Not quite sure if this was mentioned, but the L'Arc~en~Ciel US concert DVD is coming.

[antantrevolution]

Hello,

Tofu Records reports that the concert DVD that just came out in Japan from L'Arc~en~Ciel's show in Baltimore, MD is coming out here this January.

It's pretty cool.

Ant

[Illaparatzo-sama]

And the cover of it is heee-larious. If they use the Japanese cover, that is.

[PrincessBerriKiller]

oh? is that so I will have to go check that out.

[Camui]

does anyone know where I can get their Smile cd here in the U.S.??

[MHtrStevie]

does anyone know where I can get their Smile cd here in the U.S.??
Well, the most guaranteed place is probably the Tofu Records website... they're the ones behind the recent J-Pop U.S. releases and concerts (TM Revolution, L'arc~en~ciel, Nami Tamaki).

If you're looking for chain stores, I'd try Borders first as they seem the most "friendly" to Tofu releases. I special ordered the X-Japan DVD through my local Borders, and it arrived within a week. Also, check the shelves... my local Borders had both TMR's "coordinate" and L'arc~en~ciel's "SMILE" on the shelves, but this is the exception rather than the rule, I'm sure.

FYE, on the other hand, is a tough nut to crack. I fought with them tooth and nail trying to special order Nami Tamaki's "Greeting" CD... and finally got it in after two months of harassing and pleading. So it's possible to go through that chain, but be prepared to endure some hardship...

Hope this info helps! Good luck!

:wave:

[Camui]

I've tried fye, but they said they didn't carry it, but I'll make sure to check at borders, thanks ^^

[PrincessBerriKiller]

nyo. My borders is mean. I have looked on the shelves for the tofu releases but they dont carry them I guess.


btw the Japanese cover- very amusing! Lydia is right! lol

[Nightwalker]

Gahhhh. I dislike Canada. I hate that fact that I have never seen something like that here. Like Tour DVD's or something from J-rcokers....BLAHHHH! So what does the cover look like?

[mizerable_d]

does anyone know where I can get their Smile cd here in the U.S.??
i saw it in an anime store in toronto some time ago. if they have smile in canada, they've got to have it in the US. try anime stores.

[MHtrStevie]

nyo. My borders is mean. I have looked on the shelves for the tofu releases but they dont carry them I guess.
Yeah, like I said, I think the Borders in my town is pretty weird in that they actually were stocking some of the Tofu releases... one of my friends actually reported seeing the Tofu release of TMR's "Seventh Heaven" CD at our local Best Buy of all places... and this is in upstate New York (i.e. the non-New York City part)!

But if local stores aren't stocking them and we actually want to get the Tofu stuff, we have to go that extra mile and place a special order. I lean toward Borders for doing this, as the Tofu releases are set up in their nationwide computer systems... so it's real easy for them to place the order. My Borders didn't stock the X-Japan CD/DVD set, but it came in pretty quick when I placed the special order.

Placing these orders might send the message to the store that there's a market locally for that material and start regularly stocking it... if no one bothers to order them, then obviously most stores aren't going to bother spending money on a CD they believe will just sit on their shelves forever. That's why I went through all the hassle with FYE... I knew there were plenty of easier ways to get the Nami Tamaki CD, but I was going to force them to get that CD in stock just so the little electronic blip would exist that a Nami Tamaki CD was shipped to that FYE.

If you decide to go the FYE route, or you don't really have any other choice, ask the salesperson to try and get the CD through some distribution house called AES... apparently, part of the delay I encountered was due to the fact that they were trying to use their internal Trans-World distributor. Once my friend (who works there) placed the order through one of their alternate distributors (AES), the CD arrived in about a week.

Hope this advice helps, and sorry for being so wordy... but I think if companies like Tofu are going to succeed and if you dream of seeing L'arc CDs on your local record stores' shelves, we the "first generation" of J-Pop fans are going to have to do some extra work like special ordering CDs or pestering local record salespeople. Once stores see a possible demand, you know they'll jump on board...

:cool:

Good luck to us all!

[Japanimaniac]

I plan on buying the DVD simply so I can look for myself... ^.^"

[Kenshi]

YAY! i read about the DVD. I can't wait to pick it up one of these days!!!

[antantrevolution]

does anyone know where I can get their Smile cd here in the U.S.??

If you have a Tower Records anywhere near you, you may be able to find it there. Safest place though, as mentioned above, is the Tofu site.

Other places list it though, such as Best Buy.

Ant

[PrincessBerriKiller]

haha Japanimaniac I can just see you jumping up and down as you watch it yelling "look it! look it there I am!! see me standing on my chair?? Yey!!" too bad no one was in the room with you...XDDDD lol

Yeh its always best to stick to the online sites as they will usually have it...even if it takes an arm and a leg in shipping cost to get it to you....^^;;;;

[Japanimaniac]

haha Japanimaniac I can just see you jumping up and down as you watch it yelling "look it! look it there I am!! see me standing on my chair?? Yey!!" too bad no one was in the room with you...XDDDD lol

Whoa...that's pretty close to what would probably happen. XD Right down to the "Look it!", lol. Kind of freaky to think about, though...I mean, if I'm that noticeable, then I'll be known throughout the L'Arc-loving world as "the guy standing on his chair in the Otakon concert DVD".

