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Updating the Pirate Anime FAQ
Joe Curzon writes "Over two years ago, I created what is now probably the most comprehensive and detailed guide to spotting bootleg and counterfeit anime/manga related goods - The Pirate Anime FAQ. A special version of the FAQ has also been published at numerous Anime Conventions around the USA. However due to commitments in the "real world" I have not been able to update FAQ almost a year. :( I would like to iron out any creases and update the whole thing in one go, so I was wondering what improvements would the Otaku readers of /. recommend? The DVD section and Fansub section are in need of the most attention and I plan to deal with that soon, but I was also wondering if there were any subtle changes I could make to improve the FAQ as well?"
If you see it on eBay and they say it comes on CD-R, then I'd recommend avoiding it ;-)
Why slashdot? Why not?
I enjoy buying bootleg Hong Kong DVD sets. I'm not trying to justfy it, it's still a form of piracy. But so is just about every song and movie you download off the net. The primary difference is that I still get relatively nice packaging and sets at prices that are sane enough for me to afford. I can't justify spending $300 to watch an entire series. And some sets, like Maison Ikkoku that I've gotten don't have good US alternatives. Viz Video was once releasing it at $30 a two episode tape but stopped before they even finished. Even then this is a 96 episode series. Would anyone in their right mind pay $1440 just to watch a TV show? (Although I do believe Viz Video has recently started to release the show in a series of pricey boxed DVD sets - Unsure of how these will be)
One of the things pointed out in the DVD section is that the logos of Anime Cartoon and Video Animation (Animation Video) look the same meaning they're the same company. That's kinda funny considering they actually are two different companes. Animation Video's logo looks like Anime Cartoon's because AC releases better quality sets and so they wanna be associated with that. PS - Another logo in that same section actually IS another name/logo for Anime Cartoon. And it doesn't look similar at all. Just goes to show that you can't recognize piracy with copying for even priates copy wachother. ;)
It might help if you refrained from using the word "Otaku". To you, it may mean "enthusiastic anime fan", but to anyone who actually speaks Japanese, it means "pathetic loser with no life". If you're intending to inform people about a subject, you might want to avoid offending them.
"To you, it may mean "enthusiastic anime fan", but to anyone who actually speaks Japanese, it means "pathetic loser with no life"."
This reminds me of Star Trek fans who get hung up on the difference between Trekkie and Trekker. Once they start to care about this distinction, all hope of obtaining a life is gone with the wind (or, gone with a stream of tachyon particles, as it may be)
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I agree with you that anime is very expensive, but so are most other TV shows. Unfortunatly I think this is due to the DVD format it's self. It was designed for movies, and as such can only hold 4 or 5 episodes of a half hour show per disc. And with shows running into 6 discs for a single season for some shows (this is from Buffy season 2) at nearly $50 it's very expensive.
This all assumes you can even get it. The Cowboy Bebop collection is no longer sold, so I'd have to buy each disc individualy. The Betterman saga is something like $150 in a full set.
This is why I hope Blu-Ray discs and players appear soon. While they may not add to much for movies (full HDTV or something maybe) but for collection like series, they would probably reduce the cost a ton. Or you could fit all of the Starwars triligoy on one disc (episodes 4, 5, and 6) or any other trilogy. So even if it costs 5 times as much to make a blu-ray disc, it holds as much as about 7 DVDs, making it cheaper (not including the cost of packaging 7 DVDs, labeling them, running that many production lines, etc).
Blu-ray, where are you?
PS: I don't condone privacy. I could download entire series, but I don't think that's right. I'll wait untill I can afford them or they are on TV.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
When I first got into Anime around 3 or 4 years ago (When I was 14 or 15) I found it really interesting that everyone who offered Anime up for download or Anime fansub groups would not promote distribution of licensed Anime, and that's still true today. (Though, it kind of sucks cause Anime is ussually licensed before the fansub group can even finish it) If you request or go around looking for licensed Anime, you won't really find it, or if you do it will be on a P2P network or some other non-fan supportive medium.
