Wednesday, March 17, 2010

CD/DVD Bargains

There is a home electrical appliance store called "Ishimaru Denki" in my neighborhood and as it was going to get out of business, it was selling cds and dvds very cheaply. I went there to look for some foreign music cds, but when I got there such cds were almost sold out and what was left behind was mainly anime software. Btw, "denki" means "electricity".

There are several buildings in the premises and each one of them sells one or two kinds of the electrical items. For example, one of them sells only computers or computer-related items like SD cards. But since I like music very much, this is the one I've frequented so often.
As you can see, all of the cds and dvds were 50 to 70% off. I usually rent and burn cds, so I rarely buy one, but when the price is as low as this, you wouldn't need much money to buy some.

My favorite Seiyuu Aya Hirano cds. For those who don't know what Seiyuu is, it means a voice actor or actress who does the voice of an anime character or a foreign actor in a film. And this woman is only 22 years old but one of the most popular Seiyuus in Japan. The song "Namida, Namida, Namida" in this cd wasn't included in either of her two albums. And it was sold half the price, about 6 us dollars. 
I don't know the situations in other countries, but those who are really into anime in Japan buy "character songs" sung by a Seiyuu. So the left Haruhi cd includes songs by Haruhi or namely its Seiyuu Aya Hirano. Those character songs aren't usually used in the anime.

Do you know a group called "Morning Musume" these girls belong to? They debuted in the late '90s and had been popular until '06 or so, but later a new girls' group called AKB 48 replaced them as the most popular group. 

This is one of the dvd shelves. I had been thinking I knew much about anime, but when I looked around I came to notice how little I knew about it. 

This is an anime dvd called "Saint Beast" and it is meant for girls. The anime was broadcast in '07 and the story is about the battle between God called "Zeus" and six Saint Beasts. Two of the beast are each called Luke and Judas, which means a reference to the Bible is included in the anime.

This anime is called "Lovely Idol" and it started out as a video game in '05. But later it was released as an anime in '06. When a video game is so popular, it has a possibility to be released as an anime. A good example is "Clannad" by Kyoto Animation.

When I noticed what were left were mainly anime dvds, I looked for Rozen Maiden, The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but such popular dvds had been already snatched away. I could burn any anime dvd that I rent from a rental shop, but owning a real one would have given me more satisfaction.