to buy or not to buy?

How many other poeple here buy thier anime?
i do, and im damn proud of it to!
Yes i download stuff, but if a series just completely turns me off i can just delete it, i have never bout a series with out at least first previewing it, well expt for my box of Ruin Soldier, but i go that for 15 or so.
I buy everything i really enjoyed, and will have to buy Eureka 7 and FMA when the boxes for them both come out, even though the english audio sucks....

Dont just vote, explain yourselves!
so how do you get your anime, do you download then buy, only download or only buy? and why do you do it this way?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I remember starting a thread like this pre-crash .

I almost always download anime first, at least the first few episodes, if possible. If it's something that has a high repeat watch value, then I'll buy the legit version. Sometimes I just want to hear the English (for whatever reason...) or have better quality on my video.

Of course, all that depends on how long the series is in the first place. I won't commit myself to a series that's 50+ episodes, just because I know how they release the DVDs. If it's something that long that I *really* want, then I'll wait for the thinpack. But generally, I only buy series that are 13 episodes and sometimes 24-26. Anything else and I'll only get it if I buy each disc on sale/used/ebay/half.com.

The big exception to this is the Hellsing OVA, which I'll be buying regularly. Because I'm obsessed.

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I only purchase complete DVDs if I happened to enjoy the anime when I first downloaded it. Fullmetal Alchemist and Last Exile are two I actually own. I've also never followed anime in the order that official DVDs were released.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Download first, buy later is my philosophy. Anime is expensive as hell and I don't take the chance to buy before I see it. The only exception is Gundam - I buy Gundam without watching it first - except for G Gundam. I regret having enver bought Last Exile as it's one of my favorite shows.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

When I was on 56k I bought first (usually what I'd seen on Cartoon Network, etc). Then I got to University and started downloading but I buy what I like. I'm going to buy the Full Metal Panic!, Fumoffu, and TSR boxes, My-HiME (no matter how horrible the english dub will be ;_ boxset, and probably Eureka7 as well.

So I'm going with "download, then buy".

I was speaking idiomatically.

I really don't fit any of the poll choices, so I didn't vote. Yes, I download, and yes, I buy, but I don't buy anything I download. Oppositely, I don't download anything I think I will potentially buy. My library of bought shows and my library of downloaded shows are completely different.

That's not to say I buy shows totally blind. I read up on them and stuff, and if I find something interesting I'll get it eventually, but I'll never preview it first. And for downloads, if the show seems good, but not purchase-worthy, I'll just download the entire series, without even considering buying it.

The only exceptions are shows I've seen on TV. If I'm watching something on TV, and it stops coming on all of a sudden (this mainly applies to shows I watch on Anime Network on Demand), I'll decide whether to buy or download depending on how far the series has aired. If it was only a few episodes, I'll probably just wind up buying it (like I did with Kaleido Star), but if it was over halfway done, I'll probably just download it (like I did with Azumanga Daioh).

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by RockgamerXIII

I really don't fit any of the poll choices, so I didn't vote. Yes, I download, and yes, I buy, but I don't buy anything I download. Oppositely, I don't download anything I think I will potentially buy. My library of bought shows and my library of downloaded shows are completely different.

That's not to say I buy shows totally blind. I read up on them and stuff, and if I find something interesting I'll get it eventually, but I'll never preview it first. And for downloads, if the show seems good, but not purchase-worthy, I'll just download the entire series, without even considering buying it.

Have you have a good experience with this, because rcently there have been alot of shows that LOOKed and SOUNDED like that could have been increadable but after i downloaded and watched desided that well, i wouldnt by that even bootleg. Although, if i get through a show say ~13/26 episodes and i really really like it, i will say i stop watching it and by it if its out already, but i keep watching if its not out, or even licenced. And then buy it when its on dvd, and i find it cheap...ie Cromarite High, Wolf's Rain, Now and Then Here and There, Nadesico and Saikano(but even if i hadnt seen any of it, i would have picked it up condidering i go it for 19.99 ) but i was thinking about buying many things, Speed Grapher looked cool, and it became...not as great as i had hoped, Trinity Blood was another Gonzo ohno...these im glad i downloaded, because if i would have seen trinity blood in stores before seeing any of it, i would have picked it up, and been disappointed. Just wondering, bout how many of the series that you have gotten have been somewhat disappointing?

And Conversly, have you ever downloaded somthing and said, I HAVE TO HAVE THIS ON DVD?...thats what most if not all of my anime is from, i just fell completly inlove and couldnt let go...hints why i have to buy: FMA, Fafner, and Eureka 7 as soon as boxes come out for them(if you havnt looked into those check, they where/are great!)

How ya doing, buddy?

I don't watch that much anime (compared to some people here), mostly because a lot of it doesn't appeal to me as much as others. I generally download stuff if it's new and ahead of the licensed dvds. Considering my budget, going out and buying 4 episodes of anime for damn near 30 dollars is ridiculous. For OVAs and movies, I'll bite the bullet and lay down the cash.

It doesn't help if a series, like Bleach or Blood+, is far ahead of its domesticated cousin. I'm not going to stop downloading when I could sit and keep up with the series weekly.

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All my anime is downloaded first. If I liked it a lot, I'll buy the series or boxsets. I'll also purchase anime movies if I liked them enough. The usage of money rarely happens though.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by aku

Have you have a good experience with this, because rcently there have been alot of shows that LOOKed and SOUNDED like that could have been increadable but after i downloaded and watched desided that well, i wouldnt by that even bootleg. Although, if i get through a show say ~13/26 episodes and i really really like it, i will say i stop watching it and by it if its out already, but i keep watching if its not out, or even licenced. And then buy it when its on dvd, and i find it cheap...ie Cromarite High, Wolf's Rain, Now and Then Here and There, Nadesico and Saikano(but even if i hadnt seen any of it, i would have picked it up condidering i go it for 19.99 ) but i was thinking about buying many things, Speed Grapher looked cool, and it became...not as great as i had hoped, Trinity Blood was another Gonzo ohno...these im glad i downloaded, because if i would have seen trinity blood in stores before seeing any of it, i would have picked it up, and been disappointed. Just wondering, bout how many of the series that you have gotten have been somewhat disappointing?

And Conversly, have you ever downloaded somthing and said, I HAVE TO HAVE THIS ON DVD?...thats what most if not all of my anime is from, i just fell completly inlove and couldnt let go...hints why i have to buy: FMA, Fafner, and Eureka 7 as soon as boxes come out for them(if you havnt looked into those check, they where/are great!)

About the first part, nope, that's never happened. I can honestly say I've loved every show I've ever bought (well, that I've bought seriously; I bought a volume of Eat-Man one time since it was only $2, but I didn't really like it). Of course, I don't really watch newer shows, so most of the shows I buy have had a chance to stand out over time (the newest show I have is Gantz, which I've wanted to get since I first read about it). If a show turned out to be really bad, I've would have known about it by the time I actually consider buying it.

And for the second part, I have to say no to that as well. There have been instances where I have downloaded a show and I wound up buying it before I even watched it (Noir comes to mind), but I've never watched a show I downloaded and then bought it later.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Although it sucks a little bit, I have to confess that I only download anime. I mean, it's not like I don't enjoy watching those downloaded animes and shows like Azumanga Daioh or Last Exile would be worth getting a purchase, but I won't pay 30€ for three or four episodes. On the other hand, I'd never spend my money on bootlegs.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I download and watch 2-3 episodes, then decide if it would be worth it to continue watching; usually it's not since the last couple of seasons have been 90% generic bishoujo/harem fanservice crap. But if it happens to be worth watching, like Kamichu! or Ergo Proxy, then I won't watch anymore but instead wait for the R1 license and the DVDs (though it was already pre-licensed in the case of EP.)

The exception to this is old-school anime like Captain Harlock and Touch as well as other niche shows which have pretty much a 0% chance of being licensed.

Originally Posted by David Deluxe

Although it sucks a little bit, I have to confess that I only download anime. I mean, it's not like I don't enjoy watching those downloaded animes and shows like Azumanga Daioh or Last Exile would be worth getting a purchase, but I won't pay 30€ for three or four episodes. On the other hand, I'd never spend my money on bootlegs.

You can import DVDs from places like DVDPacific and you'll rarely pay much more than $20/disc. That's still a significant amount in the long run, but fortunately almost everything gets released in cheap collections if you wait. For example both Azumanga and Last Exile are available in sweet complete sets for $45 and $65 respectively. I see in your profile however that you may be a bit too young to have your own VISA or other credit/debit card to use for imports, but I think most banks should be able to offer them when you turn 18, so make sure to get all those great shows then. (That's what I did.)

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I do a bit of both. I'll usualy download the anime first, and then buy it. Or i'll download it and put it onto DVD's. I get all my anime from Ebay seeing as that is the only place i can find it in the UK without having to import it and i don't want to pay some ridiculous ammount for a tiny ammount of episodes. Especialy with the anime series i watch that go on forever (Bleach, Naruto, Kenshin). I'd be broke if i bought it all in genuine box sets. DVD-R's are good enough for me

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by ComCrimson

I get all my anime from Ebay seeing as that is the only place i can find it in the UK without having to import it and i don't want to pay some ridiculous ammount for a tiny ammount of episodes.