The entire FAQ is an interesting success story which shows that not everyone is out to pirate and rip off companies just becuase they can. If you have a good product which people like, it will accumulate a fanbase and they'll help create junior policies and "implied social contracts" against people that would harm your company. It's why I thought FOX made a huge mistake with their "cease and decist" letters against Simpsons fansites which caused many of the best Simpsons fansites to go off the web, all because they had some JPEG's of Bart or a 2 minute video clip of their favorite scene in an episode. Now everyone is realizing that fansites help companies earn more profit (because you have more explosure & a dedicated fanbase, among other things).
What are you talking about? Japan is a signee of the Berne Convention, so their copyrights are perfectly valid in America.
Here's my DeCSS mirror, where's yours?
If its not licenced in America, its not illegal.
I see a need for a related article: the Ridiculous Justifications for Media Piracy FAQ. Here, I'll start it off:
Q: If I keep my pirated media for less than 24 hours, is it legal?
A: The answer is yes! Copyright law clearly allows for a trial period on any media!
Q: If I pirate a video game that is at least ten years old, is it legal?
A: Absolutely! Copyrights are totally dependent on the commercial availability of the work!
Q: If I pirate a game or movie, but call it a "backup," is it legal?
A: Of course! Consumers have the right to back up and own any media they can get their hands on!
Q: If I pirate media that is not available in my area, is it legal?
A: No question! Media corporations are legally obligated to release their product in all parts of the world, or give up all rights!
Q: If I cannot afford a movie or game, is it legal to pirate it instead?
A: Once again, the answer is yes! Media ownership is a right, not a privilege!
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
I'm sure this explains why so many Anime's have women heroines, whereas most American cartoons, especialy action cartoons, have stereotypcial male heros protecting helpless, or at best sidekick class women? Considering the Japaneese culture is less tolarant of woman's rights than the USA in most ways, it is IMHO amazing the positive image of women that many Anime's portray. Note, I'm not talking about the XXX rated stuff, XXX rated stuff in ANY format tends to be crude and potentialy offensive, that has nothing to do with the fact that some is Anime.
Little Brother, watching the watchers
"Taiwan is not a signatory to the Berne Treaty Convention, it is, technicaly, part of China"
Taiwan is a separate country at this time from mainland China. Both call themselves "China" in their names: Republic of China, and People's Republic of China, which causes some confusion.
Everyone treats Taiwan as a separate country from what is typicalled called "China" most of the time (PROC), except when the PROC demands it. Then when the PROC turns its back, it is time to treat Taiwan as a distinct Asian nation, just as Japan and the Phillipines are.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Among other reasons, it is *fan*subbing, so typically it creates an installed fanbase in a newly-licensed country that, more often than not, will lap up the higher-quality licensed DVDs and merchandising. Also, in some cases, a series is considered so niche that it would never be released outside of Japan. In those cases, I suppose the companies don't mind fansubs too much because, short of importing the Japanese DVD and hiring a personal Japanese translator, there would be no other way for a foreigner interested in the series to watch it. Finally, sometimes the popularity of a fansub brings to light a new market for a series that the companies had previously thought would be profitless... and we all know how all companies jump at the chance to make a profit.
--- Bwah?
There are four complex anime plotlines that are generally understandable by Westerners:
1) Social Observation. Peer into the inner workings of society and interaction between humans in unusual situations or in the wake of a major social shift. Watch Serial Experiments Lain (can mankind make the shift to an online society? Should it?) or Evangelion (children are put into machines and ordered to kill, maim, and destroy. What is life like for those children?).
2) Coming of Age story: Typically a young female either in or approaching the early teens experiences an adventure, learns to rely on her self and her own skills, as well as to trust her friends around her, and emerges at the end an older, stronger, and wiser person. See Spirited Away (or almost any Miyazaki movie).
