Do you blind buy Anime?

When I was first getting into anime I would blind buy all the time, or at least buy based mainly off a general sense that I would get from discussions on AoD or usenet or wherever.

These days it's almost more effort to blind buy things, with such easy legal access to such a wide range of shows. I will often just see the first few episodes of a show before I decide to purchase though, such is the nature of home video release schedules in Japan.

Rui said:
Chaos;Head, so that's not a bad hit rate given how many hundreds of series I've collected (and I kept it anyway just in case it's one of those series which gets better with time - though I strongly doubt it will).
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Of course it will! More time passes > you begin to remember less and less of your viewing experience > C;H has effectively become better.
 
One thing I've always wondered - once you've seen all the standards (eg. The shows everyone talks about as classics) where do you go next? Do you become more open to the slightly less good stuff then just because you want to see more?
 
Maybe my bar is just lower than most people, but unless you're talking about literally a handful of shows that are on the level of things like Evangelion I don't feel like I've had time to watch all the "good" shows out there in the 14-ish years I've been watching anime.
 
Because I don't stream anime practically everything I own/buy is blind bought. I've enjoyed most of everything I've bought over the past few years and have a good hit rate.

Back during my early dvd days in say 2002/2003 I blind bought plenty of duds but I'm more picky now.
 
I'm usually happy to blind buy shows on DVD - although there are a couple of pretty hefty caveats:

One is that I'm not going spend a huge amount of money on something I don't know an awful lot about. Common sense, really.

The other is that I have a pretty good idea of what sort of things appeal to me, and I'm just in love with anime generally. Sure, there are things I won't go anywhere near, but within certain genres, I know I'm likely to be entertained.

If the price is right, as it frequently is with things like the Funimation S.A.V.E. line and MVM's deal of the week, I'll happily pay forward the cash. And I've discovered some real gems that way - STR.A.IN, Yukikaze, and Canaan all spring to mind. I had more fun with those shows than I ever expected to.
 
Depending what consist of a blind buy. Stores in Finland sell very little anime so around here you don't really have much opportunities to go a store and make decision without checking any reviews first.

But if buying something that you haven't seen before but have quickly glanced at the reviews is considered "blind buying" then my answer is yes.

Most of the anime i buy is under 25 euros so if i buy something that turns out to be a stinker it doesn't cause me to loose my sleep.

It can take a very long time me to even find out whether the show i bought was good or not because there's so many series to see and even though i have the intention to watch the series i have bought in form or another (what i actually like to do is keep the retail releases sealed and watch the *cough version) a good chunk of them aren't my top priority.

It's better to buy them blind than later regret not being able to buy the series anymore for a reasonable price.
 
Lutga said:
One thing I've always wondered - once you've seen all the standards (eg. The shows everyone talks about as classics) where do you go next? Do you become more open to the slightly less good stuff then just because you want to see more?
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Actually I wouldn't say less good stuff, its just not as popular or older than the bigger titles. I do like it when I stumble across an obscure title. Old OVA's are great for that.

I also want to see more stuff to expand my anime watching experience, not just to get my MAL completed list higher, If I was It would be a darn sight more than 431 I have seen over what, 20 years of anime watching. I use MAL more to keep track of what I've seen. Glad I was introduced to it last year or so.

Over the years I've used podcasts and forums to seek out new unseen stuff. I've seen pretty much everything I want to that Anime World order have reviewed, who I'd say are the best anime podcast out there.

I also look at the other work by creators I've liked work by, it can be a good a good way to find stuff you've never heard of. Take Go Nagai world (that I'm really happy is coming out in America at the end of September (it came out in Japan in 1991), its now on the top of my to buy list) if you like his work its a highly entertaing 3 OVA series.
 
When I was a youngster. I was more prone to blind buying - and paid the price for it.

Note to everyone, ever: Psychic Wars is one of the worst things to have ever existed. I nearly ruined a friendship because of it.

I did blind buy First Squad more recently, and once again, regretted it. Nowadays, I try to catch a first episode to see if I like it or buy a blu ray edition of something from years back that I'd like in better quality.
 
I can certainly second that on Psychic Wars - by far and away one of the worst anime ever created. So bad it has an average rating of 2.6 on ANN > http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... php?id=721

First Squad was a weird one - back when Sony was having a weird flirtation with anime. I remember they ran quite a bit of promotion for it in Playstation magazine around the time, when you could win copies of it. It stayed really expensive for ages though, and has only come down to bargain bin prices relatively recently.
 
I blind pretty regularly. I've found one of my favourite shows, K-On, through a blind buy. I don't find gems like that very often but the only show I've ever regretted blind buying is Strike Witches and even that wasn't awful.
 
Nothing has changed since the last time I posted, pretty much everything I buy is blind bought. Anything that AL bring out will 99% likely be bought and most of those are blind (other than a couple of older titles)
 
I did it once back when streaming wasn't a thing. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was what I bought. Probably my best anime purchase. Buying things blind isn't something I normally do since I don't want to take the risk.
 
Dave1988 said:
99% of mine are just cant help it only bad one thus far is karneval._.._i dont like it :(
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I love Karneval but then I did read the manga first so I can understand why those who’ve just seen the anime don’t really like it. Although I love the anime (I have the JP release) the manga is superior.
 
I have a limited budget for anime so blind buying is an expensive risk I'm not willing to take. The exception is films which I will take a punt on. I usually only buy series I like and would actually watch again. Streaming is also so accessible so blind buying really isn't needed most of the time.
 
I have started the streamin just ashame i watched everythin dubbed so only use funimation as i dont have a pc i use my ps pro... Wish hidive would hurry up with a app!!!!!
 
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