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Okay this is a question about a simple thing when has buying watchable anime moved from the realm of good entertainment. To the dangerous area of overcollecting. See I am getting a little concerned about my collection going beyond what I term critical mass. Critical mass is where you have accumulated far too much to get reasonable value from the purchase. In other words when I buy a title I think I have to watch it many repititions for it to have equalled out the cost. I think most people agree that if you buy a title. You buy it to watch again, and again at your convenience. Let me tell you my personal story, and show you what I mean.

I have been buying anime for going on ten or more years. I would say I used to average out twenty VHS/DVD a year. Ofcoarse when I started out getting into anime I had to buy on VHS, and I had to make alot of blind investments. For the most part I made solid choices. Though at the time that was just about the only way to get anime to watch. There wasn't alot I could do. So I viewed it more as a occasion, and since I did not have a major collection behind me. I watched most of my anime alot sort of like someone trying to drain every drop from the bottle. So my early collection has been money well spent. Even if by todays standards it was alot of money. A good example would be spending two hundred dollars plus over a number of months to watch a series.

Move forward ten years, and now I got somewhat of a situation. What I bought as solid entertainment, or to fill a void has now become what I will colorfully refer to as the monster. I am actually concerned now about getting value from my money. Since the monsters appetite has grown substantially over the past five or six months. My anime collection went into a duldrum for the past few years growing at a slow methodical rate. Now I am in the middle of a self induced feeding frenzy. Since I am now catching up with many other anime fans in that I am now buying alot of boxcase series.

So where I once bought a couple DVD/VHS a month and getting a average of two and a half hours of enjoyment. I am now buying two boxsets a month that equal out costwise, and getting ten hours of enjoyment. On one hand I am getting more for my money, and I should be happy. On the other hand my collection is reaching a critical size where it will be unwatchable by any reasonable standard.

So far my reaction has ofcoarse been to do the obvious. I have started off by trying to watch through my collection once first to see what I like, and do not like. Needless to say a month in and I am halfway there. I have started to prioritize my collection. Garbage to this cornor good to that. I am sort of trying to rate my collection out. Thankfully most of my garbage titles, or will most likely never watch are for the most part are confined to my VHS half of my collection. I am also looking for someone else into anime so that I can castoff some titles, and help someone out. That is not looking too promiseing, but I am going to keep looking. After all some of these old VHS, and garbage DVDs arent necassarily bad. I just did not like them much when I got them, or have completely fallen out of love with them.

Needless to say I started out not with the intention of haveing some huge collection. Then after awhile I got a decent collection, and was happy that I could have a varied diet. Now my collection is stradeling the 200 mark, and each addition is a huge addition. More akin to getting six or nine DVDs a month. That being said. I feal like I am in a situation where I am collecting, and not just that but eating far more then I can reasonably view. I am really happy with the majority of what I got, and do not want to get rid of things I enjoy for simplicity sake.

So my question is how others feal about their collections. I am just asking about the volume. Do you feal there is a point when a collection must be consolidated? Do you feal a collection is more of a testament even if you cannot make full use of it?

Sincerely someone who can watch anime two months straight.

I may not be much help but have you tried listing on ANN's My Anime. That way you can see what you have and rate it.

I have quite a bit myself and (because of Suncoast) bought a lot that I didn't have previously. I really didn't understand how much I really had until I listed what I had on My Anime. I was pretty shocked! I have 75 titles under "Seen All" and 37 titles under "seen some" (that includes ones that I've just seen and/or removed from my collection), and 31 titles under "Want to See." On the later, I doubt that some are ever going to show up in the States.

I'm not sure what you mean by "consolidating a collection" but if you mean keeping titles that you no longer like, don't. Why keep them if you don't like them. Sell them, donate them to your local library or anime club.

I love my collection. I'm happy with what is in it. Sometimes, I go through and buy thin packs to help slim down my "loose" DVDs, but now I have a lot of box sets and thin packs so my major problem is that I don't have enough SPACE! All of my box sets are stack 2 high on my book case and a 3 row is starting. I think I need a pocket dimension for my shelves or something to help store what I do have and what I'll get in the future. Does anyone know where I can get a pocket dimension on the relativly cheap? Wink

I too am having trouble finding space for my collection. I have plans to put up more shelves on another wall of my room though next month. Some posters will have to come down though. Crying or Very sad

My collection is simply something to display. Honestly, I've only seen the newer titles only once. I'm not concerned about "getting all I could out of them". Special features? No thank you. I can care less how the Voice Actor, Director, and other staff felt about being a part of the anime.

Although I don't consider my DVD collection to be reaching "critical mass", I only have a bit over 250 DVDs, so I still feel there is alot more room for anime, specially the old shows I've wanted to watch or own for a while now (Haibane Renmei, Escaflowne, Zeta Gundam, Original Gundam, Samurai 7, Burst Angel, and I think that's it for American releases).

