I have a copy of El-Hazard The Magnificent World Boxed set. Digitally Remastered 1996. Lists for 42200 yen. On a lark I checked the price to US prices and we are talking 520 dollars or so. Are they serious, did it really cost that much when it was new? Or is the yen worth a lot less now?

Japanese prices have always been high. I have plenty of import discs which were sold in shops here, with prices reflecting the then-current exchange rate, & the prices are $60, $70, $80 per disc. All through the 1990s, the peak years for anime releases, the exchange rate was right around Y100/$1.

makes sense, thought that thing is still crazy expensive. 422 dollars. What would that have cost US. I was looking at a Tenchi Boxed set and it has 6 discs and it was 15000 yen, more in line with reality. Would have been 150 dollars or so. Why would have that disc set been more? if you got all the sets you are talking well over 2000 dollars then prices.

Yeah I always have a good chuckle when seeing the original retail price on discs. Two that come to mind are 30000 yen ($300) for the first half of season one of the X-files. Thats for the first half of season one!!! I kind of feel bad for the people who paid that much back then when I'm handing over the 100 yen ($1.30) to buy it now. Another one is the Ghibli box set that had a retail price of 95146yen! ($950)!!!

I am one of the fools that bought discs for insane prices back in the mid to end 90s.
Some excuse I could make is... after a while you get used to those prices.
They don't seem insane anymore at all.
You are talking to yourself saying "wow I have all of the X-Files now, UNCUT and in neat box sets..."
Tho when I look at them box sets now and think about what I am might be able to get if I sold them these days...
Better not think about it.

Anyhow while on topic, most expensive japanese boxset I own would be Urusei Yatsura for 350.000Yen,
which would have been 3500$ U.S. back in the old days. Anyone want to swap for a car?

That would be pretty much weight-for-weight, wouldn't it?

Lol

my japanese discs weren't too expensive i just had a look at the OBIs

transformers the movie only went for 6000 yen (77$ US dollars(current exchange rate))

tenchi muyo sound file 3000 yen only 38$ current usd exchange!

I did that and one Tenchi I have had 15000, The El-Hazard is the one that freaked me out at 44000. Lol