Nearly ten years ago, I first developed a love of anime. I'd like to think of myself as a seasoned otaku, now that I've studied up on many different areas pertaining to Japanese animation. Over the years I have studied, debated on forums, and occasionally had counseling...okay, that last one was made up!
Lately, I've had a hankering of going through my anime soundtrack collection and transferring songs to my iPod. I popped in my copy of Trigun: The First Donuts soundtrack and immediately remembered why I haven't listened to it in a long time. It was a bootleg.
Which one's the bootleg? Hurry pick! *BUZZ!* The answer is the right one.
Here, I hope to edumacate you on how to determine if what you have is a ripoff, or what just might be the genuine thing.
FIRST: You paid how much?!
One of the first tell-tale signs would be the price, accompanied by accessibility. Back in 2005, when I first began collecting anime merch, I scooped up anything that was cheap and easy to grab a hold of. That was my first mistake. If you really want to be anime savvy, then remember this golden rule: If it's too good to be true, then it probably is. It's only $14.95 for all three volumes of the Escaflowne soundtracks? Yeah.
For my Trigun bootleg, I paid under $10 from a seller on eBay. The legit one (I purchased it through a deputy service) was almost $30. Yikes! I hear you say. If you really want the real deal, you will have to fork over a pretty yen or two. And a caveat about eBay: It's not all evil. I found my Scrapped Princess OSTs (both Lantis releases, which is a legit Japanese record company) there. You may also want to avoid sellers from Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan.
SECOND: Record companies you can trust
I’ve compiled a
list of legitimate record labels, along with some of their logos:
Polygram (POCX)
Appolon Inc. (APCM)
Appolon Inc. (APCM)
Lantis (LACA-xxxx)
Aniplex (SVWC-xxxx)
avex mode (AVCA-xxxxx, AVCX, or AVCD)
Victor (VICL-xxxxx)
Toshiba-EMI (TOCT-xxxx)
Pioneer (PICA, PIDA)
DefSTAR (DFCL-xxxx)
Columbia Japan (COCC)
King Records (KICA, KIDA, KICS)
Kitty (KTCR)
Poopy Bootleggers!
Son May (SM) – GGG, GA, GSM, SM, SS, AnG, SMA, SMB,
GAME, CK
Smiley Face Records Ltd – KA, HO
Ever Anime – A8, TV, CV, NP, GM
Hi Fashion
Alion – ALCA
Miya Records – MICA
Archer Records – R
Ho Son – B, H
Wisdom Records
Yuanding
Top Circle
Golden Diamond
K-O Records
THIRD: Quality Check
Here’s
where we get down to the nitty gritty…quality and production. Bootleggers only
care about the quick dollar; to hell with the loyal, diehard consumer! If you
truly are looking for authentic, quality products, then school yourself in how
to spot a fake.
*Printing/pressing
of discs
Why did you betray me, InuYasha?” -
Kikyo
One
thing I’ve noticed is that a bootleg disc will often have the same design as
the front/inside/back cover. Why? Because it’s fast, cheap, and easy. They
don’t have to spend the time matching the legitimate cover. This picture is the
soundtrack to the 3rd IY movie, Swords
of an Honorable Ruler. Notice how even the coloring doesn’t match; the disc
looks like it has a purple tint to it.
The artwork for
this CD, from the 2nd IY movie, was just copied from the insert
picture directly behind it. You probably can’t tell from this photo, but there
are printer lines visible and the color is so faded anyway. Sloppy, just sloppy.
Top
disc is the legit one, bottom is bootleg. Notice how the colors are crisper
with the top example. The bottom has a washed out look, with the disc art just
copied from the front cover.
The CD for the soundtrack of The Legend of Zelda should look like this...
...NOT this.
Look at Link – visible trace lines in his
legs, hair, ears, and elbows. His belt doesn’t even match up with the lines
drawn. Shifty printer? He looks out of focus…
Once again, top
is authentic, whilst bottom one is the flake. Along with coloring and disc art,
can you spot the one other glitch? Give up?
*Spelling errors
Hey, people at
K-O Records, if you’re going to rip off a soundtrack, make sure you at least
spell it right!
All
rights of the produeer?
IN CLOSING...
I hope this blog has helped you in better understanding CD bootlegs...especially with anime. Remember, bootlegs are: cheap, quickly produced, are often from China, Indonesia, and Taiwan, have splotchy artwork/noticeable production errors (spelling, dull colors), and only care about the dollar, not about you. Happy collecting!
