NoaIzumiAnime on a Budget
October 30th 2008 20:25
In this time of economic downturns, the first thing the anime fan worries about is, well, probably food, rent, gas, bills, etc., just the same as other people do. The second thing, though, is how to keep feeding the anime addiction when the money’s tight. There are all kinds of ways to watch anime for free, of course. American TV is hip to anime’s appeal. There's Anime Network, the Funimation Channel, IFC, even basic cable networks like Cartoon Network and Sci-fi Channel. Your community or school may have an anime club, or be open to starting one. Most anime production or retail companies, including Funimation and Rightstuf, offer special deals to clubs, and Anipike can help you find out if there's an existing club in your area (be patient; the pages load slowly). If you've seen the animes on TV or they're just not your cup of tea, and your budget is too stretched to rent, you can always check the local library. With luck, yours will have a good anime selection, available for free with a library card.
Sometimes, though, you just want to own, and even if you’re getting an anime club deal, or have made an arrangement with friends to split the cost, you still want the best value for your money. Which animes have that? That answer depends on what kind of stuff you like, but here are some of my picks. Included are a few non-anime titles.
Remember also, that these are the retail prices. Most on-line stores routinely offer their products for 10% or so under retail, and there are usually sales for even greater discounts if you’re patient. So I don’t want anyone out there actually paying retail for any of the items listed below. Unless it's an emergency.
Under $10
Alien Nine
Silent Service
Geobreeders
Harmagedon
Ayane’s High Kick
They Were Eleven
Voogie’s Angel
Surprisingly good, worth checking out.
A Wind Named Amnesia
Just saw this, and will have a review pretty soon. A few plot holes, but a good movie
Battle Skipper, the Movie
Animation Runner Kuromi
This is only 40 minutes long, but it’s masterfully done, and hilarious. A great little education on the process of anime production, too.
Under $15
Millennium Actress
Comes with subtitles only, but has some good extras.
Armitage III
Might be hard to find, but well worth it if you like sci-fi and artificial intelligence. Do NOT settle for Polymatrix, hold out for the original 4 episode OVA.
Salaryman Kintaro
Subbed only, but four episodes for $15, not bad.
Blue Gender, the movie
Afro Samurai (edited)
Animatrix
If you became an anime fan in the last five years or so, this may be what brought you into the fold in the first place. If you don’t have any of the other Matrix movies, though, the whole collection (including the Animatrix), is available for $20.
Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi
Animated Hellboy movies
Under $20
Slayers OVA collection
Not as good of a deal as the season sets, seen below, but it does include six episodes, good extras, and Naga the Serpent at her shameless best.
Blue Submarine #6
The package is a bit misleading, since it has three discs, but that includes only two hours of run time, and an extras disc. Still, it’s not a bad deal, and still has some of the best underwater battle scenes ever made.
Cowboy Bebop movie
Gokusen collection (13 episodes)
Cutey Honey collection (4 hours screen time)
Case Closed double feature (Time-bombed skyscraper and Fourteenth Target)
Steamboy
Teen Titans season set (13 eps each)
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends season set
Code Lyoko season set
Under $30
Afro Samurai (uncut)
Giant Robo collection
Dirty Pair OVA (Ten episodes, minimal extras)
Devil Hunter Yohko
Princess Princess (13 episodes)
Green Green (12 episodes)
Girl’s High collection (12 eps)
Patlabor New Files (16 episodes)
Legend of Himiko collection (12 episodes)
Samurai Jack
Seasons 1 or 2: $25; Seasons 3 or 4: $30 If you’ve ever seen Samurai Jack, you’ll know what a deal this is.
Gargoyles, 1st season (13 eps.)
The first part of the second season, with 26 eps, is an even better deal at $40.
Slayers series
The best deal in this section, since each season set (there are three) has 26 episodes. And it’s a great series, the perfect thing to watch if you’re depressed about your finances.
Under $50
The following are all 24-26 episode series, most of them with extras, for less than $50.
Noein
Burst Angel box set
This is one of the better buys, and includes the OVA. Extras include audio commentaries on six episodes.
Bubblegum Crisis 2040 set (Coming in Nov. 2008)
Way better than the original BGC, but I’ll save that for a post of its own.
