The problem with buying anime DVDs...

[Debitt]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed this (sadly)...but when you go into a store like Sam Goody or FYE, they shelve the anime right next to the porn section. This has absolutely appaled me for the longest time - my mother even complained to a store manager once (I'm sure she hasn't been the only one to complain). Anime is a genre that younger children view, and porn is DEFINITELY not something anyone, younger children or teenagers like me, need to be exposed to. I do NOT want people to think I'm examining porn, and I do NOT want people who view porn to be examining me.

Now...I know my mother has complained, and I'm more than positive other parents have taken the issue up at their local stores, too. But unfortunately, as there have been no changes, it's obvious that no action has been taken. I was wondering if there's any reliable way I can start a petition or a group letter of some sort to send to these stores that will persuade them to change the way they shelve DVDs. And if I do, is there anyone here who would be willing to help or offer advice?

EDIT: I've started a petition online, and I would be grateful to anyone who takes a couple minutes to sign it: http://www.petitiononline.com/akh14276/petition.html

[initialdfreak]

Do you have a best buy in your area, they dont use that metheod?

[Mangafanatic]

Wow, it's not like that in our store. It's got a huge section all by itself, but it's closest to the Children's VHS tapes, if anything. But I guess its placement could be quabbled over in my store too. There's alot of anime I wouldn't want Lil' Timmy picking up.

But that stinks, Koko-chan. I'd complain too!

[Debitt]

Yes, I have a Best Buy in my area. But starting buying exclusively from Best Buy will not make the problem in other stores go away.

[TrigunX89]

My Suncoast has the anime and porn on completely different sides of the store.

I dunno what to tell you, other than to keep on complaining. Maybe gather others you know to complain. Or start ordering online.

[Aka-chan]

Ugh; it was like that in some of the stores in Japan. *shudder* I agree with TrigunX89; getting others on your side will definitely make a greater impact.

[ShiroiHikari]

yeah, I'd start buying it somewhere else and maybe starting a petition.

[blacktea]

That's true Kokoro, however you can't change everything unfortunately. If you're not happy with how a business runs go else where - don't support them, don't recommend them to friends etc.

lol I get annoyed with how places like Target, Big W etc. always seem to place the lingerie section directly in the path to get to the men’s and entertainment section. I have no idea where to look, it's embarrassing =)

[Yojimbo]

The best place to start is to deffinetly just take your money elsewhere.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Go to like a video game store that sells anime. We have a pandoras cube and power gamer and they sell anime. I believe gamestop also sells anime

[Arnobius]

I suspect one issue is whether or not the store carries hentai anime. I've found that those stores that do tend to put anime next to the porn section (my local Wherehouse or FYE). Stores that don't carry hentai tend to keep anime away from the porn.

Probably the worst thing I saw was at FYE where on a single long shelf, the sections were from left to right: Kids, Anime, Porn

[Mr. SmartyPants]

well, hmm... i never knew that suncoast and FYE sold porn. Are they even allowed to?

I would definately talk to the manager about it, keep being persistant! Because eventually one side will have to give in

[Yojimbo]

well, hmm... i never knew that suncoast and FYE sold porn. Are they even allowed to?

Of course man ya ever heard about those back rooms at the video stores?

[ShiroiHikari]

at Hastings anime used to be near the porn. it's not anymore.

FYE doesn't sound like a good place to shop ¬¬ I don't know, we don't have those here.

[Nate]

This is mainly only a problem in stores that don't specialize in anime. Suncoast, Best Buy, and other stores that cater to anime lovers don't do that. However, the reason FYE (the biggest offender) does it is because they don't specialize in anime...it's "Special Interest." And what else is special interest? Porn. Also, AnimeHeretic is right, it also depends on whether the store in question carries hentai (FYE does for sure, Suncoast you have to special order it, and Best Buy I can't ever remember having it).

well, hmm... i never knew that suncoast and FYE sold porn. Are they even allowed to?

*Sighs* Okay, since everyone here pretty much already knows about the problems I've had in the past, I can field this one. Suncoast and FYE don't really sell porn. Not everything containing nudity is pornographic; Playboy, for example, is not porn, even though it contains pictures of nude women. As Christians, we tend to lump it in with porn because it isn't good for us to look at things that stir lust within us, and Playboy accomplishes that just as well as more hardcore magazines.

