Why the Flash?

cudwieser

cudwieser

Student Council President
Why the want of flashy kit like collectors editions instead of going for plain and simple series and story. Why do some buyers want their steel boxes over plain plastic and the contents of the DVD (BD if you must
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Well like anything, be it anime, movies or music, if you're a big fan of something it's always nice to have more and more nicely presented stuff to do with it. I buy collector's editions of anime I really like for the same reason I buy the special editions of albums from bands I really like.

I understand some people only value the basic content itself, but I and many others like having those extras. Which is why it's nice there are usually standard and special editions available to suit everybody's tastes and wallets.
 
Personally I buy physical release for more than just their video content. It's going to take up some space on my shelf and probably stay there longer than the runtime of the show, so I might as well go for a nice looking release. Physical extras sometimes win me over (though, art cards or stickers never will :p), but the 'outer packaging' is most important to me.

It also doesn't help that I never really liked the blue sticking out of all BD cases. It's a truly clever trick to force me into more expensive releases.:eek:
 
If I like something why wouldn't I want more of it, be that through more art on an art box or more extras in the pack? That's also why I buy merchandise for shows I like. If I don't care that much about something then I'm happy with a barebones release. But then if I don't care it's a bit decadent of me to buy it in the first place given the cost and shelf space involved...

R
 
I'd be a liar if I'd said I hadn't bought collectors items (Armitage III Dual Matrix lunchbox and figurine set with DVD), but personally there doesn't seem justification to have the flash if it meant paying more. I appreciate wanting something to show, but I've found myself enjoying the anime more than what went with it


P.S The Armitage set was on offer at Rightstuf at the time so I got it for much the same prince I'd pay for a series here. It was also retailing for a couple (literally a couple) bucks more than their standard release. All this was when Geneon was washed up. Bought it out of curiousity. Not ashamed I did but it sits in a cupboard now so turns out wasn't that big a draw.
 
If it's a show I love, I want the best possible release. Fancy chipboard boxes, big art books, staff interviews, soundtracks, etc. There are some shows I love enough to pay hundreds for because they have such sentimental value to me. Shows like Madoka and School Live I hold very near and dear to my heart, so I want as a big and expensive release as possible.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
If it's a show I love, I want the best possible release. Fancy chipboard boxes, big art books, staff interviews, soundtracks, etc. There are some shows I love enough to pay hundreds for because they have such sentimental value to me. Shows like Madoka and School Live I hold very near and dear to my heart, so I want as a big and expensive release as possible.
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Basically this. If I really love something and my fandom for it is strong and lasting then I want to have the best possible edition to reflect that. Yes the Anime itself is definitely the most important thing but if I can have extra trinkets to reflect my fandom be it an Artbook to marvel at, interviews and background information to read or an OST to listen to and enjoy then why not?

Fancy packaging design can also make something feel more special, especially if it's unique and stands out from usual Anime releases. This also reflects how I feel about that show, wherein I've seen hundreds of shows and yet this one stood out so why wouldn't I want that same release to also stand out in my collection. It reflects it's uniqueness to myself and I how I feel about it.

It's certainly better to have options though, a standard release and a collector release being made available at the same time is the most ideal scenario for sure. But often companies don't do that as a cheaper release made available out of the gate can undermine the sales of the Collector release and could create a situation where the Collector release would no longer be viable. A CE needs to be made to feel as special as possible in order to maximize potential sales so it being given some kind of exclusive window makes sense to me.
 
I love collector's editions and ultimate editions. I'm much the same as most of the others here, in that if my love for a show is strong, I will always go for the most expensive, most decadant set I can find. I love Anime Limited because they do both collector's and standard editions. If I am not a super-fan of the show but still liked it enough to own, I can just hold out for the barebones release, but if I love the show I can go big. I think it is a much better situation than a few years ago when 99% of all releases were barebones and there was no choice. For example I would love to have a really nice artsy edition of Steins;Gate, and the original Bakemonogatari (I have been umming and ahhing over the Aniplex option for the latter), but unfortunately they only got barebones releases when they hit the UK market a few years ago, so I made do with what I was given.

I can also recall a few year ago when an Aniplex show would come over, most companies would do them in parts because of licensing stipulations, but they would charge a premium price even though the sets were predominantly barebones boxes. I'm glad that when we're forced to buy a multi parter now, the quality of the product usually reflects the price.
 
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