Blue Gender series
Saber Marionette J
Scrapped Princess
Outlaw Star collection
Case Closed season sets
Spiral box set
Samurai 7 box set
Witch Hunter Robin box set
Steam Detectives boxset
Gundam Wing collection
Cowboy Bebop Remix collection
This was a surprise to me, given how popular Cowboy Bebop is, and how good the Remix is. It’s practically a steal.
All images are in the Public Domain.
Sometimes, though, you just want to own, and even if you’re getting an anime club deal, or have made an arrangement with friends to split the cost, you still want the best value for your money. Which animes have that? That answer depends on what kind of stuff you like, but here are some of my picks. Included are a few non-anime titles.
Remember also, that these are the retail prices. Most on-line stores routinely offer their products for 10% or so under retail, and there are usually sales for even greater discounts if you’re patient. So I don’t want anyone out there actually paying retail for any of the items listed below. Unless it's an emergency.
Under $10
Alien Nine
Silent Service
Harmagedon
Ayane’s High Kick
They Were Eleven
Voogie’s Angel
Surprisingly good, worth checking out.
A Wind Named Amnesia
Just saw this, and will have a review pretty soon. A few plot holes, but a good movie
Battle Skipper, the Movie
Animation Runner Kuromi
This is only 40 minutes long, but it’s masterfully done, and hilarious. A great little education on the process of anime production, too.
I wanna be an animation runner, too!
Under $15
Millennium Actress
Comes with subtitles only, but has some good extras.
Armitage III
Might be hard to find, but well worth it if you like sci-fi and artificial intelligence. Do NOT settle for Polymatrix, hold out for the original 4 episode OVA.
Salaryman Kintaro
Subbed only, but four episodes for $15, not bad.
Blue Gender, the movie
Afro Samurai (edited)
Animatrix
If you became an anime fan in the last five years or so, this may be what brought you into the fold in the first place. If you don’t have any of the other Matrix movies, though, the whole collection (including the Animatrix), is available for $20.
Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi
Animated Hellboy movies
Hellboy's reasoned debate skills are second to none.
Under $20
Slayers OVA collection
Not as good of a deal as the season sets, seen below, but it does include six episodes, good extras, and Naga the Serpent at her shameless best.
Blue Submarine #6
The package is a bit misleading, since it has three discs, but that includes only two hours of run time, and an extras disc. Still, it’s not a bad deal, and still has some of the best underwater battle scenes ever made.
Cowboy Bebop movie
Gokusen collection (13 episodes)
Cutey Honey collection (4 hours screen time)
Case Closed double feature (Time-bombed skyscraper and Fourteenth Target)
Steamboy
Teen Titans season set (13 eps each)
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends season set
Code Lyoko season set
Under $30
Tell him it looks like a butter knife, I dare ya.
Afro Samurai (uncut)
Giant Robo collection
Dirty Pair OVA (Ten episodes, minimal extras)
Devil Hunter Yohko
Princess Princess (13 episodes)
Green Green (12 episodes)
Girl’s High collection (12 eps)
Patlabor New Files (16 episodes)
Legend of Himiko collection (12 episodes)
Samurai Jack
Seasons 1 or 2: $25; Seasons 3 or 4: $30 If you’ve ever seen Samurai Jack, you’ll know what a deal this is.
Gargoyles, 1st season (13 eps.)
The first part of the second season, with 26 eps, is an even better deal at $40.
Slayers series
The best deal in this section, since each season set (there are three) has 26 episodes. And it’s a great series, the perfect thing to watch if you’re depressed about your finances.
Linna Inverse and her posse
Under $50
The following are all 24-26 episode series, most of them with extras, for less than $50.
Noein
Burst Angel box set
This is one of the better buys, and includes the OVA. Extras include audio commentaries on six episodes.
Bubblegum Crisis 2040 set (Coming in Nov. 2008)
Way better than the original BGC, but I’ll save that for a post of its own.
Blue Gender series
Saber Marionette J
Scrapped Princess
Outlaw Star collection
Case Closed season sets
Spiral box set
Samurai 7 box set
Witch Hunter Robin box set
Steam Detectives boxset
Gundam Wing collection
Cowboy Bebop Remix collection
This was a surprise to me, given how popular Cowboy Bebop is, and how good the Remix is. It’s practically a steal.
All images are in the Public Domain.
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