Sometimes I feel as if anime companies are trying to guilt trip me into buying their products. Now, I will say that I download anime and manga. I also buy anime and manga, but it’s usually of series I already know are good or tend to be inexpensive purchases or both. The sheer amount of series which I think are good and worth my time are far greater than my income. I still get series, but as anime companies struggle to keep up, the feeling I occasionally get from interviews and such is that I am not doing enough. It’s really uncomfortable.
This is especially true of series which I think are quite good and even somewhat affordable but simply am unable to purchase in the near future. Should I be getting it in lieu of others simply for the sake of “supporting?” If I buy a series from one licensing company but not the other, is it all right for me to be supporting the anime industry as a whole but not helping out all the companies which put the shows I like?
OGIUE MANIAX 
Only you can answer those questions, because how you feel about yourself and your actions is something only you can control.
That said, I feel a sense of regret at times because there are some shows out there that I could and would have bought if I had more money, yet I’ve seen it like everyone else via fansubbing or showing at a club or whatever. But to me it’s also a feeling of desire, as if I run into the show at some other place, at some other time, with the money to spend, I would.
And that’s that. If somehow I removed this feeling by, say, avoiding watching any anime that I don’t know if I can end up buying, that would have been a good thing (for my wallet) but I don’t think that is supporting the industry either.
If you look around, people like Roland Kelts write that American anime fans party but don’t pay and cite convention and cosplay photos. That’s bullshit. American fans pay-to-party just like anyone else. Cons are freaking expensive to go to (lol @ train system in the US versus what they have in Japan). Costumes aren’t free. And until the past couple years, most anime aren’t even free (legally) to watch. The problem is no one is taking advantage of the fan’s spending and connecting fans directly with creators, licensers. You can’t blame fans for this.
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I simplify things by only watching anime I’ve paid for.
Which, you’d think would be a poor fit considering my moe, loli-loving ways, but the last four shows I’ve watched have been:
– Strike Witches
– Nanoha
– Clannad
– Gunbuster
So it works out quite well for me.
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I feel it should never be a question of simply supporting the industry. This is an industry, which means those that produce products that sell more wins. If you want to buy their products then do so, if you don’t have the funds you are unable to, simple as that. These are companies and they shouldn’t be relying on us pitying them and buying their products to keep them afloat.
That said, I feel sad how they seem to be struggling but then again, everything is in this financial climate. The market was bloated before with companies doing small starts with little heed for quality. It is quite possible that those who weather the storm will just come out of this better entering a clearer market. Then again, that doesn’t save the quality publishers and lincencers which just don’t seem to be selling. But I really like their products so I buy them… no guilt whatsoever.
I crux of the matter is you are trying at the least, which is better than those who just download and watch.
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I buy the anime I buy because I like it and I have the money to do so. I don’t pay attention to people who saber-rattle “SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY” because I don’t want to be forced into supporting that which I already support, and I don’t want be to feel like I have to purchase something for the sake of purchasing for it, nor for my own. I’m the one that will have to deal with what I buy, from my perspective. :P
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I wouldn’t worry too much about the tactics of Anime selling companies these days. Let’s face it, we’re in a recession. Money isn’t coming to the audience as it is these days. Of course when we were teenagers we had the expendable income to drop 15 bucks a pop. These days, however, I have to use that for groceries.
While the indutry is hurting, we the fans are also hurting. The cost of supporting our interests are steadily rising while our incomes are staying fairly stagnant. So no, I am no longer in a place to throw down 120 for a series anymore. I can torrent it for free and keep it as long as I need it.
But it is as you say, the company is whimpering for coin. If they are trying to save their businesses then they should employ tactics to actually bring in new revenue. What right do they have making angry eyes at the consumer becuase they aren’t buying the product. There were procedures set up to prevent it us from freely distributing. This was an homage to the studios who made the programming as well as sending some pocket change to the guys who repackaged it for us. Now they are hurting for money because the spirit of sharing overcame the business model? Its time to rethink strategy.
We have had a fair share of anime on TV here in the states. Heck, we even have specialized television stations. Yet, the anime fan is not getting enough. As a fad that started by bootlegging and swapping tapes, I am not entirely sure what the American Anime distributors really expected. It was never going to be an industry that brought in a whole lot of revenue, because it is not producing the quality of show that the American Anime audience is interested in. What we really want is free and available for download at any given moment.
As for buying from one company over another, that is merely a matter of taste. Each series I have liked almost always comes from a different source. The distribution companies are varied. You should buy the stuff you like. If the companies would consider a few mergers, I think this problem would be a little less prominent. I would be glad for that, cause I hate feeling guilty for downloading something I saw I could buy at the store. But there is beauty in making small changes. Now, I can get a Netflix account for next to nothing a month and “rent” some of my anime. The copies of the shows have already been paid for, so I am committing no foul. I have also donated boxes and boxes of old manga to Libraries. Sure I could sit there whimpering about how much money it cost me to have made the collection I had, but I just couldn’t let the world keep going without being able to borrow Ranma 1/2 from the community Library.
And as always, an anime club is a great way to go to share. If we’re gonna keep this thing going, we have to do it right. And the way has always been to buy what you can afford and share what you have.
Power to the People.
Stacy-chan
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