How do I know which (if any) Sailor Moon Stars DVDs are real and fake?

Question

After looking on E-bay, I have seen only two different main versions Sailor Moon Stars on DVD. There is one like this : http://cgi.ebay.com/SAILOR-MOON-STARS-DVD-COMPLETE-ANIME-NEW-SEALED_W0QQitemZ300082684860QQihZ020QQcategoryZ41524QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

and as well this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Sailor-Moon-Complete-Season-5-Stars-12-DISC-BOX-SET_W0QQitemZ170085120741QQihZ007QQcategoryZ617QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I somewhat feel that both are fake, but I would like to know. I do know it isn't licensed in America, but as far as I understand that doesn't mean someone can't buy it from Japan and sell it in America (even if it is illegal, doesn't mean it doesn't/can't happen).
I feel that maybe the second one is fake due to the fact on the DVD covers, on the side, it shows the American symbol for Sailor Moon, but *Shrugs* maybe not.

IF they are both fake, should I end up buying the bigger one due to more disk = better quality?!

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

both are! there hasn't even been a release with subtitles yet. there might be later, but not right now.. and i don't even think they are ever going to put out a dubbed version, due to the fact that toei doesn't want to tarnish it's reputation in america (alot racier than the other sailor moons).

the 4 disk set works out to 8.5 episodes a disk. there will be about 70% compression on these disks. you won't really notice it unless you have a big tv. everything will look just a little jagged in some of the scenes with more action. i usually only put 5-6 episodes on a disk and strip the opening and closing credits (as well as stripping all menus and extras), so this one might be iffy. but i did read a review on it somewhere and the girl seemed pleased. i've also seen the inside somewhere online and it looks nice..

the massive 12 disk set is only 2.75 per disk, which means there will be no compression. it might also have also have all the extras.. the box art looks like it was scanned from a manga book, since it looks nothing like the sharpness of the anime characters..

so i think it's just a crapshoot for which team has the better translator...

since there are no distribution rights in the US, it's legal to just download the episodes so you can watch on your computer instead of shelling out money for some pirates (arrgggh!)

of course if they ever grant liscensing in the US, you'll have to delete those episodes.. but i doubt it will ever get released here so you shouldn't have a problem.

Answer 2

Both are bootlegged DVDs. Although yes its true that even if a series isnt licensed in the US it dosent mean that Japanese DVD's can't be imported but there a different beteween legal imported Japanese DVDs and bootlegged.

For one both have subtitles on them. The Majority of anime especially older ones like sailor moon, the original japanese release does not come with english subtitles. The other MAJOR clue that it's a bootleg is the fact that the DVDs are region free. (big give away as each country region locks its dvds for wherever it's released) and Japans anime dvds are always Region 2 coded.

Both are fake so if you are going to take a leap of faith and still buy it, BEWARE , even though they advertise it, the majority of bootlegged anime DVDs are notorious for having very bad translations and having Engrish (poor english) typing.

If you still are insisting on buying it although its fake, better quality in terms of picture is most likely going to be on the one with more disks instead of one where they crammed them all into few disks.

If by chance you are actually looking for legit DVD's here are the real ones on a site which sells direct imports:
http://www.animaxis.com/en/shop/find.asp?

or like someone else suggested if you download, you could always download the sailor stars series for free and burn it yourself if you wish to have it other then on your computer.
http://www.tokyotosho.com/search.php here is where you can find it if you search sailor stars and have azureus or bittorrent to download torrents.

Whichever you choose good luck.

Answer 3

There's actually no concrete evidence wether it's real or fake because the picture may be real but it doesn't necessarily mean that it belongs to them. Since that person is a power seller. Check other user's rating on that person.

http://myworld.ebay.com/dam_mad_anime/

Answer 4

buy the pirates is good hint 4 you.