So Can We Change This Forum Name to Anime Import News?

Where do you get that impression? There's more productive UK industry chat with reps of our distributors than there has ever been. The general impression I get is that people are happy that they're talking and listening to us.

As for moaning, people are always going to share their opinions on a forum be they positive or negative. That's kind of the point. Is people bitching about domestic releases any worse than you bitching about the board? There are things people like about international releases and that's why they import - UK distributors can learn from that and tailor their releases more towards what people want. That's win-win for everyone.
 
ayase said:
Where do you get that impression? There's more productive UK industry chat with reps of our distributors than there has ever been. The general impression I get is that people are happy that they're talking and listening to us.

As for moaning, people are always going to share their opinions on a forum be they positive or negative. That's kind of the point. Is people bitching about domestic releases any worse than you bitching about the board? There are things people like about international releases and that's why they import - UK distributors can learn from that and tailor their releases more towards what people want. That's win-win for everyone.
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What Ayase says - I like hearing what folks say and don't really see much in way of moaning tbh! People are passionate and care so yes they'll be vocal when upset but we like to talk too :).

No to name changes from here!
 
I know a lot of people on this board are keen importers, but for me personally, I'm only interested in native UK releases - I prefer to stick to what I know, supporting the UK industry - and plus, I find international releases usually too expensive for my tastes.

There's a lot that could be improved about the UK industry, and I enjoy a good moan about those various aspects as much as the next person - but it's always with the hope and intention that those things could get better in the future.

As someone who buys a heck of a lot of anime - price is usually first and foremost amongst the concerns for me, and I'll always applaud the UK market for the most part in terms of going out of its way to try and offer affordable options that fit in line with pricing strategies for the wider UK DVD/Blu-Ray market. Quality is obviously important too - but in my eyes, the more people that are able to afford and consume anime in any shape or form, the better - and if the domestic UK market is able to help do that, then brilliant.
 
Lutga said:
I know a lot of people on this board are keen importers, but for me personally, I'm only interested in native UK releases - I prefer to stick to what I know, supporting the UK industry - and plus, I find international releases usually too expensive for my tastes.

There's a lot that could be improved about the UK industry, and I enjoy a good moan about those various aspects as much as the next person - but it's always with the hope and intention that those things could get better in the future.

As someone who buys a heck of a lot of anime - price is usually first and foremost amongst the concerns for me, and I'll always applaud the UK market for the most part in terms of going out of its way to try and offer affordable options that fit in line with pricing strategies for the wider UK DVD/Blu-Ray market. Quality is obviously important too - but in my eyes, the more people that are able to afford and consume anime in any shape or form, the better - and if the domestic UK market is able to help do that, then brilliant.
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Nail on the head for me there, Lutga.

Only difference is I very rarely complain, I think this is because I usually go for a standard release and I very rarely see the cover art, so if it's not amazing I'm not all that fussed and it's always cheaper. Thats not to say I don't like collectors editions. Anime Limited are doing a great job but price & space is key for me.

I would add though that there are some annoying things that go wrong with the discs but I think there are enough complaints about those so I don't really need to add anything, as its already been said.
 
Not this again. How many times do you need to moan about people moaning about the UK anime market?

Look no further than this thread to see why many of us import. Granted, not all of the issues listed there are dealbreakers, and US discs have their fair share of errors, but the fact is that you're more likely to get minor or major problems with UK releases than you are with US releases (and vastly more likely than with JP releases).

I don't see why one's domestic market should automatically receive support if they're not providing the best value or quality. I'm buying MVM's Monogatari discs for the value, and bought AL's Patema Unlimted for the quality. It's a case-by-case thing.
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
It's a case-by-case thing.
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Likewise. I know I'm very outspoken about importing but I'm an anime fan first, a UK citizen second. If the UK market provides for me I'm more than happy to buy here and save myself some money - in the last couple of days I've received MVM's Samurai Champloo BD and Anime Limited's Giovanni's Island UE. I spend a small fortune on imports too but that money's there on the table if other people want to bid for my attention instead.

We moan because we care and want our home market to be something we can take pride in too. I'm sure many of the other importers are already active on the major overseas anime websites as well.

R
 
2 Aspects come to mind when I make a call on what to buy and from who

Firstly there's Speed VS Cost VS Quality - If I import I get it quicker, quality is equal or greater than UK releases and while the costs is higher, it's not massively higher for most things I buy when offset against the far greater speed.

Secondly there's reputation and fore knowledge/information - When a UK company announces a release ad the US version is not yet out I weigh who I want to buy from. As things stand Anime Limited are the only company that'd make me consider if I wanted the US version now or the UK later. Manga and MvM don't bring anything extra to the table at present so I'm back to weighing Speed Cost and Quality for anything they announce.
 
It depends on how much I like a show, how quickly I want to own it, and what the different releases offer. There are very few shows I like enough to want to buy as soon as they're released. I've not watched most of the DVDs I own as is. A lot of shows I like don't even have UK releases to begin with, so there's that to consider too. I don't really see the point in paying a high price for a non-collector's edition as soon as it's released when it's just going to get cheaper later on. I also don't really see the point of paying extra to import a US release unless the UK release is significantly worse in terms of quality, or it's a show which I like enough to import a Collector's Edition. For a barebones MVM DVD release, I'll usually just wait until it becomes Deal of the Week. Anime Limited Collector's Editions are actually worthy of that title, so I will generally buy them pretty early on if it's for a show I really like.
 
Back when I imported from the US it was usually either a cheap old collection in a TRSI sale or the first volume+box which I intended to fill with UK discs (I have a number of those still sitting empty actually...). The bulk of my importing was from Japan and I always intended to get an English release to go with those where possible (although what with importing taking up all my money and then not having any money to speak of on top of debts I've rather fallen behind - I have all of Clannad imported but still only the fist UK volume for example)
 
I personally don't think you can be part of an anime fan community and NOT hear talk of importing. Folks have obtained shows from outside the UK since year dot. (I actually remember one kid in school telling me excitedly that he'd got a VHS cassette with 'that show Clive James had on his telly program.' That make me feel old!)

My take is, if I have a choice between importing a region 1 copy of a show and buying a UK edition to support this arm of the industry, I'll go for the UK release every time. But if the UK distros aren't providing what I want, I'm going to find another legal way to get it.

And that's no dig at any of the active UK distributors. It's a REALLY tough market, and some things don't make financial sense to bring over here. Them's the breaks. So I'll look for stuff I'm after where I know I can get it.
 
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