Forum - View topicQuestion about bootlegged anime
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
nn265
Posts: 1 |
|
|||
|
I don't want to link to any forbidden sites or anything, so - let's say you go to ebay and search for "ai yori aoshi." Are the full series dvd sets you see for under $30 bootlegs?
I hadn't considered it until I read this thread - I just assumed that the companies producing these anime made their money off commercials and the like while their shows are on the air in Japan, much the same way you can buy cheap dvds of television series here in America. I figured the reason licensed anime was so expensive was because of all the money spent on buying the license, translating, and dubbing the anime. I felt really clever when I figured this out - "Ohhh, I can just buy the series cheap from the Japanese company instead of spending hundreds of dollars for a licensed version!" So yeah, now I'm pretty sure I'll be told that half the anime I own is bootlegged, but I thought I'd make sure before I give up on my beloved cheap anime. |
||||
|
||||
Ken Hayashi
 Posts: 752 Location: Singapore |
|
|||
|
I really don't know how to answer your question. In all fairness, bootlegging is WRONG. But being in the situation I'm in (I'm sure you already know about that) about half of the time, that's my only option.
If I were to tell you not to give up on ANY anime, some people will flame me. But it's really up to you isn't it? |
||||
|
||||
cyrax777
 Posts: 1825 Location: the desert |
|
|||
I was gonna say anime from Japan is not cheap. My r2 dvds were 50 dollers a piece and with a wopping 2 episodes on them. |
||||
|
||||
|
cookie
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 2460 Location: Do not contact me for support. |
|
|||
Well, you'd have to look at it on a case-by-case basis, but almost all the time, yes, they are bootlegs. As Dormcat has pointed out here countless times, legit Taiwanese and Hong Kong anime DVDs DO exist. In fact, a few of them are Region 0, and some even contain Chinese and English subtitles. However, the overwhelming bulk of Taiwanese or Hong Kong DVDs found online (on ebay, for instance) are NOT legitimate. As such, it's typically easier to lump all HK/Taiwan DVDs together as if they were bootlegs, unless someone is specifically looking for a release from a known legitimate company. Because most people aren't looking for legitimate HK releases, we typically say that if it's region 0, has chinese subtitles, has 6 or more episodes per disc, and/or is sold for under $10/DVD, it's probably a bootleg.. and if you don't have the specific knowledge of which companies are legitimate and which ones aren't, you're much more likely to accidentally buy a bootleg than accidentally buy a HK-licensed DVD. There are a number of keywords that tip one off to bootlegs on ebay, which rotate as they become "known" bootleg terms. "Japanese version" seems to be big as of late; you'll only ever find a dozen or so legitimate Japanese R2 DVDs on ebay, and you'll find thousands of illegal bootlegs claiming to be "Japanese" versions. |
||||
|
||||
|
Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18445 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
|||
|
A series whose dubbed version isn't available in a boxed set through an American store but is available on eBay is also another dead giveaway. A boxed set which offers an entire series and includes any related movie in the boxed set should also be regarded with suspicion, since these are quite rare in the States.
Admittedly, though, it can be difficult to spot bootlegs. I accidently got one myself - a boxed set of Visions of Escaflowne - off eBay last year. The case had professional-grade graphic arts (including a legal warning on the packaging!) and even had professional-grade menu screens. Only two things tipped me off about it being a bootleg: the cover and interior art mixed character designs from the TV series and movie, and the company listed was one I didn't recognize, and I couldn't believe that a company I didn't recognized would be distributing a major title like Escaflowne. I am a strong supporter of artist rights on bootlegging (I don't download fansubs for licensed anime, either), so getting tricked like this really irked me. I've sworn of purchasing anime on eBay because of it. 
|
||||
|
||||
|
YUGI
Posts: 173 |
|
|||
|
I dont buy bootlegs but my friend lent me one of his boots. It was high quality and made in america. Though it much cheaper to make the dvd in japan since they have factories all over there. The middleman just hijack the prices up.
|
||||
|
||||
|
cookie
Former ANN Editor in Chief
Posts: 2460 Location: Do not contact me for support. |
|
|||
That makes no sense. REAL Japanese R2 DVDs are usually between 4200 and 6800 yen each -- about $40 to $60 dollars -- for 3-4 episodes/DVD. Location is unimportant. By your argument, the US DVDs should then cost more, because of middlemen. No, obviously this is not the case. :) We aren't paying $75 dollars per legit R1 DVD. Prices have nothing to do with the physical manufacture of the DVD. Instead, they have everything to do with the content ON the DVD. Mastering audio and video is expensive. Programming DVD menus is expensive. Timing subtitles is expensive. Recording dub voices is expensive. Finding someone to drive all those DVDs to the stores is expensive. Paying royalties to the original licensor is expensive. Suddenly, your 50 cent DVD costs $12 in production costs alone -- and so to make a profit the DVDs need to be sold to stores at a higher cost. The stores, also needing to make a profit, then raise the price even higher and sell the DVD for MSRP $30. In Hong Kong, all of these services are cheaper, because there are no government controls on minimum wage, and there is an abundance of people willing to do these kinds of jobs.. so instead of $13 in production costs, it might only cost $4.. and because Hong Kong is a city, rather than half a continent, distribution doesn't have as much of an impact. Furthermore, if you're a bootleg company, you aren't paying license fees, which further decrease your operating costs. That's how $8-$10 bootlegs can exist. In Japan, price fixing is a way of life. The "average" video price in Japan hovers between 4200 and 6800 yen per DVD. Prices are expensive because they've always been expensive. Prices were set in the 80s, and have in fact gotten CHEAPER since then. The Japanese DVD price is set, in part, by the cost of production (see the US, above), but it's also set by anticipated supply and demand. A DVD selling company might expect that only 10,000 DVDs will be sold, and thus in order to make a profit they must sell the DVDs at 5400 yen each. After those 10,000 DVDs are sold, unless there's a GREAT demand for more discs, nothing more will ever be printed. Ever. |
||||
|
||||
|
Sword of Whedon
Posts: 683 |
|
|||
There are at least a dozen MAJOR DVD pressing facilities in the United States like WAMO, Technicolor and more. |
||||
|
||||
|
YUGI
Posts: 173 |
|
|||
|
You are right ,but the middleman do jack up the price. Dvd menu's are pretty cheap to make. They have ot charge that much because on my estimates japan has around half the people in the U.S.A and canada. They have to recoop cost's so thats why its double.
