FX busted?

[Cidien]

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.

[Vicious]

I don't even know why you bother anymore, Vicious... just let them all live in their messed up world where legitimate, licensed anime costs more than gold-covered diamonds.

True, true. I can already see where this is going to end up,

[Cidien]

Who the hell would buy a gold covered diamond? :confused:

[Puppet Master]

It's not a rich man's game. You're just bastards that have gotten spoiled buying boots. If you want to buy boots, admit you're cheap and don't care. Don't try to pass the blame off onto the R1 companies who have to shell out through the nose to the Japanese for these licenses.

Wrong ive bought R1s in the past and I still do when I have the $...I am a cheap bastard in a way sure you can say that I really don't care. I honestly wish I did have enough money to just get the R1s so I can avoid any pixelation and all that bullshit. But I don't have the financial resources to do that. There you happy I am not going to deny being cheap I buy R1 anime used for that reason I try getting stuff cheaper if that makes me a cheap than fine by me. That's all that needs to be said and I see no reason to go any deeper into it. Is that what you wanted to here???

Edit - HK buyers arent cheap bastards their Bargian hunters rarnoms right about that

[Vicious]

Is that what you wanted to here???

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?

[Cidien]

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.

[r00ster]

Wrong ive bought R1s in the past and I still do when I have the $...I am a cheap bastard in a way sure you can say that I really don't care. I honestly wish I did have enough money to just get the R1s so I can avoid any pixelation and all that bullshit. But I don't have the financial resources to do that. There you happy I am not going to deny being cheap I buy R1 anime used for that reason I try getting stuff cheaper if that makes me a cheap than fine by me. That's all that needs to be said and I see no reason to go any deeper into it. Is that what you wanted to here???

Edit - HK buyers arent cheap bastards their Bargian hunters rarnoms right about that

I've never bought into that whole "I can't afford the legitimate stuff so I go pirate." excuse... I can't afford a 50" plasma TV, but I'm not going to go B&Eing until I get one, or buy a "hot" tv out of the back of a van. I'll suck it up and buy what I can afford, legally, and then save up for the 50 incher.

When I do rarely buy HK or download -any- copyrighted materials.. if I enjoy it and intend on keeping it, I save up to buy the licensed stuff.

I'm not an elitist or anything, that's just what I do personally... and just don't sympathize with the whole "If they made it more affordable I'd buy all R1's" argument, or the "if I won the lottery I'd buy legal anime". If they charged $10 or $12 for an R1 anime DVD, the HKs would go to $4 a disc... and a lot of people would just go for whatever is cheapest, no matter how completely reasonable the prices legitimate companies charge for the anime that they translate, dub, package, and bring to North American shores legally... only to have their hard work stolen and undercut by HKs.

Oh wait... I was suggesting to Vicious he shouldn't even bother, and then here I go. I guess with certain comments in here made it too hard to bite my tongue.

[Vicious]

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.

They used to be legal there but not anywhere else in the world. That included exporting them to foreign countries because HK didn't sign some treaty at the Berne convention or something like that that protects copyright laws internationally. But didn't HK become part of China again or something recently? Ever since then it has applied to HK as well, since China did sign the treaty or whatever.

[r00ster]

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'm actually really surprised with the prices that R1 companies charge for anime.. when you consider how much more they have to spend to license, translate, dub, package, and market in North America. When releasing North American shows and movies on DVD, they don't have to do anywhere near that amount of work, yet they charge the same thing... and that's okay... but since HK companies rip off all the hard work put into bringing anime to North American shores and then undercut their prices, the R1 companies are stupid for not selling their anime at a loss? Yeah... good argument.

[Vicious]

I'm not an elitist or anything, that's just what I do personally... and just don't sympathize with the whole "If they made it more affordable I'd buy all R1's" argument, or the "if I won the lottery I'd buy legal anime". If they charged $10 or $12 for an R1 anime DVD, the HKs would go to $4 a disc... and a lot of people would just go for whatever is cheapest, no matter how completely reasonable the prices legitimate companies charge for the anime that they translate, dub, package, and bring to North American shores legally... only to have their hard work stolen and undercut by HKs.

