Forum - View topicAnime viewing/purchasing patterns - NOT A DEBATE THREAD
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lhernan02
Posts: 196 |
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After so many "fansub is the devil" vs. "anime is our right" threads, I am of the view that the vast majority of fans (at least I hope) fall in a sensible (if not morally clean) middle. So I was wondering if that is so, please post your viewing/purchasing patterns (without comment or debate) and hopefully we will hear from those who, like me, steer clear of the fansub flame wars.
I am a completist and not a Japanophile, which means I see works as a whole (e.g. even though I love Buffy tVS, I have not bought the DVDs because of the weak 4th season, same for Babylon 5 and its 4th and 5th seasons) and I do not like many of the ending formulas common to Japanese culture. Therefore for me to buy a series, I have to see the whole thing and enjoy it enough on its merits to buy the whole thing (e.g. Sakura Diaries is not a good series overall, but its nice enough for what it is and I got it dirt cheap from TRSI while Darker than BLACK is a far better series, but it fell apart for me in the last 5 minutes). Because of this, I will download a series and only watch it after it is complete (or watch it on TV, but those are few and far between), based on viewing the whole series I will rate it Buy, Maybe Buy, Don't Buy, or Never Buy (except for Never Buy the others are just price points as I own a whole bunch of series on my Don't Buy list). This means that while I have watched almost 350 series/movies/OVAs on TV or fansub, I have only purchased about 40 (4 based on TV the rest based on fansubs). That is what I do, I am not defending it, just stating it, how about you. |
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zhir
 Posts: 353 Location: Nampa, ID, USA |
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It's too bad the quote command can't be disabled for this thread.
Fansubs: Firstly, I have fansubs of most of the good shows that aren't likely to come out here: Rose of Versailles, LoGH, Monster (well, it might come out, I'd by happy if it did) ect. Secondly, I start following most of the interesting shows that come out in Japan every year. Normally by the time the shows start ending, I'm down to 2-4. If those 2-4 come out here I'm pretty sure to buy them. I may buy the shows I stopped watching in the middle if people say it gets better past the place I stopped watching at. Purchasing habits: As I said, I buy the shows I followed in Japan. I'll also buy blind if a show is liked by people who share my taste or if it is very well received critically. If I'm going to buy based on critical opinion, I tend to look at lots of sources, although I bought the Area 88 OVAs based entirely on AWO's review and that worked out well. I like artboxes and special editions. I'm almost always going to go for the artbox if it's near the end of the show, it's a bit iffy if it's the first volume and I haven't seen it fansubed. I almost always go for the nicest edition of movies and short OVAs, but don't always do it for TV shows. |
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kyokun703
 Posts: 2505 Location: Orgrimmar |
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Fansubs:
I occasionally preview things that look interesting, or reviewed, like in ANN's review guide. However, once a series is licensed in the US, I will not watch it, even if it's still available. The only exception I have made, is in the case of Naruto and Bleach, where they are too far ahead of the US releases. Fansubs are watched if something sounds so good I can't wait, or if there's very little chance of it coming out in the US. Purchasing: I believe I have purchased or will purchase everything I have watched the entire series for fansubbed, once it came out in the US. So far, the only fansubbed older series I can't purchase is Yakitate!! Japan, and I would gladly pay for an official US release. I do buy things without previewing, based solely on reviews from ANN's official reviews, the forums, and AoDVD. This is usually my most frequent method of buying anime. So far, the biggest disappointment was Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. But most of the time, this method works fairly well, and I can find series I wouldn't normally have picked up: RahXephon, Diamond Daydreams, for example. |
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Bluebeard
 Posts: 267 Location: Massachusetts |
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This is the process I follow when I'm looking for new anime to watch. It's something I am very strict about holding myself to, due to the effect fansubs May or May Not have on the licensing and release of future anime series.
