The joy of ignorance?

[Johnny]

I've been thinking about how, since it's so easy to do, finding info and places to buy anime online is really easy and it got me wondering - I'm sure all of us at some point when we first got into anime didn't know of any online resources such as this website/forums and so had to go by either word of mouth or blind buys in shops.
For me at least, back in the VHS days, a lot of the reason I didn't buy more anime was because I'd see it in shops and apart from the well known titles that I already had like Akira and GitS, I'd no idea what the series or movie would be like.
But there was also a pleasure in that random, uninformed browsing - I discovered Evangelion that way, for example.

So, while it's obvious that having all this info about anime on TV, internet, magazines etc is a great thing with more/easier exposure and access to fans, do you ever wonder what sort of titles you would have got into if you were going by word of mouth, cover art/descriptions and trailers alone?

[mike.motaku]

Pretty much 75% of my 800+ anime collection was gotten through what you call ignorance.

I've been watching and collecting for nearly a decade and have only been around anime magazines for about 2 years, I don't download fansubs, don't belong to any clubs, and am pretty much the person who infects the people around me with the anime bug.

I've taken shots on shows strictly through word of mouth (Fushigi Yugi), hated the 1st episode but by the end of the 1st season was going insane waiting for the 2nd. I picked up Cowboy Bebop on VHS, just on the basis of the cover description and switched to dvd as soon as it was offered. And I got hooked on Escaflowne just on the basis of a trailer.

My collection would be pretty much the same. There are some shows (L/R, Noir, e.g.) that I used every tool known to man at the time to research and ended up hating or being completely bored by. So I know universal acclaim is by no means a guarantee of quality or that I will even like it enough to keep.

I'd practically get shot here for wanting a show just on the basis of a trailer, but a lot of times that little snippet was enough to tell me what I needed to know to make a choice and for the most part, I enjoy all of my anime to one degree or another. If I didn't, I sell it or give it away.

I grew up watching cartoons. I love the medium. I love the visual vocabulary (what some folks call cliches). I enjoy the insight into various aspects of a different culture, and I enjoy seeing other points of view when the show has a message.

Are there bad shows? Hell yes. Some I can dismiss as cynical efforts to separate children from their allowances as quickly as possible. Some are just lazy and think that because A was a huge hit, the same thing, but this time we'll call it Z-9, will be an even bigger hit.

But anyway, to reiterate: I'm a freak. Most of my collection was and is chosen on the scantiest of research. It is harder to find that one show nobody else knows about but you, but it can still be done.

[something]

Basically, the only show I've truly taken a blind chance on was Lain, my first purchase. I also paid a shitload for it /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif After that, I quickly discovered DVDs and buying online, and for years I only really kept my eye on the big "classics/favorites" like Evangelion, Escaflowne, Bebop... They were and are great shows of course, but I was a bit more limited. I don't buy like this anymore, and I'm glad for it. I've expanded my scope quite a bit to buy shows I'd never normally consider. Suddenly cute little schoolgirls and mahou shoujo and romance aren't turn-offs. Now they're a big part of my collection.

[Lego]

I've looked at many trailers, AMV's, blogs and have become interested in shows that I passed over the first time. But I think with the market and title saturation, a fan with limited income has to pick and choose. Would I love to buy every series that I'm interested in? Sure as hell I would. But with my financial limitations, and just so much product out their, I have to pick and choose.

So while I will blind buy something like a thin pack or a box set, most of my purchases have been "pre screened" if you will.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Lego said:
So while I will blind buy something like a thin pack or a box set, most of my purchases have been "pre screened" if you will.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, basically what I forgot to add to my post: I'll occasionally blind buy nowadays, but if you think I'll do it at any more than about 33% of original MSRP, fo-git-about-it. For example, I just bought Sakura Wars TV and Angelic Layer thinpaks blind for $30 each. Original MSRP of those series in singles was $180 and $210.

This isn't to say that I won't buy new shows at new disc prices. The majority of my purchasing dollars are spent precisely on that. But paying top dollar for new singles is reserved for sure things. It's not like there isn't more than enough of both (new singles and cheap boxsets) to keep me busy for a looooong time, so I don't have to worry about depriving myself of anything.

