Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Do I Do With All These Bootleg DVDs?
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cookie
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 2460 Location: Do not contact me for support. |
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I threw out most of my bootleg/fansub VHS/DVDs years ago, and it was incredibly cathartic to do so. The thing was, I didn't realize just HOW much I had been thinking about them until I made the decision to start throwing them out.
I admit that I needed the shelf space, but I also needed to get rid of the mental baggage. It was like a weight that I didn't think about, but every time I looked at my shelves, I knew it was there. In the end, I ended up tossing almost 1000 fansubs/raw japanese/Hawaiian subbed TV episodes/burnt CDs/etc. I had already bought legit DVDs for some of those, and others I knew I was never going to watch again. Of that mix, there were certainly some titles that will never get released in the US, but I came to the realization that my world view probably wouldn't change all that much if I never finished watching Tonde Burin, RPG Densetsu Hepoi or other easily forgettable titles. Additionally, most of the more mainstream titles were licensed, and I was able to pick up legitimate DVDs/BDs of the ones that genuinely interested me. The only things I kept were (1) titles of sentimental value [e.g. gifts from friends who I've since fallen out of contact with], (2) a few "historically notable" releases (mostly late 80s/early 90s fansubs, [nowadays] obscure US TV broadcasts [e.g. Escaflowne, Flint the Time Detective, etc], recalled VHS tapes from Pioneer, etc), and (3) titles that I (or friends) had worked on. Of course, with all my newfound shelf space, I immediately started collecting laserdiscs. Hah.. As an aside, "not for sale" copies of books/dvds/etc can (often) be legally sold in the US, thanks to doctrine of first sale. The reason reviewers don't (often) sell copies is professional courtesy. If the reviewer sells DVDs/etc, the recourse for the company is to stop sending the reviewer products. There are some exceptions, but for unsolicited review copies that's generally how it works. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13597 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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Throw them into a volcano.
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TsukasaElkKite
 Posts: 4005 |
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I have one bootleg set (.hack//SIGN), and I've kept it.
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2648 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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I used to have a notable number of bootlegs in my earlier days as an anime fan, but as time has gone on I've found reasons to simply throw them in the trash. Either I finally bought the legal release, the show got actual fansubs, or the bootlegs themselves simply got ripped & released online, pretty much. As of right now I only have four bootleg releases (B-Daman Set 2 [Set 1 got ripped], Kinnikuman II-Sei [two sets], & the Saiyuki interactive movie [minus the interactivity]), and they are for titles that will likely never get any sort of proper English subtitled release, official or fan-produced (except for may Kinnikuman, as that could maybe happen via Discotek, for example).
Overall, though, I agree with the general consensus of destroying your bootlegs. Unless it's for something that will likely have no other English option, there's really no need to hold onto them. |
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maoyen
 Posts: 170 |
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I really, really want that Sailor Mary figure.
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DerekTheRed
 Posts: 3544 Location: ::Points to hand:: |
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I'm sure it's been much longer than the 8 years the poster said it's been since you bought bootlegs, so I was wondering how accurate this is. Before I knew better I bought a couple singles of SDF Macross and a Lupin III special that I now clearly know were boot legs. But the Macross boot DVDs were identical to the legit ones I replaced them with, ADV just had access to higher definition material to print the slip covers from, but the content was exactly ADVs. And the Lupin special was high quality too (it was Episode 0, which only got licensed pretty recently so I know they were boots). My purchases were also 8 years ago, right around my join date. |
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nhat
Posts: 922 |
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I give it to friends who don't buy anime at all but still watch ripped streams online. (yes they have a job and 30 yrs old) They love anime but they're so used to piracy that they think its the norm while buying live action movies/tv series.
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kawaiibunny3
 Posts: 534 Location: Houston, Texas |
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There's actually a store in the city's Hong Kong mall that has a nice dedicated shelf to bootlegs of anime from like 2004-2013
most are anime no one really wants, or are rips of crunchyroll subs crammed on a disc. (I assume, because I could recognize a lot of the titles). I bought a one in a discount bin of the Kyo Kara Maoh OVAs out of morbid curiosity - it ended up just being an fansub that's pretty easy to find online already. I wonder if online fansubs and streams actually helps bootleggers a lot since it's less effort and they can just take it and burn it on a disc instead of pretending to translate it? Aside from that, the only bootleg I have left is a copy of the Live-Action Sailor Moon series, which, unless Viz decides to put that on their plate too, I probably wont dispose of it. |
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GracieLizzy
 Posts: 551 Location: Sunderland, England, UK |
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Aside from as everyone else has said "if they have funny subs keep 'em for the LOLs" advice or the "destroy 'em" advice how about seeing if you can donate them to someone who could use the discs to make some sort of art project like one of those CD dresses or a collage. Who knows if you go on Craigslist or somewhere some local art student or somebody might take them off your hands?
