Bootleg Anime Discs

[Luminous]

In order to complete my collection, I recently ordered a copy of Samurai Champloo 7 from an online anime store. I just received the disc and it is an obvious illegal bootleg, despite what was shown on their website. The disc has no copyright information, and it is clearly a well-done burned disc, as opposed to a pressed manufacturer's disc.

I've reported this to the company, but they have yet to respond. Since Geneon is out of business, is there anyplace to report such piracy? Is it even worth the effort? I'll call my bank in another day if I don't get a response from the company.

Between fansubs and bootleg burns, it is easy to understand the state of the industry. Out of curiosity, have any of you ever accidentally ordered/received a bootleg?

[DiRF]

There was a thread about people's histories with bootlegs already. I fell victim a few times early in my Anime DVD buying history, but managed to secure legit versions of all of them eventually from other sources.

[Luminous]

Is it possible this is a legit version from a different region? It is a VERY well done DVD. The cover is highly professional and the DVD has some complex artwork. Again, my only indication that it is a bootleg is because the actual disc has no copyright info (or the usual Dolby Digital/NTSC markings) and the back of the disc is purple, which I've always associated with the dye from burned discs. It also had no insert.

I have no idea how other regions discs are created or published.

[LenMiyata]

Grumble Grumble Grumble

If it plays in a normal US purchased DVD player, then that means its either Region 1 (which who ever made it, clearly doesn't have the Region 1 rights for...) or Region 0 (No encoding, which means they claim the defacto World Wide distribution rights, something that no sane Japanese Producer/Distributor would give to a small company...) ALL OTHER REGIONS WILL NOT PLAY in a NORMAL REGION 1 DVD Player. You did use a Credit Card for this Order??? It sounds like its time to get those charges reversed...

[Lego]

Grumble Grumble Grumble

If it plays in a normal US purchased DVD player, then that means its either Region 1 (which who ever made it, clearly doesn't have the Region 1 rights for...) or Region 0 (No encoding, which means they claim the defacto World Wide distribution rights, something that no sane Japanese Producer/Distributor would give to a small company...) ALL OTHER REGIONS WILL NOT PLAY in a NORMAL REGION 1 DVD Player. You did use a Credit Card for this Order??? It sounds like its time to get those charges reversed...

Most bootlegs are R0 knock offs, it makes it easier for more people to play them. This is the first I've heard of getting burn disks from an actual store instead of some random Ebay seller.

[Shiroi Hane]

No inserts is not uncommon (depends on the series and the company involved), but I'm not aware of any DVDs that are purple other than DVD-Rs.
Is there a company name on it anywhere? Does the case have a UPC number?

[Luminous]

No inserts is not uncommon (depends on the series and the company involved), but I'm not aware of any DVDs that are purple other than DVD-Rs.
Is there a company name on it anywhere? Does the case have a UPC number?

It has a UPC code, and the cover is exactly like the official R1 release. The only difference is that the cover paper is slightly heavier on the knockoff, in comparison to my 6 other discs.

<update> According to Mastercard I cannot dispute the charge because I authorized them to withdraw money from my account, a product was received, and they did not deviate from the agreed upon price.

So I asked the representative "If I order women's cologne, and they send me men's cologne, I can't dispute that?"

Her response was that the product is not the trigger for the claim, but rather the discrepancy in the amount withdrawn (if any). If I want to dispute the product, that is a matter for the courts. WTF?!?

[Lego]

Can you snap a picture?

[cloud1989]

you said it had a purple bottom, then it is definitely a home made copy of the R1 version, disc art can be made, covers can be scanned and even downloaded, cases can be bought, ect, so this sounds like someone going to alot of trouble to make legit looking copies to make a few bucks. No R1 company, especial geneon would use these disc, the only companies that use burned disc for legit products and the occasional small and independent companies, smaller than any anime distributer today. As far as no copywrite notice goes I know of one particualar piece of software designed for buring dvd's that gives you the option to remove notices while making an exact copy so that is probably what happened, was it a trade in an individual did to make money from a store or was the store doing it?

