Forum - View topic
Hard-to-find anime?




Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Amorok



Joined: 18 Dec 2011
Posts: 21
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 6:15 pm Reply with quote
I'm interested to know about good anime that are hard to find, either online or on DVD, that you'd recommend to other anime fans. Seems like most of the discussions on forums are about fairly mainstream shows/movies, but there are precious few discussions about the more obscure anime out there.

I'm not talking about underappreciated anime necessarily, though there's bound to be some overlap between the two -- I'm more interested in anime you've been looking for for a while but can't find, or anime you enjoyed as a child but can't seem to find anywhere nowadays.

For example, I was a big fan of Vampire Princess Miyu when I was young, but for some reason, it's REALLY hard to find anywhere... at all. :/

Also, hopefully this thread will inspire people to look up some of the more obscure anime out there. Hooray for broadening horizons!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
EricDent



Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 997
Location: Georgetown, TX
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:35 am Reply with quote
I have had some rather good luck in finding out of print stuff at various stores that were closing down, or not doing rentals any more.

Such as Blockbuster, Hastings, and a local comic store that rented anime.

Also check places like Half Price Books (make sure to look in the clearance section as well as the anime section), or other used video stores.

As for Vampire Princess Miyu, I think I saw it recently at a store called Buybacks (near Fry's in Austin), they ship stuff so maybe try to call them up.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:23 am Reply with quote
Try reading through the archives of the "Buried Treasure" column on this site. Be warned though, some of those titles will be very hard to find Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
504NOSON2



Joined: 28 Jul 2008
Posts: 648
Location: Body:Santa Barbara, CA ~ Heart:New Orleans, LA
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:36 am Reply with quote
Your best source to start would be ANN's past column, Buried Treasure

As for specific places to buy anime...

-Robert's Anime Corner has a pretty extensive archive of both older and more contemporary titles.

-Animeigo has a few somewhat popular, but obscure, titles.

-Also, mom and pop video stores will usually carry much older titles, as well. Blockbuster etc will most likely have them, but they'll probably be
more expensive.


You can get the entire series of Vampire Princess Miyu from Amazon, with a total of $47.02. (The first DVD is merely $3.15 here).

Hope that helps.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail My Anime My Manga
OldCharlieStoletheHandle



Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 1288
Location: Mastic Beach, NY
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 1:17 am Reply with quote
I found someone on Ebay selling anime on DVD that has never actually been released in North America on DVD. Most seem to be VHS rips but a few are LD rips. A lot of the titles are in "Buried Garbage" (like Roots Search and Dog Soldier) but there are a few gems. I was able to get the old Rumik World OVA's which included The Laughing Target (which was written about in "Buried Treasure") and Leda: The Fantastic Adventures of Yohko which is a very good anime (though listed as an OVA I believe it got a theatrical release in Japan) and looks quite good as it is an LD rip (sub only). The vendor gives discounts for shipping if you order multiple items.

Over the past couple of years I've been hunting down a lot of OOP stuff. Unfortunately, when trying to collect a series (like Vampire Princess Miyu) you get killed with shipping even if the individual discs are cheap.

Although I've not yet ordered from them several posters have mentioned a site called SecondSpin favorably as a source for used anime DVDs so you may want to check them out as well.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
ailblentyn



Joined: 28 Mar 2009
Posts: 1688
Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 2:47 am Reply with quote
Ahem... If people are interesting in collecting things like the Rumik World OVAs, Mermaid Forest, and Leda: The Fantastic Adventures of Yohko, second hand VHS copies are not that expensive. Not given their status as OOP collectables, at least.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
supercreep



Joined: 11 Dec 2011
Posts: 526
PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 12:31 am Reply with quote
As I have stated on here I am looking for a fairly priced ($35 or under) copy of the fourth volume of Paranoia Agent, Sayonara Maromi. I have lost every auction for it and I refuse to pay a premium.

Anyway, thanks for giving me all of these great ideas on where to search.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 8:19 am Reply with quote
When I was experiencing the joys of collecting Vampire Princess Miyu, I picked up a couple from a place up in Denver called Second Spin, although their selection can be...erratic. The Corner Store often has copies of OOP stuff, but they will mark them up like crazy once inventory gets low. Although I was able to get Diamond Daydreams for a great price from them, generally they are too expensive (For example, they are the only people I can find that still have the GS Mikami movie, but I'm not playing $50 for it. And then, there is the ebay and amazon marketplace. I recently grabbed used copies of the rare volumes (9, 15, 16) of the Red River manga from ebay and amazon, and the price wasn't too bad, and quality was high, all things considered. And if you by from a reputable dealer on ebay, you won't get screwed. I've just bought all four Tsukikage Ran discs from a dude called mousebig1, and they were all in great shape. Just make sure that there is a picture of the case or the discs, so you can confirm it is not a bootleg (There are some bootlegs of Miyu out there, I know cause I ended up with one).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime
Akito Kinomoto



Joined: 24 Dec 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Pretentious University
PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:13 pm Reply with quote
Hard to find depends on where you look. At most video stores I see the usual suspects like DBZ, Death Note ect. on the shelves, while online shopping lets me find everything from Naruto to Madoka. That said, even among the latter method Haibane Renmei is absurdly difficult to track without trying to shell out too much money.

If we're just talking about obscure anime in general, though, I can count on one hand the number of people I know have watched The Skull Man. Which I think is criminally unnoticed and quite good even if you aren't too keen on vigilante superhero stories.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger My Anime My Manga
Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1531
PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 1:28 pm Reply with quote
During Thanksgiving break, I ran across a copy of ADV's Macross Vol 7 at a local FYE...for $7

Amazon and Ebay are listing it for about $150-$200!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
st_owly



Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 5234
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:47 pm Reply with quote
Shenl742 wrote:
During Thanksgiving break, I ran across a copy of ADV's Macross Vol 7 at a local FYE...for $7

Amazon and Ebay are listing it for about $150-$200!


Did you buy it and sell it on? Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1531
PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 6:33 pm Reply with quote
st_owly wrote:
Shenl742 wrote:
During Thanksgiving break, I ran across a copy of ADV's Macross Vol 7 at a local FYE...for $7

Amazon and Ebay are listing it for about $150-$200!


Did you buy it and sell it on? Laughing


Of course not! I have my pride as a collector Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group