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Getting anime in the UK


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Izzy69



Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:55 pm Reply with quote
I really hate living in England. for any anime fan this is a bad location. i cant get anything. For example Chobits volume 5 was only released here a few days ago. and the only Tenchi i can get is the OVA series and movie 1. nothing else. does anyone have any good ideas of how i can get a hold of more anime here? i would order stuff from american sites, but i duno if american dvd will work over here.
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Luminal



Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 179
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:00 pm Reply with quote
Try to buy it online.

If you don't find the ones you want on online stores, download the fansubs. Living in England shouldn't be a reason to miss out on good anime.

Luminal
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Asuka



Joined: 28 Aug 2004
Posts: 118
Location: Burlington, NJ
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:35 pm Reply with quote
American DVDs will require a region free or region 1 DVD player, and depending on whether your TV supports NTSC(99.9% chance it does) you may need a converter for the signal. The converter is only necessary if your TV doesn't support NTSC.

I advise you to check your TV's manual before making any purchases though, to confirm whether or not your TV can display NTSC signals.
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velocet



Joined: 13 Feb 2004
Posts: 240
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:44 pm Reply with quote
As mentioned above, you'll need a multi-region DVD player to play almost all DVDs manufactured in the states (I have one or two official ones that aren't, but I was pretty surprised when I noticed they weren't R1) but I'd say if you can't wait for the domestic releases, it's a good idea to invest in one, they're not even that expensive anymore, and for the most part, I still find it cheaper to import from the states, and that's what I do.


Though I have to say, it used to be much, much worse. I actually still get a bit glassy-eyed in awe when I see the amount of titles there are available domestically on DVD here now...
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Azathrael



Joined: 12 Sep 2005
Posts: 745
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:08 pm Reply with quote
Wouldn't shipping overseas cost a lot and take a lot of time? Man those DVDs eat money.
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Area88



Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 374
PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 3:56 pm Reply with quote
'DVD Pacific' and 'DeepDiscountDvd' are probaly the best two online retailers for importing dvds. They prices are low and their shipping is decent.

Try buying alot of Central Park Media's repriced catalogue to get you started.

For instance you can buy the first Utena Boxset for $20 at dvd pacific.
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Coffeeman



Joined: 21 Jun 2005
Posts: 298
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:41 am Reply with quote
American DVDs can actually work out cheaper than buying a potential domestic release.

Which is to say, you pay £20 for a domestic release.

The American release is $20.

$20 is like £11/£12.

So you may actually save money.


It's true that anime can be hard to get, but we do get a lot of good series, and it's not exactly difficult to find.
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Aretak



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 5
Location: Synesthesia
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:48 am Reply with quote
I don't think the UK gets treated that badly in terms of anime releases. Sure, we usually get them after they've been released in America, but the same is true for all DVDs.

Importing from the US is also easier than ever these days, and I'll second the recommendation of DVD Pacific, which is where I buy pretty much all my R1 discs. Their prices are reasonable (especially for artbox sets), and delivery times to the UK aren't too bad.

One thing that does bother me though is the fact that anime DVDs rarely seem to be discounted over here. Most other DVDs drop in price like a lead balloon, but anime tends to remain expensive.

Coffeeman wrote:
American DVDs can actually work out cheaper than buying a potential domestic release.

Which is to say, you pay £20 for a domestic release.

The American release is $20.

$20 is like £11/£12.

So you may actually save money.

I certainly wouldn't pay £20 a pop for any show. Heck, I've been buying the UK releases of Love Hina recently for £9.49 each (at Play.com), and even that seems expensive to me...
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Urb'



Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 54
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:56 am Reply with quote
I recently purchases Gits:SAC on box set for £29.99 from play.com

I prefer to buy box sets, i see some sets in the usa not yet released in uk, im put off buying 5 dvd's at £12-£15 when the box set is only £35(in usa).. problem is if you have to pay postage for import, you also may get stunned for import tax.. so sometimes your not better off..

Its strange that anime is a series, like many cartoons, or tv shows,, yet tv shows like 24.. with big budgets,, you can buy on dvd for £17.99 for the whole season.. other series are the same, buffy started off at £60, but now you get a whole season for less than £30.. or they do deals of buy 1 season get another free.. just dont get it with anime except some of the established older anime like spirited away(8.99) grave of fireflies.. but anything like appleseed(16.99) are more expensive than hollywood blockbusters
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:22 pm Reply with quote
I tend to buy a good amount of DVDs from amazon UK and have them shipped to the US. This week I bought the Black Books 3 season box set and Danger 50000 Volts. The shipping only cost £4.07 for both items. Considering the two items are £23 off the retail price shipping is minor. I would imagine the opposite would be true too. Since Amazon US also tends to have preorders on sale it should counter the shipping fee.
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Coffeeman



Joined: 21 Jun 2005
Posts: 298
PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:08 am Reply with quote
Urb' wrote:
I recently purchases Gits:SAC on box set for £29.99 from play.com

I prefer to buy box sets, i see some sets in the usa not yet released in uk, im put off buying 5 dvd's at £12-£15 when the box set is only £35(in usa).. problem is if you have to pay postage for import, you also may get stunned for import tax.. so sometimes your not better off..

Its strange that anime is a series, like many cartoons, or tv shows,, yet tv shows like 24.. with big budgets,, you can buy on dvd for £17.99 for the whole season.. other series are the same, buffy started off at £60, but now you get a whole season for less than £30.. or they do deals of buy 1 season get another free.. just don't get it with anime except some of the established older anime like spirited away(8.99) grave of fireflies.. but anything like appleseed(16.99) are more expensive than hollywood blockbusters


Well, a lot of people will buy a hollywood blockbuster.

Where anime is concerned, though...

One, it's foreign. You don't know what kind of thing could happen that wouldn't have happened in a Western production, because, you know, different cultural values and stuff.

Two, it's in a different language. Because if you've never watched anime, you don't know about the dub track. So assume foriegn movie = foreign language... And most folks don't want to bother with subtitles.

Three, it's a cartoon.

Now, with these things in mind... Anime companies produce and ship fewer DVDs than a mainstream DVD company. Where does the money come from? Consistently higher prices.
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Miaka chan



Joined: 08 Apr 2005
Posts: 11
Location: UK
PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:38 am Reply with quote
I live in the UK and compared to how things used to be when I first got into anime (13-14 years ago), things have greatly improved Anime smile
I will say though that around 95% of my anime DVDs are region 1, but I buy them from 2 UK based online shops and so the average price I pay for a DVD is £16 and recently I've been making the most of all the Bandai and ADV boxset releases. I just bought the entire boxset of Steam Detectives for £27.13 and Wedding Peach (first half) boxset for £21.70. I can send you links to the shops I use if you'd like? plus it's easy to get a code for your DVD player allowing you to play region 1 DVDs.
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:30 pm Reply with quote
The DVDs I ordered on the 9th from amazon.co.uk arrived on the 13th via there standard shipping. I would imagine that the US to UK shipping would be comparable. I know that some of the other US retailers take longer to ship within the US.
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steveriv02



Joined: 13 Feb 2006
Posts: 1
Location: England
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 12:24 am Reply with quote
Deleted

Last edited by steveriv02 on Thu Jul 02, 2009 5:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
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azzmoneky



Joined: 26 Jul 2003
Posts: 193
Location: With my lord and master Foamy
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 12:49 am Reply with quote
Just buy the US version of a show and watch it on comp. No need to worry about region and you can easly hook up your comp to your tv.
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