[Lego]

you said it had a purple bottom, then it is definitely a home made copy of the R1 version, disc art can be made, covers can be scanned and even downloaded, cases can be bought, ect, so this sounds like someone going to alot of trouble to make legit looking copies to make a few bucks. No R1 company, especial geneon would use these disc, the only companies that use burned disc for legit products and the occasional small and independent companies, smaller than any anime distributer today. As far as no copywrite notice goes I know of one particualar piece of software designed for buring dvd's that gives you the option to remove notices while making an exact copy so that is probably what happened, was it a trade in an individual did to make money from a store or was the store doing it?

I only know of two releases that used DVD-R's, and they were from the same company but issued in sleeves.

[cloud1989]

imageasian was that one, fairly new distributer but they do fit into the small and/or independent catagory since they only have 3 older titles and they aren't even being printed right now, but I can assure you that any geneon disc with a blueish layer is a bootleg.

[Soufriere]

Is it possible this is a legit version from a different region? It is a VERY well done DVD. The cover is highly professional and the DVD has some complex artwork. Again, my only indication that it is a bootleg is because the actual disc has no copyright info (or the usual Dolby Digital/NTSC markings) and the back of the disc is purple, which I've always associated with the dye from burned discs. It also had no insert.

I have no idea how other regions discs are created or published.
That sucks that you got a boot and can't take back the charge. It's not worth it to go after them in court just b/c of the cost.

For the record, the real Disc 7 (which I have) looks like every other Geneon DVD (they have never used DVD-R's), silver-bottomed, and it does come with an insert: a blurb from Shinichiro Watanabe.

[Luminous]

Can you snap a picture?

I'll get one for you tonight.

[Lego]

Can you snap a picture?

I'll get one for you tonight.

Ah, thanks. Sometimes the best way to describe something is to show it so others don't get hit by the same shady practice :)

[Luminous]

As promised. Still no word from the "retailer":

I was told Animefirst.com was a liquidator, and seeing as how Geneon was OOB, I didn't think twice. Too bad Rightstuf was sold out, as that is my usual source. Now I need to buy a REAL copy.



http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/2883/picture055asy2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/9813/picture056asu8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/7877/picture057ayb0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[ll Katana ll]

Yea, its a bootleg. The art on the dvd is different from the Geneon one. The packaging is very well done for a bootleg

[choujin1]

I think I ended up with a bootleg copy of The Princess Blade during my mad dash to all the Gamestops in town. I did notice a few titles here and there that didn't quite look official, so I'm guessing they're bootlegs or imports I'm unfamiliar with.

[Kyon]

Some of the stuff on AnimeFirst has the same covers as the legit releases, but on their front page there lists lots of anime like whole series-sets of Sailor Moon and InuYasha that just scream bootlegs. I could see how one could be fooled into thinking they stocked legit copies. Bummer that you got burned.

[Lego]

Wow, that is a snazy bootleg. I can see why you'd go "eh, is this a legit disc?". I've saved your pictures so I can use them later if I get hit with something like this, thanks.

[Luminous]

Wow, that is a snazy bootleg. I can see why you'd go "eh, is this a legit disc?". I've saved your pictures so I can use them later if I get hit with something like this, thanks.


Yeah, strangely enough, the bootleg DVD cover is on higher quality paper than the original Geneon release. My friend has the actual R1 release and it is impossible to see the difference from the box exterior. The cover art is a seemingly perfect reproduction, albeit on heavier, slightly glossier paper.

Even the disc, it is hard to tell from the rather blurry photo, but the art and dye is high quality- no streaking, good definition, vibrant colors....

Rather disconcerting.

I also watched the entire disc, and there was absolutely no audio problems or video compression artifacts or errors, etc. Whoever did this bootleg knows his "craft". I'll still grab a legit copy, however. Unless this is a Verbatim DatalifePlus or Taiyo Yuden disc, it won't have the shelf life of a pressed disc. And I don't want to go back and revisit the series in 5 years to discover the bootleg went belly up. That last disc is VERY exciting.

