Forum - View topicNEWS: Aniplex USA Adds Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of sinners
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bemused Bohemian
Posts: 404 Location: central Mizzou (Moral Oralville) |
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The purchase price for this release is waaaay less expensive than "stuff" I used to afford and enjoy as a hobby: brass operating HO-gauge model US or Canadian railroad prototype specific steam and diesel locomotives, usually imported from Japan or So. Korea at the time.
I recall cringing at the MSRP for a Milwaukee Rd. Class N-2 2-6-6-2 mallet: $2695.00 USD several years ago. It had been on everyone's wishlist for over a decade and finally, PFM, a well-known Japan importer, committed itself to the project. Now many of us would have loved 1 of the So. Korean importers to produce this engine as it would have retailed for about $1000.00 USD less upon release at the time. But affordable this "gem" was not to be. Such was my mania after several frantic phone calls I did manage to locate 1 still available and not pre-sold from a Minnesota hobbystore for $1995.00 plus shipping that was also willing to allow 90-day L-A-W. That was about 1 decade ago. The US collector mania for these phenomenal engines is still alive and well though there a fewer collectors now with deep pockets. The average price for a specific release HO-gauge "brass" steam locomotive custom-painted replete with sound and DCC now runs $1700.00-$2700.00 USD while diesel types average $950.00-$1200.00 USD. One hobbystore imported 13 Northerns (4-8-4 class using the Whyte wheel classification system for steam engines as a descriptor) specific for the Chinese railway system retailing for about $3400.00 USD each. Would've loved to have bought 1 as they are exquisite but I'm married now with obligations. Oh, well. I get as much enjoyment from anime now as I did from past model locomotive collecting then. Only this hobby isn't that expensive. Thank you Rightstuf for offering this set. You have my pre-order. |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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I'm afraid that if you see this as a contradiction you've clearly not understood the point I'm trying to make. Yes, this is a collectors item. I recognize that it isn't targeting the $40-$50 SAVE crowd and don't expect it to be priced as such. However, I also feel that, at a price of $400, even for a collector's item this is still a massive ripoff. Don't try to paint this as a black and white issue where I have to either accept a price of $400 or demand a price of $50. There is a middle ground. This being a collector's item justifies a significant price increase over the low price but hardly justifies the high end price. That's the point I'm making here.
How so? Paying that much is a ripoff. If collectors are willing to pay that much anyway, they can go right ahead. Lord knows there are some overpriced imports I'm tempted to buy and probably would if I had the cash. If people are going to do that though then it's absurd to get 'insulted' when someone points out that they're being gouged.
I don't know about that. For starters, the added costs of producing a collector's edition don't lie in manufacturing alone. There's also a fair bit of design work involved in putting it together initially. Even in terms of manufacturing though, there's definitely some added costs there. I mean come on. You're telling me it doesn't cost significantly more to produce a hard artbox or one of those fancy steel cases or a nice hardcover artbook than to simply press the DVDs, print out a paper label, and stick it all in a mass produced stack-pack case? No, I definitely think there's enough added cost there to justify the added prices you see on these items normally. So no, I don't think all 'collector's editions' are inherently overpriced. This one is but many of them aren't. Hence my complaint. |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Wal-Mart mentality huh? Yeah, who'd want to think remotely like one of the largest and most successful corporations on the planet. They can't possibly have any idea what works and what doesn't can they? I mean, really. 
So swing and a miss. I prefer to save my money as any wise man would but I'm also willing to pay more for what I want. As I've never heard of these movies before, I find the price rather high and frankly it doesn't seem like a decent deal from my perspective as a disinterested in the title anime fan.
