HUZZAH!

My wife and I have been saying for years that we would gladly shell out a reasonable amount of cash for a box set of Mai-HiME. I’ve kept an eye out for a box set since I first watched the series in 2004 only to find, time and again, that the series was only available on separate DVDs. But I bring good news: A recent search on Amazon not only turned up a box set, but a box set at a reasonable price.

Anime industry, take note: People will glady pay $30-$60 for a box set of a solid 24- or 26-episode series; however, those same sane and reasonable people–people who have bills to pay, groceries to buy, and like to buy a game now and then–will NOT pay $130-$180 for a box set, even if it’s a box set of one of their favorite series.

I’m looking at you, Geneon/Pioneer. Not only did you price the box set of Read or Die TV over $120, you also discontinued the product!

Whenever my wife and I visit a major retail chain that sells anime, we make a point to visit the anime section and laugh at how absurdly expensive anime is. Why would any reasonable person wait 2-3 years for a series to be licensed and sold in the US and then pay $20 for a DVD containing 3-4 episodes when fansub groups sub episodes days (not years) after they air in Japan and offer more accurate translations than the official DVDs that follow a few years later? Judging by the quality of English dubs, I think it’s safe to say the money’s not going toward competitive wages for English voice casts.

There are several other series I would gladly by if they were sold as a boxed set and at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll still be waiting a long, long while until the next anime purchase.

On an unrelated note, how much would it cost to license Dennou Coil for US distribution? Seriously, why has this series not been picked up yet? It’s amazing.