Japanese DVD's with English Subtitles (E+J)

[Don Brown]

Dear Aaron,
Please add these titles to the list:
Nabi no Koi (Nabbie's Love)
Memories (Otomo Katsuhiro anime)
Tokyo Biyori (dir: Takenaka Naoto)
Hotaru no Haka (Ghibli anime)
These are the ones I can recall right now - let me get back to you, I get 
the feeling there's a few others.
Apologies for getting on my high horse again, but does anyone on the list 
see anything a little strange with charging 20,000 yen (roughly $200) for a 
four movie box set (unsubtitled) and one "making of" disc (for a movie not 
included in the set)?  Such is the case with the recent Miike Takashi and 
Kurosawa Kiyoshi packages.  I'd love to get my hands on them, but where is 
the justification for all the zeros on the price sticker?  
Still, it's not just the Japanese movies that you have to pay through the 
nose for - the Japanese version of the X Files Season One box set is about 
to be released, at around twice the American price.  
Admittedly, Hotaru no Haka, Sakuya: Youkaiden and a few Hollywood releases 
have been priced more affordably and in line with international standards, 
but on the whole Japanese DVDs still remain a pricy luxury, not unlike 
laserdiscs.  Despite all this, DVD sales are reportedly on the rise, and 
according to one business news tv show are becoming an increasingly 
important earner for the big chain stores such as HMV and Tower Records.  
The prices don't seem to be deterring the average Japanese customer.
Still, if anyone can shed some light on the reasons for this hyper-inflated 
market, I'd be greatly appreciative.  
Final note: ticket price for the "premiere screen" at Virgin Cinemas 
Senboku (Osaka): 2400 yen.  And I thought 1800 yen was paying through the 
nose.
Complain, complain, complain....
Don Brown
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