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The Bootleg Guide |
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Garage Kits and Plastic Models Digital Versatile Discs (DVD Videos)
The Son May (SM), Smiley Face Records Ltd, Ever Anime/Hi Fashion, Alion, Archer Records, Ho Son, Wisdom Records, Yuanding/Top Circle and Golden Diamond Music record companies have NOT obtained licenses for any of the CDs they releases. Due to this, Japanese companies, and more importantly the artists, lose millions of dollars. The bootleg releases don't always come with the full colour booklets like the Japanese CDs. I've noticed a change in the quality of these bootleg discs, and they are very professional looking now days. Note that some of these companies use 'gold foil' CDs to record on rather than the standard 'silver foil' ones. This can lead to production defects in the CDs. Some online shops are being rather sneaky and not telling customers the CDs they stock are Son May or Ever Anime etc CDs. In this case, the best way to find out if they bootlegs is by looking at the catalogue numbers, or more correctly the letters before the actual number (e.g. GGG-0001). If they have any of the following letters in their catalogue numbers, they're bootlegs;
Low Cost Legitimate Alternatives: Many US anime companies including ADV Films, Geneon Animation and TOKYOPOP are releasing anime soundracks in the USA. You should be able to import them from import record shops or online for about AU$25 - 40.
There was a spate of PAL bootleg copies of commercial NTSC videos in shops in 1998 and 1999. DVD has virtually killed VHS, so for the most part, they don't exist anymore. If you find any it's not worth your time buying them. The quality is almost always pretty bad. Some shops sell VHS fansubs (sometimes on blank VCDs). Save your money. You can get them from fansub distributors for the cost of a tape and postage. Fansubs are subtitled tapes made by fans. Fansub distributors aren't shops (even though the line between "fansub distribution" and "shop" has become blurred due to some people not understanding how fansubs 'work'). If you request tapes from a fansubber (if you can find one now days ^_^), just make sure you are only paying for the cost of the tape and postage only. Also remember these people do it as a favor to anime fans. They don't operate as shops. Digital fansubs (or 'digisubs') encoded usually in DIVX format and available to download from internet sites have become the norm in the fansub world since about 2000. Unfortunately a great deal of these new fansubers have few morals, and fansub titles which have already been acquired for English language distribution (such as 'Kino no Tabi' and 'Ghost in the Shell' TV), or titles that have English subtitles on the Japanese DVDs (like 'She the Ultimate Weapon'). Although fansubbing was a godsend to anime fans back in the mid 1990's when there were few companies releasing anime, now they have become some what irrelevant due to the fact most subbers tend to subtitle shows which are practically guaranteed to get licensed for English language distribution. It's best to just wait until the commercial DVD of the anime comes out rather than downloading a fansub. DVDs have better audio and video than digisubs, and usually have extras, better translations (usually translated from original recording scripts), and an English dub. Please note that fansubs are illegal, plain and simple. It is illegal to copy commercial programs from any country in the world, may it be Japan or anywhere else. International Copyright Law does exist (contrary to what many fansub sites might tell you) and companies enforce these laws. Please click here for an explanation of copyright laws concerning fansubs, and anime fandom in general. Japanese companies may prosecute people who break copyright laws, but at the moment most don't have the resources to do so. But recently some companies have been sending "cease and desist" e-mails to people distributing certain titles. In late 2003, Kyoto Animation asked one subber to stop distributing their title, "Munto" and in 1999 Sony asked people to stop distributing Rurouni Kenshin. In late 2004 Media Factory publicly asked fansubbers to stop uploading their titles on to public servers for downloading. Madhouse and Production I.G. have also directly and indirectly asked subbers to stop distributing anime created or owned by them. US companies like Urban Vision, Bandai and ADV Films regularly send out "cease and desist" e-mails to subbers who don't stop distributing their titles. Low Cost Legitimate Alternatives: With the emergence of DVD as a superior video format, VHS has started to be dumped in droves by stores. Lots of second hand and new VHS tapes can be found at Amazon.com. If you must get fansubs, try to do it via the SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope: you send blank tapes with a self addressed stamped envelope) method, therefore the fansubber gets no money. Or just download digital fansubs off the net or trade them at your local anime club (remember to buy a legit version of the anime when it's released in English).
Most VCDs originate from Asia and a large percentage of them are bootlegs. Hong Kong's film industry was almost in financial ruin due to millions of these being produced (please click here for Jackie Chan's view on the situation). Some anime VCDs are very bad in quality, usually taped off Japanese TV, with Chinese subtitles. There are a few legit VCDs with English subtitles or English dubs. Most of these originate from Singapore. Please click here for a list of legit VCD titles with English dubs or subtitles. Low Cost Legitimate Alternatives: Try online shops like Popular. This shop stocks legitimate dubbed and subbed VCDs. Some legit VCDs were also released in US and UK, although all have been deleted by the manufacturers who made them.
There has been and always will be bootleg trading cards out there. They are rather hard to tell apart from the originals, but basically if the card comes apart like a sticker and the writing is a bit light, or looks like it's been cut off the edge of the card, it's a boot. Also the bootleg cards are usually much thinner than the legit product. These cards have absolutely no resale value and are worthless. Low Cost Legitimate Alternatives: There aren't any really. The boots usually cost the same amount as the legit cards. So you might as well buy original cards.
There has been an influx of all-over print t-shirts in Australian shops, and yes they're boots. The To Heart "Multi" one (above left) has random kanji on the shirt, which has nothing to do with the anime what so ever. These shirts aren't made out of durable material, so don't expect them to last for long (maybe a couple of washes).
Not confined to low quality T-shirts, bootleggers have been making horrible dresses as well like this Cardcaptor Sakura dress. Could somebody tell me why she is skating off a poorly drawn brick wall?
Here's a rather tasteless button-up short sleeve Cardcaptor Sakura shirt.
Upon closer inspection, you can see the pictures are taken from various artbooks including the cover of "Cheerio! 3". You can even see the green letters from the cover of the book on the shirt. How sloppy.
This one is even worse. Here's a Nuku Nuku T-Shirt with a picture obviously ripped straight off the cover of "Shonnen Ace" monthly manga magazine. Low Cost Legitimate Alternatives: Well not really low cost, but for the same price you can order anime t-shirts from your local comic book shop (through the Previews catalogue), or you can buy them from overseas online shops, your local comic book shop or the Cartoon Gallery for about AU$30 - 40.
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