Friday, June 24, 2011

Where and how do you get your anime fix?

There's definitely no shortage of anime out there.  If you're looking to get an anime fix, you have plenty of methods to do so.  We certainly don't have it as good as they do in Japan, but it's kind of  hard to top the location that actually pumps out the content!  While we can't ever hope to see anime that widely spread in the states, at least we still have plenty of options when it comes to viewing.

Personally, I like to actually purchase the box sets and individual DVD's/Blu-rays that come out in the states.  I feel this is an important thing to do in order to support the companies that go through the trouble of localizing these features.  It's not like there are a ton of companies that localize anime, so I feel I should be heading to retail and picking up their work.  If no one buys their content, we're going to see less official releases in the states.  That's not something I want to see happen!



Of course, it's much easier just to watch anime online.  Thankfully, there are plenty of legal ways to do this.  The localization houses I was talking about above are all moving into the digital age by providing their features online for free.  You can actually check out a handful of episodes for newly localized series' online before you shell out the cash for a purchase.  You can also hit up places like Hulu to check out recently released anime features, and they add more every single day.

As I'm sure all of you know, there's also a huge subculture of fan-translated anime.  Some of it is top-notch and other stuff isn't very good.  Still, people are working hard to translate new content from Japan in order to feed the need of anime fans in the states.  This kind of translating usually goes on with titles that will most likely never make it stateside.  I don't know how these Japanese animation houses feel about the fan-translation sub-culture here, but I don't think they've done much to stop it.

Now we can't forget about the video on demand services as well.  Just like you can do on your computer, there are also anime on demand features on a lot of cable and satellite providers.  There's actually a lot of great, free content out there to check out.  I am often surprised by just how up to date these services are.  It's always nice to pick up your TV remote and scan through what's been added each week.

11 comments:

  1. I generally watch fansubs and import the dvds and blurays when they become available. Currently snatching Madoka Blu-ray nad Higurashi kira Blu-ray with Gosick as my next set. Fansubs are generally better than the stream services and they actually do nicely styled subs. Seeing as I'm a sub/raw person, this system works out quite well when it comes to both watching and supporting the companies. Just got Madoka vol. 3 in the mail too and the box art is great.

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  2. I usually watch my anime over at ZOMGAnime, and whenever I can, I'll snag DVDs of my own favorites.

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  3. I preview on Websites and if there is a DVD or Blu-ray of the show I buy it. But for shows that are not licensed I wait a bit then I just watch it.

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  4. Just pirate it off the sites in HD. There isn't really any other way to get it from where I am for HD.

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  5. No love for Crunchyroll? I keep an active subscription there, even if I hardly use the Premium benefits.

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  6. Animecrazy, Netflix and Anime Network On Demand

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  7. I;m not gonna deny I've watched fansubs but I do alot to support the anime industry regardless.

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  8. Hulu, netflix and crunchy roll

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  9. I watch a lot of unpopular shows, so unfortunately fan subs is a lot of it. But I also do a lot of sites like Hulu and Youtube where they get ad revenue for support.

    I never buy before I try though when it comes to anime. Anime is too expensive in my opinion to get something I'm only going to watch once, or not finish from just flat out not liking it. But if I want to watch it again, I go ahead and purchase it so I can hold onto it for the future.

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  10. I have a system for watching anime. First, I go to the website of the distributor to see if there is a legal way to check out the series. If not, then I go to a few sites to see if they post the episodes just to preview the series because I refuse to buy a series blind. Every time I have remotely enjoyed watching some of a series, I will buy the DVDs which is my main method of watching because I live in the middle of nowhere with pretty bad Internet speed. I want to support both the distributors and the Japanese companies who put their time and effort into the series.

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