Again with this preconception that anime has to be ridiculously expensive... Anyway, eBay is a nasty place, I hope you're steering clear of bootlegs.

How ya doing, buddy?

Anime is ridiculously expensive. I saw one volume of Azumanga Daioh in HMV or Virgin a while back and it was about £20 for just a few episodes. Stupid price for so little. Well, the recent anime i purchased were bootlegs and they're just fine. They were cheap and it allowed me to clear my hard-drive. Ebay is my anime store.

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To me it all depends on wether its released on DVD here (duh) which goes for most H-Game turned anime, though there are some instances (Like when I donloaded fanubs of FF: Unlimited on dialup years ago and bought the legit DVD's as they came out). Overall I'm looking for a clean video transfer and decent subtitiles (extras are the last things I count).

Though I like what ADV and other comanies are doing and just releasing brick sets for older shows which are the price of 2 DVDs.

(Though if I had it my way I'd just netflix the shit and copy the DVD)

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I usually download all of the anime that I watch. However, if I happen to come along some anime that so totally rocked (like Juuni Kokki), I would go out of my way to try and buy them. So far, it has only been Juuni Kokki, GITS, Azumanga Daioh, and Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu which I have decided are worth my money, although some of those I have not seen available yet.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'm waiting till DVD sales of TV shows and anime becomes profitable enough that they start cracking down on downloading of shows and anime. Well, I guess first they all need to organize into some sort of cohesive body, which is several years from happening.

Anyway, like most people, I like to sample before I buy, so I'll download an episode or two before I think about investing. Although really, when it comes to anime I can buy, I usually just use word of mouth or reviews to see if I'll like it, which in most cases I do. Most of my anime downloading comes to stuff I can't get here, which I'm all for, until the anime starts getting licensed.

But my thought process this is probably from an opinion that's outdated nowadays. Back when you couldn't find anime on the shelves of your local Suncoast, I figured anime needed all the help it could in sales, which is why I throughly depised downloading licensed anime series. But nowadays it's not that big of an issue (sales-wise anyway).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by ComCrimson

Anime is ridiculously expensive. I saw one volume of Azumanga Daioh in HMV or Virgin a while back and it was about £20 for just a few episodes. Stupid price for so little. Well, the recent anime i purchased were bootlegs and they're just fine. They were cheap and it allowed me to clear my hard-drive. Ebay is my anime store.

It can be, but as I said doesn't have to be if you just look around (although I must admit I'm not all too familiar with the UK market.) Still, you can get the entire first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for £30 from Play.com, damn cheap for one of the best shows ever made.

And I've always been against pirating for profit, no matter if it's games or apps or anime, so I think it's unfortunate that you choose to support these scum bootleggers. You're wasting your own money, giving it to some lamer who doesn't deserve it as well as help funding who-knows-what illegal businesses in East Asian countries. If you refuse to support the creators at least have the courtesy to just download and enjoy it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I've only bought like 3 dvd's of anime when I had the extra cash. Anime is expensive, especially a series. All I do is download now but if I had the chance I'd get the trigun, azumanga, and school rumble series dvd.
Damn the expence if I had the money ~_~

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Pyocola

It can be, but as I said doesn't have to be if you just look around (although I must admit I'm not all too familiar with the UK market.) Still, you can get the entire first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for £30 from Play.com, damn cheap for one of the best shows ever made.

And I've always been against pirating for profit, no matter if it's games or apps or anime, so I think it's unfortunate that you choose to support these scum bootleggers. You're wasting your own money, giving it to some lamer who doesn't deserve it as well as help funding who-knows-what illegal businesses in East Asian countries. If you refuse to support the creators at least have the courtesy to just download and enjoy it.

You're missing my point really. I would love to support the creators, but it would cost me so much and i don't have that much money because i'm only young still and i don't have a job. If i could have found a proper box set of the anime, then i would have paid for it but i couldn't. Granted, Play.com do have some very good deals, but not the stuff i want. I'm completely against pirating for profit, but if i would have put all the episodes i had onto DVD it would have cost me a hell of alot more than i paid.

