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 Post subject: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 11 Sep 2013, 03:17 
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When I was in LA earlier in the year, I got a tip on some discounted anime LDs. If you go to "Bunka-Do" in Little Tokyo, upstairs they have quite a large selection, which they are trying to sell off (cash only). They had the discs at "75% off", although this is from a sticker price which is typically (cover price in yen)/100, so most discs are still between fifteen & thirty dollars. Still, there was some good stuff, & it might be competitive with buying from Japan once you count in agent fees & shipping.
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 11 Sep 2013, 18:42 
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I found some images of this shop online (about a year ago - I actually saved the pics on my drive as it was neat to see such a store), and it looks like an amazing place to browse through. It is pretty interesting to think that something like this still exists, with actual bins of anime on laserdisc, here in the States. Little shops like this are time-warps, and I would bet that these discs were marked at full retail up until this sale (thus accounting for the fact that they still have all of the discs you observed unsold, long after the days of LD). Too bad I'm on the other coast...

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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 11 Sep 2013, 20:33 
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Yup, that's the place.
Would you believe that I actually had dreams of searching through bins like that?
To actually do it was a real trip.
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 11 Sep 2013, 22:10 
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I'm actually in California, but all the way up in the Bay Area. So close yet so far...
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 12 Sep 2013, 00:27 
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I am going to los angeles in 3 months dont know when yet. I hope I can find this place
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 12 Sep 2013, 02:13 
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Those pictures are pretty great. Akihabara used to have shops that looked just like this, but they closed over 10 years ago. This is probably one-of-a-kind worldwide!
  
 
 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 12 Sep 2013, 19:32 
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Awsome pictures, anyone got any more pictures like this ?
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 12 Sep 2013, 22:01 
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wow, the place i went to in san francisco that had LDs only had 3-4 bins.
that picture shows almost 15 give or take.

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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 12 Sep 2013, 22:28 
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It's more than that. At least a dozen bins long, back to back, plus many more discs in the glass-front cupboards underneath.
Really pretty amazing.
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 19 Sep 2013, 17:58 
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:shock: ohgawd, i'd kill to be living within driving distance of that, with a few hundred dollars in my pocket... :shock:
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 20 Sep 2013, 01:07 
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Is it only anime LD? do they carry other LDs?
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 20 Sep 2013, 01:40 
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Virtually all anime, so far as I could tell. A few kaijuu movies, a few Ultraman & Kamen Rider TV boxes, but almost all anime.
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 20 Sep 2013, 01:46 
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is LD anime collector's dream format? In other words are there too many LD exclusive anime out there?
Or its just cool to buy LD versions?

I am not an anime collector but I notice nearly everyone who is into anime owns a laserdisc player(or at least knows what it is)
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 20 Sep 2013, 02:02 
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For a long time, imported LDs were basically the way to get anime in the US.

Even years after American releases began, the selection was quite small. VHS tapes were often more expensive in Japan than LDs, & of course the quality was not as good, even before copy-protection is considered. So, LDs brought in by ones & twos tended to be the source material for the fansub tapes which circulated. And even after the advent of DVD, the appearance of older anime was quite slow. As a result, LD retained its popularity much longer with anime fans. Also there are some who are very fond of the "goodies" such as posters & even figurines which were sometimes included.
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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 20 Sep 2013, 04:45 
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yeah, i remember trying to get some of the anime DVDs back in the early 2000's
but they were really bad, had credits removed with solid black or just changed the text and put up some really cheap
looking font with no Japanese title credits.

but even now there are so few of the early 70s and 80s anime on DVD, also the packaging is just horrible on the DVDs i don't even bother.

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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 22 Sep 2013, 17:51 
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rein-o wrote:
yeah, i remember trying to get some of the anime DVDs back in the early 2000's
but they were really bad, had credits removed with solid black or just changed the text and put up some really cheap
looking font with no Japanese title credits.

but even now there are so few of the early 70s and 80s anime on DVD, also the packaging is just horrible on the DVDs i don't even bother.



Anime DVD cover art was far from universally bad back then, at least for the higher-profile recent-make releases of the day.

perhaps it's merely just my sort of thing, but this is always what invariably comes first and foremost to mind
whenever i think of particularly striking, winsome Anime video cover art;

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 Post subject: Re: If you happen to be in Los Angeles
PostPosted: 02 Jun 2014, 06:21 
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I asked a friend of mine to do some recon while visiting LA this week. He sent back the following pictures. They still have LDs!

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