[Lego]

Wow, that is a snazy bootleg. I can see why you'd go "eh, is this a legit disc?". I've saved your pictures so I can use them later if I get hit with something like this, thanks.


Yeah, strangely enough, the bootleg DVD cover is on higher quality paper than the original Geneon release. My friend has the actual R1 release and it is impossible to see the difference from the box exterior. The cover art is a seemingly perfect reproduction, albeit on heavier, slightly glossier paper.

Even the disc, it is hard to tell from the rather blurry photo, but the art and dye is high quality- no streaking, good definition, vibrant colors....

Rather disconcerting.

Yeah, I noticed that your pictures had the big "Geneon logo" splashed everywhere, trying to pass it off as a legit release. It's the first time I've seen a bootleg like that, that high of quality as you've mentioned.

[stfram]

I was told Animefirst.com was a liquidator, and seeing as how Geneon was OOB, I didn't think twice. Too bad Rightstuf was sold out, as that is my usual source. Now I need to buy a REAL copy.


I notice that they are carrying bootlegs of Dragonball.

Perhaps you could contact Funimation, and let them know that this retailer is selling bootlegs of their exclusively licensed product, and is also selling fraudulent copies of Geneon products, of which they are starting to distribute?

Ooh, and they're selling Appleseed Ex Machina, too...Warner Brothers might appreciate knowing as well. :)

It's these guys that are helping to REALLY kill the anime industry.

Edit: ooh, he's using Yahoo to process his transactions. That'll give Funi and whomever else you contact a solid way to shut him down, at least temporarily.

[chronoclast]

I was told Animefirst.com was a liquidator, and seeing as how Geneon was OOB, I didn't think twice. Too bad Rightstuf was sold out, as that is my usual source. Now I need to buy a REAL copy.


I notice that they are carrying bootlegs of Dragonball.

Perhaps you could contact Funimation, and let them know that this retailer is selling bootlegs of their exclusively licensed product, and is also selling fraudulent copies of Geneon products, of which they are starting to distribute?

Ooh, and they're selling Appleseed Ex Machina, too...Warner Brothers might appreciate knowing as well. :)

It's these guys that are helping to REALLY kill the anime industry.

Edit: ooh, he's using Yahoo to process his transactions. That'll give Funi and whomever else you contact a solid way to shut him down, at least temporarily.

They are also selling the Studio Ghibli movies. I think Disney would probably like to know about it too.

[mighty_vespa]

Bootlegs with high-quality paper stock, silk-screened labels and official studio logos? Sadly, I'm not surprised. :(

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/7877/picture057ayb0.jpg (http://imageshack.us/)

After looking at the third photo you took, I wanted to point out that the data side of your bootleg doesn't seem have any of those alphanumeric watermarks and codes that can be found on officially manufactured DVDs. Just glancing at the R1, R2 and R3 discs I have in my collection, all them have something like this on the innermost ring of the DVD's data side.

I don't own any bootleg discs in my collection. So, I can't double-check to see if other bootleggers may be replicating this process. Maybe someone here can help me corroborate this. It would be nice to know that there's something the bootleggers haven't gotten around to jacking yet.

Then again, this might be the hardest thing to check for online, unless the seller/retailer is willing to go the extra mile to photograph the back of the DVD. This would be easier to check in a "Gamestop", since you can inspect the disc for wear and check the hub while you're at it.

[Shiroi Hane]

I have a copy of the cardcaptor sakura vocal collection that turned out to be a bootleg but was very well done, and I've had it years (the official version is long OOP and while I've seen it twice second hand I've failed to get it each time). The only real clue when looking at it is that things like product codes are in a much sharper print that the rest of the text - as if someone scanned it in, added their own product codes and printed it on high quality card stock, which us presumably exactly what they did.

[Steve_the_Talking_Pie]

Ridiculous bootleg. It's unfortunate that you can't get your money back for false advertising like that. You paid for a legit product and they sent you a boot.

[DocWatson]

Gilles Poitras' Reporting Pirated Anime, Manga and Asian Cinema (http://www.koyagi.com/pirates.html) page may be of use in reporting the site in question.