3) Tragic Romance (in the shakespearian vein). Sometimes its just not going to work out. Japanese seem to love watching people writhe in emotional agony. Especially same-sex parings. See Revolutionary Girl Utena (series first, then movie). See also just about every show targeted at older girls or young women in Japan.
4) Weird Shit Happens. Sit back and enjoy the ride. See FLCL (Fooly Cooly), Excel Saga, and just about anything you buy in R2 without English translations if you don't understand Japanese.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
People mentioning BitTorrent and fansubs don't get the picture. Nobody sane downloading One Piece off of BT believes they are getting an official product, and furthermore they are paying $0.00 for it.
The problem with "pirated" anime is that bootleggers attempt to pass their bootlegged goods as the "real thing." Many anime fans, especially novice anime fans, believe that they are getting a real collector's item when they buy these products.
Of course, there are ways to spot bootlegs. If you are looking for official merchandise as a collectable, you should always be wary of deals that seem too good to be true, and always look out for the warning signs.
The anime itself:
Obviously, a series being sold on eBay as a VCD or CD-R is a bootleg. That goes without saying.
However, most bootleggers use DVDs nowadays, and have done an extremely good job making their product appear to be official. You can prevent yourself from being duped if you are keen on things.
Anything with subtitles in both English and Chinese is a bootleg.
Almost anything that is "region free" is a bootleg.
If the price is too good to be true, it is probably a bootleg. Region 1 (US) anime DVDs range between $20 and $40. Region 2 (Japan) anime DVDs are even more expensive. Someone offering all of Lain (which is released on 4 DVDs in the US) for $20 is either crazy or selling a bootleg.
You can also look to make sure that the DVD packaging displays the name of a known distributor (ADV, AnimeWorks, etc.) or conforms to the packaging displayed on the original web site.
Anime Sound Tracks:
This can be a little trickier. Taiwanese bootleggers like SM and EverAnime often do a great job of making their bootlegs look EXACTLY like the real deal. The CDs are stamped, the sound quality is equal to that of the real thing, and even the packaging and appearance of the disc look exactly like the real thing from Japan. The only real way to tell is by looking at the name of the distributor, and the price. You will almost certainly pay a premium for the "real" thing, which could cost you $30-$50+ depending. SM CDs, on the other hand, are typically $5-$15.
The strange thing about bootleg Taiwanese CDs is that sometimes even reputable, legit. businesses who otherwise wouldn't have anything to do with bootlegs sell them.
Merchandise
Merchandise can be tricky, because there is often so much of it that it is hard to keep track. Obviously, you want to look for the copyright somewhere on the merchandise. If it isn't there, it may be a bootleg. Many "wall scrolls," character cards, etc. are bootleg merchandise.
Ultimately, the only way to probably make sure that you are getting legit goods is to know that it came from a store in Japan (though I'm not sure if that is 100%, since there are doujin-type goods out there that are fan-made).
Comic Books:
I know that bootleg manga are out there as well, but since manga isn't all that popular in the US yet, there are very few manga distributors. Viz an Tokyo Pop are two of the biggest ones. I guess just check to see if the manga is published by an authorized distributor.
And while doujinshi is not "bootleg" material, techinically, many newbie fans buy doujin not realizing what it is. It complicates things if they've bought an ecchi doujin, which is likely since a lot of doujin is pornographic. They don't find out that what they've bought is a "fan comic" until they open it up and see their favorite anime character getting gang raped.
Doujin is usually easily spotted because the art style will be different. However, many doujin artists are actually very good (a lot of pros got their start as doujin artists, and some still make doujin under "pen names") and can copy the original style. Sometimes the artist will be nice enough to write a warning on an ecchi doujin. It also will typically be larger / differently shaped than the manga volumes.
Of course, doujin in itself can be collectable. But I know many people who accidentally bought H doujin from dealers or when they went to Japan for the first time. Many I know who still lived with their parents high got in serious trouble. ^_^;
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah