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Complete Collection Anime DVD's Worth It?

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:06 pm
by KhakiBlueSocks
I just finished watching "Chrono Crusade Complete Collection" DVD's and I noticed something (Other than the fact that it's one of the greatest series I've ever laid my 22 year old eyes on!)...aside from the first DVD, there's NO special features like clean opening/closing credits, Commentary Tracks, Interviews, not even a art gallery! Now, I know that the single DVD's have a bunch of features on them, but nothing of the sort was on the "Complete Collection" disks--only ADV trailers! The same goes for the "D.N.Angel Complete Collection"; no goddies on the set, but the individuals were jammed full of things like commentary tracks, and even an interview with the guy who sang the opening theme!

Granted, I know that they probably left most of the stuff out to fit more episodes per disk, but it feels like I'm not getting my money's worth by investing in it. (please note the above examples I checked out from the library, so no money was spent!) My way of thinking is that if you're going to invest in a collection like that, a few extras wouldn't hurt.

Anybody else feels the same?

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:28 pm
by Fish and Chips
Collecting Anime on DVD, I prefer to limit myself to series I'll watch again and again. That said, I'm paying my "Money's worth" for the show itself, as should be yours. Extra features are appreciated, but that's just what they are: extra.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:32 pm
by Mr. SmartyPants
I don't care for extras. I never watch them. I acquire dvds to watch the anime. That is all.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:39 pm
by ChristianKitsune
Well, think about it, what you are getting is probably a ThinPack. Thinpacks are cheaper than the normal ones. If you were to go out and buy all the dvds individually, you would probably pay around 140-200+ dollars if you wree to buy the DNangel dvds. Now, If I remember correctly the ThinPack of DNangel is only about 60-90 dollars...

Sorry, but I would rather take the 60-90 dollar version, than pay that much extra for features.. ^^;

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:43 pm
by Elycien
Well, considering I'm a broke highschool student, I tend to pick whatever is the cheapest option. XD And I like to buy my favorite titles, so I much prefer the cheaper sets. ^^

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:32 pm
by Alexander
I only buy collectors editions of DVD's if it's for a series/film that I'm a fanboy over. Otherwise, I buy what I can afford. XD

Although, I am in support of extra stuff for paying the same price 110%. This is expensive enough! XD

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:52 am
by KhakiBlueSocks
[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]Looks like a dead tie....

I guess I'm just old-school...if I'm going to pay that much money for a "Complete Collection" I wanna really get my money's worth. I don't mind collecting DVD's one at a time if it means getting some extra features that I'm going to like.

::prepares for someone to try and prove him wrong::[/color][/SIZE][/font]

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:24 am
by AsianBlossom
Well, anime is expensive enough...I would have at least appreciated a few extras in the Azumanga Daioh and Angelic Layer thinpak sets.

EDIT: But now that I think about it, just the episodes alone is okay too. A few extra would've been nice, but if they can't possibly fit them on there, that's all right.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:47 am
by creed4
Shelf space in a consideration

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:54 am
by Kura Ookami
Sometimes you get a bonus and can get the complete collection of an anime with the extras included. I got the gungrave complete collection and it has some extras. Given the choice between a complete collection with no extras and the regular dvds though i'd go for the complete collection every time.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:17 am
by Nate
Complete collections are cheaper, the extras are a waste...ooh, creditless opening and ending? Who gives a crap? Cheaper = win, therefore complete collection comes out on top.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:53 am
by Radical Dreamer
ADV's Thinpaks are the reason I own much of the anime that I do, so I love them. XD Extras on most anime DVDs are hardly worth watching anyways; I mean, who cares about creditless openings and endings? XD Besides, I don't buy my anime for the extras on the disc, I buy it for the actual show itself. The only extras I would be sad to miss are the outtakes on the Rurouni Kenshin: Legend of Kyoto DVDs, because those actually are quite entertaining.

KhakiBlueSocks wrote:I guess I'm just old-school...if I'm going to pay that much money for a "Complete Collection" I wanna really get my money's worth. I don't mind collecting DVD's one at a time if it means getting some extra features that I'm going to like.


Strange that you'd say that, because in reality, you're paying more for separate DVDs than you'd pay for a Thinpak or boxed set. For example, one of the Thinpaks I own cost me $24, including tax. It was a 13 episode series, and since those usually have about 4 DVDs separately, I was basically getting an entire series for the price of one disc. You really can't beat that, price-wise. XD Additionally, when buying a DVD with "extras", you really aren't getting more for your money. Unless the DVD has extensive interviews and "making of" extras, the most you're getting is four episodes and fluff.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:32 am
by Roy Mustang
Lets do the math here,

A complete box set with extras runs for $80 up to $120 or more.

A thinpack set or complete collection box set without extras runs from $25 to $60

Most extras are nothing more then creditless opening and ending and that's about it.

The only time that I buy a complete box set has music cd with it that would cost you $25 to $50 to import. There for, I mostly go for the thinpack or complete collection box set.

There is only one complete box set that I have bought and it wasn't for the extras on the dvds, but what came with it.

The limited edition flip top boxed set of Escaflowne that was limited to 10,000 units and each box was numbered and the exclusive Escaflowne Figure that was only availabie for this box set.

[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:33 am
by Mr. SmartyPants
If you try to buy the boxset for Paranoia Agent, it'll run you around 70-80 dollars (13 episodes). Luckily I got mine for about 50 because my local Suncoast was having some crazy clearance sale.

My Kino's Journey thinpack boxset (13 episodes) was only 30 dollars.

That's a 40-50 dollar price difference between the two! "Getting your money's worth" you say? I think getting the thinpack is actually getting your money's worth. All those extra goodies are not worth the extra 40-50 dollars. To say that getting all the extra goodies for 40-50 more dollars is "Getting your money's worth" is absolutely ludicrous.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:46 am
by Cognitive Gear
While I would like to have extras on my anime DVDs, they really aren't important because typically anime extras suck. They are most definitely not worth the extra 40$.

I do, however, but limited/special edition DVDs of movies. The commentaries are usually worth the 2-5$ to me.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:14 pm
by Debitt
Usually I never even touch the extras on a DVD -- anime, Hollywood, or otherwise. (The one exception being the Matantei Loki Ragnarok DVDs, which have seiyuu interviews. :D Very worthwhile to watch, IMO) When I buy DVDs, I buy it mostly for the series itself, not the extras, so I find thinpacks to be a great option to have out there. Of course, I've never found a thinpack that interested me, so. :O

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:16 pm
by Tenshi no Ai
I've learned the hard way not to buy single disks :/ STILL mad that Trinity Blood had a nice price drop so I got the whole set of single disks, and now they make a boxset for it :/ Should've known better^^

The ONLY extras I'm mad at that are not including : bonus episodes. It's pretty much the ONLY thing I worry about in extras. Like, in Azumanga the disks will give you this 10 minute special which is NOT included in the boxset. Those are the types of things that I wish I had, was the additional footage which was not added in...

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:32 pm
by Mangafanatic
If they would sell it at a lower price, I'd take my anime on rewrittable DVDs packaged in a paper bag.


Yeah, needless to say, I'm a big fan of complete collections. While I really do enjoy having the "goodies", the truth is that when I consider paying $20.00 for a 4 episodes of anime with all the bells and whistles or $40.00 for a thin pack with the anime and no special features, the show and the money I save are all I'm really concerned about. The rest is, to me, unnecessary and peripheral.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 4:57 am
by Nikolai Melodie
XD I usually spring for thinpaks, big extra stuff boxed sets aren't all that important to me.
However, I do own some. Three of them actually, and despite how much I like them, it sort of makes me sheepish to realize that between the three of them, I probably spent 350 dollars. The shows were Escaflowne, Boogiepop Phantom & Trigun, by the way.

Heh Heh heh... aside from those shows, thinpaks for me. I don't bother to buy single DVDs anymore because I usually would end up spending about the same that I would buy on one DVD for the whole set if I Amazon'd it.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:14 am
by creed4
While I like thinpack, I usually get my anime off the new and used section of amazon, and can get the single disk cheap

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:17 am
by ilikegir33
Extras? Well, don't really care. Besides some collections DO have extras (ComiPa anyone?) but most of my anime are slimpak and I could care less!

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:22 pm
by mitsuki lover
The Record of Lodoss War OVA costs around $30 or so and comes jam packed with a lot of extras on disc B.
You can also,I need to point out,buy DVDs at a discount at most of the online stores like Animenation and Rightstuf if you shop at their bargain bins,so you don't have to pay full price to get the frills if you want them.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:05 am
by rocklobster
Whoever thought of the creditless opening and closing idea should've thought a little harder.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:39 pm
by KhakiBlueSocks
rocklobster wrote:Whoever thought of the creditless opening and closing idea should've thought a little harder.


Now, that I agree with! That's just a lack of imagination IMHO.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:48 pm
by Blitzkrieg1701
I like me my extras, dang it!

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 10:54 pm
by TriezGamer
KhakiBlueSocks wrote:Now, that I agree with! That's just a lack of imagination IMHO.


Hardly. Creditless OP and ED are some of my favorite features.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:23 am
by mitsuki lover
The only thing I hate about some of the extras is sometimes the character profiles are hard to read.
btw:I hope to go to Spokane and Borders either today or tommorrow and use a coupon I got in the e-mail for 40% off boxsets.

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:44 pm
by Rocketshipper
I once started a rather heated discussion on just this topic, when I ended up getting the extra-less Fist of the Northstar DVD.

Personally, I'd preffer it if they made both "full" box sets and extra less "thinpak" box sets, that way people who want just the anime can have it, and people who are willing to pay more can get the extras. Part of my initial annoyance with this thinpak epidemic was that all box sets used to be "complete" and then they started this new style out of the blue. Also, *some* thinpaks do have extras (The Magic Knight Rayearth Economy boxes are a particular glaring example; 20+ episodes with all the original extras, for like 45 dollars or so) and the choice of which series get to keep the extras and which don't seems a little arbitrary to me. These days, if I'm going to get a series that has a thinpak, I'll check first to see if it has any extras I'd want, that aren't on the box set. If it does, then I'll get the individual DVDs off ebay or something ^^, if not, then I'll get the thinpak.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:40 pm
by mitsuki lover
Occasionally I do like to look at the extras.For example Cowboy Bebop comes with a remix of Tank,the opening theme song.
And then of course you get the mini-movie with Azumanga Daioh!
Some of them only have basic stuff like character profiles and art work.
It depends on the series I think.
btw:I managed to get the Haibane-Renmei boxset for only $80 with my
40% off coupon.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:24 pm
by KhakiBlueSocks
[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]Personally, I don't see why, if the original DVD's have commentary tracks and other extras on EVERY disk (Re: DNAngel) the Complete Collection sets should have the same![/color][/SIZE][/font]