stinkyllama wrote:
Although I've seen a fair share of shows and movies, I still consider myself somewhat of an anime newbie.
I'm just wondering...how you guys go about watching all the different shows? I've been getting some through Netflix and recently discovered the wonderful, fabulous
removed. However, both sources don't have complete collections of some series I want to see or have started and want to finish. Any suggestions?
Honestly, I rent everything that's been commercially released, and if it hasn't, I DL. Once it's released (or if I don't like the show), I pitch what I've DLed. While downloading
is piracy, many North American licensing companies do not frown on it as much as one might assume. They see what's popular in the fansubbing circles to help decide what shows to license. And there is a sort of 'code of ethics' that is used with regard to fansubs. For this reason, you're not going to see a backlash like in the movie and music industries. Besides, I'm currently saving up for a region 2 dvd player, so that way I can get official releases of certain shows that will never reach American shores except as bootlegs (namely Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, Rose of Versailles, and Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon). :p
But I digress. I tend to do that when the topic of downloading/piracy/ethics of such things comes up.
Anyway, I rent from a local comic book shop. However, I should note that it has the largest anime collection in my state, so the selection is better than most rental places. I'm going to be moving soon, so I had been planning on getting Netflix. You say that they don't always have the complete series? Can you list some examples? I'd really like to know if Netflix is going to be a viable option for me once I move.
I recently received an advertisement for RentAnime. It's run by Animenation, one of the premier online anime stores. It costs a bit more than Netflix ($19.95/month for unlimited DVDs with 3 available at a time, and also a plan for $9.95/month for unlimited DVDs with 1 available at a time), but it claims to have a better collection than others, so maybe this would be a better option for you (and for me)?
We were going to go with Netflix because that way we could rent stuff other than anime as well, but if the selection isn't as good as it appears to be (I've sifted through it briefly a few times), then I think I'd rather go with the RentAnime.
(This post is totally disjointed. I apologize.)