First, all I did was state an opinion. Re-read what I wrote. If you consider that "whining" then I suggest you check the dictionary or do a research project on the topic because personally I'd barely even call that a bare complaint. Second, I didn't make any suggestion on my part that anyone boycott Aniplex USA. Again, I merely posted my opinion that it wasn't a good deal. Agree or disagree but please try not to allow your own opinions to render you incapable of rational thought. There's enough of that lunacy in politics, we don't need it in anime fandom. And third, I don't give a damn about simultaneous releases. I honestly don't care if I have to wait months, years or even DECADES to get what I want. If I can get what I want then I'm satisfied. Is it better to get it sooner? Sure but as I posted before, this isn't what I'd want anyway so I don't care when it came out. My post had two major points: 1) To make moderate fun of sub fans who thought going this route would mean cheaper releases and 2) to express my opinion that this isn't a good deal. Agree with me or disagree with me but please try to do so in a way that actually shows you read my post and comprehended it. I know it's much easier to debate what you wish someone had posted rather than what they actually posted but it's really not appropriate. 
And if you didn't intend for that last part to be aimed at me, disregard the above comments. |
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ArsenicSteel
 Posts: 2370 |
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1) This is still technically an import and precisely what sub fans that import have been dealing with for years; I have no idea what crowd of people were expecting cheaper imports. KnK is just not a cheaply priced series as a whole to begin with.
Good is relative. |
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Sanosuke_Inara
 Posts: 1662 |
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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Nah. We're aware that this is just masked import. It's a good deal for those with the money. As for me, these movies lie on my top 10, and I have the money. So it's a good deal from my perspective, as I get to own one of my favorite anime with the best packaging I've seen over here to date. |
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einhorn303
 Posts: 1180 |
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I'm really glad to see anime released like this. It's the release format I think makes most sense. Unfortunately it's not a franchise I care that much about, but I look forward to seeing more "official imports" like this with English translation.
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3186 |
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They why are posting in a thread for a simultaneous release? Shoo. Go buy those eight dubbed FUNi shows you were talking about. This version of KnK has nothing for you. Hope you aren't waiting too long
I know we've had finals and all, but I've lost interest in debating this topic. I placed my pre-order, what...like three days ago? Over it. Sorry. |
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ikillchicken
Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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No, that a fair point. I probably shouldn't say SAVE specifically. I just picked $30-$40 because it seemed like a rough average of what you pay for a series these days.
Yeah, you keep saying that but then you keep coming back to debate the topic further. Do us all a favour and either go away for real or at least be honest like the rest of us. |
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luffypirate
Posts: 3186 |
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I was responding to the original poster that I quoted in the first place. Trust me, I'm over it. Looks like you are left to debate with yourself. Have fun. |
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eyevocal
Posts: 137 |
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There's a difference between overpriced ultra-niche merchandise, which is the side dish of the media, and overpriced media, which is the main meal. Overprice staple food and you price yourself right out of the marketplace.
I remember a company that tried this approach just a couple of years ago. They were called Bandai Visual. What ever happened to them? If Aniplex USA will not adapt, Aniplex USA will die. And few of us will be crying. |
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egoist
Posts: 7762 |
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They opened a branch in Europe called Beez Entertainment and are doing quite well with their overpriced first time releases followed by a probable Legends afterwards. Whatever can Aniplex lose by doing this? Consumers? Don't worry, they'll run back like dog to bone as soon as they release something cheap; supposing they ever will target said consumers. |
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eyevocal
Posts: 137 |
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Includes Bandai Entertainment titles. Also, those Legends collections? That's an adaptation measure.
In other words...once they finally adapt to our market. Thank you for the agreement with my post. |
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ArsenicSteel
Posts: 2370 |
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It is not a question of once AA adapts to the R1 markets, they have done so and still put out plenty of R1 releases fitting the general R1 price range. This bluray set however is not a R1 release. You don't want to buy import anime at import prices, fine. Wait until there is a release for YOUR market and stop pretending AA has somehow turned their back on R1 because of this attempt to make importing KnK easier for some that don't include you. |
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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Every argument that "this is too expensive for the main US market" translates into, "50 sales in the main US market do not compensate for one lost sale in Japan from back importation". And with Blu-Ray, its not even necessary to have a multi-region player to watch a US release in Japan, we're in the same region. This is just a mild discount on the Japanese domestic price for the Japanese domestic disc, about $50 cheaper than Amazon JP before international shipping, protected by international shipping charges and the difficulty of crossing the language barrier. It is clearly labeled "(Import)" at the RightStuf site. |
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