I’ve got a defective copy of Eureka 7 vol 11. Despite the fact that Bandai has made a rather public mea culpa over the fact that their replicators suck shit and have recalled a pile of stuff from their January releases, apparently I am somehow unworthy of having my broken copy replaced, because I’m not in the USA or Canada.
I’ve been a long-time supporter of the idea of paying for anime series I’ve pirated (read: watched fansubbed) and subsequently enjoyed enough that I feel that they’re worth my money. For an industry that’s struggling to find any semblance of meaning in our post-internet world, they sure like to screw us. A lot of people have laughed at my tendency to buy anime DVDs, and perhaps they were right all along. This is absolutely the last straw for me. I intend to complete buying Eureka 7 - only one volume left - and then I will never buy another Bandai DVD, ever, unless they smarten up and realise that if they want us to pay money for the shit they spew out, then it needs to be somehow superior to the fansubs I watched for free two years ago. And also that the world changed while they were asleep and they need to stop being so fucking insular. Where I live should have no bearing on whether I can get a product I’ve paid for replaced in a recall like this.
Fuck you, Bandai. I hope I’m around to dance on your company’s fucking grave when you go bankrupt.
FIGHT THE POWER
Wait, were these R1 imports or the Madman R4 versions? Should I even be asking?
If they’re R1’s, then I can kinda understand where they’re coming from. That doesn’t mean I don’t agree with you though - the licensees have to pay big upfront fees to get the stuff from Japan, and if they don’t at least look after the customers they’ll be shooting themselves in the foot.
If no one has already offered I would be glad to help you out. Mail me the disc and I’ll send it into Bandai for exchange for you. E-mail me if you’re interested.