The "porn" in Suncoast and FYE isn't porn, it's softcore. Lots of nudie flicks, but not any sex. At least, not that I can remember from when I used to peruse that aisle long, long ago.

So, there ya go.

[Hitokiri]

I'm sorry to hear that and I have noticed that at places where I buy anime. However, I shop at Media Play and thier anime is close but not righ tnext (a few aisles down) from the porn thankfully. But I fully understand how you feel.

[Hitokiri]

Stupid double post.

[Debitt]

In response to the "take your business somewhere else" posts - yes, I plan to do that (those stores are overpriced anyways. >/). But like I said, one person taking their business somewhere else is NOT going to change the way the stores operate. I don't care if this is only a small, isolated problem in only a few chain stores I have visited. I don't care if I am being naive and no one else really gives a darn. I don't care whether I can't change everything or not, but I want to DO something. I want to let these stores WHY I intend to take my business somewhere else, and I want them to get my message loud and clear: what they are doing is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable, and they should change their business because it isn't making them look good, and it won't reflect well on the younger generation who is exposed to that kind of stuff.

Like I said, I might not be able to change things. I might not be able to change things with a group of people backing me, but it won't sit right in my gut until I at least TRY.

EDIT: I don't mean to come across as rude, but this has been eating at me for a while and I'm absolutely sick of it, and I do not want to act completely apathetic to an issue that is important to me, both from an otaku's and a Christian's point of view.

[Nate]

*Glomps Kokoro-chan*

EDIT: Actually, before you do the below, talk to the manager of the store you're having problems with. Explain your situation to him, why you don't like what they're doing, tell him why you don't like it, and ask him if there's anything he can do about it...then write letters. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. ^^;;

I know what you're saying...the best advice I can give, then, is to write to the company itself...the president or something. Tell him the problem you have (in a respectful way, don't just send "hate" mail), as well as why you think it is a problem (not good for kids, gives anime a bad rep, etc.). Finally, suggest solutions on how to fix it. You could also include a petition, as already stated, with signatures of other people who are tired of this practice. State that you will take your business elsewhere if this problem is not solved. Don't say it as a threat, but make it clear that they will be losing business if they continue to do this (this is why a petition is a good idea; one person refusing to shop somewhere isn't that big a deal, but if you can get a thousand people to say they'll stop shopping there, that's another matter).

Other than that, I can't really give any advice...sorry. ^^;;

[Yojimbo]

There ya go good idea set up an online petition and you'll get a good number of CAA'ers to sign it.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

There ya go good idea set up an online petition and you'll get a good number of CAA'ers to sign it.

infact, spread the news to like, theologyweb, AA, and such, get more signatures.

But i mean, are they allowed to sell "nudie" movies like that in the open? Don't stores have some back room or something? Why have them out in the open?

[Kenshin17]

Wow.
Where I work at hastings we don't do that. The anime dvd's are between Sci-Fi and Musicals (don't ask me why)

Our dvd rentals are between horror and westerns. Unfortunatly our anime vhs rentals are right after the *ahem* bad stuff. Not cool, but then who rents vhs anime???

BTW: I would sign a web petition

[Nate]

infact, spread the news to like, theologyweb, AA, and such, get more signatures.

But i mean, are they allowed to sell "nudie" movies like that in the open? Don't stores have some back room or something? Why have them out in the open?

Suncoast and Best Buy don't have "back rooms." Yes, they are allowed to sell nudie flicks out in the open provided that the nudity on the case is covered by censor bars and such. Also, the DVD cases themselves have black...uh, what's the word...like, you know those thingies that have letters on them and you put them in between DVDs so you can tell when a new letter starts (I can't word it good ^^;; ). Well, it's like those. It's black and it has to be in front of the DVD cases so that passersby can't see them unless they stop and remove the little black thingy. And even if they did, they wouldn't see nudity, they'd see women with censor bars over their "naughty bits." (Obscure Monty Python reference.) So, that's the deal with that.

