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What is this site
about?
This site is meant to act as a starting point for Australian anime fans who want to find anime merchandise in Australia and overseas, written from an Australian fan's perspective. I have included information for both novice fans and the anime fans who've been around the block more than once.
When I got into anime about 10 years ago, I was frustrated at the lack of information about where to get anime, what to avoid, and how to spot bootlegs. Years later you still can't find decent guides on where to shop and what to avoid. Part of the problem is that a lot of anime goods available in Australia (especially in Chinatowns) are bootlegs, though this is now slowly changing.
The site is divided into several sections; "Getting Started", which gives a brief overview of what kind of merchandise is out there, "Bootleg FAQs", which is a comprehensive guide in how to spot and avoid bootlegs. I also dispel some of the myths that fans have about bootlegs. The main part of the site is of course the "Shopping Guide", where I list shops in most capital cites and overseas shops who ship to Australia.
May I advertise on
this site, or can you help me get in contact with shops?
Sorry, but no. I do not wish to to have any advertising placed on this site, nor do I wish to have "referrals" to commercial sites for discounts, partake in promotions where I would give away merchandise, or anything of that nature. I'll gladly list any anime or manga related shop on this site, but I'm not going to give you an overly glowing review just because you want me to.
I also am not going to help distributors/companies get in contact with anime and manga shops. This site has many Australian shops listed, so use that. I'm not going to do your work for you.
I do occasionally have banners on my site for groups such as anime conventions (ones run by anime clubs though, not commercial ones), or non-profit organisations whose work I support and believe in such as Electronics Frontiers
Australia.
Is the information
on this site up to date and correct?
To the best of my knowledge, yes. The address' of shops outside of Sydney and Canberra may be incorrect as I don't really visit any cities outside these two. Lists for other Australian cities are sourced from information I have gathered from other individuals who have visited these cities, or from message boards and other websites. I usually check the White Pages to make sure these shops do exist though. Other information is as correct as possible. I've done quite a bit of research since I've started this site, and have corrected pages once I've found new information.
Why is there no
information about Korean and Chinese animated titles and live
action Asian films?
I've noticed a recent trend in companies marketing Korean and Chinese animation and live action Asian films towards anime fans. Some anime sites are incorporating these into their sites. I believe this makes it rather confusing for fans (especially new ones) as to what exactly is anime, and to be honest there's many sites out there that can cover that stuff a lot better than what I could. I was thinking about making a site on how to find Japanese daikaiju (giant monster), tokusatsu (special effects), sentai (super hero team) and sci-fi film and TV series videos and merchandise (which is sorely needed), but it'll be totally separate from this site (and I'm a long way off from actually creating it).
Your information
about bootlegs is wrong/those products aren't bootlegs
No, my information about what is and isn't a bootleg isn't wrong. Everything I've listed in the "Bootleg FAQs" is correct. All the items and companies listed I've listed in the guide are bootlegs and bootleggers. Other sites, law enforcement agencies, commercial shops and companies confirm what I have written on my site.
There is no reason for me to lie about any of the information I have given on bootlegs. The reason I have included these sections is because some people buy bootlegs by accident and are annoyed to find out later that they've been duped. I find the lack of accurate information on anime and manga bootleg items quite disturbing. I just want educate people on what bootleg material is available and how to avoid it.
I'd like to
contribute some information to your site
Thanks! Any information you have about shops I haven't listed would be very appreciated. I'd love to have as much info as possible about the shops as well.
If have any further questions or want to contribute to the site, please
email me. |