I think school was a big reason I stopped spending so much money on anime. Once school started, the majority of my money whent to paying for classes, books, and gas. I was downsized from about 6-10 DVDs a month, to only buying 1 or 2 every 2 months. And with all these box sets that came out, I'm glad I got myself a summer job AND I already have money set aside for next semester so all the money I make in the next 3 months is going to anime... but too bad I have a girlfriend Laughing

who I choose to buy stuff for, take out to dinner, movies, and other events.

I used to have problem with my collection because I never had a big enough shelf for my video games, Hollywood movies, and Anime. That problem was solved when I got a big shelf for Christmas which can hold all my anime and games perfectly, but I still have room for about another 30 anime or game titles so it might be a while until it becomes full at the pace I'm going.

Well, I have a similar problem with a different hobby: model kits. Building models is a hobby I've had since I was about 10 years old. I figure if I were to build one a month then I'd be stuck with two problems: 1) it would take about a decade to build everything in my current collection of unbuilt kits and 2) I would have to open my own museum to display all the miniature ships, cars, planes, robots (primarily Patlabor, Gundam and FSS) and anime character figurines that would come about from such an effort.

My DVD and CD collections are approaching a similar point of critical mass also. I've applied two strategies to date: 1) sell off, donate or give away items I no longer have that much of an attachment to or 2) store them (the discs) in more compact storage forms such as CD/DVD albums (and hence disposing of the jewel cases, etc). I've started employing a similar strategy with the model kits: give them away or donate them to bazaars or charities.

The conclusion I'm slowly arriving to is this: In the long run these collections are just that - collections without any intrinsic value except to the original owner. Not to offend but it's a case where one's valuables are junk in the eyes of others. So I've attempted to reduce their size. It's a slow process and I suspect I'm fighting a losing battle. But I'm getting less and less comfortable with having these collections in my abode as personal monuments to consumerism run amok.

Everything that's interested me, I try to keep if possible. They all have good memories attached, and getting rid of them would only make you lose those memories. Sometimes, even when you know that you'll probably never use them again, it's still nice to keep. However, if you desparately need the money, then you really dont have a choice. Economically speaking, it would be wise to sell most of your collection, and keep only what you've really love and cherish. This way, you can get the most out of what you have and not have any waste.

I forgot I sold many, about 20, of my DVDs. Trade-ins at GameStop and Suncoast. I always got store credit since I knew I was gonna buy more anime anyway. A lot of what I sold was stuff I didn't like (not continue collecting), or complete collections that were cheaper than buying the rest of the volumes. Saint Saiya Vol.1, Genocyber, Saiyuki Double Barrels 1 & 2, and Yojimbo 1-5 are the only ones I remember selling back (atleast remember right now). I remember selling back Heat Guy J 1-3 (Best Buy $20), and selling them to Suncoast for $22 2 months later... I made $2 Laughing

I am nowhere near critical mass, having about 20 DVD's total. Not even an eighth of my space is taken up, so I till got a ways to go.

I've got something around 550 DVDs, and it's growing. Right now I have 9 large bookshelves double stacked (I put a 4x4 in the back to see the rear titles), and I am making space in my server room to store them all.

Certain titles I enjoy watching over and over, others I watch once. The reason I purchase them (and I scour for pricing; I watch 2 second hand bookstores, 3 online sites, and 3 brick and mortar stores several times a week) is to have the option to go back to them when ever I want. Just having the option is worth the expense to me.

Hmm, in a way, many of the DVDs in my collection are "atonement" DVDs, bought as replacements for bootlegs, fansubs, and other illegal formats. They're sort of there so that I can have them in the collection, though I do of course intend to re-watch them. As for space, I've got some options as to what I can do with my wall-mounted shelves (see pic in this thread), so there's space to expand. And, if I should happen to move out of this rental house into my mom's basement (yes, it's so clichéd, laugh all you want Cool

), I'll have plenty of space. Yay for massive 1910s houses! Although I have started acquiring anime faster than I can watch it (between DVDs and downloads), a bloated collection isn't really the problem...it's spending too much time on message boards talking about anime, and not enough time watching it Exclamation

Thanks for all the imput guys. I am seeing two trains of thought. The first is the bigger the better. The other is a process of trimming the library. A issue of quality or quantity.

I suppose the first step is to review my mindset on exactly how to get my value from the titles I purchase. I obviously need to check my view on how many times something must be viewed to acheive its money worth in a year. Maybe eight or nine viewings a year atleast when it comes to boxsets is unreasonable.

The next step is to comeup with a plan to discard what I no longer like, or never liked to begin with in the most efficent way possible be that library donations, or when possible sell it. This will not really solve the problem, but it may buy me a bit more time before I get to a uncycleable collection.

