Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Are Anime DVDs More Expensive Than Western Animation?
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Tuor_of_Gondolin
 Posts: 3524 Location: Bellevue, WA |
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So, I've bought a lot of anime over the years. While my "shelf" might not be as impressive as some, it does contain a couple hundred shows. I buy them so that I can watch them when I want, at the resolution I want, and on the screen that I want. I have no intention of reselling them to anyone.
Would I be called a "collector", then? Am I automatically considered one simply because I buy anime? *I* have always used the term "collector" for people who buy something in order to have it -- they collect things. They collect things simply so that they can say they have them, and the pleasure they get (if any) is in the having, not in doing anything with whatever it is they're collecting. And then there is a subset of such people that intend to sell their collections at a later date, when it is financially advantageous for them to do so. Does what Answerman said mean that before long, people like me are going to be SOL when it comes to buying reasonably priced anime that they intend to actually watch, possibly several times? Because companies are moving towards a "collector" set-up, where anime is sold for high amounts with fancy boxes with the intent of being "collected"? I hope that doesn't happen, but if certain production companies keep jacking the prices here in the States to make them more closely resemble the system in Japan, then I can see my days of buying anime basically come to a halt. Then I'll be at the mercy of online streaming sites, hoping that they have shows that I want to see, in the form I want to see it, without censorship to protect the kiddies, or ads sprinkled in.... I won't be in control of the content anymore, because I won't own it. So, yeah, I hope that doesn't happen, but it looks like it very well might. |
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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It becomes a matter of semantics by that point, because different people have different ideas on what a collector is or is not. Just like how I define "art" is that it was produced by an artist, and an "artist" is a person who calls him- or herself as such with nothing more specific, I would do the same for "collection" and "collector." To me, you are a collector if you identify yourself as a collector. (And presumably have at least one of the item you say you collect or are trying to find one.)
The biggest factor in determining the line, I've noticed, is the type of item being collected. On one end, you have collections like stamps, where other collectors would shun you for using them. On the other, you have collections like arcade games, where other collectors would shun you for not using them. Then there are items which cannot be used in any meaningful way, like decorative plates or art (except functional art), and items that HAVE to be used to be put in a collection, like beverage bottles or depleted radioactive objects. And then there are collections that wind up as part of a museum--when people come to the museum to look at the things on display, is it being used? As for anime home video, if you want my opinion, I think they are meant to be watched, so they should be watched. If you have no intention on selling them, then what's the point of owning them if you're not going to watch them?
Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know about that. Something they should eventually do is make Donald and the Wheel available so introductory engineering classes can watch it. Personally, it's way better than Mathmagicland.
Okay, that is REALLY before my time then. Well, the home video release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, in any case. I at least remember when Angelina Jolie was THE name in Hollywood and by then, I had already been visiting video rental stores and looking at home videos at stores. Not sure how quick Costco was on the uptake though; my father pretty much bought videotapes only from there. We never subscribed to any of these catalogs. My father seemed to get the information he needed online (we were the first in the neighborhood to go online), but he did have a friend who DID get those catalogs, who was and still is a Disney movie collector. I never looked at any new ones he had though, so I never knew they were ahead of general release.
Are you sure a customer didn't pick it up and put it there?
Depends. I would rather have either a Blu-Ray or a DVD. I don't need two copies of the same thing. Or do you mean that FUNimation does do Blu-Ray only and a Blu-Ray and DVD set for an equal or near-equal price? |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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Not quite. An artist is someone that makes art, just like a scientist is someone that makes science. This is a personal pet peeve of mine, since many people like to call themselves artist or scientist just because it sounds more prestigious, when tbt most of them are artisans or engineers/physicians (at most).
IMO you are a collector the moment you buy one disc. Of course there are all kinds of collectors, I have several kilograms of discs (anime and otherwise) but I have yet to buy one fancy $$$ collector edition and the average japanese is the opposite, having few discs but all of them are collector editions.
Over time, light dulls colors in painting, so yes, you are using those paintings just by placing them under a source of light.
I am one of those, I rarely watch anything more than once. But what if down the line (yes, I expect to live a lot, centuries if medical technology allows) I want to see them again? Streaming is wonderful but just like video rentals, you can't expect them to have any movie/series always available. Even if you "buy" them digitally, unless it is in your hard drive, you will sooner or later loose access (and hard discs have a lifetime measured in years, not decades or centuries like dvds or blurays).
Infidel :-p Remember Konata from Lucky Star, you need one disc to evangelize anime and what better option there is than a dvd that comes free with a blu-ray? 
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Ninjagai
Posts: 8 |
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If only the media covering anime and games didn't demonize and taboo them for their content, they might be more widely accepted. As always, blame shitty bloggers/journalists.
Like the ones on this site. |
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CasCrow
Posts: 15 |
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I guess it's possible that the person would've moved all the Tokyo Ghoul manga there. But the price tag said it belonged there. |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Heh, all right then. That's pretty convincing that it was put there by a store associate then.
Anime and manga are still subject to the Animation Age Ghetto. I still see these releases put next to kids' stuff, as the most prevalent stereotype for anime and manga is that they are all aimed at children. |
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wmderemer
 It...it's not like I post for you or anything! Posts: 302 Location: Stroudsburg, PA |
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@leafy
There would actually be television commercials letting people know that a movie was coming to home video on such-and-such a date, they would just conveniently leave out the fact that that meant "coming out to rent because most people ain't paying $100 for a tape." If a movie was extremely successful or the studio knew they'd sell a shitton of tapes, then they would skip the 'rental' tier & go straight to retail, usually at $20-$27 each. I remember this because for Christmas 1989 (when I was 13), I got "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and the 1st Michael Keaton-"Batman", and I know damned well my folks didn't pay $100+ for each  ...their respective studios put them in the marketplace just before Christmas, knowing they'd be popular.
Now, I imagine the insanity if Disney had decided t do rental-tier pricing on their stuf... people WOULD have paid the $100, I am sure...I worked a Disney release day at Suncoast, and the store was PACKED with people picking up their reserved copies... LOL |
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
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Found an image for ya!
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5846 Location: Virginia, United States |
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I like it, but when I went looking for a usable copy, found another one I liked better. Thanks though, got me to actually change it. |
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