What is missing from your anime or manga collection?

[Animusubi]

EVERYYYTHING.

I kid. I am starting a Ranma 1/2 collection, so basically anything from that. SO MUCH STUFF. I constantly browse Yahoo Japan and Mandarake, looking and saving photos so I remember what I want to buy eventually. I figure rather than collect everything I like, I would prefer to stick to one series, mainly. I think I'm going to save the manga, DVDs, and magazines for last, and try to get more of the obscure stuff. I probably wouldn't collect like, every cel or anything, but I love the really cool things like cloth Takahashi hangings, coloring books, doujinshi, and the random Ranma 1/2 products, like plushes and figures and stuff.

Other than Ranma 1/2 things, old VHS, Animerica pre-logo change (basically when it started getting in the 2000's), Japanese anime magazines from the 80's-90's, artbooks, settei, garage kits of 80's/90's characters.

I could go on. I want a large collection of 80's and 90's anime stuff.

[usamimi]

Usamini I was wondering how often do you update your list and do you every buy duplicates? I try to buy duplicates for items if I can find them cheap or if they are out of print, rare and I really like the item. What do you think about buying duplicates? I also do put duplicates in a separate location should a natural disaster, theft, or fire occur.

Before I used to keep track of the DVDs/manga I bought, I'd accidentally buy duplicates sometimes. If I manage to find something that's rare, but I already own one, I'll buy it if it's cheap to either resell or possibly give to a friend if they're looking for it. I'm not one of those fans that does the "rule of 3" (Buy 3 of every collectable--1 to keep pristine & locked away, one to display, one to open and play with and not care if it gets messed up.) simply because that'd be way too expensive for me. I know a couple of people who do that, though, and I can understand it.

There's a Japanese movie rental place in Seattle that's been around for years, and back when they were still renting vhs tapes, they'd frequently resell old tapes, as well as old rental CDs (remember when that was a thing??), old manga that members of their family didn't want anymore, and LDs that they ordered from Japan to copy onto American VHS tapes to rent to people. I'd scoop up as many of those manga and rental CDs as I could whenever they had some (I got a lot of j-pop and j-rock singles that way), but I'd always skip over the LDs because I had nothing to play them on...so I figured why bother? I'm kinda kicking myself for not buying them now...I remember they had quite a few Urusei Yatsura LDs. I could've bought so many of them! Ah, well. (I think I was like 16 at the time, lol.)

[yusaku]

Usamimi thanks for the prompt response. I think that you have a good system for acquiring collectables. There are some things that are going to stay available for sale because there is more supply than demand. Plus there are so many people who put out digital copies of movies and songs that you usually can get stuff for free. So, I think that having a double copy of should be sufficient. I still got a lot of "holes" in my collection I need to fill. I was thinking upgrading my Utena collection and get the new box sets because I like the art so much. Yet, I should buy the animated Death Note collection because I do not have it yet. Decisions. Decisions.

[Ben]

By the way Yusaku, I wish I could have given you a more on topic answer. The truth is, I'm one of the most unorganized and spontaneous people you could ever meet, and lists/planning just don't seem to work for me. I'm definitely an impulse buyer, I might get on a kick where I decide that I just HAVE to have the Animeigo Lupin LDs, and I'm buying it regardless of price. And then my mood might change the next day and I buy something different as long as it's in my budget. One thing that's different for me than for a lot of people, I think, is that I really don't like very much at all that has been made since 2000 or so, and I already own pretty much everything I want in one format or another (so I have at least one copy of everything already, now I"m onto getting my second copy in another format). I also find your dividing things into A and B titles interesting, but I just don't process stuff that way, for me Tomino's classic, darker stuff (Gundam, Gundam Z, Ideon, Aura Battler Dunbine), SDF Macross and Macross Plus, and then finally Lupin III (TV and movies) are my only A titles. I'd probably put Dr. Slump and the original Dragon Ball just under that, along with my favorite Miyazaki stuff, as a B tier. And then beyond that it's a free for all.

I hope that made sense, like I said there's no rhyme or reason to my collecting.

[greg]

Greg, if you like Tomino and Dunbine/kill em all endings, have you seen Ideon!? I cannot recommend that series enough, ever since I got my hands on the LDs in the 90's it has been my favorite.

I have the show's fansubs on a hard drive, but I haven't gotten around to watching it. DVDs get my main priorities. Like Steve, my OCD kicks in. That's why I prefer to buy music CDs and am not content to own mp3s of the tracks. I want the real thing! So when I look to watch an anime, my eyes first go to what I ahve on my DVD shelf and not to what is on my hard drive. This is probably the only stupid reason why I still have yet to complete LOGH. Well, that and also my wife wants to watch it all with me, but it's not really a show we can watch with our daughter because it's probably either too boring or too bloody for her.

I understand why you would be wary, but just to clarify that, disc rot only happened with certain LD publishers, particularly the lower end ones, that used inferior coatings on their releases.

...

I have never had a problem with Animeigo LDs, and Japanese LDs in general were very high quality, I have never had an issue with a JP import LD.

