For most people the laserdisc is a relic of the past, but to some collectors, laserdiscs offer an important window into the world of anime. More often than not, laserdiscs are the only method for being able to watch and enjoy a series that never saw a DVD release, due to lapsed licenses or the original companies being defunct.
During much of the 1980s and ’90s, the market for laserdiscs was huge in Japan as it was relatively common for people to own one. The technology itself was mostly bolstered by karaoke houses investing money into them in order for them to run their businesses. At the time, laserdiscs provided improved picture clarity and lush audio compared to their VHS counterparts so many companies began releasing anime movies and complete series onto laserdiscs.
More often than not, as due to their large size (most discs were roughly twelve inches in diameter), companies were able to provide many bonus materials into the packaging of their box sets, such as full-size posters, stickers, or artbooks. The downside of these sets were the high prices and that each disc only carried one to two episodes per disc.
Since the laserdisc was very popular in Japan as well as other Asian countries, the used market is quite large for anime collectors. Many discs can be found for a cheap price. Pioneer, which was the company responsible for most anime releases in the North American market, often used the original Japanese audio with English subtitles. On the rare occasion, there were a few series that were originally dubbed into English (or other European languages) and then had Japanese subtitles.
Thanks in part to the internet, many collectors can seek help from the popular LaserDisc Database website, which contains a wealth of knowledge for all fans in beginning their foray into the world of laserdiscs.
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