Unlicensed Anime Footage?

Crimsonnataku · Post by **Crimsonnataku** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 5:46 pm

I apologize if this seems like a silly question, but... Is there a legal way to acquire unlicensed anime footage?

Thus far, I have only needed footage from licensed anime, and simply bought the DVDs and took clips from that. But what about the anime that hasn't come to the US yet? Is there a way, OTHER than buying a bootleg and downloading the files (both of which I'm not keen on doing) to get them?

Thanks for the help!

Post by **Faceman** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:18 pm

You can buy the Region 2 DVDs from Japan. There are a few sites out there to order from Japan on, and they will ship to the US. I'm no expert on them, but I'm sure one will come around to post soon enough.

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:53 pm

The option most people use is www.cdjapan.co.jp which, aside from the bad point system (and OUTRAGEOUS shipping prices) is the best there is.

Other people just message me and offer cash/souls/[strike]sexual favors[/strike]/etc to find them used DVDs in Akihabara for cheaper. While R2s are expensive (I've seen discs cost up to $60-70 for 3 episodes, unsubbed, no extras), the used market is huge and stuff can be found for 1000-2000 yen cheaper or more.

Crimsonnataku · Post by **Crimsonnataku** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:48 pm

Thanks so much for the help! Would I need to buy a special software/DVD player in order to play Region 2 DVDs?

YouTube · Post by **basharoftheages** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:21 pm

[quote=Crimsonnataku]Thanks so much for the help! Would I need to buy a special software/DVD player in order to play Region 2 DVDs?[/quote]

Most DVD drives can be set to region free very easily - as for set-top DVD players, those won't work unless you happen to own a regionless one.

Crimsonnataku · Post by **Crimsonnataku** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:45 am

Once again, thanks so much for the help ^_^.

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:49 am

www.videohelp.com has guides to DVD players, including which set-top boxes can be set to multi-region and where to get cracked firmware for your PC drives.

Also, DVD Decrypter will crack any region code by brute force.

kiarrens · Post by **kiarrens** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 1:40 pm

3 cheers for DVD Decrypter!

Risikafox · Post by **Risikafox** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:49 pm

[quote=BasharOfTheAges][quote=Crimsonnataku]Thanks so much for the help! Would I need to buy a special software/DVD player in order to play Region 2 DVDs?[/quote]

Most DVD drives can be set to region free very easily - as for set-top DVD players, those won't work unless you happen to own a regionless one.[/quote]
Ummm... Not to sound stupid, but what exactly is region-free? Is that one of the numbers )8, or something different?

Post by **Faceman** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:52 pm

Region Free DVDs, aka Region 0 DVDs, means it will play in any DVD player, no matter what region it is set to. However, Region Free discs usually (not always though) are indicative of bootlegs.

I'm assuming that Region Free DVD Players are the inverse, in that they'll play any Region DVD you put in.

YouTube · Post by **basharoftheages** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 2:53 am

[quote=Faceman]I'm assuming that Region Free DVD Players are the inverse, in that they'll play any Region DVD you put in.[/quote]

Bingo. DVD drives on your system can be made region free, but if you're just decrypting discs, you don't need to change the region code, DVD Decrypter doesn't need it.

Risikafox · Post by **Risikafox** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 5:03 am

I see. Thank you for the clarification and such. ^^

kiarrens · Post by **kiarrens** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:47 am

[quote=Risikafox]I see. Thank you for the clarification and such. ^^[/quote]

Off-topic, but omg I love your avatar.

Post by **JReckers** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:00 am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, if the anime is unlicensed in the US but is licensed in Japan, the Japanese paperwork holds no sway on this side of the pond.

So, as I understand it, as long as it isn't licensed in the US, it is technically legal to download copies of it - although kinda dirty. It is a personal rule of mine that if the material is licensed in the US to not download/copy/distribute it, but as long as it's unlicensed I have no problems DLing it.

As far as I'm aware, that's legal. Correct me if I'm wrong.

YouTube · Post by **basharoftheages** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:50 am

No, you're completely wrong. Berne convention rules for international copyright laws still apply between the U.S. and Japan (and most other nations).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Conv ... stic_Works

dokool · Post by **dokool** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:09 am

[quote=BasharOfTheAges]No, you're completely wrong. Berne convention rules for international copyright laws still apply between the U.S. and Japan (and most other nations).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Conv ... stic_Works

[/quote]

Oh god, I'm having thesis flashbacks now...

kiarrens · Post by **kiarrens** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:26 pm

[quote=BasharOfTheAges]No, you're completely wrong. Berne convention rules for international copyright laws still apply between the U.S. and Japan (and most other nations).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Conv ... stic_Works

[/quote]

Yeah, but since we can't legally buy a copy with our language on it yet (subbed or dubbed), most people will download/watch the fansubs, then they SHOULD delete them and buy the DVDs when they're released.
It's illegal, technically, yes, but it builds a stable fanbase for the show before it even hits American shores, which can't hurt the DVD release's sale numbers, even given that there are almost certainly a lot of unscrupulous people who just keep their fansubs and don't bother to buy the legal DVDs.

And yeah, Dan, total flashbacks.

This is a subject which has been talked to death in the anime community. but the main facts are thus:
1. Fansubs are available until the American release, regardless of legality, and fansub groups aren't likely to stop until they're served with C&D orders.
2. When making AMVs, it's better for your video quality to buy R2s or wait for the DVD release here.

YouTube · Post by **basharoftheages** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:20 pm

Morality != legality and whatnot. I'm an unscrupulous individual - but it's a good idea to answer the question posed truthfully.