hontou ni
15May/0716

The authencity of Suzumiya Haruhi R3s

"If it's too good to be true, it must be."

That was the first thought that came to mind when I chanced upon this complete DVD collection of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu at my favourite R3 anime DVD store. For a pittance S$50, the complete set of SHnY is yours in 7 DVDs. That's cheaper than Taiwanese bootleg which goes for S$15 - S$25 per disc which usually comes in DVD5s packing up to 8 eps per disc. Oh and I forget to mention, most of these bootlegs are merely TV raws with poor subbing. Plus you can get the exact thing for 1/3 the price in Malaysia.

"There's got to be a catch."

I turned to another shelf where individual Haruhi DVDs of a different packaging were housed, going for S$45 each. Now that's an exhorbitant appropriate price I'm familiar with. Beckoning the shopkeeper, I enquired of the differences since one set cost $50 while the other, once complete, would amount to $360.

"Different licensees."

Oops, is that how they denote bootleg nowadays? It must have had been a very long day for me because I unexpectedly vocalised my doubts.

"Original of course. Would you like to test it?"

Ah, the proof is in the pudding indeed. The shopkeeper pulled a plastic package out of the box and I notice how no-frills the entire package was. Could that be why the cost differs so greatly? Are anime DVDs finally going the way of budget airlines? I quietly cheered.

" Erm, I'd like to see ep 10 pls. Yes, probably in disc 5."

Ha! Any inferior image would be instantly revealed with Yuki/Ryoko's graphics-intensive battle. TV raws or even 'high quality bootleg' would rear their ugly head as soon as Ryoko pulls her blade.

[A Kadokawa Video emblem blazes across the screen]

Hmm comes with a nice KyoAni intro too. Pretty fancy for a bootleg if it was one. Hey wait a min, isn't this Lone Island syndrome II? Gah! Haruhi order. Ahhh, but of course... Oh.. woot! The graphics...so beautiful.... Could this be the real deal?

"Err what is that 'Specials' in the menu??

After all who'd heard of bootlegs going out of the their way for creditless OP and interviews. Shopkeeper obliges and Nekoman comes on. Nekoman?? Next is some promo special featuring Hirano Aya. Shopkeeper pops in disc 7 and I was treated to the full dance of Hare Hare Yukai.

"Do you happen to have AIR, Full Metal Panic TSR and Mai HiME by the same licensee?"

Sadly they didn't. I left pleased though still wondering about the real catch of this sweet sweet deal. I found out when I reach home. This set is missing episode 00. Ah well.....

PS: Stripey is still pondering if he has legit stuff or haul from a pirate stash though the picture quality seem to insist on being the former.

Related posts:

  1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 9
  2. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 14
  3. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya V-VI

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Comments (16) Trackbacks (1)
  1. Ravage
    May 15th, 2007 - 12:20

    Stop thinking, start gloating with your great and cheap purchase.
    Too bad it’s missing ep 00 though. :(
    But a great deal nonetheless. :D

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  2. Maiku
    May 15th, 2007 - 15:36

    Could it be like a bootleg where they used the R2′s and messed around with it to produce these R3s? I’ve seen Kenshin bootlegs where they just took the R1′s and crammed it onto fewer discs. Anyway maybe if you ask about it on the animeondvd.com forums, someone might know.

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  3. Beowulf Lee
    May 15th, 2007 - 16:03

    Well then, how is the quality of the battle of our loveable stabby femme fatale?

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  4. suguru
    May 15th, 2007 - 20:21

    Yeah, it’d be hard to imagine they’d leave ep 00 off a legitimate licensed copy ;; It’s a real pity legit DVDs aren’t that cheap too, although if they were I’d probably just buy more instead of spending less money…

    ( REPLY )
  5. Stripey
    May 15th, 2007 - 21:36

    Ravage: haha thanks! that’s very wise indeed. In fact I’m returning to the shop, in hope they have more goodies to offer now :)