Phase 1- Browse the local store's anime section, making a note of anime titles that catch my interest. Phase 2- Select one of the titles, and watch a fansub of the first episode. Phase 3a - If I don't enjoy the episode, stop here. Repeat Phase 2. Phase 3b - If I enjoy the episode, I watch a fansub of the second episode. Phase 4 - If the series is still enjoyable after the second episode, I purchase the title in it's entirety from a reliable retailer. Phase 4.5 (If Necessary) - In rare instances when a series is unbelieveably addictive, I will continue to watch the series fansubbed, but ONLY after I have placed an order for the legitimate copy. Phase 5 - When the purchased anime arrives, I will rewatch all the episodes I watched fansubbed before continuing with the new episodes where I left off. Repeat Phase 2. Rules: 1) There is no middle ground. I will either like and buy, or not like and stop watching. I will never decide that a series is "Only ok enough to watch fansubbed, but not worth buying". 2) In the case of anime that is not currently licensed in the US, if I choose to watch more than 2 episodes fansubbed, I am commiting myself to purchase the series in it's entirety once it is released. (Even if I feel it's only moderately rewatchable.) 3) NO BOOTLEGS! In the event a particular item is no longer available, I will do my best to find it on eBay. Note- I am an Art Box Whore. In the event an art box is available, it will be purchased. |
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Lee1981
Posts: 109 |
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Most of my anime is the legitimate release. They're not all US releases, as I've bought the Australian release of Paranoia Agent for $50 plus $20 on Ebay simply because even at a total of $70, it was still cheaper than what I would have paid for the US release on Amazon.com or anywhere else I checked. I also bought the UK region 2 release of Ghost in the shell SAC Season 2 because it was a slimpack and the US release wasn't at the time; and I wish I had the UK edition slimpack for the first season as well but I'm not buying it again.
 And I have a few other Australian releases but mostly its American releases. I've accidentally purchased bootleg animes on Ebay when I first got into it but I've since replaced those with the legitimate release so I made right on that mistake. I also downloaded Afro Samurai on Xbox Live and have been downloading Speed Grapher on Xbox Live, but I'm paying for that so its legal. 
I watched Death Note fansubs while it was being made last year and I will buy the box set when that is released, and I've watched a few one-episode OVAs on Youtube, but otherwise I don't have any experience with fansubs. I'm sure there are probably lots of animes that I would really enjoy that haven't been licensed and probably won't be licensed, but I have no idea what those would be or how to find out about them. |
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Paludis
Posts: 46 |
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My system is pretty simple, I watch fansubs of shows as they are airing in Japan, if I like it I will buy it when it's released here, and if I don't like it I won't.
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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I pretty much buy everything I've downloaded, but if I didn't like it very much I will delay it and buy the cheaper releases/seasons/etc.
That isn't to say I don't have cheaper releases of some things I like a lot, I only started really purchasing anime recently. I had terrible (minimum wage) jobs and such for a long time and really didn't have enough money for anime until the last 2 years. In the last year I've purchased pretty much the entire backlog of stuff I downloaded in the previous 7-8 years. I've also bought tons of stuff I never watched fansubs or downloaded (blind purchase), and everything I've watched the fansub of for more than a few episodes I will buy (gundam 00, claymore, clannad, ef - a tale of memories, and rental magica are all definite buys and I will buy them in individual volumes) I personally think people should buy in accordance with how much they make and how much they like anime. I don't expect people who earn less to abstain when they have the ability to watch more. I suppose some would say that they should "watch american TV instead" since it can be done free, but I don't think that viewpoint benefits anime at all. We need every fan we can get, and we need people to buy what they can when they can. Anime is ultimately a niche product, we don't need to be trying to shoo anyone away for doing what 90% of American TV fans are doing (buying what they like and want to see multiple times). Instead, I think what needs to be done by the Japanese is to work on establishing a system much more like TV that is low rate subscription and can be seen oversees. Bost TV, etc. are a decent first step but far too expensive in the long run. If I had to pay 2$ an episode for American TV (w/ no permanent copy mind you) I wouldn't watch it. They need a better model than that. |
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murph76
 Posts: 3291 Location: Akron, OH |
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My system is similar to Bluebeard's, except I use Netflix to watch titles already out in the U.S. Whether I buy a series depend on my finances and whether I enjoyed it enough to watch it over and over. I've had a few too many bad blind buys. I always check out a series through Netflix first.
