You have questions? We’ve got answers or at least that is our hope. There are questions that get asked a million times a day (well at least once). Here’s a few and our best guess, I mean answer. However if our best guess wasn’t good enough you can (and should) still contact us if your question isn’t on here, our super staff will love to hear from you!

Product Information:

What is an OVA (OAV)?

This means Original Video Animation. In normal terms, this means a direct to video release.

What is Region Coding?

Region coding is a geographical restriction for DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Since players are region specific, you need to make sure that the item you purchase is coded for the same region as your player. All DVDs and Blu-ray discs we sell are region coded for the United States.

What region is your DVD player?

If you purchased your player from a retail outlet in the U.S., it should be Region 1 for DVD players and Region A for Blu-ray players. You can check the region coding on your player by looking for the region code symbol on the player’s packaging.

DVD Region Codes:

• United States and Canada
• Europe, including France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Arabia, Japan and South Africa
• Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo and Indonesia
• Australia and New Zealand, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America
• India, Africa, Russia and former USSR countries
• People’s Republic of China

Blu-ray disc Region Codes:

• The Americas, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia
• Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand
• Russia, India, China and the rest of world

General Questions:

Ratings System

To benefit our customers, we have implemented an age rating system for many of our products based on our staff’s knowledge of each title’s content, as well as input from the various anime suppliers.

ALL

Generally acceptable for children. No Nudity. Possible mild violence.

12+, 13+

May contain violence, brief nudity, and/or mild language. May suggest sexual situations, but no situations are shown. Parental discretion advised.

15+, 16+, 17+

Strong violence and strong language. Prevalent Nudity may be contained within the picture. Mild sexual situations may be shown.

18+

Extreme violence, Explicit Nudity, and/or Extreme Language may be contained in the picture. May contain sexually explicit material. Absolutely not for anyone under 18 years of age.

Please note: Ratings used within our system are oftentimes provided by the manufacturer of the product. Because of the differences in ratings used by these companies, we have combined their systems, with the descriptions of the ratings listed above. Buy Anime does not set ratings (except for its own products) and is not responsible for errors, omissions, or inaccurate ratings. These ratings are guidelines only, and are subject to change.

Running Time / Video Length

Under the age rating of each item, you will see the approximate running time listed for each video. Depending on the manufacturer, running times may or may not include extra bonus features such as previews.

Edited and Uncut

Although many fans screech in horror at the very thought of altering the original Japanese version of a show, for a series to make it to American TV (or even into some retail stores) they must often be edited. This means that scenes containing nudity, excessive violence, blood, and foul language are altered or even totally removed. Anime purists may want the original in all its glory, but parents of young TV viewers do not. Manufacturers recognized this and often release both the Edited (TV Version) and the Uncut (Original Version) of the show.

Release Dates

Here at buyanime.com, we sell thousands of “Pre-Order” products with release dates in the future. In a euphoric Anime and Manga world, all items would be in-stock and ready for shipment prior to their release date. However, manufacturers can (and often do) change these release dates due to production delays. If a product’s release date gets changed, we update the item’s product page with the new information as soon as we get it.

buyanime.com ships product prior to the release date once in-stock to ensure you have your product and bragging rights.

Exemption Statement

All animated visual depictions displayed on this Website are exempt from the provision of 18 U.S.C. §§2257, 2257A and/or 28 C.F.R. §75, because:

1) they do not portray conduct as specifically listed in 18 U.S.C §2256 (2)(A) (i) through (iv);
2) they do not portray conduct as specifically listed in 18 U.S.C. §2257A produced after March 19, 2009;
3) they do not portray conduct listed in 18 U.S.C. §2256(2)(A)(v) produced after March 19, 2009;
4) the visual depictions were created prior to July 3, 1995; or,
5) this Company does not act as a “producer” with respect to the dissemination of such exempt images as that term is defined in 28 C.F.R. §75.1(c).