Yeah, Netflix and a great anime store near my house, Anime Pavilion.

Edit: If I like it enough to buy it (like Utena), once it's licensed, I'll buy it from Amazon usually.

Last edited by Dani (02-04-2007 04:05:06 PM)

Until last year or so, my main source of anime has been whatever they released in video hire stores as well as what was on Cartoon Network and the occassional anime screening on SBS, but more recently its been mostly what I discover on Youtube.

I want netflix again, it wa a past source, that's how I wtched the entire show and the movie.
Now I'm dryyyyyy!

I know that a lot of anime never gets translated for the English speaking market and the few of the ones that do eventually often get chopped up and the so-called professional subtitles are often not as well done as the fan subs anyway.

For me at least without access to a credit card, I am limited to hiring whatever few titles are released over here which is only a few percent of what animes are shown in Japan, so even if you do things 'by the book' there are tons of titles that you will never get to see that will ever be translated officially because for one reason or another, companies like Viz or MangaMadness do not bother to buy them so your only choice will be the fansubs (they often do the work for nothing but their desire to share)

I myself will still hope to buy professional titles like the Utena series because I am curious about what the dub would sound like and I want to be able to watch it on the big screen.

The internet and the lovely DVDs at the theatre megaplex in Bahrain's Seef Mall.

I buy it. The only time I use an alternative method is if it hasn't been released in America.

Tamago wrote:

I know that a lot of anime never gets translated for the English speaking market and the few of the ones that do eventually often get chopped up and the so-called professional subtitles are often not as well done as the fan subs anyway.

For me at least without access to a credit card, I am limited to hiring whatever few titles are released over here which is only a few percent of what animes are shown in Japan, so even if you do things 'by the book' there are tons of titles that you will never get to see that will ever be translated officially because for one reason or another, companies like Viz or MangaMadness do not bother to buy them so your only choice will be the fansubs (they often do the work for nothing but their desire to share)

I myself will still hope to buy professional titles like the Utena series because I am curious about what the dub would sound like and I want to be able to watch it on the big screen.

Tamago, anime is a luxury.

Yep, there's some anime I won't see because I don't watch illegal pirated copies.

So what?  I don't have a right to anime. I do not have the right to take it without compensating the people who made it. If you like a show, that should make you all the more willing to buy it, as a "thank you" to the many people who worked hard to make it.

There's also virtually no licensed anime that gets "chopped up" anymore, and to say so is simply misleading and wrong. The only anime that doesn't get uncut releases these days is a few things bought to show to kids on TV, and even most of those get uncut releases. I won't even touch upon the "accurate subtitles" issue except to note that a) translation is an art, not a science, and b) people who aren't fluent in Japanese themselves can't really judge. I'm aware you're in Australia, and there's less anime licensed there than in North America, but that doesn't and cannot justify taking it. You don't need anime to live. It's a luxury. You can get along just fine with what you can get there, and you could import things you really wanted to see, and yes, you could do it without a credit card. It's your decision every time you download something and don't compensate the people who created it. Nobody forced you into it, I'm sorry.

And frankly, I don't share your positive view of fansubbers. When five groups are competing to release the latest "hot" anime which is bound to be licensed - or is already licensed, hello, Naruto - it's pretty clearly ego, not a "desire to share", motivates most of them.

Anyway, that is off-topic, so I won't continue derailing the thread. If you want to respond, we could take it to PM or start another thread?

Blade wrote:

Anyway, that is off-topic, so I won't continue derailing the thread.

*cough*

The part of the post that goes bump in the night wrote:

I'll explain my reasons for downloading unlisenced anime in the other thread entirely when I'm not about to leave. I don't work in the entertainment industry, but I have some friends who do and over the years it's become pretty clear to me that a lot of the modern English anime market has realised (from their own risk with the Big O dub) that the English and Japanese markets are not always receptive towards the same thing and are concentrating more and more on what's becoming popular in the fansub/scanlation community over just what's popular in Japan. I know that's a pretty small market, but I have no doubt it's enough to compensate for the English language anime viewers that don't buy merchandise, and I think that's a lot smaller demographic than people realise. Socially and fiscally pirating Haruhi isn't quite the same as pirating Firefly.

Hey hey now. How about a nice cup of on topic.

When I choose to download anime I usually do it from AnimeSuki or Tokyotosho. If BT is being particularly uncooporative a lot of fansubbers have IRC packlist listen on their sites and it's all pretty self-explanatory. A lot of anime fansubbers use StrawberriesNCream.net but that site seems to be deliberately obtuse. Your best bet if you don't want to use torrents is going into the IRC channel and reading the topic. If they have a packlist for their bot or direct downloads it's probably going to be there.

Manga's a lot easier. The vast majority of manga being scanlated or raw can be found on gotlurk.net, and they may or may not have a hentai section on thelurker if that's your cup of tea. I'm a bit less intereted in downloading manga, though, since it's a lot less likely that manga will get released in English so they don't watch the numbers as carefully. If I find a work I like by a relatively obscure mangaka I'll order the damn thing in Japanese and download it off Lurk and read it while it's coming. I won't be able to read my copy with any proficiency, anyway.

When the series is licensed I usually use Netflix or Amazon. If it's an unlicensed series or manga that I really want to support Amazon.co.jp, Yesasia.com, Jpqueen.com and Comiket service (only the last two if it's seriously obscure) are the best sources possible. That should be it.

OH, and as far as streaming goes (for Tamago) I've never tried crunchyroll but I have a lot of friends who think it's the best thing ever. As far as I can tell it's like an otaku culture youtube.

Last edited by Hinotori (02-03-2007 10:27:21 PM)

Ebay. Anime and manga. I get everything brand new for half the price. Its great.

And if its unavailable, too expensive or anything else, I download it. The Sailor Moon manga being out of print, I am not going to spend $200 dollars I don't have on used copies, which aren't going to artist anyway. Same goes for the Sailor Stars season of the anime, which I think is all pirated anyway. If I can't get something, I download it. I don't download to get out of buying.

Suncoast because I love that place. If not, I head for Fry's or Ebay. Sometimes the internet because I'm a cheap bastard. xD

I barely watch anime anymore but I used to go to FYE or Best Buy. I download shows that are currently on air (since their DVDs aren't out in Japan yet anyway) but I don't waste time on that if its not. That's usually the case with dramas. Also, I hate bittorenting since it takes forever. I don't prefer downloading it if its licensed. What's the point if you could buy excellent quality stuff?

Come to think of it, I've been to these stores and DVDs have gotten a lot cheaper. I mean, come on, I got the Utena DVDs for $30.00 per boxset. Well, at Best Buy it was. I also got another boxset for $15.00. Is this possibly because of the new Blue Rays? If so, pretty soon, we might be able to get anime DVDs dirt cheap!