That's exactly how I feel. I hate it when people say 'if they made it more affordable I'd . . . ' argument. I would love to drive a Ferrari and if they made it more affordable, I'd buy one, but in the meantime I'm not going to go and steal one. I'll be happy with a Honda or whatever. for now and if I ever have the money, I'll get me a Ferarri.

I know this is a very unpopular opinion here, but sometimes I wish they'd just bust all the HK companies so I could see what certain people do in terms of their buying habits. I'll give you 5 to 1 odds, that most of the people that say 'I wouldn't buy anime anymore' or 'I cna't afford it' would find a way to afford it.

Like my roommate for example. She 'can't afford' to buy R1's, yet she can afford to take a vacation to Florida for a week? Get real. I guarantee you that she;d be buying R1's with that money and skipping the trips if there were no fansubs or HK's.

[Vicious]

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

It's not like I really have a moral thing against it or anything. It just bothers me when people say 'I can't' when they really mean to say 'I don't want to' or 'I choose not to'. Or when people try to lay the blame on others for things they can't afford. Anime is not a necessity. But if you want the DVD's that bad, you could work harder, work more hours, not go on vacations, not buy that new pair of shoes. You choose to make those decisions.

[r00ster]

It's not like I really have a moral thing against it or anything. It just bothers me when people say 'I can't' when they really mean to say 'I don't want to' or 'I choose not to'. Or when people try to lay the blame on others for things they can't afford. Anime is not a necessity. But if you want the DVD's that bad, you could work harder, work more hours, not go on vacations, not buy that new pair of shoes. You choose to make those decisions.

...and at least acknowledge, that where North American anime companies are now, is in a completely reasonable place based on the costs involved with westernizing the distribution of a foreign series.

I would also like to see what happened if the quality of HKs dropped -enormously-, or if they actually managed to shut the bulk of them down. I wouldn't feel bad, because I know that the smarter entrepeneurs like JJ would be able to transition into the legitimate stuff... 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. It would be nice to see more of that, and to see more business move their way, as well.

[Vicious]

The bitch whose my roommate who can't afford R1's went on vacation last month. Other than my cousins wedding in Cali that I went to, I haven't actually gone on vacation in about 7 years. And even then, that's my only one in like the last 15 years.

That's why I hate people so much that say they can't afford something. She chooses to use her money to go on vacation to Florida while starving the rest of the time and eating Ramen noodles and DL fansubs and buying boots and I choose to skip vacations, but keep myself well fed and such.

But since I got a decent job now, I can afford to travel a bit. I just bought my plane ticket last night to go down to Houston in 2 months.

[r00ster]

As an unrelated note, Vicious, I've finally witnessed the true power of Hilary Haag's voice while watching Chrno Crusade... Sister Rosette's laugh alone puts her up high in my top 5 favorite VAs.

EDIT: Not to mention the hilarious panicked scream.

[Vicious]

As an unrelated note, Vicious, I've finally witnessed the true power of Hilary Haag's voice while watching Chrno Crusade... Sister Rosette's laugh alone puts her up high in my top 5 favorite VAs.

EDIT: Not to mention the hilarious panicked scream.

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.

I'm going down to Houston just to meet her pretty much. She's going to be at Kamikazecon. It's a big deal on some of my other forums that I finally get to meet her. One of my other sites even has KKC listed like this in one of the stickies at the top of the forum:

KAMIKAZECON - Houston, TX - [color:"brown"]March 25th-27th[/color]

• Greg Ayres - VA - Fort Worth / Houston
  
• Tiffany Grant - VA / Writer - Houston
  
• Matt Greenfield - ADR Director / Producer / Writer {IS&M / ADV}
  
• Samantha Inoue Harte - VA - Austin
  
• George Manley - VA - Houston
  
• Mike McFarland - VA / ADR Director - Fort Worth / Houston
  
• Vic Mignogna - VA - Fort Worth / Houston
  
• Chris Patton - VA - Fort Worth / Houston
  
• Monica Rial - VA - Fort Worth / Houston
  
• Doug Smith - VA - Houston
  
• Assorted Yet-To-Be-Revealed Local IS&M Voice Talent & Specialty Panels
  
• The fabled first encounter between Vicious & Hilary??? d:

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.