About fansubs, I don't watch too many. But if I like a series and it comes out R1, I'll buy it. Usually I'll see what's generating buzz on the forums and check out a series, which is how I found Spice and Wolf and Kure-nai. I will purchase Spice and Wolf if it's licensed. It's too early to tell for Kure-nai, but it looks favorable. I caught a few episodes of Lucky Star when those fansubs first came out, and preordered the first DVD when it was announced. -Murph |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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What I do:
I watch fansubs of series that I have already heard about (and that sounded alright). I never watch a fansub/raw of a series I do not know. I will buy series that I see on a store shelf, even if I have never heard of it before. Impulse buying is my dirty little secret. I have found good Anime and not so good Anime that way. If the packaging and blurb is promising, then it contributes to my credit card debt (so to speak). Most of my information on what's hot and what's not comes straight from this site. It is how I heard about shows like Bleach, Death Note and Code Geass. If it is already out on DVD when I learn about it, then I buy it. Otherwise, I watch the fansubs. If I watch a fansub, and I liked it, then I will (without fail) buy the DVDs, even though I am often disappointed by the dub. The more I watch Bleach in it's dubbed format, the more I realise that what made the show so good in its native language was the language itself. With the English dub, the show is painfully mediocre. But that is neither here nor there...... I don't really know why I even posted here, but I just had this strange urge to explain my actions to those who would label me a "traitor" or "criminal". Strange. |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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My buying habits come back to my opinion that you only cost the industry a sale if you would have bought something that you download. I don't like to allow my cheapness to cost the industry money but also have no problem with seeing something without paying for it if I am doing so without hurting the industry.
Therefore I always try to buy anime that I would have bought "blind" if I was unable to download it. How much anime falls into this category has varied over time depending on my income and my interest in anime. As both are currently quite high so I've been buying almost everything. What type of anime it is also affects this a lot. I'm fairly happy to buy most movies and short OVAs blind. I'm hesitant to start buying a multi-volume TV series that I may not want to finish. |
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HyugaHinata
 Posts: 3505 |
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I always buy the Australian DVDs if they get released.
If a show is licensed, but not released for years, I honestly see no ethical issues with downloading a fansub. How else would I watch it? In any case, "official" subs should be as good as the average fansub, at the very least. They should take a lesson from the Region 2 Ghibli DVDs. Their subtitles are superb, and in the case of Only Yesterday, came out years before they were licensed in the west. |
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britannicamoore
 Posts: 2618 Location: Out. |
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A history, and a breif explaination.
Well, up into Aug 18 2005 or so I bought blindy. back then i'd read newtype and go by the reivews there. I was mostly happy with the purchases, but, when I had a bad purchase I was stuck. Mind you I- (my father) was paying the suncoast price for dvds, a whopping 30ish bucks. Anyway, After that day, or week, roughly, I gave up on reviews. Hearing about a show, reading the episode review, or dvd reviews wasn't enough. I was done doing it that way. I turned to the internet, and somewhere around that time compaines were giving out sampler discs, so I went that route. Seeing something and judging was better than taking someone esles word for me. I also began buying bootlegs around then, of naruto, bleach, and a few other shows I couldn't buy. (sensal phrase, cheeky angel (Tenshi na Konamaiki ) etc) I was still buying legit dvds, but also buying the bootlegs. After awhile I decided to stop buying them, after finding out that they were indeed bootlegs. (at the time I didn't know, and wasn't sure) The store mangers were so nice, but they cheated me. it makes me kinda sad. Alright, so i started watching fansubs when i got to college. a friend of mine showed me a um. service and showed me how to download. it took forever and a day, so i gave up on that after i got 3 episodes. I discovered Ouran host club on youtube, and I began to give it a go. All the while still buying legit dvds, some I had been waiting on, others I read the manga of. In closing, I watch fansubs and then buy what I enjoyed. If I didn't enjoy it i'll A. buy it when it becomes super cheap or B. not at all. And I have no bitter taste in my mouth admitting that. I no longer buy blindly at all because most of my...money is going to paying for everything esle. We no longer have the funds. Also, that particular day was the last disc of Spiral. See, told you it was breif. 
