Poll: Anime viewing and its effects

[Durxom]

I'm fairly sure, that a decent chunk of the Escapist community are watchers of Anime, and I'm sure most people are always wanting a new show to watch, or just something new to see to please the mind and eyes. But most people just go around, without a care, and stream entire seasons of shows, being unaware of the consequences. Just as with music, if you are getting this stuff for free, you are taking away from the creators and distributors of the product. With less income, do you think that the creators of One Piece or any other manga artist and writers (usually only being 1-3 people on a single series) could continue making the things you love?

For a more detailed explanation of what I'm trying to say, I advise you to take a peek at this video: http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/marzgurl/reviews/12669-animeed01

I personally used stream all the time, but now if I see something that looks appealing to me, I'll just go out and buy the box set if I can.

So I just want to know, how exactly do you acquire your anime? and would you change it if it meant getting more of what you love?

 

[UltraParanoia]

Theft.

Sorry to the Japs who worked so hard on it, but I can't afford it.

It's the same way I get my music. Lars ulrich can kiss my sack.

 

[MoganFreeman]

To be honest, when I read your title I thought this was going to be about the correlation between how much anime you consume and how many successful dates you don't go on. Or something.

It's a misleading title.

EDIT: I borrowed all of my manga. I could never justify dropping ten dollars on something that took me fifteen minutes to read.

 

[Inverse Skies]

Not the biggest fan of anime myself, but the ability to download music or videos off the internet is much to easy and convenient. It's the way the world has gone, which is sad and wrong because of how we take money away from those who made it, but it's just to easy to do so, and as a general rule humanity takes the easy way out for most things.

 

[Durxom]

Not the biggest fan of anime myself, but the ability to download music or videos off the internet is much to easy and convenient. It's the way the world has gone, which is sad and wrong because of how we take money away from those who made it, but it's just to easy to do so, and as a general rule humanity takes the easy way out for most things.

Indeed, it is kind of sad..I mean you are still supporting the creators by watching it, and then spreading the info onto friends, and etc. , most of the time, it's just the one person drawing and writing these amazing stories, so when I think about it that way, I always want to just go out and buy it and just add my small amount to keep some of my favorite series such as Hellsing and Rurouni Kenshin going (even if they are over, to still at least allow the creators to keep on making more manga).

 

[Corven]

Apparently the idea is that it's okay to watch animes on streaming sites until they are licensed outside of japan, then the site will delete the links and put up a message saying that the shows been licensed by so-and-so, please support the publishers.

And if the show is licensed, and if I have the money and see the box set in a store, I might buy it to fund the continuation of the studio who made the show in the first place.

 

[Mstrswrd]

I use Crunchyroll, which holds liscences to god knows how many animes, many of them coming out on that site in Japanese the same day they are released in Japan. That, or I stream anime that are old enough that the liscense has run out, and it hasn't be reliscenced (Hokuto no Ken, for example, holds no liscence to any episode past the Shin Arc in the United States).

 

[kahlzun]

I Arr a bit, but I tend to buy them if I like them.

Shiny box-art!

Also, a good site to read manga (slightly on-topic) is http://www.onemanga.com/

 

[lapan]

I don't want to spent 40? for 2-4 episodes of an Anime. TV-Series sell more episodes for less money and are still able to make a profit, so why can't the anime industry?

 

[kahlzun]

what if you live somewhere backwards with only a couple stores and none carry what you like? Thats my Dilemma lol.

eBay that sucker!

 

[Frybird]

I pirate.

Why? Because in germany, you can't f**king afford anime!

For example:

The first Full Metal Alchemist series was great, so what if i want to buy the whole series...

At Amazon, you can buy at least a third or so of the series on seperate DVDs, for 30 Euros/45 US-Dollars each.

Each DVD has about 5 Episodes. The whole series has 51 Episodes. If we go the optimistic route that's 10 DVDs (more likely 11) at 30?/$45, so 300? for the entire run, wich is about 450 US-Dollars, wich does not make me feel guilty not buying it.


Especially since i am thinking about finally getting Cowboy Bebop on DVD, since there is finally an affordable Boxset that still costs about 130 Dollars (compared to $40!! for a US-Box)

 

[dantheman931]

See, here's the thing. It's lovely to support the creators when I can, but it's not always possible to get my hands on a series in my region on DVD, so streaming is pretty much the only option. And even when I can, I either have to shell out a shitload of money for like eight discs to get the whole series, or I have to buy a box set with all the extra stuff (like cultural notes and concept art and stuff) stripped out. I realize the industry is out to earn a living like anyone else, but cripes, that seems excessive, doesn't it? Plus, I wanted to buy Hayate No Gotoku on DVD, but when I saw that it only had subs, not dubs, what was the point? I've already seen the subbed version. (I'm the kind of deviant who likes watching both; usually I watch the dub and then the sub.)

That being said, though, I don't pirate anything, including anime, unless you count streaming. Even then I don't do it if it's available in my area; I've been known to stop watching a show mid-series and buy it on disc when it became available after I'd already started watching.