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It's not usual to find the lastest anime DVDs here, so I usually download them but if by chance I find something interesting I definitely buy them.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by ComCrimson

You're missing my point really. I would love to support the creators, but it would cost me so much and i don't have that much money because i'm only young still and i don't have a job. If i could have found a proper box set of the anime, then i would have paid for it but i couldn't. Granted, Play.com do have some very good deals, but not the stuff i want. I'm completely against pirating for profit, but if i would have put all the episodes i had onto DVD it would have cost me a hell of alot more than i paid.

You know, since you download the stuff anyway, you could just make a dvd-video yourself. You know, you can always just send money to the company too if you really want to support them and cant find the 'proper box set' and make it yourself :-p. I did that with cartoon networks Robot Chicken shorts that aired last year. Theres all kindsa ways to do it, AND there are also divx players that will play cd/dvds with divx avi files on them, some of them will also play xvid too, so there are a TON of oppsions out there opposed to supporting the scum of the earth to help them make more scum. The only times i have gotten bootleg is, before i had a DVD burned, and the bastered said legit on the ebay page, and sent me a bootleg copy, i thurally sent him through the wash, and noticifed just about everybody involved(Bandia can be evil people), and got my money back. But there is always a way, but the MOMENT you give or sell one of them to your friends/family/anyone you also become one of those scumbags too! downloading and turning it into your own dvd is no diffirent than just download it, you are just changing the form in which the data is in.
And remeber people 90% of the time if it is in a fold out box or is only 3 dvds (~26 episodes) it is bootleg.
Just check out www.animenewsnetwork.com or www.animenfo.com to see who is dubbing it, go to their website and LOOK for the release dates/number of DVDs in the box, because there are some exeptions to the 3dvd and folding box rule, but not many. Most of the time, if the whole box is amazingly cheap...check into it alittle more before buying it, its probly bootleg

Anything you find that looks like anything at www.importanime.com IS BOOTLEG, that is a site for BOOTLEG anime that is all it carries, and almost 99% of time time if it says import, R0 and and it goes on about playing in anything it is bootleg.

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I always do some sort of research before I buy be it downloading first or going to animenfo or anidb and looking at summary and reviews. So sometimes if it's cheap and available and I know it's good I'll nab something from Best Buy. I won't buy into an anime series if it's larger than 26 episodes because companies just charge way too much and don't give you enough for your buck. But if I really really really really like it after watching it fansubbed or sometimes even ripped then I'll go and buy it.

However, I still haven't bought Azumanga Daioh on DVD yet and that's in my top 10. Why? Well although it's available for a nice price on thin pak I don't like that ADV has cut out extras just to make it on think pak AND the fansubbed verion by Triad in my opinion is the better watching experience. I'm very tempted to buy it on dvd but I don't think it will have the same soul as the effort and love Triad put into its version. Simply that a lot of fansubs are just better than the official stuff keeps me from buying a dvd. Why should I pay for something that is very expensive that isn't as good as a fansub? Sure there's the dvd quality to account for but video quality is something fansubbers generally have done really well now-a-days. Does anyone else feel this way?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

However, I still haven't bought Azumanga Daioh on DVD yet and that's in my top 10. Why? Well although it's available for a nice price on thin pak I don't like that ADV has cut out extras just to make it on think pak AND the fansubbed verion by Triad in my opinion is the better watching experience. I'm very tempted to buy it on dvd but I don't think it will have the same soul as the effort and love Triad put into its version. Simply that a lot of fansubs are just better than the official stuff keeps me from buying a dvd. Why should I pay for something that is very expensive that isn't as good as a fansub? Sure there's the dvd quality to account for but video quality is something fansubbers generally have done really well now-a-days. Does anyone else feel this way?

I used to, I still do a bit. I have a lot stuff on DVD that I've never watched, but I bought it anyway because I had already seen it and felt obliged to pay back somehow. You have to remember that most of what you pay for is not the translation/adaptation (i.e. the same work that fansubbers do for free, and which you are comparing here) but for the actual content, the show. The one exception to this is the significant cost of dubbing. I'm against it, I'd prefer cheaper releases without them, but a lot of people are whiny and simply won't buy anything if it's not dubbed, so a sub-only release could potentially have to be even more expensive to make up for the lack of sales. Not much you can do about it except try to convince people to join the 'other' side.

As for fansubs being better in quality, translation etc. I think that's just a made up excuse for not having to pay for anything, because in my experience that's not really true. Continuing with Azumanga as an example, the individual DVDs have booklets with a total of 30+ pages of translator notes (and 10+ pages of staff comments) for the entire show. I haven't seen the Triad version, but you can bet that the other release skipped a lot of cultural stuff they didn't catch, didn't know about or couldn't fit in the pop-up notes/subs.

Jam it back in, in the dark.