[Debitt]

Kae's post brings something else up that bugs me - today I was in the mall with my mother and I told her I was going to go into the store real quick to look at the DVDs (not really to buy anything, I just check for new releases nowadays) and I wandered to the anime section. Well, this thread's topic will pretty much tell everyone what OTHER section I had to pass by. And when I turned (I was looking for Descendants of Darkness - early in the alphabet, closer to the crude stuff...unfortunately) to check the anime, I saw, much to my horror, that one of those dividers Kae mentioned was GONE and there was a DVD in plain sight of a busty blonde lady in VERY risque lingere. ><; Needless to say I ran out and told my mom to make an employee replace what was missing.

[Bobtheduck]

Yeah... My suncoast when I lived in Apple Valley put it like this


|- porno----anime -|
|- porno----anime -|
|- porno----anime -|
|- porno----anime -|

They were within a few feet of one another.. Also, kids anime and adult anime are ofent neighbors on the shelves, and they tend to throw in stuff like "South Park" or "Heavy Metal" with it, as well as Mike and Spike or whatever it's called...

When I was in a Blockbuster in Chico, they had Heavy Metal 2000 in with the anime, and this whiny neo-hippy chick came by and points at it and says (in refference to the woman on the cover) "Yeah, that's what women really look like... ****ing anime" I didn't know who I wanted to smack more... Blockbuster or that woman...

Oh, suncoast doesn't carry the hardcore hentai stuff, but they carry more well known stuff like (titles I'm not allowed to mention... One very nasty title in particular, though...)

When I lived in mexico, it was the same with the American movies... THey'll put Mary Poppins next to Mary Riley and (I'm not gonna come up with some clever fake porn title, but they'll mix porn in with kids movies...) and they'll put porno, no covers, out in the open... America really is very conservative...

[indyrocker]

buy on-line orif you have a anime stor in your town or near you (these places are normolay well hidden) buy there most of the titles at places like animanaks are unlicensed and therefor come from tiwan and have varying qualitys of the subs and are never dubed and heres the best part THERE CHEAPER!

[Debitt]

Read my last two posts, please, and don't promote bootlegging. =/ They're cheaper, but they're also bad quality and they steal from the original creators.

[indyrocker]

tecnicly they are not botlegs they are un licensed and take advatage of the lack of coppy write laws in japan and are subed in tywon. tru you dont get all the good stuff that goes with a licensed dvd but hay ya get wgat ya pay for. I havent gotten any thing from them as of yet cuz its acorst town and no tranportation to the store bat as far as quality if you like subs you can normaly pick out the errors.

ps. do what my teache always tels my vote with your money!

[Debitt]

I don't mean to be rude, but even though they're unlicensed in the US, if you're buying from a source other than the original creator/licensor, then you're still supporting bootleggers. Yes, I do intend to "vote with my money" by asking people to sign a petition and stop buying from the stores in question, but that does not make it right to support the sale of DVDs without the creator's consent. In fact, by that train of logic, by buying DVDs made by groups that are not affiliated with the anime's original creators, we are voting )with our money) to support bootlegging.

...now let's all get back on topic, shall we?

[Nate]

tecnicly they are not botlegs they are un licensed and take advatage of the lack of coppy write laws in japan and are subed in tywon. tru you dont get all the good stuff that goes with a licensed dvd but hay ya get wgat ya pay for. I havent gotten any thing from them as of yet cuz its acorst town and no tranportation to the store bat as far as quality if you like subs you can normaly pick out the errors.

ps. do what my teache always tels my vote with your money!

Uh...dude, if you'd like, actually READ her posts, you'd realize that she doesn't want to just stop shopping there, she wants to let them know that she thinks what they're doing is wrong. Simply refusing to shop there doesn't let them know the problem.

And honestly, I've seen Hong Kong and Taiwanese (sp?) subs and they're horrendous. I saw Star Ocean EX as a Hong Kong DVD, and I couldn't understand anything that was going on. It was almost like watching it without subtitles at all. >< Plus, if she's wanting to get series that are already out in America, buying foreign DVDs is illegal. I think that's what she's talking about, actually...she wants to get officially licensed DVDs from FYE (they don't sell unlicensed stuff there), but the close proximity to inappropriate material is a hindrance to her.

DIVIDERS! THAT'S the word I was looking for! I'm sorry that had to happen to you, Kokoro-chan...stupid lazy stockboys. ><

QUICK EDIT: Oh, and yes, Kokoro-chan, I as well would be more than happy to sign an online petition, should you make one. ^^