The third step is to accept that I am building up a collection whether I like it or not. So if I am going to do it I should start getting into the frame of mind. I am going to need to do things like enhance my storage space, and make plans for the expansion. I am also going to need to take into account things like investment, and catagorizeing in a much more strategic way.

The last thing I will need to do is work off a more rigid budget. While I can afford to spend more money on DVD aquisition. I am going to have to set a budget I am guessing half of what I am spending now. That would put me roughly around 30 dollars a month. That would mean one boxset, or thinpak a month. While the collection will still grow at a fast rate quantity wise. I will probabally be able to buy and watch a thinpak a few times in the month I purchase it. That would mean I could atleast recoup the initial investment, and then anytime I watch it after that. I could consider as a ROI.

Maybe doing these things will help to slow uncontrolled growth, and even if my collection ends up getting to a unrealistic size I will still have got my money's worth from each title. The only other option is to abandon the collection to uncontrolled growth, or let my collection go to stagnation. I cannot let it grow unchecked for at this rate in another ten years I might have an entire wall devoted just to anime. Which is nothing less then gawdy. On the other hand if I set myself the goal of setting at a specified number I am going to have to discard titles I love in order to make room for newer titles that I want to watch multiple times.

Anyway thats the plan I am going with. Has anyone tried this strategy, and has it worked out for you.

opaquescum wrote:

Maybe eight or nine viewings a year atleast when it comes to boxsets is unreasonable.

I would think so. I started buying anime around 7 years ago and I think my record for watching a single series is around 4 times total.

You've got some good plans there opaquescum, but you're giving out mixed messages about your anime colection. It seems too big, but its a large chunk of stuff which is all part of who you were and who you are and its hard to give some of it up.

Speaking as a natural collector and hoarder of junk (I still have a box of bolts somewhere that I picked up from a skip near where I had keyboard lessons over a period of about 6 months, age 10) I do sometimes wonder why I keep stuff, and why I buy it. Why buy an old album by a favourite band? Answer, because even if I don't play it as often as some of their other albums I like knowing that I own it. I can take satisfaction from that completion. Remember that even if you watch something so rarely that it might as well be never, if you take satisfaction from just having it around then don't be quick to dismiss it. Maybe you'll end up missing it, or feeling that you've let a part of yourself or your memories go. Take stuff out, store it, see if you miss it, rather than just disposing of it asap.

I think that kind of covers how you get value from your collection - that's what gives it value as a collection, as well as in the individual pieces that make up that collection. As for how often you watch it: I've spent £40 on an illustrated volume of Lord of the Rings. I'll read it once a year, maybe less if when I feel like reading it I'd be better served reading the knackered paperback I also own. But I'll always be happy to have it, and I don't need to read it every two months or so to know that I value not just the physical object but also the content within, and I know that my memories of that content aren't going to fade. I'd rather not feel compelled to read or watch something because I own it - I'd rather buy wisely in the first place and open up a book or DVD case with a sense of joyful expectation, not obligation.

Plus if you look at it on cost/views then a $90 box set of a 26 episode series, watched 8 times in its first year brings the average cost per viewing per episode to about 43 cents. Surely that's value for money! (I'd pay sub 50 cents to watch an episode of pretty much anything. Except maybe DBZ, as I never could get into it and it'd cost a sh*tload to see 'em all - curse my completist nature). And now every time you watch something the cost goes down further! That's gotta be value for money by this stage.

In regards to the space issue, I got rid of most of my DVD cases long ago. The only ones that I keep are the tins, Samurai 7 boxes, and a small assortment of other unusual cases. I feel as though the "critical mass" number is 400 since that is how many DVDs you can load into one of those Sony DVD changers. The newer Case Logic wallets hold up to 320 titles. The three wallets that I keep my DVDs in take up about half a bookshelf which is nothing compared to the amount of space my Laser Discs take. I really need more space for my Master Grade kits.

I wouldn't collect DVDs for any monetary value. DVDs are constantly being rereleased at lower prices, and will continue to do so as new versions are released in newer formats. Personally, I only tend to question my habits when I'm rebuying something that has been remastered, since there are so many remixes/special editions comming out.

Since my colection of anime is VERY small (I only have 3 boxsets & 6 Pokemon movies Anime hyper

), I'm not really in that situation. Although I also think that when I'm buying a boxset of a series, I better be watching it at least more than twice. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't have bought the series, since I've at least seen a couple eps of a series I buy elsewhere, whether through a friend, or downloading a few eps to see if I like it or not.

However, this IS starting to be a problem with my manga. I plan on starting to collect 5 series this year (Yakitate!! Japan, The Law of Ueki, Suzuka, School Rumble, and Air Gear), and I'm aware that the series will start to pile up. Since most of my manga purchases are based on whether I really liked the anime, I'm going to see myself buying alot of manga in the future.

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