Like many of you readers I was glued to the election last night. I’ve watched the debates, seen the commercials, and watched two men have this whole “I wanna be in charge” attitude. The issue that has been at the forefront of all these debates is the economy. My, my, how much the economy sucks and how it needs to get better. I bring this up because if anyone reading these articles has money to buy these DVD’s, then chances are the economy isn’t weighing as heavily on your mind as it is other peoples. And if you are an anime fan who’s man didn’t get into office last night…well, this might just be more depressing, so head warning.
6. Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 1
I have to say that this being one of the most expensive anime box sets really took me by surprise. 4Kids dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! is pretty much universally hated by everyone who’s seen it. Most of the DVD releases sell for pennies now (much to the frustration of parents who bought them for their kids and feel their investment will never be returned). This means if a parent bought their kids a copy of “Yu-Gi-Oh! The Complete First Season” on DVD…well, you lucked out, because this thing typically commands somewhere between $149-$449 online (depending on the condition). Why is a dub that is hated by virtually everyone selling for so much in a set when it’s cheaper to buy the DVD’s individually?
I’m not exactly sure, though I have at least a theory. See, parents don’t like to spend a lot of money on their kids TV shows. That’s why you routinely see three episode DVD’s of “SpongeBob Squarepants,” because $15 is about the max parents are will to spend. It doesn’t really matter that for $30 they could get a set of over twenty episodes and get a much better value, they’re buying the kids a disk as a reward for being quiet while mom and dad finish their shopping at Wal-Mart. Well, the same sort of thing goes here, and most parents aren’t willing to buy their kids a $50 DVD set of 26 episodes.
Yeah, if you bought the DVD’s individually you’d hit $50 around episode 12 (more or less), but parents don’t do that kind of forward thinking when they buy these shows on DVD’s for their kids. What’s more, this set came out late in the ball game. I think the show had just ended its run on Kids’ WB when this set was released, and Yu-Gi-Oh! mania was pretty much coming to an end. Therefor demand for season sets for a show that had been critically crucified wasn’t likely to sell well. That means this set wasn’t in production long, which probably made it a rare commodity.
And if I REALLY wanted to stretch this out, the third reason this could be valuable is because despite the fact that the content on the disks are crap, the actual set itself is…very cool. No kidding, this is a NICE box set! It looks great on any collector’s shelf. If there was ever a good example of selling someone crap and calling it ice cream…well, “Yu-Gi-Oh! The Complete First Season” is a great example of this anthology. Unless you just want to make your shelf look good though I’d recommend you skip this. After all, this list is about what anime box sets are worth the most money, not a list of which ones are worth buying the most.
5. Pokémon Master Quest: Box Set 2
Remember that catchy slogan? “Gotta catch em all?” Well, if you want the entire Pokémon series on DVD you’ll have to shell out almost $500 for “Pokémon Master Quest: Box Set 2.” Why? I don’t know. I guess it’s out of print and this particular set is difficult to find. But with all the Pokémon material on DVD at much cheaper prices, chances are you can procrastinate on buying this and hope for a re-release. Besides, these aren’t even the best episodes the show has produced.
4. Kimagure Orange Road: The Complete Series
Alright, I’m happy to report that the last DVD in this part of the series IS worth getting if you have the money! “Kimagure Orange Road” is one of the classic romantic comedies that every anime fan should see. It may not change your world, but you’re not doing yourself any favors if you skip it. That said, at this point in time the cost of experiencing this series is extremely high. To buy the entire TV series will set you back over $600. The movies and OAV’S box set typically sell for around $400. That means to get everything you’ll need to shell out $1,000.
There is some good news about this though. See, there is a movie that caps off the series beautifully called “Kimagure Orange Road: [insert title].” Unlike most out-of-print anime titles that have the finale’s cost insane amounts of money to get (as you’ll see in later installments), this one costs on average $10. This means that after taking this huge blow on buying the series, you can experience the ending at a good price. Cool huh?!
Stay tuned for part 3
