Sailor Moon DVDs: A Guide to Bootlegs, Officials, and Anything In-Between!
So we all want to watch Sailor Moon. Some of us are content with finding it on the internet, but others would love to own their favorite series in their home movie collections. It's easier to access, usually better quality, and you can actually read the subtitles on the bilingual options (am I right?). But no one wants to spend a good amount of money on a DVD to find out its a bootleg. Before making a purchase, please take the time to look over this guide!
What to look out for when purchasing Sailor Moon DVDs:
There is nothing wrong with wanting to spend as little money as possible on collectibles. And while I will always encourage the purchasing of the official products, I won't judge you for buying the bootleg DVDs! But for those of you who don't want to accidentally purchase a bootleg, here is what you need to watch out for:
Bootleg Rule #1: Official DVDs almost NEVER come as a complete series (with all three movies...in the same box...).
Sets like this, with non-official art, are common on eBay. There is another one that is slightly more convincing, composed of Sailor Chibimoon and Sailor Moon against a coral background with sparkles. A major giveaway on this cover is the fact that the Spiral Moon Rod going across the cover is from the manga, and never used in the anime.
This particular set is advertised as containing all 200 episodes of Sailor Moon, as well as all three movies, with Japanese and English audio, as well as Chinese and English subtitles.
Bootleg Rule #2: Price. If It's Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is!
The set just previously mentioned is only about $30 shipped from Asia. For the entire series. Official sets are usually $100 or so per season, and there are five seasons. In the long run, you get what you pay for!
Some, however, are more pricey. Occasionally a lot will show up, advertising all five seasons (English dubbed, first of all, the fifth season isn't even dubbed, so there's one red flag for you!), for about $200. This is still way too low, considering the price of official DVD season sets.
Bootleg Rule #3: Location, Location, Location.
Almost all anime DVD bootlegs come from Malaysia. It is a proven fact. There may be sellers in Malaysia, selling official items from their personal collections, but this would be a rarity. When purchasing on eBay, look to see where the item is being shipped from/manufactured in. If purchasing from an individual seller, don't worry! There are other ways to check for bootlegged products!
Bootleg Rule #4: Disk and Coverlet Artwork
On official DVDs, the animation company's name or logo will more-often-than-not be present. In this case, that should be Toei animation, who's symbol is a cat wearing a musketeer hat.
For American releases, the disk will have the name Pioneer on it instead of/in addition to Toei.
The disk will also most likely have artwork on it. If it is a plain disk, it will most definitely at least have the animation studio logo or image on it.
Disk artwork that is blurred or pixelated is usually an indication of a bootleg. Misprints, wrong colors, or blatantly wrong characters are also things to look out for before making a purchase.
Coverlet artwork has the same rules. If the artwork on the DVD case is pixelated, has the wrong colors, is misprinted, or has characters in outfits from wrong seasons, etc., it is most likely fake. Pioneer released DVDs come with reversible coverlets.
Official Rule #1: Labels Are Your Friends
As previously stated, look for company logos and names. If you can't see them clear as day, in the corners or on the bottom of the back, it's probably not an official product!
Official Rule #2: Do Your Research! There Are Many, MANY Different Versions of DVDs!
Before making a purchase, you need to ask yourself a few questions;
-What kind of quality am I after? HQ? R2?
-Do I want to watch it in Engish? Or Japanese? Both?
-Do I need subtitles? In what languages?
-How much am I willing to spend?
-Do I want whole seasons, or just select episodes?
There are so many different boxed sets, both in Japan and America, to chose from. Some are extremely expensive, and some are fairly priced. It all depends on the quality of the image that you desire, and the language you want the show to be in.
Price wise, I find the American/Canadian releases to be more reasonable (from Pioneer). They usually are bilingual and come with subtitles, and have good image quality.
If you want superb image quality, then shoot for the stars and get the digitally re-mastered Japanese R2 boxed sets. These boxed sets are very simple in design, have only the Japanese language option, and no English subtitles. These also are two-part sets. So there are two halves to each season that you must purchase. These are a bit more on the expensive side, and these will not play on all movie players, (due to them being R2/region 2). Make sure you have the proper systems to play your DVDs before spending the dough!
There are also separate DVDs you can purchase. These usually contain five or six episodes, and are released by Pioneer.
Prices for DVDs tend to fluctuate. It is up to you as the buyer to survey the market before committing to making a purchase. Checking completed eBay listings over an extended period of time is helpful, but sometimes can put you in the wrong spot. If you're really in a pickle and don't know what to spend, a price check on smcollector is never out of the question! :)
Still confused? Don't know if your DVD in question is bootleg or not? Feel free to comment with any comments, questions, or concerns, and I will be happy to help you!