FX busted?

[8 Drunken Stylz]

China produces between 40% & 75% of the worlds bootleg goods, depending on the stats you choose to believe. Last year the Chinese economy grew 9.5%(!). I haven't found reliable stats on how much of that is buoyed by China's total disregard for intellectual property, but it's significant.

So, to all Americans, keep buying Chinese bootlegs for long enough and you won't need to worry about it in the end. In another few years you won't be able to afford Hong Kong knock-offs anymore. As an cheapskate Australian whose economy is slowly drifting apart from the US, I'm going to keep buying bootlegs (and learning Mandarin).

[r00ster]

Hahaha. Yeah, Rosette might be her favorite role of mine. That panicked scream you're talking about is from episode 1? That's where she does that wird Daffy Duck like laugh/scream when she's running down the steps that cracks me up every time.

The html doesn't copy over properly, but be sure to click on the link where my name is. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of that.

That's -exactly- the part... so full of goodness. It's always great when you can tell a VA is having a -blast- voicing a part.

...and the link was very hilarious, and appropriate.

[Psygnius]

The fabled first encounter between Vicious & Hilary??? d:

LOL, that's too funny.

[CrayonShinChan]

Problem with fx is they concentrated on exporting to USA etc and were located in HK instead of relocating like Mac. HK in recent years has been cracking down bad. It's never really been legal.

What we need is a China based fx since China is still pretty lawless when it comes to boots.

Given the amount of stuff that was seized, and the size of fx.. i wonder if Flora will be back...

[balthier]

HK buyers are thieves. That's one thing Vicious and I really agree on. I admit i'm a thief when it comes to anime. /shrug

Part of me actually wants this to be true. Without the alternative there I will be forced to buy R1's lol. That and more money will be going to the R1 companies (you know you cheap bastards will save up your money for the R1's if you don't have HK's to buy) which means more anime coming over to the U.S. and being made in general.

Bullshit, sure more money will go to the R1 companies but I can't spend anymore then I already do on HK sets. So we'll all be getting 90% less anime for the same price and if more anime comes to the U.S. WTF hell do I care when I can't fucking afford it?

I will buy from MI, MAC, a fucking bum on the street before I start wasting money on R1, if I know I can get more anime vs. 90% less "very slightly" higher quality R1 anime > I WILL GO FOR MORE ANIME! Hell I'll buy a DVD recorder, quit buying anime, just rent and record!! I know it's inconsiderate of all the hard work R1 companies put into it ect, but there are rich dipshits out there who have enough money to afford 78 anime series (my current collection) on R1 which retails to about ... $18,000+ and I have about 100 more anime series to add to my collection just to "catch up" with stuff as it's releasing.

The inevitable truth is... people that can't afford anime on R1 right now will NEVER switch to R1 if they are smart and conservative because there is ALWAYS other ways to obtain the anime for very low cost whether it be dish network PVR recorder, renting and ripping, or buying used R1, I will find it and abuse it until my anime needs are fulfilled which will never happen

~Anime is perspective on all angles of life, Anime is the greatest philosphy of all time compiled together, Anime is absolute truth > To know anime is to know all, which is the key to peace~

Anime should be free! And as long as it isn't this world will run itself to it's own end! LONG LIVE ANIME!

[Psygnius]

In response to the last post....

Dude, you can get 9 episodes for $12 for certain R1 series right now..... like Nadesico. OMFGWTF!!!!1111 That's so expensive! Each $12 set has two discs in them, so that comes out to be $6 a disc.... now isn't that nice?

[Blight]

The part that worries me the most is if they go down and change their name, they just lost their reputation. What happens to all the FX sets in circulation now? Will this be the advent of price gouging for FX whether or not they actually go down?

All I really have to say as far as the R1 vs. HK part of this thread is I can barley afford tuition and car insurance. I?m cheap/a thief/a money hording bastard or whatever you would like to call me, but I still own more R1?s than I have HK sets. The first ones I bought I didn?t even know were fakes, and I had know idea what an HK was. But even after I found out I would still buy them cause they were cheaper. But anyone who says R1 companies are evil or greedy is stupid; were the hell do the HK companies rip stuff from! The way HK works for me, is I buy a set and if I really like it, I start buying the R1?s, still being cheap, but I don?t care. That is just the way I am, I don?t sugar coat shit cause in the end it?s still shit you know.

[vegeta76]

I know of more than a couple Canadian anime dealers on Ebay that compete with the Amazon sites in terms of price on legitimate anime, and make a decent living at it.

Mind telling me the names of those sellers?

[Elcoholic]

Ok, I'll chip in my 2cts on this subject (again). As Vicious mentioned, I'll be one of the people who won't buy anime series if hk's go away. I put certain value to certain things. I don't think that R1 anime is worth the price they ask for it (I'm alking about the stereotype release of a new show, not one thats been out for years and goes for reasonable price). Just like I won't buy a plasma tv in the stores but if I'm offered one on the streets for a fraction I'll buy it. I don't give a fuck.

Now, I've stated this before: I don't know who's ripping who of but someone is making lots of money. Whether it be the R1 companies with their 6/8 disc shows or the Japanse companies who want insane licensing fees, someone is making lots of money for a product that I don't think deserves it. I put more value on a 3 hour live action movie for $20 than 60 min. of anime for the same price which also costs a fraction to make compared to the live action. Or if you don't like the live action or movie comparison than use shows like friends or the simpsons/south park which still go for less than anime. Sure its a smaller market but it also costs waaaaay less to produce and than they also make back a large sum with the tv broadcasting.