    Maiku: Thanks for pointing out the forums. :) Yeah I’ve seen the bootleg you mentioned. For example an entire 13-parter in 2 discs and yes, it opens with a reputable licensee’s emblem so it’s obviously ripped from R1s XD But the compression for these Haruhi disc is way superior to such bootleg making me wonder if they are high-end bootleg or no-frills original :P Heh, but like ravage says, I should just enjoy them…

    Beowulf Lee: Beautiful. I’m loving Ryoko even more now. :) there is no drop of animation quality between the transitions of the fast-paced action scenes. Unlike, ahem, bootleg other products of Haruhi I have seen.

    suguru: yeah I wonder about the missing ep 00. Thinking of returning to enquire about it. I might just buy a single disc from the other licensee. :) And heh, you’re right we wouldn’t spend less indeed but owning more does feel good :P

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  6. Vexx
    May 15th, 2007 - 23:49

    The only “bootleg” I’ve ever been happy with (the other two sucked quality hell and it was before I realized what the market was about)… was Tsukikage Ran: Carried by the Wind. There was pretty much no legit product available and I came across this two disk set from Thailand — in true Dorktower fashion “It Must Be Mine!!!” I purchased it and it was actually of very good quality… had pretty official licensing labels and a decent DVD menu…. so I’m still not sure whether it was a legit license or not.

    One day all anime will be kept on a Master Computer which will spit out DVDs on demand for any anime ever made……. (or some physical medium).

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  7. Kurogane
    May 16th, 2007 - 00:40

    Probably bootlegged it from the .iso’s. Post some pictures for comparision.

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  8. greyscalefuzz
    May 16th, 2007 - 07:27

    Must be bootleg. Ep 00 cannot be missing in an original. You did choose a good test, though I’ve never had the Ryoko fetish you seem to be unheathily developing.

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  9. Sherman, the Ramni
    May 16th, 2007 - 08:23

    Quite possible a pirated version. Maybe the pirate:

    - Bought the original DVDs
    - Took out ep. 00
    - Repacked it w/o reencoding
    - Printed the cover in a hi-q laser printer
    - ???
    - Profit!!!!!!!!

    ( REPLY )
  10. Xellos-_^
    May 16th, 2007 - 09:05

    I agree if it doesn’t have Ep00 the it is a pirate copy.

    ( REPLY )
  11. Stripey
    May 17th, 2007 - 13:11

    Thanks all for your thoughts. :) Yeah ep 00 notwithstanding, there’s also no intro of the Taiwanese licensee in the DVDs which is present for the other legit R3s I own… Will try to post some pics as Kurogane suggested. But for now, I subscribe to a hybrid of Kurogane and Sherman’s postulates. The source is certainly R2s yet it’s not just a mere ISO copying since the Mikuru/Yuki pics folders are not there. The package is way beyond bootleg unless the bootleg market has powered up some much since I last checked them out… XD Anyhow, I’m still thankful for enjoying hi-Q Ryoko/Yuki face-off for the 40th time :)

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  12. du5k
    May 22nd, 2007 - 22:28

    May I ask where did you exactly brought this from?

    Episode 00 is hiralious (after you watched the series), it’s such a pity…

    ( REPLY )
  13. Stripey
    May 23rd, 2007 - 20:42

    Dropped you a mail :) Yeah ep 00 was a masterpiece… a real pity indeed. XD

    ( REPLY )
  14. jeomaxxters
    May 28th, 2007 - 18:01

    Smart pirate, though, for getting the Haruhi order instead of the broadcast one. Most probably a rip from other region DVDs. (Maybe that’s what “different licenses” means, eh?)

    Too bad I can’t enjoy DVDs on this “sucky” (lolz) laptop… I’ll have to do with drooling (j/k) at the Haruhi novels in Kinokuniya, eh? Too bad my Japanese isn’t up to reading ranobe yet. xD

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  15. cyw1988
    May 31st, 2007 - 05:19

    May i ask where you got this too? i want eureka 7!!! didn’t get to finish it… T_T

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  16. Stripey
    June 1st, 2007 - 05:49

    jeomaxxters: hehe the semantics we have to wade through buying things nowadays :) I wished they had included ep 00 though XD

    cyw1988: Will drop you a mail on the place soon :)

    ( REPLY )

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