New Anime Trend: ThinPak DVD collections. Good? Bad?

[Funkatron]

Seems to be the new trend: ADV is pushing it up a notch with a slew of Collections with thinpak cases held in a chipboard box. I've seen the FMP one and it looks sweet. Only issue: after Noir, Raxephon and Rune Soldier, all the rest coming out(Pretear, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Azumanga Daioh) will be re-authored to remove ondisc extras and make the collections cheaper.

Meanwhile, Geneon just announced more thinpks collections of thier own (Chobits, Mahoromatic, Requiem from the Darkness). Looks like they are taking a que from ADV(though they were technically first with the Sailor moon collections)

Thinpak collections a good idea? What do you think of ADV's extra-less policy?

[Artimus Gigan]

Thin-Packs are ment to conserve space. However it's the prices of the collections that bother me, I liked the Essential Anime discs because they were dirt cheap. For 36 bucks you could pick up an entire 6 discs collection, where as these current thin-packs range into 90 bucks. The EA collections also bolstered better extras. However I don't really like a bare bones releases though, if they do plan on making it a bare-bones set then it should be 20 bucks.

[MrBananagrabber]

Thinpacks are fine with me, nice to save some space. But I don't like the removal of extras, even if the price is lower. The extras tend to be fun, and yes they're extra, but some of them make the show so much more enjoyable. The Kenshin and Magic User's Club outtakes were really great, I don't know if I'd like either show as much without them.

Out of curiosity how much cheaper are ADV's without the extras?

[Rabi~en~Rose]

Only issue: after Noir, Raxephon and Rune Soldier, all the rest coming out(Pretear, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Azumanga Daioh) will be re-authored to remove ondisc extras and make the collections cheaper.

oh thanks now I have a new fear that if MMPPP hasnt been dropped altogether it will come out in several boxsets cheap as they may be but with no extras at all

[Funkatron]

Thin-Packs are ment to conserve space. However it's the prices of the collections that bother me, I liked the Essential Anime discs because they were dirt cheap. For 36 bucks you could pick up an entire 6 discs collection, where as these current thin-packs range into 90 bucks. The EA collections also bolstered better extras. However I don't really like a bare bones releases though, if they do plan on making it a bare-bones set then it should be 20 bucks.

Lets put it this way:

Final Fantasy Unlimited Collection (Thinpak) - 625 minutes - $49.98 - 08/23/2005
Najica Blitz Tactics Collection (thinpak) - 300 minutes - $39.98 - 08/02/2005
Pretear Collection (thinpak) - 325 minutes - $39.98 - 08/09/2005

reminder: those are the extra-less thinpaks

ADV's thinking is that if you want the extras, get the singles. If you are fine with just the show, wait for the collections

[Weatherman]

True that Funkatron. Outside of ADV's plan, I do like the idea of thinpacks. Anything that conserves self space is good for me.

[Matt-a-Tastic]

I like them, they take up less space.

But I like Alpha paks and digipaks alot more though:

Alpha paks>>>>>>>>>>>>>>digipaks>>>>>>Thinpaks>>>Regularpaks>>singals

[Mog]

I like the TP sets, as long as they keep the price down. I could care less about space.

For 36 bucks you could pick up an entire 6 discs collection, where as these current thin-packs range into 90 bucks. The EA collections also bolstered better extras. However I don't really like a bare bones releases though, if they do plan on making it a bare-bones set then it should be 20 bucks.

I got the FMP thinpak set off of DDDVD for $55, and it had all the extras to boot. I don't know where you see the $90+ sets.

[Artimus Gigan]

I like the TP sets, as long as they keep the price down. I could care less about space.

I got the FMP thinpak set off of DDDVD for $55, and it had all the extras to boot. I don't know where you see the $90+ sets.

Rah Xephon's MSRP is either 80 or 90 IIRC

[LordByronius]

Here's my opinion on thinpaks:

Loveit loveit LOOOOOVE IT.

In fact, I love all brick collections of lengthy TV series. I hate singles. Those're for movies and single disc releases, thanks.

And I won't be mourning ADV's so-called "extras" since those tended to simply be creditless OP and ED segments, as well as nonsense involving the ADR crew, so I'm fine with them being gone.

THANK YOU, ANIME INDUSTRY, FOR TAKING A CUE FROM BIG STUDIOS ON HOW TO RELEASE TV SERIES ON DVD

[Duke]

I'm not really going to get any of these since the only series I'd really want to own (Azumanga) I do own. FMP & Chobits were fun, but my college roomie owns both series in singles.