Also kudos to the person who linked Phelous' "Motorcycle The Pooh" Bootleg Zones review. Last edited by GracieLizzy on Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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terminus24
 Posts: 304 |
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I've only got one bootleg series, a (near) complete series collection of Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu. Got it at my local FYE a few years back (which surprised me, because they're totally legit 99% of the time), didn't think much of it at the time because the box looked great had copyright logos and everything (it said English and Chinese subs on the back, which might have made me suspicious had I had more experience at the time), and it was on 3 discs in a nice fold-out box with really crisp art on the box and discs. The only thing that really tipped me off was the fact that it was missing an episode (one that was cut from the original broadcast), and later when I saw it on a non-CRT TV there was some static at the bottom of the screen. I've still got it around because it's a really nice looking set, but I've picked up the official release since.
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1767 |
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I have bootlegs of four out of five Sailor Moon seasons. They were taken from Japanese remastered DVDs. The buyer promised me that these would be of higher quality than the Pioneer DVDs, and he was right. These DVDs are not only light years ahead of the Pioneer quality, but also the new Viz release. I can pause on the exact cel or sketch I own and get a clear shot of that particular frame. No weird colors, blurring, etc.
This has been the only time where I've bought higher quality bootleg DVDs than the official version. So, while likely uncommon, bootlegs can be of an equal or better quality than the official release. |
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Bamble
Posts: 130 |
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I've done exactly the same, right down to a Gold Lightan set, along with other sets of older anime such as the Sonic Soldier Borgman, Raven Tengu Kabuto, Urashiman, L-Gaim and Layzner series. I recall the wave of bootleg anime DVDs taking off in a big way in 2000. Quite honestly, I made quite a few purchases of such products back then, exclusively of older titles that stood absolutely no chance of being licensed in the midst of the "anime is going to be the next big thing" boom era. Older series released in varying quality that I actually spent money on included Mazinger Z, Devilman TV, Fist of the North Star, Dirty Pair TV, Dunbine, Space Adventure Cobra TV, Cat's Eye and Orguss. It's all pretty ironic in hindsight considering (primarily) Discotek's and Right Stuf's excellent latter-day efforts at securing official releases of all these series, naturally along with professional and legible translations. How was I to predict a physical media old school anime boom? 
By early 2004, it seems the bootleg DVD manufacturers gave up on such older series, resulting in only partial releases of Layzner and Dirty Pair, for example. There was a belated release of the Cobra TV series on a bootleg boxset in 2005, but rather than using the R2 DVDs as a basis, the rippers for this set look to have indeed used a VHS rip as Justin referenced in his article. As ever, caveat emptor remains the best advice - one I wish I'd followed more closely myself. |
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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Ah yes, my first (and last) naive purchase of dvds off eBay. I still recall the strange adventures of Sunkist and his pirate friends who spoke such interesting dialogue. I keep my box of One Piece dvds as a reminder of how lucky I am now, and as a laugh because I have never seen such a terrible product.
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GracieLizzy
Posts: 551 Location: Sunderland, England, UK |
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Is this the same set in which Nami says something about smelting an edge on the goog and Usopp talks about certain parts of the female anatomy? (possibly NSWF but only for what the subs say not for what's depicted in the image) 
Last edited by GracieLizzy on Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:07 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Wrial Huden
 Posts: 149 Location: McKinney, TX |
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I bought a boot of Gatchaman about 15 years ago (a few years before ADV licensed it). That thing was unwatchable. The subtitles consisted of broken English and was full of glitches, not to mention the characters were renamed for some strange reason (ex. - Ken = Sean?). I could only watch for about 10 minutes before the onset of a headache.
Today the re-release from Sentai now sits on my shelf! 
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