[Puppet Master]

Most of my collection was bought on pure ignorance and chance without any prior knowledge. I'm trying to buy less that way though.

[tangent]

Most of the Anime I have bought was based on reviews, trailers, and hearing what people have to say on forums. I rarely get the opportunity to watch anything before I purchase it. I just go on my gut feeling about a show before I buy it and hope I like it.

Luckily I haven't been burned and have enjoyed all of my purchases. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Kellory]

Thats still me. Even after all these years, I still blind buy everything. Well, everything that's post 1998. I think thats the last time I watched anime pre-DVD. But since then, everything's been a blind buy. Well, except Planetes. I admit, I downloaded that cause I heard about it and couldnt wait. But thats it.

Its always a thrill and excitement for me to see a TRSI box waiting for me, opening it, and then being able to enjoy a series. Its one reason I tend to wait for a series to be entirely out before I pick it up. I can then marathon the entire thing, sight unseen, no preconceptions, hopes, or desires for it. Just stick it in and watch it from begining to end in 1 shot. Boom. I swear, its anime the way it was meant to be seen. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

So, I guess I dont wonder. I know. At the same time, I'm financially solvent. So I can support my habits. I suppose if I were more cash strapped, finding out more about shows before I got them would make more sense. However, it does seem like it would be far less fun.

[Njr Scrawl]

My very first modern anime was Tekken. I am a Tekken game 1 - 3 fan & bought the VHS for its title. Tekken had so many firsts for an animated series it was more anime wow-factor than seeing the game characters come "alive".

All my early titles were VHS & bought for under £5 each second hand. The joy was in discovering their diversity and uniqueness. Things in animation just not done by Disney, HB or any other western company. My anime fandom has always come before media fandom.

[Johnny]

[ QUOTE ]
Wrath of the Njr said:
My very first modern anime was Tekken. I am a Tekken game 1 - 3 fan & bought the VHS for its title. Tekken had so many firsts for an animated series it was more anime wow-factor than seeing the game characters come "alive".

All my early titles were VHS & bought for under £5 each second hand. The joy was in discovering their diversity and uniqueness. Things in animation just not done by Disney, HB or any other western company. My anime fandom has always come before media fandom.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's pretty much how I started out too. I also bought Tekken based being a huge fan of the games.

[fantasydewdrop]

Eh, I don't really read complete reviews of stuff before I've seen it. Maybe after. I also don't read magazine articles much, so there goes that hubbub. I've found that if I read up too much on a title, I wind up not enjoying it as much sometimes. I prefer to just have a basic outline.

All I really need is a basic outline of the plot, or maybe an idea of what it's similar to, and an opinion on it. And half the time, screw getting an opinion, I found it cheap so if I don't like it there's not a big loss. There's also a few things I've gotten for cheap and was strongly recommended, but had no idea what it was (Now and Then, Here and There springs to mind).
And sometimes Mom picks up something or I've been given something that I have no idea what the hell it is but watch it anyways.

And sometimes I just wanna know what the hell was up with that trailer.

I've liked almost everything I've gotten so far, so my strategy works fine for me. Some more than others, of course, but I can only think of one or two things that I just hated.
Incidentally, I've had a higher ratio of titles that I've borrowed/rented that I disliked. Huh. That's weird.

There's actually no logic to my DVD buying habbits. At all.

[something]

[ QUOTE ]
Kellory said:
So, I guess I dont wonder. I know. At the same time, I'm financially solvent. So I can support my habits. I suppose if I were more cash strapped, finding out more about shows before I got them would make more sense. However, it does seem like it would be far less fun.

[/ QUOTE ]

It just shifts the fun. It's not like watching it on DVD later isn't fun (obviously it is), but it's just not "the first time" if you've seen it already. But that's fine, since... well you already had a first time /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif So it's not like enjoyment of the show is diminished, although I guess you're also saying that the fact that it's on DVD and you havent seen it before adds enjoyment. I guess that doesn't factor in for me personally, with my enjoyment being relatively format independent.