Hmm... Well, I wish that was true. Maybe you can help me out in this regard. I own Future Boy Conan on LD, which had been viewed a few times through. Then about three years ago, we watched it again with our daughter. The very last episode then suddenly crapped out halfway through. It would freeze up and stop viewing. I have had DVDs do this too, and it depended on my DVD player. But this case, it was with my LD player. The surface looks perfect though, so I don't think it's scratched or even dirty. Maybe there is a certain way to clean LDs? My Star Wars Trilogy Definitive Collection LD also has a problem. It freezes up right when Alderaan explodes. I figured that these are due to laser rot, but maybe not?

By the way, my LD collection is here. I still have not yet added my Star Wars LD box set pics to this page. We also have a thread on this forum for LDs here.

[Ben]

Greg, if you like Tomino and Dunbine/kill em all endings, have you seen Ideon!? I cannot recommend that series enough, ever since I got my hands on the LDs in the 90's it has been my favorite.

I have the show's fansubs on a hard drive, but I haven't gotten around to watching it. DVDs get my main priorities. Like Steve, my OCD kicks in. That's why I prefer to buy music CDs and am not content to own mp3s of the tracks. I want the real thing! So when I look to watch an anime, my eyes first go to what I ahve on my DVD shelf and not to what is on my hard drive. This is probably the only stupid reason why I still have yet to complete LOGH. Well, that and also my wife wants to watch it all with me, but it's not really a show we can watch with our daughter because it's probably either too boring or too bloody for her.

I understand why you would be wary, but just to clarify that, disc rot only happened with certain LD publishers, particularly the lower end ones, that used inferior coatings on their releases.

...

I have never had a problem with Animeigo LDs, and Japanese LDs in general were very high quality, I have never had an issue with a JP import LD.

Hmm... Well, I wish that was true. Maybe you can help me out in this regard. I own Future Boy Conan on LD, which had been viewed a few times through. Then about three years ago, we watched it again with our daughter. The very last episode then suddenly crapped out halfway through. It would freeze up and stop viewing. I have had DVDs do this too, and it depended on my DVD player. But this case, it was with my LD player. The surface looks perfect though, so I don't think it's scratched or even dirty. Maybe there is a certain way to clean LDs? My Star Wars Trilogy Definitive Collection LD also has a problem. It freezes up right when Alderaan explodes. I figured that these are due to laser rot, but maybe not?

By the way, my LD collection is here. I still have not yet added my Star Wars LD box set pics to this page. We also have a thread on this forum for LDs here.

I will look into this Greg, I have to be honest and say that I do not own Future Boy Conan on LD, so I can't say 100% for sure as to whether that one has a history of rot issues. Your issue sounds more like one of smudging or scatching on these LDs though, discs of that age (in general) have rotted to the point of being unplayable altoghether by now. I don't want to derail this thread, so if you want I'll bump the one you linked with more detailed thoughts. I have a ton of experience with LDs so we can probably figure this out.

[yusaku]

By the way Yusaku, I wish I could have given you a more on topic answer. The truth is, I'm one of the most unorganized and spontaneous people you could ever meet, and lists/planning just don't seem to work for me. I'm definitely an impulse buyer, I might get on a kick where I decide that I just HAVE to have the Animeigo Lupin LDs, and I'm buying it regardless of price. And then my mood might change the next day and I buy something different as long as it's in my budget. One thing that's different for me than for a lot of people, I think, is that I really don't like very much at all that has been made since 2000 or so, and I already own pretty much everything I want in one format or another (so I have at least one copy of everything already, now I"m onto getting my second copy in another format). I also find your dividing things into A and B titles interesting, but I just don't process stuff that way, for me Tomino's classic, darker stuff (Gundam, Gundam Z, Ideon, Aura Battler Dunbine), SDF Macross and Macross Plus, and then finally Lupin III (TV and movies) are my only A titles. I'd probably put Dr. Slump and the original Dragon Ball just under that, along with my favorite Miyazaki stuff, as a B tier. And then beyond that it's a free for all.

I hope that made sense, like I said there's no rhyme or reason to my collecting.

Ben I mostly feel the same way about anime made after the year 2000. Now there were some excellent titles to come out after year 2000, such, Death Note and Gilgamesh. Studio Gihbli kept put out a film just last year. I know it was good. Yet, the new material cannot supplant the old material. I think that I seen so much good anime that I could just keep watching the stuff I have seen over and over again because the creators paid so much attention to detail the anime is a masterpiece.

Some how really good anime NEVER gets old. Revolutionary Girl Utena is almost an anime equivalent of Star Trek. They are even holding RoseCon in Montreal just for Revolutionaly Girl Utena fans. I just found a site devoted to that anime via Usamimi that just got started this past December. Now keep in mind this anime has been out for sixteen years! I think after RoseCon 15 we will see some new offerings for Utena sequels. Do not say it can't happen look at Star Trek!

Most of my collection building is Studio Ghibli offerings, rare soundtracks, and manga trades that I want to replace. I want to get the new Utena box sets for display and archive my old discs to storage. Now keep in mind this is all stuff I either owned or watched online somewhere.

Now keep in mind to protect your investment. Most of my manga trades and DVD's I sold in 2005 because of job loss. I will never do that again. It is too hard to get every thing back and more. It took about five years to get back on my feet and have a reasonable collection again. So if any of you fall on hard times contact your anime forum buddies or local anime fan to buy or hold your collection for you. Do not sell your stuff to a dealer or pawnbroker. You will not get a good price and you will not get your stuff back.