I am not a very smart person. I decided to pick two very expensive hobbies to dedicate my free time to. Both video games and anime are fairly expensive ventures, especially if you're trying to stay up to date on the latest content out there. Specifically with anime, you have to worry about the formats you purchase your anime on as well. There are multiple methods (digital, DVD, Blu-ray), but none of them are too cheap if you're looking to own.
When you're looking to pick up the latest anime releases, you have to be ready to pay top dollar. Even when you're buying online, you'll only end up saving a few dollars along the way. Being a big anime fan on the cutting edge of localized releases can be an absolutely grueling experience on your wallet/purse. Thankfully some localization houses are offering great deals on box set series' in recent months.
Box sets are certainly a great way to save some cash and max out on anime, but this kind of content isn't exactly available when new series' are around. If you're willing to wait for box sets, you can end up spending a fraction of the cash that you would if you picked up each DVD in that box set. Like I said, you have to be willing to wait. You could be holding out for up to a year, if not more, when it comes to box set releases. By that time you'll be ready to move onto something new!
I'm sure it's no surprise to you guys that anime is a costly adventure. How do you guys go about purchasing your features? Do you just let the new content come down in price? Do you like to stay up-to-date with localized releases? Do you stay strictly to what's on TV for free? Perhaps you even have an anime budget each month!
I make sandwiches for a living just so I could buy my anime figurines and blurays collections. Im surprised that I am able to buy all that and still have enough for the bills.
ReplyDeleteI buy some new interesting stuff, or several of the classics which I may have missed. Lots of good deals going around these days as long as it's not brand new.
ReplyDeleteThe YouTube TV Shows section in the UK has quite a number of old and new anime releases too.
Otherwise, I still download some stuff but less than I used to.
I rarely buy anime these days. Every once in a while I'll pick up a film or something. Really want to see Summer Wars, might have to get it on Blu Ray.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Try balancing a love of video games, anime, anime figures, gothic clothing, Asian Ball-Jointed Dolls (we're talking, like, $500 plus for ONE DOLL here), books, and obscure music. Ha... ha... ha.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I mostly buy used anime. I think the only new anime series I've bought have been Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd Gig, Sailormoon S, some Revolutionary Girl Utena DVDs, the first Hare Nocchi Guu DVD, and a Dragonball Z boxset. The majority of my anime I download from fansubbers. I've made a pledge to myself to support anime makers more once I've graduated university and actual have an income, as opposed to a continually accumulating debt. >.>
"To be honest, I mostly buy used anime. The majority of my anime I download from fansubbers. I've made a pledge to myself to support anime makers more once I've graduated university and actual have an income, as opposed to a continually accumulating debt. >.> "
ReplyDeleteSeconding all of this, along with waiting for anime to get super-cheap. Samurai 7 for ten bucks? Hell yes!
When i first started collecting anime i was only able to buy a 26 episode series in 4 episode volumes. Seeing how most of those ended up being £20, i usually had to pay over £100 in total for some titles. As the years went on it got better and i became alot smarter with my purchases. Fast forward this year and although i rarely buy series anymore, i managed to pick up the UK Blu-Ray of 'Eden Of The East: The Complete Series' for £17! I've been consistently watching anime since 2001 and will always keep watching as long as the medium exists. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm a much bigger gamer than anime viewer, so I try to keep my anime spending low. Usually, instead of buying series after series, I watch a series and from there determine if I like it enough to keep it on hand and watch it again.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to anime, very few series can do this for me. So it works out pretty well. Not counting any Japanese releases that lack a DVD set here, I'm pretty much 2/3 on my favorite shows on DVD. Still need to get Welcome to the NHK.
I usually only buy anime when it is on some kind of sale from the usual places I buy from (Amazon, RightStuf). One time I got a Code Geass box that had 2 DVDs, one volume of manga, VA cd, and OP/ED cd for just $10 brand new at Best Buy. Rarely do I buy anime at MSRP. The only series I have done that for is ToraDora, Durarara, and a blu-ray version of Baccano.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I totally understand. I watch most of my anime online, and if I really love the anime, than I buy it either on dvd, or bluray. I spend my money on anime, manga, comics, books, videogames, dvds, blurays, theater, and food. So I agree with you there that anime can get expensive at times..
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