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malyminDid you know there's currently no streaming service in the USA that offers Princess Tutu?
No streaming service in the USA offers Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), either.
Obviously, I know how to pirate. And I also own the old ADV dvd set for Tutu in particular. But I can't help but think how it's a lot easier for media to maintain steady cult followings if you can find it long after it's being sold... rentals and stores for VHS tapes and DVDs had an important niche in allowing box office bombs to become cult classics, in old shows being watched by new generations.
What do you do if something new is only on streaming, and then gets taken down? I know this happens. These shows and movies arent even given the chance to acquire reputations over time.
I've watched Wolfwalkers via... means. Good movie! Has very little chance of being the generation-defining hit with tweenage wolfaboos god clearly intended it to be, because it's exclusive to Apple TV on streaming, and the only physical edition is hundreds of dollars for a collector's blu-ray set.
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Date: 2025-12-29 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-29 10:54 pm (UTC)(We have a friend who bought an enormous box of Takarazuka Review VHS tapes to digitize, since good luck ever getting your hands on those performances outside of Japan. Doing the good work!)
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Date: 2025-12-29 11:22 pm (UTC)I suppose! Though also I've encountered younger people online who are just... terrified of even very basic and safe piracy, as if it's the illegality itself that gives you computer viruses and steals your credit card data.
Oh nice. I feel like digitizing VHS-only material is overlooked, in addition to the importance of making old and foreign media generally accessible.