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Why all the hate?


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UberTai



Joined: 01 Nov 2003
Posts: 218
PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 8:52 pm Reply with quote
Why is it that bootlegs are hated so much? I buy bootlegs often, most of which have extremely high quality. I think it would be, for a lack of better words, stereotypical to say that all bootleg (or HK DVDs) have terrible quality.

And if it is because "they steal money from the publishers," then let me ask you this: How is it that they are still able to liscense more series?
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rainking187



Joined: 24 Feb 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 9:08 pm Reply with quote
They do take money from the companies, yet tehy are still able to license new series. Why is that? It's because all of the fans that are willing to pay money to get the official releases. But if bootlegs keep happening, then companies will start losing alot more money and eventually will be able to license less and less anime. Also, I'd be willing to bet that you have at least one bootleg set in your collection with a dub track. The bootleg dub tracks are ripped off the DVD releases, and if american companies stop licensing anime, there'll be no more dubbed bootlegs for you, and you'll be stuck watching incoherent subs. I got a bootleg of the .hack//sign series once, and the subs were so bad on the last few episodes, I didn't even know what the hell was going on. I only bough it because I missed a couple of episodes on CN, but I still bought every DVD when it came out. I now collect japanese R2 DVDs, so I'm doing my part in supporing the studios that actually make the anime, so that there'll be more anime to license and bring over here.
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 9:09 pm Reply with quote
Before I knew what they were, I myself used to buy lots of bootlegged box sets. I had several dozen of the ones produced by "fx" and "Anime World International Limited."

In these sets, they were basically copies of the R1s, hence some of the "good" quality. However, many of them often glitched on me in which they would usually stop playing, freeze in certain subtitle postions, or sometimes even have out of sync audio.

But, it's mainly a moral thing. I don't want to get all philosophical about it because there have been enough threads that talk about it.

Basically though, I say bootlegs are bad because it doesn't make any money for the rightful businesses that own the anime titles. Bootlegs are just illegaly copied material put on DVD-5s and DVD-9s that are easily produced and making money for people who didn't do any real work.

And exactly do you mean when you say:

UberTai wrote:
How is it that they are still able to liscense more series?

If you mean how are the bootleggers able to this, then I'm not really sure. But from what I've heard, I think it's because they've got some system for scapegoats, various law evading base locations, and some other stuff I forgot.

I won't hold it against you if you buy them, but just try to think about it when you see some more replies. Smile
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UberTai



Joined: 01 Nov 2003
Posts: 218
PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 9:17 pm Reply with quote
UberTai wrote:
How is it that they are still able to liscense more series?

By this, I meant: How is it that companies such as Geneon are still able to afford to liscense more series when the bootlegs are stealing their money?

Quote:
I won't hold it against you if you buy them, but just try to think about it when you see some more replies

Well, thank you. I'm glad some one is mature enough to look at the person's personality instead of what they buy Anime smile
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 9:31 pm Reply with quote
UberTai wrote:
By this, I meant: How is it that companies such as Geneon are still able to afford to liscense more series when the bootlegs are stealing their money?

I think a lot more people know only of the legit material rather than the bootlegged. It's easy for any anime fan to just go into a retail store and buy some DVDs. I first encountered bootlegs when trying to shop online. So I assume that most people who do buy anime probably purchase in person instead of electronically. So, maybe it's just a question of how much exposure they get.

In any case though, I'm guessing (or hoping) that most fans out there at least know the general differnece, or maybe just don't care what it is they're buying, as long as they get it.

Anyway, read these threads, they may give you a better understanding:

animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5485&highlight=bootlegs+wrong

animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5244&highlight=bootlegs+vs+fansubs
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Nagisa
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 10:10 pm Reply with quote
UberTai wrote:
By this, I meant: How is it that companies such as Geneon are still able to afford to liscense more series when the bootlegs are stealing their money?


The bootleg problem isn't really too terrible at the moment, hence the continued success of domestic distributors like ADV & Geneon. However, if word-of-mouth continues to get around and bootlegs become a more popular "alternative," they really could cut into these companies' profits and hurt them in the end. Bootlegs aren't like fansubs in that most dry up once a show is licensed; they stick around no matter the condition, unless the company producing them is taken down (which doesn't happen often, due to the fact that companies where bootleggers are stationed don't have copyright laws to bust them on).

Also, bootlegs don't carry the same merits of such "alternatives" as fansubs. Where fansubs can get people talking about series that would otherwise be overlooked by domestic distros (Kodomo no Omocha, Marmalade Boy, and I have serious doubts that shows like Maria-sama ga Miteru and Aishiteru-ze Baby would even be considered for licensing without fansubs spreading them around), bootlegs provide no such potential service to the professional companies.

And though some bootlegs might be "good quality," most are not. The only set I actually own is for X: TV (got it back when I didn't know the difference, myself), but I've seen plenty of others. The Mahoromatic & .hack//SIGN bootlegs I saw had such awful subtitles that you couldn't tell what was happening half the time. The Read or Die bootlegs I saw had decent subs, but the timing was about ten seconds off. The aforementioned X bootlegs have decent translations, but the subs are riddled with typos and odd sym&%j*bols in the middle of some words, not to mention an e-mail address that pops up about twice an episode. About the best "quality" I've seen has been with some Azumanga Daioh bootlegs I saw, and even there they got verb tense mixed up sometimes ("she" became "they," "I" became "you," etc.) and they never got Sakaki's name right even once (always spelled it "Sasaki").
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Guyra



Joined: 22 Feb 2004
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Location: Norway
PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:35 am Reply with quote
If you're going to go for bootlegs, why not just download the stuff yourself? That way you don't even have to pay for it, and it's the same quality, or perhaps even better.
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UberTai



Joined: 01 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 1:10 pm Reply with quote
Guyra wrote:
If you're going to go for bootlegs, why not just download the stuff yourself? That way you don't even have to pay for it, and it's the same quality, or perhaps even better.

