Let's begin, shall we?

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A buddy of mine recently bought a set of obvious bootlegs(Star Ocean EX "For Real Japan Anime Fan!!!", all-regions, optional english/chinese subs, entire series collected on 2 discs, eBay auction, etc etc), yet he continually maintains that they're authentic discs "straight from Japan". It's gotten sad (and annoying), really. He's resorting to the old "well, nothing on the internet is trustworthy, so I don't think those bajillion articles, websites, bouts with common sense, and personal experiences you had were right" defense.
Would ye, oh sage Answerman, care to make a short list of the most obvious ways to tell if a DVD is bootlegged, and possibly give advice on how I can finally hammer this point home to my dense pal?

---Josh

First, check the print quality of the disc itself. Look at a real Japanese or American DVD. If you have eyes that work, it should be pretty obvious that one is of substantially lower quality than the other. Also, how many legitimate anime DVDs are released with Chinese subtitles and are formatted for all regions? Show him a licensing list, and then show him the real DVDs available on www.amotokyo.com. Point out the obvious visual differences and he may get the point. If the guy won't listen to common sense, I'd suggest an impact adjustment. A ball peen hammer usually does the trick.

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I have a question regarding the series "Di Gi Charat". We know that
Dejiko's real name is Choccola, Pyoko's is Pyoccola Analogue III, and
Rabi~en~Rose's name is Usada Hikaru, but what is Puchiko's real name?

Thanks,
Svenge

As far as I can tell, Puchiko IS her name. I did a sizable amount of research on this and came up short. I did manage to find several very disturbing fan sites dedicated to the character, though. In short, I'm pretty certain they haven't revealed her real name just yet.

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Hi,

Mr. Answerman i was just wondering if you knew when theZone of the Enders: Dolores,i TV series and theIdolo 2169OAV are going to be released in the States.

Thanks,

Neil Sher

Well, they've all been licensed byADV Films, so they should be out sometime within the next few hundred years. They were pushingZone of Enders at Expo this year, but it wasn't a major title, so I'd imagine you could expect to see it next year sometime. Maybe before Christmas, if you're lucky.

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Hello! There seems to be a disturbing lack of classic anime available for
us old-schoolers to watch. I'm talking about shows likeStarvengers,
Gaiking, Dangard Ace, and my own show, Grandizer. Ares, Winstar, and myself
are really hoping to make a comeback so our shows can be enjoyed by a whole
new audience. Is anybody planning to help us? I'll grant you it's a relief
to see the classics like the originalMacross,Urusei Yatsura, Starblazers,
andBattle of the Planets being made available for their fans. But, where
areVoltron,Tranzor Z, andMacron 1?

-Johnny Bryant (a.k.a. Orion Quest)

Well,Aura Battler Dunbine andGiant Gorg are coming out soon enough, so you can keep an eye out for those.ADV's been releasing the originalDirty Pair lately, and I believe someone's doing a release ofWindaria pretty soon.Voltron… well, the licensing for that show is mired in legal rumblings right now, so I wouldn't expect to see much regarding that. Remember, the market for older anime is very small. The only people who buy it are hardcore older fans, and they make up a minute portion of the market. Best of luck to you.

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I caught a couple of minutes of the former Fox,
currentlyABC Family show called TOTALLY SPIES
and just have to know; what the hell is it? I
mean, clearly it's anime, but not pure anime --
the color scheme, character designs, etc., all
look a little off. Is it one of those European
co-productions? They've squished the end credits to nothing or I wouldn't bother you.

Steve Bennett

Totally Spies is NOT anime. Well, it is in the Japanese sense of the word, which encompasses all animation. In the American sense of the word, Totally Spies is a desperate attempt to cash in on the current popularity of anime by making a tired Charlie's Angels retread look like an anime series. It is not made by a Japanese production staff, written by Japanese people, or designed by Japanese artists.

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