If I buy another show for $150 I'll feel ripped of so I won't. Bring it to me on 4 discs for $50 and I'm your man.


Now on topic. I'm very interested in hearing JJ's opinion since he knows flora more than any of us. If you read this, want to tell us what you think about it?

[Last Exile]

Yes and no. I just hate it when people randomly blame the R1 companies for everything. There are costs associated with licensing an anime and then releasing it here. I've heard it's gotten to the point where it'd almost be cheaper to start making their own anime. The Japanese know there is a huge anime market here and are squeezing the Americans for everything they can get. It is a business and you can't expect Bandai or ADV to release a series just to lose money can you?

I agree With Vicious.
Example:
?Appleseed cost $10 million to make" so take in the account how much the license for that title was, just to make back the money it cost to make it. It was a good idea to release it in theatres. I am a pirate I don?t deny it, but I buy just as much R1 titles as I do HK. All the people on this site have at least one HK title they own or have owned in the past. So everyone here is guilty of buying HK anime. I see why titles cost so much but the way they release them starting to see just 3 episodes and some times 2 for regular prices. Also been seeing prices go up a bit! Vol.2 of Gungrave was 28.97, That is crazy. also sister princess vol. 2 was 24.99. I think they are raising prices to deal with piracy starting the anti-piracy investigation plans i have been hearing about for awhile, i know Geneon and Bandai are working on the piracy with these plans.

-LE

[inzomniak]

What I don't understand is, I thought bootlegs were legal in hong kong. Does JJ have any info on this perhaps? I'm sure he's more informed than any of us.

No. Bootlegs are illegal in Hong Kong. But you can still find boots in certain malls around the Hong Kong area. It's hilarious when Customs do a surprise crackdown and the store owners pull down the gates and turn off the lights with the customers STILL INSIDE. They tell everyone to shut up for a good 5-10 minutes and when they are given the OK by the security guard, they then open back up for business.

Another funny incident I recall was customs cracking down porn on the 3rd floor of the mall, and they were carrying boxes full of DVDs back to their vans. They had customs tape all over the place and stuff. But the anime stores on the 2nd floor still opened for business.

[rarnom]

Ok, I'll chip in my 2cts on this subject (again). As Vicious mentioned, I'll be one of the people who won't buy anime series if hk's go away. I put certain value to certain things. I don't think that R1 anime is worth the price they ask for it (I'm alking about the stereotype release of a new show, not one thats been out for years and goes for reasonable price).

I completely agree. Unless it is a screaming deal, I don't care. I just don't care about anime THAT much. Besides, I have such a huge backlog of stuff that by the time I finish watching all of it, there will be plenty of new good sets. Only time will tell. It seems that FX always has a 'crisis' around this time of year. Last year it was all the hullabaloo about crappy quality sets and now we have a new crisis. I am very curious to see how this all pans out.

[rav96]

Poor FX!!! hope Flora can bring em back

and for the record

I Lie
I Steal
I Cheat...


but having mentioned that i own a mixture of R1,R2 and HK's it all depends on my money and the series...i just support those series i like!

[r00ster]

Bullshit, sure more money will go to the R1 companies but I can't spend anymore then I already do on HK sets. So we'll all be getting 90% less anime for the same price and if more anime comes to the U.S. WTF hell do I care when I can't fucking afford it?

I will buy from MI, MAC, a fucking bum on the street before I start wasting money on R1, if I know I can get more anime vs. 90% less "very slightly" higher quality R1 anime > I WILL GO FOR MORE ANIME! Hell I'll buy a DVD recorder, quit buying anime, just rent and record!! I know it's inconsiderate of all the hard work R1 companies put into it ect, but there are rich dipshits out there who have enough money to afford 78 anime series (my current collection) on R1 which retails to about ... $18,000+ and I have about 100 more anime series to add to my collection just to "catch up" with stuff as it's releasing.

The inevitable truth is... people that can't afford anime on R1 right now will NEVER switch to R1 if they are smart and conservative because there is ALWAYS other ways to obtain the anime for very low cost whether it be dish network PVR recorder, renting and ripping, or buying used R1, I will find it and abuse it until my anime needs are fulfilled which will never happen

~Anime is perspective on all angles of life, Anime is the greatest philosphy of all time compiled together, Anime is absolute truth > To know anime is to know all, which is the key to peace~

Anime should be free! And as long as it isn't this world will run itself to it's own end! LONG LIVE ANIME!

No, junior, the "inevitable truth" is that you don't -need- to own 78 series of anime on DVD, and if you can afford to buy 78 HK series on DVD, then you could have afforded to own about 20-30 R1 sets, and actually done the industry some good.

If the HK scene ever got so out of control that the R1 translators/distributors couldn't keep themselves afloat, they wouldn't make the subs/dubs that all the HK companies rip and sell, so you'd be stuck with no dubs, horrible subtitles, or at best fansubs. Even the legitimate fansub groups know to stop subbing and distributing a show as soon as it gets picked up for North American distribution. They do it for the love of anime, not for the love of screwing over the R1 companies that don't charge anything they shouldn't be.

I'm not going to go through my list of expenses an R1 company has to go through to bring a foreign show to us in a presentable way again... as I'm sure you're far to dim to grasp it anyways. By your post its clear that you have a very simple view of the world, and the way it works.

[rarnom]

Latest news from an admin/store owner of a place that starts with 'Anime' and ends with 'niacs', said and I quote

All I'll say is this.... FX is fine.