As for the thin-pak releases, I believe they are far and away the greatest way to release a boxset (though a set of 2-disc Amaray cases is cool too). You get all the space-saving features of digi-paks and books (I hate books, BTW) and you get the individual disc cover arts and reversible covers that single-disc releases give you. It's the best of both worlds!

Now if only ADV would just start using Amaray cases for their single-disc releases. The hooks are more flexible so you can take the disc out without fear of breakage, all Amaray cases have hooks for inserts (I've seen several Alpha-style cases without hooks), and in 2-disc sets, the first disc is on a swinging hinge, so you don't have to take out the insert in order to get to the disc.

[Noukon]

I think they look great. Hopefuly we won't see many of the two-disc thinpak cases used, since those tend to be really flimsy and unreliable.

[Karl Olson]

On Thin Pak Boxsets - Great News. Already Got Chobits in Singles, but if the the Mahoro Thin Pak box is the right price, I might finish it that way rather than getting s2 on individual discs. Noir is sorely tempting if I can find enough a price break on it. Always have kinda wanted to see the whole thing. Besides, it's like the progenitor of the modern wave of emo anime. Kinda have to see it.

On ADV's Extraless Boxsets - Given the price points involved, it's not a bad deal. You can bet when those hit stores, they'll be down at about 30 bucks or less for the 40 buck sets, and 38 bucks or less for the 50 buck sets. As such, I'll probably pick up Pretear under this plan, especially given the price. Besides, atleast the discs are still bilingual. D-Rights released all 13 episodes of Sentimental Journey as a two disc dvd, sub only. Though the ADV releases may be barebones, they still aren't totally stripped. Besides, even the extraless boxes will likely spark retailers into moving the single off shelves, so you might be able to catch some sweet deals on the single discs as these extraless sets hit. Besides, the core anime titles need someway of getting some kind of sales. If this can save some shows from falling entirely between the cracks, than so be it. Heck, this method of packing might allow for certain niche titles to come cover (much like Sentimental Journey) because you'll be able to sell the whole set in a shot and be done with it.

[RogueMartian]

Thinpaks are cool with me. My dvd collection isn't nearly as portable as i'd like it to be. I don't mind the removal of extras, as long as the anime and both the audio streams are around, they're a-ok with me.

[Conekiller]

I love thinkpaks, it beats those plastic bricks they used to use. When my buddy bought one of the older SailorMoon boxes (befoe they started using thinkpaks) he opened it and immediately one of the "pages" fell out. quite irritating.

[EscaflownePilot]

It's about time, I'd say. I've been hoping that the anime industry would start using thinpack cases for some time now, and I'm glad they're finally catching on.

As for the removal of extras, I don't see it as a problem in this context considering that most of these series have been released both as singles, and either as full boxsets or had boxes with some kind of extra available with the first volume. In the future, however, I wouldn't object to ADV doing something like releasing both a bare bones thinpack collection for a very affordable price, and then a collector's thinkpack collection that contains discs identical to the singles and maybe comes packed with a figure or something for a bit more, so that collectors who prefer the thinkpack idea have that option, as well. I'm not sure how feasible that would be, but considering anime distributors have been putting out 2-3 different "levels" of the same disc for a while now (like Geneon's releases that are available as a single, as a single w/box, or as a single w/box+pencil board) I can't imagine why it wouldn't work.

[Daizaburo Estes]

*insert generic positive comment here*

Seriously, though. Being the cheapskate I am, I'm up for any bargain! Keep it coming, guys!

A quick question, though: the little booklets in the Azumanga Daiô release, they'll still be included in this upcoming Thin-Pak? Those, and the little pins? I know this is REALLY dumb question, but I just want to make sure and all.

[Funkatron]

*insert generic positive comment here*

Seriously, though. Being the cheapskate I am, I'm up for any bargain! Keep it coming, guys!

A quick question, though: the little booklets in the Azumanga Daiô release, they'll still be included in this upcoming Thin-Pak? Those, and the little pins? I know this is REALLY dumb question, but I just want to make sure and all.

No Extras: No inserts, no LE items, no on-disc extras. Just the eps on 5 discs.

[Duke]

No Extras: No inserts, no LE items, no on-disc extras. Just the eps on 5 discs.

I have no clue where'd they put the pins anyway. The booklets they could just combine into one big booklet (a la Zeta), but the pins were hard enough to fit into a regular DVD case (and to stop it from sliding around too), so a thin-pak set would be...too thin.

[Conan-san]

to coin a 4-chan phase "I'd hit it"

This is already done with a few DVD's over here, one bing "Dogtainan and the three muskahounds" and let me tell you, it works like a charm.