Because sometimes, it's really hard to find some of the anime available. And, I like watching my anime on my DVD player as opposed to my computer, and since I don't have a DVD-R drive, I cannot just copy them over to a disc.
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 2:32 am Reply with quote
UberTai wrote:
Guyra wrote:
If you're going to go for bootlegs, why not just download the stuff yourself? That way you don't even have to pay for it, and it's the same quality, or perhaps even better.

Because sometimes, it's really hard to find some of the anime available. And, I like watching my anime on my DVD player as opposed to my computer, and since I don't have a DVD-R drive, I cannot just copy them over to a disc.


Good quality or not, that's not the issue with bootlegging and certainly should not be used as an excused. You're not looking at the big picture. Stealing is still stealing. I mean you probably didn't like getting beat up for your lunch money back in middle school, so I don't think companies like thier work being bootlegged. In the end of the day, you may receive what you got, but it's like you basically paid someone to steal it for you. I don't think you're mature enough to understand piratcy and the effect of it. Piratcy drive retail prices up. I think by buying bootleg, you'll being selfish and right now you're time try to find a legitament excuse in doing so such as companies still licensing titles and good quality on bootleg.

You know how much it cost to bootleg one of these disc in HK? Probably a dollar or less per disc. So even though you think you got what you want for cheap, you'll still getting rip off by bootlegging companies. And the people in HK are laughin at you for buying thier bootleg so they can produce more bootleg and support thier many other illegal activities in HK. (drug trafficing, prositution?)

Perhaps Bandai or Genoon can take legal action against you.


Last edited by darkhunter on Mon Jun 07, 2004 5:28 am; edited 2 times in total
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cookie
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 3:17 am Reply with quote
One reason for me is sheer materialism:

From time to time, I've seen people claiming that they have a large (and thus valuable) anime collection, only to find that their DVDs are primarily bootlegs. I, meanwhile, have a large (and valuable) anime collection, and it's entirely legitimate.

I find it reprehensible when people say, "I spent $2000 on anime. I have a huge collection!" ... while it's true that the person may physically be in posession of 200 DVDs (or whatever), it's value is (IMO) $0, because it's not a legitimate product.. and so when they claim a $2000 collection, it's as if they're trying to cheat their way into a higher social position within fandom, and then proceed to be lauded by those below.

What's worse is when people claim their $2000 of bootlegs are really worth $5000 (or, using the Japanese prices) $7500, because they're "equal" to the actual releases.

I feel that their practices devalues *my* collection, as (without the "boost" bootlegs give) they wouldn't be as "high on the scale" without their bootlegs.

When someone says, "Ha! I have 1000 LDs!", aren't you at least a little impressed, even if you know they were all purchased for $5 from Anime Jungle? Does anyone else remember that 300+ anime DVD sale last year, the one that went for just over $2000 (it was worth twice that, easily...)? People were chattering about how high the auction would go; vicariously living off of the wealth that must've been spent to accumulate it.

(Likewise, I dislike it when people include fansubs in their "anime lists'; again, it's a product that's worth nothing on the legitimate market, and it shouldn't be used to better ones material goods status against those of us who don't count them, or list them or anything.)
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BERSERK EVA



Joined: 03 Feb 2003
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 9:16 pm Reply with quote
I see it this way...its bad. But people do it and will keep doing it. It's like the music and the movie industry. That is why the music industry is going down hill...or well not doing as good as before, because of file sharing things like the former naspter and so on. The movie industry is in the same boat.

It's gonna be around for awhile, who knows when it will stop. There will always be people who support the companys and others that like it and pirate it in some sort of way. The law continues to try to fight but there are always those smarter then the law and figure out how to crack the codes and such. The law right now is cracking down on music but if you go on to one of those file sharing things, you find hundreds of thousands still doing it.

I admit i have a couple bootleg box sets and not terrriblely happy about it. It's good quality and all but it is a bootleg. But then again i got them as gifts and when i first started and didn't konw. I try to stay away from them now. If you like it, you should support it. Thats my say.
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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 10:20 pm Reply with quote
BERSERK EVA wrote:
That is why the music industry is going down hill...or well not doing as good as before, because of file sharing things like the former naspter and so on.


I would argue that the music industry, not including independent labels, is going downhill because of decreasing back catalogue sales, lower quality and homogenized products, and because of the massive consolidation rampant in big business these days that causes labels to seek only short-term profits. But this thread isn't about the music industry.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 1:40 am Reply with quote
It could also be because nearly $20 for a CD is far from reasonable... While DVD prices are droping, CD prices are rising.

Emerje
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Nagisa
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 2:44 am Reply with quote
Emerje wrote:
It could also be because nearly $20 for a CD is far from reasonable... While DVD prices are droping, CD prices are rising.

Emerje


Amen to that. Around here, the cheapest CDs you can find are at Wal-Mart, and they run about $17 each (mind you, these are the "family friendly radio edit" versions...). Anywhere else and you're lucky to find anything below $20. And the funny thing is that just a few years ago, the only albums that ever went above $20 were the big two-disc releases (which...now approach the $30 & $40 marks easy). Damn shame.
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ownerizer



Joined: 07 Aug 2002
Posts: 136
PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 10:44 am Reply with quote
Guyra wrote:
If you're going to go for bootlegs, why not just download the stuff yourself? That way you don't even have to pay for it, and it's the same quality, or perhaps even better.



Word.
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