Anime section in stores

[generic-coolname]

I guess I'm probably in a minority here, but I'd actually prefer it if animé titles were just mixed in with everything else, rather than in their own section. I can see how it's a good thing for animé fans to quickly check out any new releases or vids that they might want to buy, but it isolates it from the rest of the shop. It's pretty unlikely that some regular peruser is going to happen upon a title when it's stuck in the corner of the store. How much quality stuff is just passing the regular browser by?

Also, have you ever noticed how the animé section is stuck between marshal arts and porn? I feel like a complete nerd every time I go near there!
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David

[Kaiser]

thats cuz you are a geek gen

[Reeder5002]

i must say that if they mixed anime in with the rest of the stuff at the vid store then people would get confused. most people, including my father thinks of anime as cartoons. i think most people are ignorant and closed minded and there happy that way so they get defensive against stuff that confuses them. Ex) war on terror, documentries, ice fishing, michal jackson. Theres just not a big enough demand for an integrated anime store so they put it off to the side so people who like it can still get it without confusing the sheep.

[idjota]

i fell a little bit odd going to ainme sections, but I like it because its easier and quicker to find things and as far as manga would go it would be much harder to find it if it did not have its own section
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[generic-coolname]

[toot]

its considered a niche, just like all the hk movies are in a section by themselves or maybe a 'foreign' section sometimes. and then disney is in the family section usually.
perhaps u feel self conscious in the anime section because of some subconscious thoughts that ppl who watch anime are nerds? j/k
since i was just at best buy 2nite and looking in that section, i wish they would stop making most of the covers look like soft porn, i particularly noticed galaxy angel's cover. a side view of a girl that is anatomically impossible for a real porn star or even barbie. it will have a hard time attracting more audience from that fact alone even if it is mixed in with other genres. and it will turn away lots of females (and moms) and we are 1/2 the market.

[Yebyosh]

If your shop imports in hentai, you will find the anime section next to the porn section (easy categorization & stocktaking). An unfortunate event since they do not consider anime as the same media as "live action".

If your shop doesn't import in hentai, you will likely find your anime next to (or in) the cartoon section.

Unless your shop is a specialty shop that acknowledges anime as part of the film industry, you will find it in weird sections. Luckily we have shops like that here. Unfortunately, they sell bootlegs

[Fukui]

[Specky]

Wow people actually shop in stores for anime?

I guess I am just so use to getting my anime from the internet (No, not just fansubs, but my DVD's too. No not fansub rips but actual DVD's... That are official R1/2 and stuff.) because generally it is MUCH cheaper.

Then of course Tokyo is a different story in and of itself. You want anime you go to the Animate/Gamers, etc. (because then you get points for your point card and points lead to rewards and rewards are your friend!) That or if you want used stuff you go to Liberty and they still have a seperate floor for the anime stuff. :P

I actually prefer the anime section being seperate myself. It is handier for me to find what I want and anime is a genera in and of itself.(IMO) much like Si-Fi, Horror/Splatter Comedy, Romance, etc. I mean even the cartoons are seperated from everything else. Might as well at least seperate the anime from the cartoons just to be on the safer side what with the whole cartoons are for kiddies and anime means (nothing but) porn ppl out there. Who would come up with some crazy reason to sue someone for something.

For me I guess TV does a good enough job of exposing you to the medium, from there you can internet or now even RENT in many places to test the waters. From there I like to think that you will be able to find what you are looking for w/o having to dig through the lame summer blockbusters of years past to find your anime.

So in the end, do whatever. As long as I can still buy stuff over the internet cheaper. :P

[Smeggy]

ah but gen, im apparently only 33% geek, yet im proud of my geek-hood / weirdness! and i know what other ppl think of me ... i think...
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[generic-coolname]

yeah, but you're just weird

I wouldn't classify anime as a genre; it's a medium. But I would classify the anime section in a store as genre specific, ie. sci-fi/mecha. That's probably what I'm complaining about. Toot says that the lasses make up 50% of the market but the truth is it's no where near that much. I don't even think that my tastes are much catered for. Here in England it's mecha and sci-fi all the way and the targetted audience is teenage boys and young men (so far as I can tell). To be honest, I think anime culture is associated with nerd culture. The marketeers think that the only people who will have an interest in anime are sci-fi boffins, so that's what they stock their shelves with.

To be honest, they're probably right - it's a safe market for them to exploit - but I'm sure if anybody picked up a copy of spirited away they'd love it. But who's going to see it when it's tucked in amongst pictures of puple haired, jumpsuit wearing, gun-toting females who all look like their breasts have been blown up with a bicycle pump?

Yeah, maybe that's what it is that irritates me, actually. I have no problem foreign films having their own section in the video store. In fact I prefer it because it allows me to check out the quality movies quickly and easily. But then that's catering for all genres, not just one. If the anime section catered for all anime, not just crap, then I'd probably be a lot happier.
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David

[Kaiser]

Couple things to note here.

If Anime DVDs are sold in a large store like future shop or toys r us. They tend to be very cheap, much cheaper than anything you could find online (25.00 CDN).

So shopping on the internet isn't always such a great idea. The dvd they carry tend to be mainstream though, like Evangelion. I believe I bought end of Evangelion for 21.99 CDN, which is about 16-17 USD.

Second, people do market to parents and kids but mostly in the Studio Ghilbi titles by Disney. They tend to be stuck with all the Disney titles but are VERY prominent in various stores.

Back when Studio Ghilbi's Spirited Away won that Oscar, I remember seeing lots of stores have full display stands for Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delievery Service. I assume many parents and kids were purchasing these DVDs too to watch with their kids.

But when we turn to the more adult/teenager genres, we very do find that they market toward a niche group of people which is perfectly understandable if you have ever been to an Anime Convention.. heh
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[toot]

i meant that women are 1/2 the potential market/consumers. i think that is logical because we are 1/2 the population. but, no we are not 1/2 the targeted market. (anyone know if it is the same in japan or more even? I thought it was a little more even, but not quite. i am not sure tho)
i with u about the covers. they r also why sometimes the 1st thing out of ppls mouths are do u have any of the purn stuff when they haven't really seen any anime.
it is frustrating.

[generic-coolname]

hmm, sounds like you have it a little better over there then Kai, but you have to remember you have much more anime available over there too. Over here fansubs are still an essential source of anime and the stuff available to buy is very sparse.
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David

[Specky]

First off...