[spinkle]

You don't realise how much royalty money goes back to the Japanese companies do you... people make it sound as if US companies simply TAKE animes away from Japanese companies and then do what they want with them with the Japanese companies not getting anything out of it at all.

I do realize how much royalty money goes back to the Japanese companies. I also realize how little royalty money (comparitively) goes to the creator of the franchise. My point was that the American companies are not translating and releasing anime in the US as a public service.

But I guess you're right, it's more important to support people who watch the anime rather than supporting the people who make them...

I don't disagree that it's important to support the companies and people who make the anime--once the product becomes commercially available domestically. If fansubbers didn't fill the void between broadcast and domestic release, would anime sell nearly as well state-side as they do now, or would there be as many anime fans in the US as there are now? From a consumer standpoint, there is little reason to spend money on a product with which you have no familiarity. I certainly wouldn't blindly buy a movie or CD that I have never seen/listened to. That purchasing pattern is 10 years out of date, especially now that digital delivery is so easy and prevalent.

Personally, I prefer to support the people who make the anime in the way I know best... which is by buying my anime even if I can get everything and more from fansubbers.

Again, I don't disagree. If you like a series or a franchise, by all means, support it by way of purchasing the products they officially release.

It is good to be an anime fan though because you don't actually have to pay for anything aside from an internet connection. We get it so easy.

Obviously, this statement can't be limited just to anime. You don't *have to* pay for pretty much any kind of media at this point. You *should* pay for any of the media that brings you enjoyment if you want its creators to continue producing it, however.

I think I'm starting to feel more and more like a sucker with all the money I've spent...

You'd be a sucker if you bought *every* anime DVD or product that you saw in a store and didn't watch or enjoy them in any way. If you enjoy having a physical collection or feel a sense of satisfaction that you're supporting the artists or creators, then more power to you, keep buying. My preference is to buy a very limited amount of physical media, and only things that I genuinely love and want to possess...I don't have the space to store everything I "kind of" want to have, nor do I necessarily like everything I watch enough to want to own it.

The digital delivery paradigm is the only possible future for the media business model. Blu-Ray may stave that fact off for a few more years as far as video goes, but the future isn't very far off.

My original point was and is this: Domestic anime (and manga) companies should make damn sure that they are making every effort to release the best possible product given the premium prices their products command.