|
Buying Guide Home Region coding and video standards Recommendations Customs duties Region 1 (US) Region 4 (Australia) Region 2 (Japan) Region 2 (UK) Region 2 (Europe) Region 3/0 (HK and Indonesia) Oxford Anime Vision |
Region 2 (Japan) releasesGenerally, you will not be considering buying directly from Japan unless:
There are very few Japanese DVDs which have English subtitles and prices are high, often as much as £35 for a 45 minute disc. However, the very famous Studio Ghibli films (Totoro, Laputa etc.) have been released in Japan with English subtitles, for around £35 a disc. Most Ghibli films are not available in Region 1 format from the US, so must be purchased from Japan. Bear in mind that any Japanese imports may be liable for customs charges. Retailers we recommend include: CD Japan is the widest used and most well known of the Japanese exporters. They have pretty much everything and when they ship you'll probably get your anime 48 hours later. They also stock CDs and calendars etc. An alternative is AmoTokyo. They are similarly priced but are possibly better for browsing. Unfortunately the website gives me headaches. The next best place to get your Japanese goodness is Anime Jungle. They do second hand and "as good" anime and the prices can be very nice - especially for movies and special editions. They ship in the same way as CD Japan and AmoTokyo, which is pricey but fast. The shipping doesn't increase too much with extra items, though, so it can be okay when ordering in bulk. |