serial experiments lain Blu-ray BOX | RESTORE [Limited Edition] 12/23 Geneon/Pioneer

[MaxSteling]

So I was looking at the regular sites for this import from Japan. 26000 yen or US$ 281.26 from http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GNXA-1001 Well if you are interested it has the original 2 channel English and Japanese dubs however no subtitles. It comes with the soundtrack with one of my favorite anime intro songs, Duvet, from british band Boa not to be confused with singer BOA. Since it has character designs from Yoshitoshi Abe, like Haibane Renmei and Last Exile to name a couple, It'll probably be a must buy. I won't list a synopsis however it may be a bit dated in the material but the writing and atmosphere is interesting. Take a look if you haven't seen it and for those in the know since Geneon has a limited presence now in the states it looks like this is going to be the only way to obtain their Catalog releases on Blu-Ray. They did a with English dubs of the Tenchi movies and I think the original OAV series.

[MaxSteling]

also included is "Limited edition includes a bonus DVD with a promotional footage, trailer, and more. An original soundtrack and a booklet is also included." -- cdjapan.co.jp site

[project-blu]

wow, neat.

but...wow, what the fuck is up with that pricetag?

i'd buy it if it had english subtitles on the japanese track, and about 1/3 of the price. a really interesting, short (13 episode) show.

[Josh Z]

I still have the DVD set with the lunchbox. As I recall, that was pretty limited. Any idea if that's worth anything these days?

[project-blu]

Josh, ebay seller at 125 active, closed: no results. amazon has no listing for the lunchbox, so unknown 3rd party rate. it's apparently been out of print for about 9 years now. crazy.

[MaxSteling]

Just a side note i got the 4 dvds used at a pawn shop for 4 bucks each and the Boa first album for $10 at Suncoast when the series was coming out. I wouldn't hold my breath for a US release until Geneon comes back in full force for Blu-ray in the States. THis however will be it for quite some time on .

[kannisto]

The tax inclusive price for this would be about 20,202 yen in cheapest shops (26% off), including Amazon JP when it's properly listed there.

Here's a price comparison listing in kakaku.com:
http://kakaku.com/item/D0084679401/

I'm not so familiar with this Anime so not planning to buy myself, and the price would be one deterrent too. Many anime box releases cost around this much in Japan anyway.

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by project-blu

Josh, ebay seller at 125 active, closed: no results. amazon has no listing for the lunchbox, so unknown 3rd party rate. it's apparently been out of print for about 9 years now. crazy.

Pretty sure I paid $100 for it originally. Guess I'll hold onto it for a while longer.

The DVDs were pretty badly edge enhanced, as I recall.

[drgonzo369]

Originally Posted by kannisto

The tax inclusive price for this would be about 20,202 yen in cheapest shops (26% off), including Amazon JP when it's properly listed there.

Here's a price comparison listing in kakaku.com:
http://kakaku.com/item/D0084679401/

I'm not so familiar with this Anime so not planning to buy myself, and the price would be one deterrent too. Many anime box releases cost around this much in Japan anyway.

Yea, I have my buddy in Kannami-cho always on the look out for "cheap" dvds/blus, which rarely exist, even at Book Off. Japan's media is always insanely high compared to US prices, even though anime in the US is too high as it is (even at $30 for a dvd). Of course, I remember those days of Subbed Ranma tapes with 2 eps on them for $40, as well as the GI Joe/Transformers tapes for $40 with ONE episode on them.

God I feel old now....

[eastx]

Lain is a great short series. Too bad Japanese pricing is so corrupt though.

[drgonzo369]

but Japan has always been high on their pricing, due to a niche market. The Japanese believe that they should make money off of the merchandise, rather then the show itself. Plus, this is a country where a VHS tape of 1 or 2 episodes raw sold for like $50 and a dvd with 1-2 eps raw sold for like $60+. High Def formats only mean more eps at a higher price for the japanese otaku. Japan doesn't give 2 shits about selling to an import market, because of the amount of shows still being released outside of japan (with a few exceptions like Macross). Some are import friendly like the Ghibli movies (thanks god) or older Pioneer releases, but it's still only due to an individual company choice to be import friendly.

Hell, being an "otaku" is a BAD thing in Japan, as you are more of a social outcast who is not worth existing in Japan, and almost rightly so it would seem. I mean, they have love pillows with cartoon girls (and guys) on them for god's sake. That's just creepy.

[CaptainCanuck]

Originally Posted by drgonzo369

but Japan has always been high on their pricing, due to a niche market. The Japanese believe that they should make money off of the merchandise, rather then the show itself. Plus, this is a country where a VHS tape of 1 or 2 episodes raw sold for like $50 and a dvd with 1-2 eps raw sold for like $60+. High Def formats only mean more eps at a higher price for the japanese otaku. Japan doesn't give 2 shits about selling to an import market, because of the amount of shows still being released outside of japan (with a few exceptions like Macross). Some are import friendly like the Ghibli movies (thanks god) or older Pioneer releases, but it's still only due to an individual company choice to be import friendly.

Hell, being an "otaku" is a BAD thing in Japan, as you are more of a social outcast who is not worth existing in Japan, and almost rightly so it would seem. I mean, they have love pillows with cartoon girls (and guys) on them for god's sake. That's just creepy.

They sure crank out a lot of media for otakus though. ...and games.
Must be a lot of outcasts out there.

[drgonzo369]

games are a big market, whether it's an H game or a ps2 game. And then you see all the other stuff (like countless "Character Albums" for shows that have NO music parts in them, or definitely not enough to warrant like the 10+ for Haruhi or however many it is). They treat anime characters as almost real people, sometimes, and so they make more crap for the Otaku to shill out and buy. But Otaku are not considered to be a good thing in Japan. Women who aren't married by 25 (which is also seen as a bad thing) are more accepted then most Otaku.

[kannisto]

Originally Posted by drgonzo369

Yea, I have my buddy in Kannami-cho always on the look out for "cheap" dvds/blus, which rarely exist, even at Book Off. Japan's media is always insanely high compared to US prices, even though anime in the US is too high as it is (even at $30 for a dvd). Of course, I remember those days of Subbed Ranma tapes with 2 eps on them for $40, as well as the GI Joe/Transformers tapes for $40 with ONE episode on them.

God I feel old now....

Yeah, I don't much go to Book Off myself because their 2nd hand discs are often in worse condition than in most other places and not necessarily cheaper. I tend to check Sofmap, Liberty and Trader stores in Akihabara and Tsutaya in Shibuya for some 2nd hand discs, which are still not that cheap usually. I mainly buy "live action" movies though, not much Anime. Yahoo auctions and Amazon marketplace are also options but BDs are not cheap there either most of the time and I settle for semi-decent prices when the used discs are like new anyway

[kannisto]

Originally Posted by CaptainCanuck

They sure crank out a lot of media for otakus though. ...and games.
Must be a lot of outcasts out there.

Japanese kids tend to get into some of that anime/manga stuff when they grow up and share the interest in their schools and with other peer groups, and it's not really possible to classify most people as otaku or non-otaku as there are lots of levels to it. I think it's quite common for "normal people" here too to have intrest in anime/manga and some specific series, and I've got several colleaques at work who have collections of some small toy anime/manga characters at their desks at work though they are not that otaku-like otherwise.

Otaku can be used as a word to describe the most intense collectors and fans of this kind of stuff but it's not really a class of outcasts in such a literal sense in my opinion. It's a bit like the word "fanboy" or "nerd" or a combination of both, which is hard to define exactly...