Kisshu wrote:

But back on topic, would it be legal for them to be sold in Chinese video stores?

If they're legitimate copies, I don't see why not.

If you're concerned about any legal remifications, like getting arersted or something, it's very unlikely... The authoritires are more interested in apprehending the sellers, I think.

Also, the local authoritires are probably more concerned with the bootlegging of U.S. movies rather than foreign ones which they probably don't know head s or tails from....

Its not really that I'm worried about ramefications. Lol. This may sound stupid, but I'm a Christian, and I don't feel good using illegal stuff.
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That's not stupid at all. But it's hard to REALLY know if what you have is illegal at all. I guess you have to use your conscience - you paid for them so YOU did the right thing.

Yeeeaah. Thanks, that actually makes me feel better about it... especially since they keep telling me that I agreed to no refunds and only exchanges.... grar... which was in fine print.
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Kisshu wrote:

This may sound stupid, but I'm a Christian, and I don't feel good using illegal stuff.

No, not stupid at all... There's a moral issue that has to be considered, and each person has to come to terms with it in their own way

If the the discussion here helps your conscience, it's a good thing, ne?

bmwracer wrote:

I'd say they were the Asian equivalent of Amazon.com.

I know a couple of the VPs over at YesAsia. They're an awesome crew and they LOVE to look for special requests for things they don't carry. Trust me, they're an awesome group.

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In regards to the original reason for this thread though, I don't trust DVDs from eBay. EVER. Just my experience that most end up being HKs.

Yup.


.. but hey, if you don't mind buying stuff where all the funds go to organized crime, instead of producers, staff and actors then, by all means, buy them.
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tabana wrote:

Yup. .. but hey, if you don't mind buying stuff where all the funds go to organized crime, instead of producers, staff and actors then, by all means, buy them.

-sigh- thanks for reminding me. Honestly, I was just stupid to believe that it was an actual legal thing. I felt bad enough about downloading them for free, so I decided to look on Ebay. I saw that same video out by like a ton of different ebay stores, so I was like all excited... then i got it and whammo, I think I did something even worse... T-T
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RAWR

I think it's probably better to download them, in that case: Nobody is making money from fansubs, which is possibly why the producers don't worry about shutting them down. It's all free publicity, after all.

I guess your real options are:

1) Download & watch
2) Buy bootlegs from Ebay
3) Buy genuine from Yesasia, but probably without subs - if you can get what you want..
4) Hope they come on TV
5) Don't watch dramas

I figure it's best to download, if the producers don't care. I'm like you: If the genuine article was available, I would buy it if it was worth it. I believe that downloading is no different to taping something off TV and watching it.

Anime Dad wrote:

I figure it's best to download, if the producers don't care. I'm like you: If the genuine article was available, I would buy it if it was worth it. I believe that downloading is no different to taping something off TV and watching it.

I'm in agreement with A-Dad here....

If the producers really cared and wanted to make money, they'd subtitle all of the dramas and make 'em available worldwide for purchase (and hopefully not at eye-popping prices)... I'd be more than willing to pay for legit, reasonably-priced English-subtitled copies...

Well the problem for me now is that my dad has been freaking out because I've been taking all our bandwidth downloading dramas... grar. I guess next time I buy something, I pay for the legal, non-subtitled version or something. I am only in my second year of Japanese, so I don't know too much, but perhaps I could get the gist of it.
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Kisshu wrote:

Well the problem for me now is that my dad has been freaking out because I've been taking all our bandwidth downloading dramas... grar. I guess next time I buy something, I pay for the legal, non-subtitled version or something. I am only in my second year of Japanese, so I don't know too much, but perhaps I could get the gist of it.

If youve been downloading dramas then it seems to me youve already worked out the morality of it all.

Kisshu wrote:

Well the problem for me now is that my dad has been freaking out because I've been taking all our bandwidth downloading dramas... grar.

You should download in the off-hours to minimize the bandwidth impact at home... Or was that too obvious?

Eve wrote:

If youve been downloading dramas then it seems to me youve already worked out the morality of it all.

Lol. No. Wrong assumption. I downloaded them, felt guilty, bought them, found out they were illegal, felt guilty again. Lose lose sitution.

I'm jus tnot planning on downloading any more. -sigh- I guess maybe I wait until I can understand Japanese better..... and then earn lotsa money.
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RAWR

How about trading? A lot of people are trading and selling their old dramas.
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Not that it really matters but....
As far as Im concerned, if I cant get the show/movie with subtitles AND in region 1, then im not going to worry about it. If it is available for me to watch (subbed) on MY DVD player, then I would probably buy it (which I have done with previously downloaded anime)
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Kisshu wrote:

Rawr... I just bought a buncha Jdrama off of Ebay (Hana Yori Dango, Gokusen, 1 Litre of Tears, and Attention Please) and now I'm starting to wonder if these things are really legal O____o Anybody know if these versions of the dramas are legal distribution? I would appreciate a fast response so that I could decided if I should return it or not. Thank you very much Here is a link to the store. http://stores.ebay.com/Japmove

Regarding the legal issue of this J-drama from Malaysia, there are all perfectly legal. I've a friend who worked with a local publising company that manufactured the original licensed disc especially for Japanese, Korean & Chinese dramas and movies here.

This is how it work, usually this company will buy the master copyright for a certain region from an agent usually from Taiwan who obtained the master copyright from the origin source. As for the region, eg. Malaysia right will be limited within that coutry, while company like YesAsia might buy the Hong Kong & China region or perhaps they prefer the North America market, hence there might be more that one version in the market) This agent will usually have them dubbed in Taiwanese language and subtitled especially for Korean drama but only Chinese subtitle for the Jdrama...wonder why? Or maybe that's why Jdrama is cheaper than Kdrama since it cost a lot to dub in other languages. This M'sian publisher will then manufactured and sell the Taiwanese language first while they will work on the subtitle for English and Malay languages since it's for the local market. All legal disc in Malaysia must carry the original hologram and a B Certificate (which must be apply & supply by the Government). If they manufactured 1000 sets, the Government will only supply 1000 B-Cert for that title.

Well, hopefully this will clear your doubt!

Kisshu wrote:

Lol. No. Wrong assumption. I downloaded them, felt guilty, bought them, found out they were illegal, felt guilty again. Lose lose sitution. I'm jus tnot planning on downloading any more. -sigh- I guess maybe I wait until I can understand Japanese better..... and then earn lotsa money.

Downloading has both legal and/or moral complications. However it is sometimes a necessary evil. For instance I download and watch "Nodame Cantabile" as soon as an episode becomes available. Is it illegal? Probably. Do I feel guilty? No, because I have ordered the official DVD-set.

It's a kind of Catch-22 situation - you don't know whether you want to purchase a drama (they can be quite expensive) until you 'reviewed' it, but you have to download it in order to do so. Those who said you should always purchase the dramas you watch are, IMHO, being a bit academic.

So go ahead and download whatever looks interesting to you, but do purchase it from a legitimate source if you find it enjoyable.

thtl wrote:

So go ahead and download whatever looks interesting to you, but do purchase it from a legitimate source if you find it enjoyable.

If you can afford it and if English subs exist.

It's been discussed and debated in the past, but it needs to be reiterated: the legality of dowloading and soft/hardsubbing these dramas would be nearly moot if companies like TBS and FujiTV made these dramas available at a reasonable price AND with English subs... Such a large and great business opportunity for them and they completely ignore the international market.... How stupid is that?

The only one I've found so far willing to export their product is tv asahi. They have a buyer's catalog, in English, specified for international broadcasters, distributors and licenses.

So they are willing, it's just that nobody over here cares about them.
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