JCBeezy Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I was passing time in town at the local Best Buy, when I noticed that there was no longer a section in their DVD/Blu-Ray area for Anime. For a moment, I was honestly taken aback. I couldn't believe that what was once a larger section than their area for Children's movies was now completely gone in my local store. Truthfully, it felt wrong.Now, I haven't bought a lot at Best Buy in recent years (I finally met Amazon, and I love her), so maybe I missed out on something, but it seems that Anime as a popular genre is in decline. Outside of the rare major release that has the ability to cross over (Dragon Ball Kai, Naruto, Bleach), you won't even find Anime in big box stores like Wal-Mart or Target. This seems alarming, considering the size of communities dedicated to such. What, in your opinion, has caused this decline? And is there a way to fix it? Do we blame technology or the individual? Corporate retail or distributors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† RazorDan Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I don't think there's a decline, I believe the opposite actually. I went into HMV the other day, and they had a massive anime section. Plus, even my local library has a lot of various manga, and I discovered Claymore, Buso Renkin, Whistle and Prince of tennis there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Our HMV got rid of the anime section so I understand JC's pain.I was really disappointed about it... ;-; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koby Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 A couple years back Best Buy removed Anime from about 800 of their stores. Sounds like yours was one of the unlucky ones that wasn't selling enough. The thing is Best Buy was always so expensive. I use to have to spend $80 for 26 episodes and $45 for 13 episode sets. When everywhere else had them for less than $20-$30. So it wouldn't matter to me if they got rid of it completely from Best Buy since they are just ripping off Anime fans.Walmart and Target have never carried any anime except for the orange brick Dragon Ball Z sets, a couple Inuyasha sets, and a couple Naruto sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragnawind Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 It is only a decline in anime being sold at actual physical retail stores. This has been happening since around 2008 or before. My Best Buy suddenly cut their stock by over 70% in one week. The complete boxsets at my Best Buy sold up to 24 -26 episodes for, at most, $40. They started slowly removing them because everyone started buying online, so they didn't see a point in stocking them anymore. If people continued buying them in store more often, they would have kept them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCBeezy Posted August 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Ironically, our local Targets had a whole "block" of anime at one point, around 2006-2007. I've always attributed the decline in mainstream stores carrying anime as something in response to how much anime is downloaded and shared on the internet. I know very, very few fans/otaku/what-have-you who still buy disc based media and typically torrent or direct download their collections.I've made it a point to buy anything I've liked, just to make sure I'm doing the "right thing ethically". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nero D. Ace Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 From what it sounds like, it seems buying stuff at the local stuff is actually more expensive than purchasing it off Amazon. Also, considering that Amazon provides updates as to when a new series is out for sale, I think it's only natural that people wanna move onto a more faster and cheaper method of purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCBeezy Posted August 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Well, I'm just glad to hear that communities still BUY the stuff they like. I know that with the rise of torrenting and mass-spread file sharing, a lot of people just steal what they get. It makes all of us look bad. But for me, locally in the Southern US, there is only ONE store (an F.Y.E. in a mall) that has a dedicated anime section. It breaks my heart. Oh, how I miss Suncoast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allnall93 Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Our walmart and target dont have anime but Best Buy has a lot... Though i think Best Buy rips you off on almost everything they have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaoru Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Well, I'm just glad to hear that communities still BUY the stuff they like. I know that with the rise of torrenting and mass-spread file sharing, a lot of people just steal what they get. It makes all of us look bad. I buy stuff once in a while, but it's not stealing, it's sharing like the word implies without the net anime would be dead in terms of fanbase and distribution.Anyway I just shop online when I have to, in my country there are maybe one or two anime/manga stores, its not much of a trend here I guess. To get quality stuff from Japan you gotta attend conventions and get lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingersx Posted September 4, 2011 Report Share Posted September 4, 2011 I dont think its a declineI think everything is going digitalLook at Blockbuster they are closing cause of please like netflix and etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike00 Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 I think everything is going digitalLook at Blockbuster they are closing cause of please like netflix and etcI agree, alot of people I know don't rent movies anymorebecause they can get it for free over the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atreyuavenged Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 It's probably the same as with music, dvds, etc, as long as there is a cheaper, easier way to access what you want or need, people will use that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasoivc Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 From what it sounds like, it seems buying stuff at the local stuff is actually more expensive than purchasing it off Amazon. Also, considering that Amazon provides updates as to when a new series is out for sale, I think it's only natural that people wanna move onto a more faster and cheaper method of purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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