Time for another heads up on cheap anime on DVD, and once again Dollar General stores, at least in my local area, have another crop of cheap anime DVDs for $3 each! It seems most of these are Bandai Entertainment or Pionner aka Geneon stuff. A short list of titles (because sometimes I can't remember a whole lot) includes more or less...

Tenchi Universe - At $3 a pop, these horribly mastered Geneon DVDs, as part of their "Signature Series" titles, is likely the most you need to pay. I found and bought V.2 and 3.

The Big O II - Big O for some reason was thought to be a big hit on Cartoon Network when the dub aired some time ago. I remember watching it just after a friend showed me a subtitled version of episode 1. Anywho, the muckety mucks of Cartoon Network were so enthralled by Big O that they actually paid for a 2nd season to be produced. My favorite character is Dorothy, naturally. ^_^ So far I bought only disc 3 of Big O II, just to see Dorothy in action again. Heh. (Cartoon Network also tried to get more Cowboy Bebop made, but they got told a firm and solid NO.)

Then there was a smattering of other titles, like Betterman, Argentosoma, various Gundam series, and if you realllly want it - Dragonball of all shapes and sizes on VHS. Wowee. I'm sure I'm forgetting some titles, but hey, it's $3 a DVD.

Which makes me wonder - who or what is clearing out warehouse stock on these DVDs at what amounts to 90% off the original prices? Is it some chain of stores going bankrupt or is it the anime companies themselves clearing out space? My friends and I saw stickers dating to July and December 2005 on some of these. First it was Viz titles, now Pioneer and Bandai? Will we see some ADV? One could only hope for a Wedding Peach Collector's Edition Volume 1 with extras DVD for $3 or so.

Also, a few weeks ago friends told me of cheap $1 Dub Only Anime VHS at Sav A Lot grocery stores. I forgot most of the titles they told me about, except for Record of Lodoss War. I don't think you could have collected the entire series (I got it free from a friend on subtitled VHS - he was moving and already had the DVDs), but $1 a tape - hey if you hate it, you can always tape over it! $1 VHS cassette that's pretty good quality? I bought 5 Cardcraptors tapes just for that purpose! ^.^

Additional Note from Andy: 18 days and counting to Anime North, May 26-28, 2006. You can try to meet up with me at the Park Plaza Thursday night, or at the Doubletree during the convention's 6:30 to 10 pre-registration check in and badgepickup. Check the latest info at www.animenorth.com or on their Maple Leaf Tea Room message boards about the convention.