HK news

[Elcoholic]

http://www.westword.com/Issues/2006-02-0..._full.html

Check out this article. Its about Cashan's store and the rival anime store up the road who wants to close him down. Cashan has already had the fbi come by but its pretty obvious that this is a grey area and the US authorities can't do much about it.

[gubi-gubi]

Cashan has already had the fbi come by but its pretty obvious that this is a grey area and the US authorities can't do much about it.

It isn't though. He will get busted. If he's selling copies of something licensed in America it's no grey area and we all know he does.

This was interesting: "Upon closer inspection, buyers will notice that the covers are slightly blurry and the small print is hard to read, as if it had been photocopied from an original. The art on the discs is glued on, not screen-printed". So basically dvd-r's? That's what alot of people complained about getting sent. I think he's a liar and has been making his own dvd-rs not getting them from a reseller. There's no way you would put dvd-rs on a shop shelf for people to walk in and see.

[Elcoholic]

He's no liar although he's not completely honest either since there never has been an explanation of what happened. I just don't believe he would burn discs himself since its just not worth the effort plus he has a reputation to protect. There are only a few instances where people claim to have gotten dvdr's and many people have gotten what they asked for after those incidents. Its just the reporter bashing HK's when he says the covers look bad.

The interviewer didn't even come by his shop, it was done over the phone and he didn't even know it was going to be printed. Cashan responded to that particular part as an example that they don't know what they're talking about because the sets are just not bad quality as far as artwork goes. The reporter probably never seen a HK in his life and just copied what that guy from the other store told him.

Anyway, the legality I'm not sure of but the fbi told him its a grey area. I think they can't bust him without tracing back where the discs came from and that would need an international operation which is not worth it to shut down 1 store. Plus, he pays import tax so customs obviously doesn't mind.

[Zagatto]

The problem with copyright laws is that if the copyright holder doesn't first file a cease and desist order followed by legal action then nothing is going to happen.
Currently, it's getting harder and harder to find bootleggers selling copies of movies because the MPAA has been cracking down on things.
The anime community doesn't have any similar organizations looking out for the copyrights of anime creators so it is up to each individual company to follow up with action against those who would copy their material.

It's highly unlikely that any company from Japan is going to come over here to look for bootlegs being sold in a mall and the companies doing distribution here in North America don't have deep enough pockets to chase after every little bootlegger they can find.

I guess that just means that as long as you stay small time over here then you're pretty much safe from prosecution.

[Cidien]

I don't see how animeniacs is small time over here. If they shut down them cjv and sundevil for example, that's a huge percentage of the anime distibuters in america right there.

[Puppet Master]

Way I see it is even if they did manage to shut places down for every one two more would rise from the ashes to take it's place. Just like with the creators of HKs as long as theres a market new ones will keep popping up.

[Cidien]

Not really. You crack down hard enough and less people are willing to take the risks with this kind of thing. It's not like drugs where people will take the bigger risks to get their stuff. You'll never stamp it out completely but if they wanted to spend the time and money they could get rid of a ton of it.

[Puppet Master]

Not really. You crack down hard enough and less people are willing to take the risks with this kind of thing. It's not like drugs where people will take the bigger risks to get their stuff. You'll never stamp it out completely but if they wanted to spend the time and money they could get rid of a ton of it.

In some ways im surprised by the fact that they havent yet.

[Zagatto]

The only reason I can see that they haven't started cracking down on HK DVDs more is the fact that sales have been steadily increasing for the past few years for R1s. I'm sure that HK sales have also been rising to match the sales of R1s but I don't have any actual data on that... just an idea.

It seems that the places that suffer the most are the smaller shops trying to make a living from selling just R1s... if you've got both available in the same city it's really hard to justify spending 4 or 5 times more to watch the same show.

[Puppet Master]

The only reason I can see that they haven't started cracking down on HK DVDs more is the fact that sales have been steadily increasing for the past few years for R1s. I'm sure that HK sales have also been rising to match the sales of R1s but I don't have any actual data on that... just an idea.

It seems that the places that suffer the most are the smaller shops trying to make a living from selling just R1s... if you've got both available in the same city it's really hard to justify spending 4 or 5 times more to watch the same show.

That does make some sense would be interesting to see sales data but obviously the chances of that happening are EXTREMELY low oh well.

[Cyrus]

I totally agree with the bootlegger guy.

It's crazy to pay over 200 dollars for almost any series when you buy the dvd's indivisually. Hopefully anime companies will drop their prices someday.

I have no problem buying r1 anime i have quite a bit but i always wait for sales like if i can pay 40 to 50 dollars for something thats 26 or so episodes id do it in a heart beat if i really loved the anime but when stuff is over 100 dollars even not indivisual dvd and still is 80 dollars thin pack thats crazy. Why should i have to wait for 10 years before it becomes averagely priced.

Not to mention american companties ussually mess up a lot of the anime they get with crappy dubs or cuts. Thought thats not so common today.

Personally i think they need to start selling anime cheaper (r1) then they wouldn't have that much of a problem.

Such as ive been looking to buy last exile which i have on HK but unless i can find it for 50 dollars im still gonna hold off

[Elcoholic]

'insert Vicious ADV rant'

[Puppet Master]

I totally agree with the bootlegger guy.

It's crazy to pay over 200 dollars for almost any series when you buy the dvd's indivisually. Hopefully anime companies will drop their prices someday.

I have no problem buying r1 anime i have quite a bit but i always wait for sales like if i can pay 40 to 50 dollars for something thats 26 or so episodes id do it in a heart beat if i really loved the anime but when stuff is over 100 dollars even not indivisual dvd and still is 80 dollars thin pack thats crazy. Why should i have to wait for 10 years before it becomes averagely priced.

Not to mention american companties ussually mess up a lot of the anime they get with crappy dubs or cuts. Thought thats not so common today.

Personally i think they need to start selling anime cheaper (r1) then they wouldn't have that much of a problem.

Such as ive been looking to buy last exile which i have on HK but unless i can find it for 50 dollars im still gonna hold off

I'm personally sick of dub bashing yes some suck but this is a dead issue already yet people refuse to leave it be. As far as cheaper anime goes don't hold your breathe unfortunately this worlds not so easy. At this point I have to agree with Vicious we buy HKs because were cheap nothing more so stop making excuses.

[Zagatto]

I don't think this was a general dub bashing comment made by Cyrus... just an acknowledgment that some companies out there still produce substandard dubs. An even worse sin in my book is the editing some companies subject a series to just to make it more palatable for a western audience (or whatever justification they decide to give).

I'm happy to say that the quality of dubs in general has been improving over the past few years and the editing is less heavy handed than it has been in the past (I still have my copy of Warriors of the Wind if anyone wants to see a classic with over 45 minutes chopped out of it).

[Puppet Master]

I don't think this was a general dub bashing comment made by Cyrus... just an acknowledgment that some companies out there still produce substandard dubs. An even worse sin in my book is the editing some companies subject a series to just to make it more palatable for a western audience (or whatever justification they decide to give).

I'm happy to say that the quality of dubs in general has been improving over the past few years and the editing is less heavy handed than it has been in the past (I still have my copy of Warriors of the Wind if anyone wants to see a classic with over 45 minutes chopped out of it).

One company in particular has improved a lot as far as dubs go.

I despise releases that are chopped up hell I won't buy any edited works and give companies money to butcher creative works. It's too common for TV is one thing but only putting things out edited is an entirely different story and any justification they can come up with is pure crap in my eyes anyways. Censorship and butchering are the ultimate sins that effect creative works. It seems to usually be done so they can gear it towards kids when it's not meant to be.