How to determine bootleg Rurouni Kenshin DVDs from eBay

[trilix]

I know what you're thinking, bootleg anime on ebay? Nahh no way!

Many people have purchased a bootleg anime dvd on eBay at one point thinking they've struck gold only to shortly realize that what they purchased was a dud. This thread is just to show you the differences you might run into if you've been curious about purchasing that Complete Rurouni Kenshin DVD Box Set that's all over eBay lately for around $50.

I've been wanting to own this show for ages, it's a childhood classic and it’s super hard to find at my local used video stores. So curiously, I snagged a copy online. To the average anime-goer, it’s extremely convincing. The case artwork quality is on-par and the episode video quality doesn't seem that bad either. I was still on the fence though, so I went to my local Half Price Books and found Season 1 (odd that they had it in stock). Boy was I right all along, here are my findings:

eBay Bootlegs (Image)
--- Region Free
--- No copy protection
--- Single-Layer discs (4.5GB)

Retail (Image)
--- Region 1 (US)
--- Copy protected
--- Dual-Layer discs (6.75GB)

The artwork on the discs differ as well. The retail disc artwork appear much sharper, whereas the bootlegs have a slight purple hue. You could also see the result of what looks like image compression if you look close enough. Example pictures: Here, here, and here.

And finally, the eBay discs are contained in an 8-disc DVD case with tabs separating each disc. Picture here.
The retail copy of season 1 that I just purchased has them stacked together in one spot. Picture here.

Don’t worry, I got my money back. The eBay seller was very accommodating about the situation.

[Naiera]

Bootlegs seem to have become a little more sophisticated. It used to be really easy; just look for Chinese subs, region 0 and ten eps per disc.

[BigOnAnime]

Well this definitely helps a lot. Unfortunately this is one of many shows lately that got hit by bootleggers. Many Anime Legends sets from Bandai also got hit. Almost forgot but some Discotek series as well, and they actually warned people about them when they found out people were bootlegging their releases starting with Samurai Pizza Cats.

BTW, not all legit copies of Rurouni Kenshin season 1 look like that. That was a silent repackage. They used to look like this.

[svenge]

Originally Posted by Naiera

Bootlegs seem to have become a little more sophisticated. It used to be really easy; just look for Chinese subs, region 0 and ten eps per disc.

The bootlegs for the 6-disc Evangelion "Platinum Complete" thinpak set are actually quite sophisticated. Ebay's been flooded with them for the last few months, which is bad for both unwitting buyers (obviously) and sellers of the legit copies since the prevailing rate has gone down due to the "new supply" of the long-OOP series...

Fortunately they screwed up the texture of the silvery outer box along with a couple details on the logo's font, plus they used the wrong color thinpak cases so it's still relatively easy for someone who knows exactly what mistakes to what to look for to detect it.

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by svenge

The bootlegs for the 6-disc Evangelion "Platinum Complete" thinpak set are actually quite sophisticated. Ebay's been flooded with them for the last few months, which is bad for both unwitting buyers (obviously) and sellers of the legit copies since the prevailing rate has gone down due to the "new supply" of the long-OOP series...

Fortunately they screwed up the texture of the silvery outer box along with a couple details on the logo's font, plus they used the wrong color thinpak cases so it's still relatively easy for someone who knows exactly what mistakes to what to look for to detect it.

Yep....

And that's how you can tell the difference on these.

[Vlad Draculi]

Meh, they way I see it, every DVD/BD on ebay is a bootleg these days, especially if they just use ebay's generic item description.

The people who sell legitimate copies will put in their OWN description and show their OWN pictures of the product so you can see it is an official product. However, even then, it may is questionable.

Easy way around it is to just not buy DVDs off ebay.

[lunamaria87]

I have all the seasons of Kenshin. I bought mine off amazon and one from a friend. But this makes me want to go home right now and double check my copies. I know my Samurai X set is authentic at least.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by trilix

The retail copy of season 1 that I just purchased has them stacked together in one spot. Picture here.

That's just the re-release. If you bought the sets in the early 2000s, they were in separate trays. Seasons 2 and 3 are in regular multi-disc cases with black trays, season 1 is in a weird kind of multi-disc case that has a white inner tray.

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by svenge

The bootlegs for the 6-disc Evangelion "Platinum Complete" thinpak set are actually quite sophisticated.

"Used to be" can be a long time ago

It makes sense that they'd make bootlegs of something as phenominally popular as Eva.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Apparently there's some sort of legal tangle with EVA.

[insomniac013]

If it's a long OOP release that's new, sealed and crazy cheap on Ebay I just assume it's a bootleg.

[Harlock415]

I guess I should be glad I bought these as they were released one disc at a time.