CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Personally I've never gotten up the nerve. Costs too much.

If there's a manga, I read a bit of that to see if it catches my interest.
If there's not, I check anime websites to see how many people enjoyed it.
I used to use Netflix to see if they were any good, which also worked very well.

If it's something I have been interested in watching and have never seen,especially if I have read something about it.Generally I stick to the genres I like,Sci Fi/Fantasy and (light)Horror.Currently I have seen Excel Saga,Ah!My Goddess,Gundam Wing,Ranma 1/2(movie),Tenchi Moyu(movie),Escaflowne and
Pilot Candidate all on DVD.A couple of other titles that I have not seen on tv but will be watching on DVD has soon as they get here are Bubblegum Crisis 2040 and Stellvia of the Universe.I also plan on getting Sailor Moon,Vandread,Dirty Pair and
Outlaw Star among others.

A. I rent anime

B. Watch anime at local anime fan club

C. Watch anime at anime con that will show half or close to half of the anime


Wingzero22

I read reviews and watch music videos. AMVs are the best way to see footage and get a feel for a show. (I also rent it if I possibly can.)

If I see a title on the shelf that I've not heard of I can usually look at the artwork and series description and determine if I will like it or not. However, since most of my titles are pre-ordered usually two months in advance I've already done a good bit of research through reviews to make a decision of purchasing or not. If I don't like the first couple of volumes they end up on ebay and I try something else.

I first look and see if there is anything that I find appealing in the series (action scenes, storyline, animation, historical fiction, comedy). Then I read reviews and see if it is worth purchasing based on the rating and content.

Same thing goes for manga.

I ask any of my friends who are also into anime. Sometimes peer reviews are better than ones you find online. Sometimes, but not all the time.

I usually research the title online to get more indepth reviews and summaries of the series, to see if it sounds like something I would enjoy.

I've found that reading the manga first usually just ruins the series for me, because I often end up enjoying the manga more.

i trust my friends to make recommendations to me. my close friends know what i like and know where i stand on certain issues so know how to make good recommendations.

Sometime just buy it, Sometime I watch a trailer there are sites that let you download a trailer for the anime.

I borrow from friends, and if I like it I'll consider purchasing it. Also, the previews on anime DVD's give me a good idea of what's out, so I look into reviews before making the purchase.

If I want to know what the series is like I'll look it up at some place like the Anime
Cafe or Anime News Network and read the synopsis.If it is something interesting and I want to see I will probably end up getting it.For example one of the animes I have on my must see list is Dirty Pair,especially after reading about the combination of action and humor.

rocklobster wrote:Personally I've never gotten up the nerve. Costs too much.

Reviews. Reviews. Reviews.

Really, if I have a few reliable sources telling me that a certain anime's worth buy, and I can find a good deal on it-- I'll usually buy it.

I've done so many blind-purchases in the past that I've developed quite an unhealthy spending habit. Case in point:

I walk into the anime aisle at a Best Buy or Suncoast. I look around for the title that I actually want to purchase. If it's not there (which is usually the case at Best Buy), I look at every anime on the shelf (from A-Z). On the spot, I immediately recollect the information I've read online, trying to remember what one reviewer said over the other. Soon I realize that I have spent 20 whole minutes in the same section without picking an anime title.

Knowing that I didn't want to waste my long trip into the city, it all ends with me purchasing a title based only on the cover, a few sentences from the synopsis, and the rating.

That's normally how I decide my blind-purchases.

For me it's all about the art work. i have a thing against poor art sometimes the arts ok and the story is really good but i prefer to read stories that are good with nice art(that way i can improve my own skills )

I usually base things on past experience, or word of mouth. For example, if the series is by a creator I'm familiar with, I might buy it; but usually, I buy things if I get good reviews from multiple people.

Before buying an anime, I look at reviews in Anime Insider and sometimes a promotional episode of the series in Newtype USA.

I bought Bubblegum Crisis 2040 because I figured it be similiar in some ways to
Silent Mobius.With Ah!My Goddess it was because I had one of the manga.Excel Saga was something I knew I had to see because it fit in with my warped sense of humor.
Sometimes I plan on buying something because I want to see what all the fuss is about.This is why I plan on buying Sailor Moon.I want to see why some people get so tied up in knots about it.

Well, as I only have a few dvd anime dvd's (2 Rurouni Kenshin from the Rurouni Arc, the Legend of Kyoto boxed set, and volume 3 of Cowboy Bebop), I can't really say. XD I had watched (or at least known the story of) all three of those before I bought them, so I was pretty familiar with everything. However, since I buy manga more often (LIMITED BUDGET'D!), I've made several purchases based on reccommendations. Before making a purchase, I do one or more of the following:

~ Read the review here at CAA.
~ If there's not a review, I'll ask about the manga/anime in a thread.
~ I'll read others' thoughts about the particular series, and see if it appeals to me.
~ Sometimes, I'll be able to borrow a few volumes from a friend, and then I can see whether or not I'll enjoy it without risking a purchase that I won't be happy with.

Content is probably the most important thing to me when I'm buying anime...I don't want to buy something that I feel like I have to hide from my parents or anything. XD I wouldn't be half as dissapointed about a boring series I bought than I would be about a series that I would have to hide.