I’m actually getting into collecting a few anime series on DVD right. I’ve bought two box sets in store and one online. I was unsatisfied with the one I received from an Amazon seller. The so called ‘box-set’ was actually a boot leg or import version, and the 4 disc box set I wanted turned into a 2 disc single DVD case.
Question is: How can I avoid this happening again. I see on a few seller’s comments they have “Region 1” listed. I Googled it and found out that its US/Canada distributed. So does this basically mean that it’s not an Import and it actually is the same item that can be found in store?
If you know anything about this subject your input would be appreciated.
Question about actual Anime DVDs and DVD sets.
Moderator: AniDB
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Neko-Musume
- Posts: 56
- Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:31 pm
Region 1 disks are a pretty good indicator of a legitimate North American release but it's not foolproof (see 1 below).
Signs of a bootleg:
1. No region protection. This isn't always the case though, because even a number of legitimate North American releases have no region protection. The opposite can also be true though, and a region-protected disk can still be a bootleg.
2. Contains English AND Chinese subtitles. Again, just a warning sign, not always a bootleg.
If a set has both #1 and 2 (no region protection AND both eng and chn subs) 99% of the time it's a bootleg.
3. Too good to be true prices. Anime is expensive.
4. Unusual amount of episodes per disk, even for dual-layer.
Like above, if 3 and 4 show up together it's an even bigger warning sign, i.e. 12 eps per disk at under $10 US per disk.
Doing your research about individual titles will save you a lot of headache. Most studios release detailed info about their boxsets (eps per disk, language and subtitle options, type of box, etc), and many people online offer reviews of sets as well. Also buying as much as you can from known, legitimate sources helps a lot too. If your local store doesn't have a title, ask them if they can order it before trying from questionable sources online.
Signs of a bootleg:
1. No region protection. This isn't always the case though, because even a number of legitimate North American releases have no region protection. The opposite can also be true though, and a region-protected disk can still be a bootleg.
2. Contains English AND Chinese subtitles. Again, just a warning sign, not always a bootleg.
If a set has both #1 and 2 (no region protection AND both eng and chn subs) 99% of the time it's a bootleg.
3. Too good to be true prices. Anime is expensive.
4. Unusual amount of episodes per disk, even for dual-layer.
Like above, if 3 and 4 show up together it's an even bigger warning sign, i.e. 12 eps per disk at under $10 US per disk.
Doing your research about individual titles will save you a lot of headache. Most studios release detailed info about their boxsets (eps per disk, language and subtitle options, type of box, etc), and many people online offer reviews of sets as well. Also buying as much as you can from known, legitimate sources helps a lot too. If your local store doesn't have a title, ask them if they can order it before trying from questionable sources online.