Comic Site Rant: arg school, life etc
Posted On December 3, 2007
Thanks for all the feedback last week, really appreciated it!
I’m pretty satisfied with how this turned out. Won’t go into much detial, but I like it. Kind of late to the party with this one, but given Mr. Sevakis’s article stirred up a lot of discussion, I figured I should contribute my own 2 cents, in comic form.
I’m too beat to write anything of note in this space today, so I’m cutting it short. Once the vacation rolls around I’ll have more energy, and try to update something like two times a week.
11 Comments
Yeah, overpricing is a total problem. For reference, I live in New Zealand.
Also, Fansubs is about my only way to get Anime. Face it, what ARE the chances of Madman Australia ever likely going to release the Original Gundam series? Well, fine, they DO have Haruhi, but I have yet to see it in a New Zealand shop. Not to mention they are usually $34.95 per DVD ($26.60 US), and takes well over a year after the US gets some licenses for new Anime to get here. The best stuff we get here is from Cartoon Network, and they are only stuff like Naruto and Inuyasha (bloody hell, and you HAVE to be on cable.
On network… well, we get Yu Gi Oh… and the odd one-piece… but they are all dubbed… which is a big no-no.
I am not paying $34.95 for a DVD, esp. when I only make about $65 a week from my part time, and 1 DVD costs $35 with only 4 episodes. Honestly, say “Naruto” and ‘fans’ here go all gooey. Say ‘Amuro’, and they go HUH?
I feel so sad… I WANT TO GO BACK TO TAIWAN!
vivo la revolución!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i have a question about the comic.
why would magikano be next to king of bandit jing on a shelf?
that doesnt make sense alphabetically. i mean, assuming everything starting with an l hasnt been destroyed.
dear god. i cant think of anything worth mentioning that starts with an L.
Magikano was a silly show with an awesome ending. :V
I could see myself as DVD collector if prices would have even little bit more sense. You think that’s bad? I live in Finland and I would have to pay 36€ for one lousy 4-episode-DVD of Naruto. That makes 52$ in American Dollars! I just remember when my anime fandom was taking it’s first steps and I asked my friend how much would those 13-episode-box of Hellsing cost. 75€ (almost 110$). Never bought single anime DVD since.
Yes, and what kind of anime do I even find in this country? Nothing, I mean NOTHING will get myself in state that I would buy stupid Inuyasha. Then there’s Naruto and Bleach (duh). I gotta admit that there’s couple good shows there too, but with 36€ in my pocket I’ll rather buy couple of mangas than 4 episodes of anime.
And yes, the awesome TV. Fullmetal Alchemist and DragonBall Z. Christ.
Now I’m one of the worst kind of animeloader there is.
I think people are missing the point of the comic. It was more about studios licensing crap and expecting you to buy it, then wondering why they’re losing money. I have no problem with US prices, considering people in Japan pay ~60 USD for about 50 minutes of anime. I tend to pay the marked down prices for DVDs (15/20) but if for some reason I could only get a DVD at full price, I’d pay full price.
Plounted: that panel is taken directly from the new releases rack at Tokyo Kid. Here’s a photo for reference: http://mistakesofyouth.com/DSC01149.JPG
i see. sorry for doubting.
also ha, mushishi.
I attended a panel recently at AUSA where one distributor (can’t remember the name now) discussed with the group the demise of Geneon. They named fan-subbing as one of the main culprits and they talked about how they were going to aggressively go after torrents and subs. I just kept thinking … if they just made this stuff available I’d pay for it legally. Why should I have to wait for 5 years to get caught up on Naruto when I can get it a day after it appears in Japan, on Youtube or something. Those people need to make the product faster to get and I’d pay.
Even if they made recent anime available as it came out legally, I’d still download the raws off Share or something. I’m too cheap to buy everything I’m just previewing.
Like I said the comic isn’t really about pricing so much as it’s about what they’re making you pay for. I guess not many people saw Magikano, which I suppose is for the better.
I’d never heard of Magikano, but I think you just inspired me to torrent it. When it comes to my preference in anime, I’m much more like Tina than Rets. (^_^)
You probably shouldn’t trust that, since I’m making up these characters as I go. I think I’m writing Tina as a fan who is generally entertained by everything, but knows what’s shit and what’s not.
I suppose Magikano was fine for what it was. I just didn’t like it.