What annoys me

[Shibo]

Ok, time for an edition of What pisses Shibo off! Well, let me tell ya. I know why most of you folks have come to this site. It?s the same reason I?m here. We buy anime from Hong Kong. I do it, you do it. It?s because we can get releases that aren?t available in the US and/or we can actually afford to buy stuff that we would never normally be able to buy. Like Fushigi Yugi, for example, which sells for $200 for each half of the TV series in most stores. I recognize this fact and I buy a lot of anime from HK.. I?d even venture to say I buy more of it than most other HK buyers. However, I?m not stupid enough to sit there and slam US anime companies and use that to justify my purchases.
?But Shibo, some companies don?t put enough episodes on each disc so they don?t deserve my money!? Yes, I agree that it sucks that some anime series only come 2 or 3 episodes on a DVD. People also need to realize that it?s happening much and much less frequently because of Anime?s growing popularity. As more people start buying each individual disc, the companies begin to make enough profit that they can afford to put more episodes on each disc. The more anime consumers buy, the easier it will be for the companies to offer more on each disc. ADV?s perfect collections are a great example of this.
?But Shibo, the companies charge too much for the discs, and it only costs a little bit to make a DVD!" I?d like to remind everyone that different series cost different amounts of money to license and will be priced accordingly.. The Gundam stuff is never gonna be cheap cause Gundam isn?t cheap to license. Macross 7 is so expensive that the joke in the industry is that it would take ADV, Bandai, Pioneer, and Manga to bring this series to the US because each company could only afford to license 1 DVD?s worth of footage. And of course, everyone needs to remember that all of the companies are also trying to make a profit, which is the main point of their being in business. The side benefit of all of this is more US releases, greater exposure to anime for the general population, and ultimately, more anime, manga, and anime publications for the english speaking otaku.
My point here? We?re all buying HK anime because it?s cheap. Don?t kid yourself. If we could get the same exact things in R1 for the same price, most of us would.. Any intelligent ones would anyway. So have fun, buy your HK stuff, and enjoy your anime. But don?t try and slam the US companies out there, because folks who do that make the rest of us HK buyers seem like morons. Thanks, and that?s What pisses Shibo off today.

[JunkieJoe]

I would have to disagree one 1 point with you Shibo.... by selling more anime, the companies wouldnt automatically lower price/put more episodes on dvd just because they sell more... for them if they sell more... with less episodes they make more profit... thats what its all about...

the only way for them to put more episodes on is competition.. and thats why its happening... anime gets more mainstream.. more companies release it, more competition, more episodes.... remember... a coorporation is there to make money... as much money as possible.... have u seen those microsoft net server commericials... we saved a nickle? well think of it this way.... some guy in that company says: we put 1 less episode per dvd we make 100million dollars extra... and they will do it...

thats my 2 canadian cents worth.

[Schultz]

JJ, but your 2 canadian cents is less then 1 american cent.. hehe j/k
The other factor that i think People need to understand is even just getting 3 episodes per disc IS Great compared to buying it over here.. Here you will see Anime dvd's for 4000-5000 Yen with MAYBE 2 episodes on it.. so for R1's that is great.. But don't get me wrong i still love them putting as much as they can on the dvd so i don't have to buy alot.. like *cough* Dbz *cough*

[neoEIN]

I am the smorgasboard type of anime consumer. I like to try as many variety of anime title across genres as possible. So, HKDVD is the way to go (for me atleast).

I also rarely rewatch a series because I already remember the story so investing more on a R1 is not a priority option. However, I will buy R1 if I like the series very much (appreciate/admire the creators' (everybody involved) work) or there's no decent HKDVD for the series.

Dunno..I agree that US companies should not be blamed because I'm not forced by them to buy their goods despite I may not happy with their price. It's always been a consumer choice - like there're a couple brands of baked beans on the same aisle in the grocery store. There's a trade of when a consumer makes a choice.

Anyway, hope I've not diviated from the original dicussion.

[JunkieJoe]

Schultz, One thing about DVDs in Japan... is when your aveage household earns 1,000,000 yen (10k USD) spending 50 bucks on a dvd with 2 episodes is still cheaper than average US income of 2000?

[Rei1781]

lol...

[kakomu]

That and the Japanese have more opportunities to rent and watch Japanese anime on TV...unlike American audiences.

[yoda-sama]

Shibo is somewhat right. Most people are just trying to justify cheapness.
Even though the Japanese do have it way worse when it comes to purchasing anime, it would still be nice if here we could get a few more episodes on a dvd. I'm sure that in many cases more episodes on a dvd would sell more dvds, and companies would see a greater profit.
blah blah.
I believe in that, but at the same time you must consider what drives the rest of us who don't redirect our dollars based on just that. Personal issues with crappy companies is an important note that shouldn't be over looked. I will never forgive some companies for horrid, horrid practices. Namely Funimation... with the way they screwed-over, rewrote, kid-ified, and transformed into a fad DBZ whilest releasing it 3 episodes at a time on dvd (and the total episode count is 291). I personally boycott such a sh*t company, though I may still rather fancy the show they hold captive. Viz also has a thing or two to learn about episodes per dvd, but that is their problem. Another good version of personal grudge is like saying "I hate how ADV subs", which is quite fair...
In the end there are two main reasons to get these fun HK dvds A) the buyer is just plain cheap (guilty here) and B) "Go to HFIL you crap company!"

[Schultz]

Originally posted by JunkieJoe
[b]Schultz, One thing about DVDs in Japan... is when your aveage household earns 1,000,000 yen (10k USD) spending 50 bucks on a dvd with 2 episodes is still cheaper than average US income of 2000? [/B]

Actually JJ the Average Us income is like $20,000.. But the one thing here in japan is that there is alot more Anime on TV for people to watch instead of buying..

[JunkieJoe]

Schultz, so u are just proving more that my point is correct ;p

[yakumo]

EXAMS
REVISION

ARGGHHH!!!:eek:

[Duragon]

That and the Japanese have more opportunities to rent and watch Japanese anime on TV...unlike American audiences.

Or conversely more opportunities than British audiences, who cannot even rent anime, have a pathetic amount of it on TV and have literally about 10 or 15 titles to choose from on the shop shelves.

Just ask Yakumo

[Steve_the_Talking_Pie]

Buy a Region 1 player. Then you can buy all the R1 anime that there is, pplus you have HK.

[Duragon]

Good thing I do have a reigon one player and a crapload of HK titles or else I would be screwed .