I meant DVD factories are in asia. its much cheaper to distrubite them in Japan, then north america. Though norht american retailers might even charge less than retail for competing. My cousin last name sasson. He worked on the bible black series. They get payed up front. They make around 750-1000$ a episode. THis is payed up at front at the company. |
||||
|
||||
Annie_Jr
 Posts: 424 Location: New Mexico (boring...) |
|
|||
|
Most of the anime I buy is the U.S. release. I have bought some bootlegs, and I have to say. I am pretty pleased with some of the results.
|
||||
|
||||
|
cookie
Former ANN Editor in Chief
Posts: 2460 Location: Do not contact me for support. |
|
|||
You should take a basic course in microeconomics. It has nothing to do with the population of Japan or the US (at least, not directly). It's (in part) because of price fixing within the Japanese market -- DVDs cost a lot because they've always cost a lot. It's (in part) because the prices were set in the 80s. It's (in part) because Japanese companies look at the market and say, "We will ONLY sell 10,000 units." rather than looking at the market and saying, "We can sell AT LEAST 10,000 units." Some titles will sell out based on preorder sales alone, and thus will almost never be found in stores.. but you don't see the Japanese companies rushing to make 2nd printings of titles. A lot of mainstream shows sell significantly better than "otaku" shows, because there is a higher demand for them, and thus the prices of those shows are not any lower than the prices of "otaku" shows. People are simply willing to pay more for DVDs in Japan, because the average price has been 4200-6800 per video/DVD for 20 years now. |
||||
|
||||
|
Ken Hayashi
Posts: 752 Location: Singapore |
|
|||
|
Everything in Japan has always been expensive. Period. My Japanese colleague buys stuff here (domestic Japanese stuff like Kose or Shiseido comestics) and sends them back to Japan for his wife by DHL! And it's still a lot cheaper than if his wife bought it from a department store in Japan! It's crazy!
I know another of my Japanese colleagues bought a couple of Prada and Fendi bags for his wife here. It's a lot cheaper. I don't know about the Japanese luxury goods tax but I hear it's pretty high. I don't know if anime DVDs can be considered as luxury goods but it seems like even food is expensive. The only thing cheap is cars. Much cheaper than here in Singapore but that's just because our government is totally stupid when it comes to issues regarding car ownership. Honda Odessy costs 2 million yen or about S$29,000. The same thing costs like S$115,000 here. |
||||
|
||||
|
space clam
Posts: 636 |
|
|||
|
Sometimes, you can do some research and do well on eBay, but you can also be tricked (as I was). What I mean by research is, you go to a site that sells the legit R1 licensed DVDs. You find out how many DVDs are in a given series, what they look like, other things like that. Then, you try to shop for a match of that DVD. However, sometimes you can do all this and still be lied to. I believed I was buying the Evangelion boxset (used, with some banged-up cases and such) for $40 (I was first getting into anime at the time). This person even had pictures of the legit DVDs, all 8 of them. However, you can imagine my surprise to find what I received was a 4 DVD Hong Kong bootleg, with horrendous subtitles, effectivly making the English dub the only thing watchable. With that little anecdote, I suggest you look into http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com. They sell 100% legit R1 DVDs for fairly cheap. ($17.99 is a pretty standard price for a disc, nowadays [compared to $30 MSRP]). I've only gotten a few legit deals on eBay; not enough to justify my using them as a reliable source of anime.
|
||||
|
||||
kainzero
 Posts: 309 |
|
|||
|
well, first check for chinese subtitles. i guess legit chinese releases DO exist, but most of the time they're not.
second, check the english subtitles. check for bad timing or bad grammar. my friend bought bootlegged excel saga and it had the worst subtitles i've ever seen. freakin "excel" became "xiaoyu" and "spielberg" became "schilebarerux." and at times the subtitles were one scene ahead. check the cover art. i dunno how fine your eyes are, but i can clearly tell the difference between a bootleg and a legit R1... it just looks so cheap... inkjetted... etc. i've even seen blatantly wrong cover art... i saw gunslinger girl cover art on like... happy lesson or something. check a licensing list and go to their company and compare box art. if it's cheaper than it should be... it's most likely bootleg. $30 for a full series is wayyyy cheap. damn ebay scammers. i tried to sell my used TM! ultimate DVD boxset and FY Suzaku and got nothing... and yea, they are legit R1 releases =P |
||||
|
||||
Emerje
 Posts: 7406 Location: Maine |
|
|||
Heh, even if the biggest effect was due to population, many more people in japan watch anime than people in the US which in turn probably raises the demand for DVDs there as well. If it were true that the Japanese base their prices on demand, then in that case their prices would be lower than ours. Emerje |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group