Quick question about bootleg DVDs

[M4730]

Would those sets put out by manufacturers FX, Mac, and MI be considered bootleg? If they are I admit I'm guilty of owning two, and a third is on the way. Only reason I own those is because those series are out of production as far as I can tell. I didn't do any hardcore investigating, but I had shopped around on and offline and they seemed to be hard to come by. Shana is one of them, and I'll be re-buying the series once it's released in a boxset from Funi/Geneon later on. The other two would be Mahoromatic and Steel Angel Kurumi. Anywho, are these sets considered bootleg?

[Lego]

Would those sets put out by manufacturers FX, Mac, and MI be considered bootleg? If they are I admit I'm guilty of owning two, and a third is on the way. Only reason I own those is because those series are out of production as far as I can tell. I didn't do any hardcore investigating, but I had shopped around on and offline and they seemed to be hard to come by. Shana is one of them, and I'll be re-buying the series once it's released in a boxset from Funi/Geneon later on. The other two would be Mahoromatic and Steel Angel Kurumi. Anywho, are these sets considered bootleg?

Yep, all three are big bootlegging companies

[M4730]

Blegh, I figured as much :(
Thanks!

[Lego]

Blegh, I figured as much :(
Thanks!

Not to mean it as an insult, but if you're unfamiliar with certain companies, or if you really want a release say like Sailor Moon, it can happen. It's very easy to get a bootleg, even if you're a well trained buyer. The same thing happened to me when I was just getting into anime DVD buying. I had a bootleg copy of the Bebop movie as well as an old Gundam Wing set from way back. Even a big site like IGN reviewed the bootleg release of Gungrave thinking it was Geneon's heh.

[M4730]

This might just be out of sheer laziness but for shows that are out of print for R1, how would I go about obtaining them? EBay is always an option, yes, but are there other websites you can recommend?

[Lego]

This might just be out of sheer laziness but for shows that are out of print for R1, how would I go about obtaining them? EBay is always an option, yes, but are there other websites you can recommend?

It's pretty much up in the air really. You can always go the ebay route, but you do run into bootleg concerns as well. For some titles it can turn into a treasure hunt, my best advice would be to keep your eyes open.

[mrsparklenoodle]

Mahoromatic is available in the u.k., I believe, and as you already know, Shana is being rereleased (and also available in the u.k. and australia).

[Shiroi Hane]

We only have the first series of Mahoromatic, no SMB. As far as I know it is still in print - it is at least still available (and only £5 a disc on play).

[M4730]

Well I'm in the US. Aren't DVD's region protected?

[something]

Well I'm in the US. Aren't DVD's region protected?
Yes but region encoding is meaningless. You can get around it easily.

I managed to snag Mahoro for $4 a disc from one of those TRSI Geneon Abundance sales. And it looks like they still have the thinpak of the entire series, and in stock at that. link (http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/htlH1PNucekQCpYgEk/browse/item/67038/4/0/0). No sale at the moment though, so it's expensive. Check around other places.

[Ryos]

If it isn't listed in the studio directory on AoD and it's sold in R1, it's generally safe to assume it's a bootleg unless it's some kind of R2 import or something. It's extremely easy to get bootlegs on eBay if you aren't careful, for example. If you're patient it's pretty easy to get legitimate DVDs for a reasonable cost - I get most of mine through http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/ when stuff is 40+% off.

[chronoclast]

If it isn't listed in the studio directory on AoD and it's sold in R1, it's generally safe to assume it's a bootleg unless it's some kind of R2 import or something. It's extremely easy to get bootlegs on eBay if you aren't careful, for example. If you're patient it's pretty easy to get legitimate DVDs for a reasonable cost - I get most of mine through http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/ when stuff is 40+% off.

Deepdiscount and Dvdpacific are also good sites that sell legit R1s for cheap.

[bearcounty]

Well, if your buying online one way to figure out what your buying, that I've found easy, is to compare releases may it be artwork, disc count, or episode count. I know things vary from time to time, but I usually don't have any problems figuring out what a bootleg is. Also, another thing is if it sounds too good to be true it just might be.

[Justin T. Williams]

If it isn't listed in the studio directory on AoD and it's sold in R1, it's generally safe to assume it's a bootleg unless it's some kind of R2 import or something. It's extremely easy to get bootlegs on eBay if you aren't careful, for example. If you're patient it's pretty easy to get legitimate DVDs for a reasonable cost - I get most of mine through http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/ when stuff is 40+% off.

Deepdiscount and Dvdpacific are also good sites that sell legit R1s for cheap.

I myself like DVD Planet, prices as good or better than DeepDiscount with monthly coupons and you get points for every purchase that can be traded in for cash off future purchases. :)

[M4730]

Hehe, good news: I was able to snag Geneon's thinpack of Mahoromatic at an FYE for $50. :D

[MKVarana]

This might just be out of sheer laziness but for shows that are out of print for R1, how would I go about obtaining them? EBay is always an option, yes, but are there other websites you can recommend?

I use eBay (which you already mentioned) and Amazon Marketplace to get those rare DVDs that I missed out on. Some key points to look for are "all region/region 0" and disk count, as they are the most visible signs of a bootleg. And when in doubt, write to the seller and ask them "is this the official R1 release of *show name* by *company name*". I just got a legit copy of Orphen: Season 1 from a vague auction the other day by asking them about it.

[DocWatson]

Four resources for spotting and reporting bootlegs:

• The Pirate Anime FAQ (http://web.archive.org/web/20070823064414/http://www.digital.anime.org.uk/piratefaq.html) (via the Internet Archive)

• Chudah's Corner - Reference: Bootleg [CD] Info (http://www.chudahs-corner.com/reference/index.php?reference=bootleggers)

• UFO BBS4 / Bootleg Plush Toys Gallery Update May 14 (http://ufocatcher.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5)

• Gilles Poitras' Reporting Pirated Anime, Manga and Asian Cinema (http://www.koyagi.com/pirates.html) page

[zrdb]

This is probally going to start a firestorm-at one point my collection was 70% hkdvds-I haven't gotten one in a few years and have been replacing then with R1s-but NOT because I'm overcome with guilt-simply because of the compression applied to make 7 or 8 dvd5's fit on 3 dvd9's makes them look like crap upscaled on a hdtv. I don't really care where my anime comes from and I don't waste my time justifing it to others-all I really care about is watching it.