Oh, and as for SMILE, go here: http://store.yahoo.com/cartoon-passion/index.html. The CDs are super cheap. This is where I got most of my Diru CDs. The descriptions don't say much, though, so I'm not sure if their SMILE would be the american or japanese release. Of course, if you don't care, then you're all set!

[antantrevolution]

Oh, and as for SMILE, go here: http://store.yahoo.com/cartoon-passion/index.html. The CDs are super cheap. This is where I got most of my Diru CDs. The descriptions don't say much, though, so I'm not sure if their SMILE would be the american or japanese release. Of course, if you don't care, then you're all set!


I do have to ask you though, Japan, are these a little bootlegged? Or proper Asian released CD's?

Ant

[BrennaCeDria]

Heh... I can order pretty much anything I want from the privately owned import store in the mall here. They charge idiotic prices for most of their things--special order or not--but their CDs are 12.99 for one disc, 14.99 for two discs, etc regardless of it's regularly stocked or not. They finally got the Utada I've been looking for, after I leave my job and have no money to spend on CDs. (I start a new one this Sunday, though, so hopefully they'll still have it three weeks from now when I get paid, and hopefully I will actually have enough cash left over from the check. That, or I'll get Brian to buy it for me when he takes me shopping for my birthday on the 2nd.)

[Japanimaniac]

I do have to ask you though, Japan, are these a little bootlegged? Or proper Asian released CD's?

Ant

The Dir en grey CDs I got were originals, but I won't give my word on the entire site. I was worried about the same thing, but hadn't thought of it until after I ordered, lol. I guess I was lucky. ^.^" I sent an e-mail to them asking about it, though, so I'll get back to you as soon as I get a response. And though it doesn't mean much, a lot of the pictures of the CDs have visible plastic wrap on them, which leads me to believe that they sell the real thing (most of the time).

~EDIT~

Got a reply. Here it is:

"Dear Mike:

Please go to www.j-popculture.com (http://www.j-popculture.com) to view our cd section. Basically, we carry 2 kinds of CDs. One is Japanese original. Usually, the prices are higher than the other. The other one is the CDs made in Taiwan which have much cheaper prices.
Do not forget if you buy more than $100, you will get free shipping plus one $8.70 CD for free. And if you buy more than $50.00, you also get one $8.70 CD for free.


Cartoon Passion"

I wasn't even aware of this. Hhmm. I'd still consider it an "original". Kind of like all the stuff in the US that's "Made In China". And lots of the CDs you get off EBay are sent from Hong Kong. Dunno. I know that my CDs look identical to anything I've ever seen on the internet about them. I guess it boils down to preference? :?

[Illaparatzo-sama]

I've been to cons where Cartoon Passion has their booth, and all I saw was 100% bootleg. Their 'made in Taiwan' CDs are all bootleg, cause they're ever-anime and sonmay brands. Saw a Gackt DVD for $12, bootleg. It bugged me cause they had a huge selection but it was all bootleg. Even if a CD has plastic on it, doesn't mean that it's original, at all. You can tell by what label it says it's on (Deg is Firewall Div.), whether it has the original tracklist (Stuff like the Gackt & Malice Mizer CD, with a mixture of MM and Gackt music on it is fake, for example), and the price. I think $20 is probably the absolute lowest you can get for a new Japanese album, and that's tough finding.

One more thing - all of the Deg CDs on Cartoon Passion's site are bootlegs. As are the DVDs.

[Japanimaniac]

I know the plastic thing didn't mean much. Just something I noticed. But maybe I was lucky? I got three Dir en grey CDs, and they're all original. All say Firewall Div. (unless it's just reproduced cases?) Of course, I'll take your word for it, and won't buy anything else from them. Sorry for the lame site! :wave:

~YET ANOTHER EDIT~

Well...nothing wrong with the CDs from Cartoon Passion (that I can tell)...but now that I look at it, my Vulgar CD from EBAY says Miya Records. I've been swindled! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled! But..yeah. Didn't see that one coming...damnit. -grumbles something about having to buy a CD he thought he already owned-

Crap, man. Now you got me paranoid. Off-topic, but I'm checking out my DVDs, and I notice that the Armitage III: Poly-Matrix (Geneon Signature Series) DVD I bought at Otakon last year says Region 1 & 4. Not "All Region", just those two. That mean anything? It's got all the features and stuff it should have. -panicked look-

[Illaparatzo-sama]

I think Otakon has bootleg anime pretty well watched for. All cons do. They just don't pay any attention to the music that comes in. Pretty serious trouble if you sell bootlegged anime, and you'll be kicked out and lose all that money you paid to get your booth.

[antantrevolution]

~YET ANOTHER EDIT~


Crap, man. Now you got me paranoid. Off-topic, but I'm checking out my DVDs, and I notice that the Armitage III: Poly-Matrix (Geneon Signature Series) DVD I bought at Otakon last year says Region 1 & 4. Not "All Region", just those two. That mean anything? It's got all the features and stuff it should have. -panicked look-

I don't think that you have much to worry about with the Armitage DVD if it's a Pioneer legit DVD. I have noticed that sometimes, Anime is set for Region 1 only, while others in different series' are set for region 1/4 or Region 0 (All region). I can't explain the why behind it though :P

Ant

[Japanimaniac]

Ah, that's good. So I only have 15 bucks in bogus japanese goods. -.-" I was wondering why the pictures in the booklet seemed all dark and you could barely see them. Never thought to check the back. I'm too used to buying from Wal-Mart, putting the CD in my holder, and throwing the case in my bottom drawer. :p