How to Spot a Bootleg

Org Profile · Post by **Otohiko** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:35 am

Well, unlike the music industry and MP3's, the anime industry is yet to go after fansubbers, arguably because thanks to the fansubbing 'code of honour' and such, the fansubs actually end up being beneficial to the distributors in the end.

That said though, yep, fansubs are illegal. But there's yet to be a case of fansubbers, let alone fansub users, being prosecuted for this.

Kalium · Post by **Kalium** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:38 am

I think a lot of that is also because some American companies (like ADV and AnimEigo) started as fansubbers.

ryuu_hime13 · Post by **ryuu_hime13** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 12:03 pm

Are there bootlegged anime games?

While searching on eBay for a game called Apocripha, I found an 8-disk set for $19.99...and directly beneath it was another 8-disk set, but this one cost $40.00.

gren13 · Post by **gren13** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 3:53 am

could you guys tell me if this is bootleg? ive made the mistake twice. acording to what this thread has said. im sry i didn't know.

http://www.a1anime.com/specific.php?pro ... 80%99s+Cut

Arigatomina · Post by **Arigatomina** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 4:26 am

gren13 wrote:could you guys tell me if this is bootleg? ive made the mistake twice. acording to what this thread has said. im sry i didn't know.

Even if it is, you can get it for cheaper at Best Buy. o.O

It's bilingual - so it's not one of the old Chinese/English subtitled bootlegs (it would be a copy of the US version instead). They don't tell much about it there, though - and like I said, you can get that dvd for about $15 in stores (maybe not the director's cut, but I doubt it matters). I don't know what company produced the ovas, but check that little signature in the bottom right-hand corner against other pics of this particular dvd to see if it matches up. Otherwise, shop a bit more, you can get that cheaper if you shop around (especially if you go to physical stores, I know the ovas are being marked down in stores near me - not much audience for them here).

Neko116 · Post by **Neko116** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 4:50 pm

i got that exact dvd, it seems authentic to me.....

i paid $21 for it at target

Jimmy Balls-O-Steel · Post by **Jimmy Balls-O-Steel** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:00 pm

It's official. That ADV logo in the bottom right-hand corner is not only a dead give-away, but I've seen it before at stores that don't sell bootlegs.

I bet that released pissed-off some fans that bought Trust and Betrayal seperately, though. Heh.

gren13 · Post by **gren13** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:47 pm

Thanx alot guys.

TheRealLefty · Post by **TheRealLefty** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:20 am

Neko116 wrote:here is my question: lots of fansubs have a note on them that says: "this is a free fansub, made for fans by fans, if you bought this then you have been cheated, go get your money back!" So its still illegal right? it was copied off some original thing and then subtitled, right? so you could be sued just like if you were downloading music off kazaa? would anyone even be tracing those files though?

To further expound on this "code of honor", Fansubs are only legal to download when the anime has not been licensed in the US (the idea is that since you can't purchase it in the US, its the only way you can see it)... Once an anime has been picked up for distrobution in the US, fansub groups are supposed to yank links from their sites in order to comply with copywright laws...

I'm a proponent of fansubs...gives you a chance to preview stuff before you buy...

Jimmy Balls-O-Steel · Post by **Jimmy Balls-O-Steel** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:58 pm

TheRealLefty: Well, technically one can just search the interweb thingy and buy themselves a copy of the R2 Japanese import DVD's. Correct me if I'm wrong (and by "correct me" I mean "remove the link") but you can buy legal Japanese imports of anime DVD's from J-List. Now, doing so would require a Region 2/Free DVD player, as well as paying all kinds of money for an imported Japanese DVD -- which is very likely to have English/Engrish subtitles. Seeing as the Japanese anime companies must obviously see no logical way of making money off of anything they don't liscense out to American companies, they don't bother trying to sue us gaijin over this copyright infringement. Of course, they're probably also smart enough to see the potential try-before-you-buy factor in the equation, and American companies aren't going to pay the necessary fees to liscense a series/movie/OVA that won't sell.

I hope that was at least somewhat coherent.

Before Yami no Matsuei (Descendents of Darkness) was liscensed, I bought what I believed to be a legitimate imported copy of the series (it was on 3 discs). Of course, I was plagued with shitty subtitles, iffy picture quality, and the opening and closing sequence didn't occur between episodes. I ended up buying the official version, and sold the bootleg for a fraction of what I paid for it, telling her the truth about what she was getting so as not to swindle her like I was swindled.