube
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slerch666 said:
Man, no joke. Great series, but massively overpriced
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slerch666 said:It's possible they were trying to recoup their money in case the series bombed, but 2 eps per DVD is fucked up either way (how come no one's complained about SyncPoint's FLCL?). I also have MUC. At least they went to 4 eps with the TV series (the first 3 DVDs were the OVAs I think).
AND FLAME SHIELD ON, back on topic... ENGLISH DUBS!
FLCL (one of my favorites of the past decade) had directors commentary on it, which is rare even on Japanese discs. It also had the best liner notes I've ever seen for an anime DVD. That, and the fact that there were 3 volumes total, and were released pretty far apart, made it slightly more bearable.
Nick Goracke
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slerch666 said:
AND FLAME SHIELD ON, back on topic... ENGLISH DUBS!
What's the topic???
Every year I'm one step closer to fluency in Japanese... so I can spend more time concentrating on the acting vs. the subtitles... and the more dubs I find that I prefer to the original dialogue. That's not to say that there aren't a lot of performances by the Japanese actors that simply can't be touched, too...
Oh, and if anyone once to trade their individual Magic User's Club volumes for the brick (all 7 DVDs) and some cash or other DVDs, lemme know!
MegaDrive20XX
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qube said:
Does anyone else remember how hard it used to be to get things here in the US? I can remember going to anime club meetings just so I could see 7th generation fansubs of things on VHS that we wouldn't get over here for years. In fact, I was looking through a box of old tapes not too long ago, and I found the first season of Maison Ikkoku fansubbed that I got from the owner of Planet Anime here in Houston in 94. He coppied the tapes for me, at no charge of course b/c people used to have respect for the medium, and it was a dub of his dub of the original. The quality was shit, but I couldn't have been happier to have it
Dude you're talking to the one of the ppl who helped poliferate Japanimation/Anime in Southwest Texas. *Paying up teh ass for horrible 6th generation copies of Macross DYRL among other older titles that rock the fuckin' world over today's shit. It's also because of this reason that I feel I have more than a right to bitch about the prices and overral market strategy for Anime in general now that everybody's brother is a fuckin' expert on the Japanimation movement... but their Kiss Ass Punk Bitches, who only like the "Cool Flavor of the Month"... or wouldn't watch a subbed Anime to save their life.
Most of the ppl today who enjoy anime didn't have a hand in the fighting to get companies likes Crooks.... I mean, Books Nippon/U.S. Renditions to bring over early Anime in the late 80's early 90's. OR petitioned to Animeigo for titles like A.D. Police and actually got them to bring over that 3-part series. No instead I've got Newbie butt faces who know fuck all about Dragon Ball Z or something, and talk smack about supporting the companies and legit product (and rightly so in most cases)... but they themselves aren't rich to begin with.
HOW MANY SERIES NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY OVER HERE? So we're not supposed to buy "Boots" or horde "Fan Subs on DVD" Yeah right! Nice argument. ---Truth be known more companies would make better money if they actually had quality products in quanity and at good prices versus the way it's handled now. *But like most dumb asses, I'm still going the legit route, but admit to owning "Boots" cause even MANGA VIDEO dicked over the fans by not releasing the entire Hokuto No Ken series... no one releases older titles like FANG OF THE SUN DOUGRAM, Star Warrior Bismark etc. Thus I say there's a time and a place for both the legit and the Guerrillas... and having spent time in the geek infested "FAST" (Fans of Animation In South Texas) meetings, surrounded by lack of hygiene fat bastids... and having to beg for most of what was to be had, I'd say that puts guys like me over a few notches to the bitches who shop at Suncoast Films and are Anime Lord Almighty.
MD20XX / Storm Rider
Crovax
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MegaDrive 20XX said:My only complaint when buying DVDs is whenever it's released by MEDIA BLASTERS / Anime Works. On the DVDs you cannot bypass their stupid celestial-galaxy-of-stars-with-annoying-music pre-title scenes and go right to the content's main menu. You must watch the damn things... one back to back.
those are actually regular video tracks on the disc. you can fast forward through them (standard search, not the one that skips entire chapters), and you'll get through in almost no time at all. Plus, the fast forwarding automatically stops when you're through and the menu loads. I got pissed and did some experimentation as I progressed through Berserk and stumbled on to that solution.
As for the topic. I don't really have any very many gripes as I see things getting better for the most part. I do hate getting less than four episodes on a DVD though *cough*Trigun, Evangelion, Nadesico, Blue Gender*cough* but i'm glad that for a standard 26-episode series, it looks like a lot of companies are switching to a six-volume format.
I also hate the subtitle quality on some releases. I mean, I think I'm going to be going up in quality switching over from fansubs, only to find that the stuff I had before was a lot more readable and/or better translated. I mean, anyone who has seen something that Slow as HELL anime, or Live-eviL fansubbing groups has done knows how good subtitling can get.