HK subs

So that begs the question, what's the biggest downside to R1 anime (if you live in the US, that is)? Price? Release schedule? Something else?

Personally, my attitude towards some of the more insane 3-episode per disc American licensors is similar to my attitude towards the RIAA. *If* I could choose how my $20 gets divided up, I wouldn't mind nearly as much. However, people who have next to nothing to do with drawing or writing anime are getting very, very rich. (Some argue with this, but I've read business journal interviews of anime companies happily telling potential investors what's in their books.)

Like it or not, American anime companies need to realize that they are in direct competition with HK subs and fansubbers. Broadband penetration (currently at 20% in the US) will become so cheap and widespread in the next few years that it will impossible to operate with a business model of 4 episodes every 2 months for $25.

ohh. FLCL. I think it's my best example. $30 for two episodes. =P I got the whole thing for around $12 including shipping.

Yes, it's the price. How many episodes are on a legitimate disk of Inuyasha? Five? I've got up to 126 on bootleg. If I had bought them legitimately... about $795 including tax...

Keep in mind that the R2 DVD releases are much more expensive (DVDs, CDs, and other media have some sort of weird economic protection... they're roughly 1.5x the price).

Inuyasha is a real head-scratcher. Appears to be about 3 eps per disc. I have no idea what the manga is like but I would take a wild guess that it's going to end between 175 to 200 eps? So, maybe 60 DVDs at that pace. 60 * $20 is a very ugly number for such a filler-weighted show. You can either buy Inuyasha, or you can buy a very decent used car. I haven't bought DVDs in about 2 years, but there's a couple things in the bargain bin that I'd like to get because everyone always asked what I like. (NTHT and Nadesico are super cheap!)

Oh, I have a full set (minus a lost disc 2, I only have the case for some reason) of R2 FLCL. Artistically, nearly faultless, but the one-joke punchline and aimless story telling leave a pretty bad taste.