I know everything is more expensive in Japan, but still, it's unusual for imports to be cheaper in the US than the original product is in its home country. I guess they're so expensive because the Japanese animation industry is supported by mad otakus who are compulsive collectors willing to pay anything to get their hands on it, but sheeeeeeesh. at $44 a disk, buying a whole series will set you back over $250 easy. Frankly, I always thought films and series should be priced according to their production budgets, not their running length. Why does a Ghibli film with double the budget of a television series cost a fraction as much in DVD form?
I mean, I can understand why fresh fruit would be expensive, but DVDs???? (-_-*)
Not everything is more expensive in Japan. Most food is cheaper, unless you prefer fruit or expensive restaurants.
In any case I have a theory of why anime DVD is so expensive over there. Because otaku over there are willing to pay the price, and this reduces the cost which allows the same series to be sold in the US at a price which US consumers would actually pay.
Japanese DVDs usually only have two episodes per disc, so $250 won't be anywhere near enough.
Anyway, renting anime is a lot more popular than buying it, apparently.
Yeah, I guess every DVD over there is priced like a collector's item. But still, you could at least put four episodes per disc. At least fill that single-layer dvd up if you're going to charge $45 for it.