Theft.

Sorry to the Japs who worked so hard on it, but I can't afford it.

It's the same way I get my music. Lars ulrich can kiss my sack.

Racial slurs, very nice. Always a good way to get attention.

EDIT: I borrowed all of my manga. I could never justify dropping ten dollars on something that took me fifteen minutes to read.

You can read a whole volume of manga in fifteen minutes? Plus, compared to American comics, you get more pages for less money if you work out the math. (American comics = about 30-35 pages for around $5 per issue; manga = over 200 pages for about $10 per issue. Cheaper in the long run.)

 

[Raiha]

don't watch much anime, i read the manga. in which case, i usually just lean on a shelf in borders and read a book at a visit. i only buy it if its from a series i really love and will want to reread a few times at my leisure. for now, trigun and hellsing are the only series that i will actually buy since i already bought akira.

 

[Skweebl]

I can't tell if you're trying to start a genuine discussion or using the poll as a thinly veiled excuse to express your anti-piracy sentiments. The latter seems more likely.

Anyway, I usually can't find the anime I want anywhere. I don't really want to buy it on eBay or Amazon (and then you're not supporting the creators either). Best Buy is the only place I know near here that sells large amounts of anime. For example, I've wanted Cowboy Bebop on DVD forever now. I went to Best Buy with the intention of buying it, but they didn't have it, so I spent the money on something else. A few weeks later, I'm back there with no money to spend, and they have the whole series for $50US, so at least I know they carry it. Next time I had extra cash, I went there... and they didn't have it! Same thing happened with the first season of Pokemon. They only have it when I'm broke.

Anime also tends to be much more expensive than regular TV shows. I realize this may be in part to it not being created here where I live and more difficult to localize and sell here, but still. The prices get pretty absurd. I've seen a single DVD with a handful of episodes go for $30US, when you can get a whole season of a normal TV show for that price. I just can't afford to spend that much when the series is much longer.

 

[dantheman931]

don't watch much anime, i read the manga. in which case, i usually just lean on a shelf in borders and read a book at a visit. i only buy it if its from a series i really love and will want to reread a few times at my leisure. for now, trigun and hellsing are the only series that i will actually buy since i already bought akira.

And this is why bookstores are starting to get away from selling manga. A guy I know at the comic store said that a lot of places are dropping Excel Saga for precisely this purpose. In other words, dude, it's a bookstore, not a library.

 

[LackofCertainty]

Warning, off topic rant incoming.

That being said, though, I don't pirate anything, including anime, unless you count streaming.

I do. What's the difference between watching an anime streamed, or downloading it, watching the show, and then deleting it off your hard drive when you're done with it? Nothing.

A lot of people like to argue that "It doesn't count as pirating if I watch it before the show gets released here, because there's no way I could get access to it yet," but that's a line of bull people use to pretend they're not essentially stealing a product from it's creator. Of the people out there who watch an anime series before it becomes available overseas, how many do you really believe go out and buy the anime after it does become available? Probably something like .1% (Yes, I did just pull a statistic out of my ass there)


For me, I Pirate most the anime that I watch. Download; watch; delete. If a series takes a spot on my top five all time favorite anime list, then I consider buying it when it becomes available. However, it only actually gets purchased if it gets released for a reasonable price. (all in all I probably purchase less than one percent of the anime I pirate)

Manga is the same way. I'm not rich enough to buy every anime or manga that catches my eye. The only time they get bought by me is when they're so good that I want to own a copy of it to be able to share with friends and family.

The only reasonable way to get me to stop pirating is to offer up anime/manga for "free" by paying for it with advertising. I'm excited to see animes (actually just all sorts of shows) getting released via Hulu and Youtube for "free" (not really free since there's advertising but it's free enough for me)

I can only hope that manga companies (or at least manga translating companies) might start doing the same. Give me a full manga online and pay for it by having adds that pop up all around the boarders of it for every page.

 

[dantheman931]

Anyway, I usually can't find the anime I want anywhere. I don't really want to buy it on eBay or Amazon (and then you're not supporting the creators either). Best Buy is the only place I know near here that sells large amounts of anime. For example, I've wanted Cowboy Bebop on DVD forever now. I went to Best Buy with the intention of buying it, but they didn't have it, so I spent the money on something else. A few weeks later, I'm back there with no money to spend, and they have the whole series for $50US, so at least I know they carry it. Next time I had extra cash, I went there... and they didn't have it! Same thing happened with the first season of Pokemon. They only have it when I'm broke.

(Dammit, you guys are too fast with these posts!)

Why is buying from Amazon or eBay any different from buying at Best Buy? Especially if you buy it new. Even if you buy it used, it's still legitimate because at least someone paid for it at some point. Unless they made an illegal copy, it's still legal and the creators still get their money. This is why you should only buy from reputable sellers, incidentally.

As for buying from Best Buy, you can always order off the web site and have it shipped to the store so you don't pay shipping. That way you're sure it's available when you have the cash for it.