I had this question for a long time. Is there really any "ORIGINAL" anime in Malaysia? We all know of a certain "famous anime store" in Malaysia that has alot anime supposedly with "TULEN" sticker, but do the people they buy it from really own the rights to this anime and can it really be considered original?

In america, as you all know, anime is licensed by companies like Bandai Visual, Geneon Entertainment, ADV, Funimation and so on and so forth for international distribution. They hold the copyrights to the anime there. How about Malaysia? We don't have companies like this. What I think we are doing now is buying "2nd hand rights" from Taiwan (which i'm not even sure if the Taiwan companies hold the rights in the 1s place) and straight away claim these anime as "original". I don't think I have to tell you that the quality of the subs on these DVDs are like shit. Is this the quality of an original dvd i bought at original price? I have no choice but to buy region 1 DVD from US if I want to buy original DVDs or just stick to fansubs.

Say for example Bandai Visual now holds the international rights (outside Japan) for the anime Melancholy Of Suzumiya Haruhi. Only a copy produced by Bandai Visual sold in Malaysia can be considered original, right? If its distributed by "Wong Ah Kau Productions" from Taiwan I don't think can be considered original right?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for the link. I'm aware of ODEX but never bought a copy before so I'm not sure about the quality. When i was in singapore i saw alot of VCDs of anime by ODEX but the packaging looks quite cheap and at that time I thought ODEX itself was a bootleg.

The question is, can you get ODEX stuff in Malaysia, cause I never really seen any, but mountains of other bootlegs banyak like AnimeDVD, Animanga, MTV etc. And i'd prefer it if they localised the region 1s released in US. Those at least have nice packaging and always come with free stuff. (Najica thongs anyone? )

I think money is not an issue for true collectors, even here in Malaysia. Why would collectors collect bootlegs? Abit worthless rite? But now the issue is "we don't have a choice", in terms of anime. Would I buy original anime? I would, especially if its a series I really like. But like most people, i'd probably download 1s, if like it then only think of buying ori. Will not buy ori as trial.

Well that's another story. Let's face it, collecting as a hobby is a luxury, not something that anybody or everybody will indulge in. If you don't have the money, then don't collect la. If collecting bootlegs/fansubs makes you feel happy cause you can't afford the originals, then by all means. But of course to a true collector your collection is worthless. I agree true collectors have money to spare on their hobbies, but that doesn't mean they are rich.

Example: Those otaku collectors you speak of in Japan, you think their pay is high? Not really. How can they afford their hobby? Easy. They live with their parents, have no commitments (pay for rent, electic bill etc), and don't even bother to get proper clothes hence their lack of attention to their own appearance. They spend every penny they earn on their hobbies. And I won't even go into those hikikomori which are sponsored by their parents 100% for their lifestyle and hobbies.

Ya...i don't expect the mangaka to know where his manga is going to anyway since its his publisher's job to do this. Wasn't there some controversy about the HK movie version of Slam Dunk that was going to be filmed and the mangaka knew nothing about it?

OT...but might as well post it here. XD

http://break.com/index/intervention-new-toy-addiction.html

KL kinokuniya had it. I bought my 3 volumes from there. If they don't have a copy, you can order it through the phone with them. There's nothing wrong with GSG manga and never heard of any ban for it. If you're from penang and near to borders you can ask them if they will order it for you.

Bear in mind though that the GSG manga has been on hiatus and so are other titles by ADV manga. We were stuck at volume 3 since 1 year ago. >_<

Thanks for the spoiler.....

SPOILER TAGS PLEASE!