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Jih2
 Posts: 403 Location: East coast |
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Up until this past week I have bought almost everything I own blindly, that's with the exception of two series. For the past 4 or 5 days I've been downloading fansubs like mad. Why? Because I've come to a point where I want to see what's in Japan and darn it, I've spent somewhere above $5k on the R1 anime industry. They need to accomodate for change or expect some of us who shell out a good chunk of change to just watch fansubs of series as they air in Japan. I have yet to come upon the issue of whether or not I will buy anime I watch fansubbed seeing as the only new series I've seen illegitimately so far was Macross Frontier. However, I can tell you that I would not entertain the idea of paying for a download of what's airing in Japan. I'm only going to buy a high quality physical copy.
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HMMcKamikaze
 Posts: 189 |
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The majority of the anime I watch is fansubs. If it wasn't for them, I would have never gotten interested in anime in the first place, so my thoughts on the matter are similar to ikillchicken's. The only reason I ever had a real interest in anime was from watching Miyazaki's films, and I think the only reason I had ever heard of him was because Spirited Away won an oscar. I had seen some anime on Toonami also, but neither case was enough to make me buy shows blindly that I didn't know anything about. Thanks to YouTube and similar services I saw Rurouni Kenshin and Trigun, and my interest took off since I could watch all these great shows quickly and without paying a dime. I will admit that back then I had no intention of ever buying anything I watched, but my appreciation of anime as a whole grew and my attitude changed.
So as it is now I watch a lot of fansubs, and then I buy the shows I like or plan to once they are released in the US. I know that reviews and articles alone would have not been enough to get me to buy what I did besides three exceptions: Kino's Journey, Haibane Renmei, and Paranoia Agent. Those are the only shows I bought prior to seeing them. Although, I only bought them because I got them at an exceptionally low price. I think of fansubs as a substitute for watching the shows on tv. It's definitely not entirely equatable, but I think it's pretty close. It's the same to me anyways, as even with American shows I have seen all of the ones that I've bought before buying them. |
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mokuhazushi
 Posts: 95 Location: Atlanta |
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I think I'm close to most other people who've commented. I watch fansubs to see what's playing in Japan, to enjoy the latest shows, and to see stuff that will probably never be licensed in North America. I usually (subject to financial pressures) buy the DVDs of shows I like if they're released here, and I also buy DVDs of stuff I've seen recommended in reviews/forums or checked out on Netflix (I watched Gankutsuou as a rental and bought the series when it was clear how good it is). I have several series I bought on word-of-mouth that I have yet to watch--Rumbling Hearts, Raxhephon, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World. I tend to spend in binges every few months when TRSI has sales of stuff I know I will probably like.
I admit to finishing true tears in fansubs after it was licensed, both because I really wanted to finish it and because the announced DVD prices seemed outrageous. I might just end up buying them anyway since the show was so well done. I also downloaded Story of Saiunkoku when Geneon went under and it was clear that there wouldn't be any discs released after the first two. If it's picked up by another company at some point, I'll definitely buy the rest. So I think I generally contribute as much as I can afford towards the R1 industry, and fansubs are a way to watch new shows, see stuff that won't make it over here, and satisfy my lust for instant gratification.
One thing that is now a slight discouraging factor for buying DVDs is that we're now getting a lot of fansubs in 720p high-density format, which looks generally a bit better than DVD even on my low-end HDTV (even at the comparatively low bitrates used). Once Blu-Ray players get cheaper and more anime starts coming out in that format I will probably go that way, if disc prices aren't absolutely ridiculous. |
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