Getting anime in the UK sucks.

Totally Guy

So I used to be really into anime. I was the only Anime fan around as far as I could tell. Anyway I went to an anime convention and it was a big let down, people were jerks and I kind of lost interest.

Fast forward 8 years and my friends are all into anime. And my youngest brother's friends are all into it too.

My youngest brother uses my old collection to score chicks who have only seen Naruto and Bleach. In related news my old Evangelion box set has gone missing. I wonder who he lent it to...

But anyway, I'm older and have money now so I figured I'd buy another set to lend to my current friends because they'd never heard of Evangelion! But I'm looking around for Region 2 copies in UK online stores. I can only find individual DVDs that won't make up a complete set. I could import from the US but it's bad form to lend or gift Region 1s. I was chasing a set (of individual discs by the same seller!) on ebay this morning. I was watching all morning and then one of the discs got priced really high (good strategy!) so I just lost interest.

I guess we could watch the rebooted movies but there's going to be a huge wait for 3 and 4.

I also remember seeing Giant Robo VHSs in the stores back when I was in school. I checked online today, there must be a box set. It turns out it was never released on DVD...

I guess it's all been an economics thing. Failure to reach that critical mass when this stuff becomes profitable.

chaosof99

I think that has more to do with it being Evangelion, if it is the same deal as in the german region. The series has a couple of box sets, but all are either out of print or is ridiculously expensive, or both. German Amazon doesn't have any in stock, and only has offers from private sellers. The cheapest one is ironically a UK-Import at 33 € (and I just ordered away, the next seller is at 130 € :X), but the most expensive ones hit up to 400 €.

ninjarabbi

Unfortunately you're best bet is probably pirating. Honestly its not really much different than buying it used anyway. Or just buy the Us version and burn copies that are region free.

dsf

I loved living in England, but yeah I had a terrible time getting decent anime. I remember finding this awesome gaming store in Cambridge that boasted of their anime collection. It ended up consisting of Dragonballz and some other Lobrau flavors. Your best bet is to talk to someone on these forums and get them to be your middle man.

chaosof99

Can't really say about the market in the UK, but I've been recently been rather surprised about the anime market where I live. I am in the benefit of having a retailer with a good anime selection near me, but there have also been some good offerings from the publishers as well as of recently. Particularly I like one publisher called Beez Entertainment, who has been publishing series like Planetes and Gurren Lagann as rather affordable box sets. Judging from amazon.co.uk, they also operate in the UK and the box sets are ~£15 for Planetes and ~£18 for Gurren Lagann. Both rather recommendable series.

They also publish Durarara, but I'm not sure if they have the UK license. Also, that series is more expensive (as it is in most cases with anime) since the series is newer, though I decided to bite the bullet on that one because I really like the series.

Unfortunately, most other box sets where I live are quite expensive. Not really willing to spend 70€ and more on box sets of Ouran High School Host Club or Claymore. Hell, I just saw a message on my Amazon "save-for-later" listing that the Cowboy Bebop box set that has been sitting there dropped from 86€ to 73€, which is one of the few series that I might actually be willing to pay such a price for.

I was however able to get a couple of anime movies for rather reasonable prices on DVD, such as Perfect Blue, and A place promised in our early days, for less than 10 bucks, and Ghibli movies for ~14€, which are about the prices of new DVDs. You can also get Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time at this price point, though I was decadent enough to buy the special edition of SW.

Well, I guess this is anime for you. An expensive hobby. At least we don't live in japan, where it is basically highway robbery to be an Otaku who actually buys stuff.

chaosof99

Sorry for the Double Post, but checking the amazon.co.uk listing I got a couple of recommendations.

Cowboy Bebop: £19.13 (private seller)
Samurai Champloo: £22.99 (new)
Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, 1st GiG: £16.55 (new)
Claymore: £11.69 (new) [why the fuck is that so cheap there?]
Ouran High School Host Club: £9.77 (new) [again, why the fuck is that so cheap?]
Gurren Lagann: £17.98 (new)
Planetes: £14.99 (new)
Code Geass: £17.93 (new) [which appears to be a full set, which is not available in germany and for less than the price of a single two-disc volume (9 episodes) which are available here]

It's apparently easier to get good anime on DVD for a reasonable price in the UK than it is in Germany and Austria.