G4U! Discussion

[Daverost]

Arcade cabinet? I jelly.

[TTB]

Wow... with a BD release costing 100+ USD... that whole ensemble package must have cost... over 1000+ USD? Are you sure your parents aren't worried?

[TheTanStar]

A compilation release is usually significantly cheaper than the monthly disk release, albeit there won't be any limited edition goods included. It shouldn't cost more than $300-$400.

[AweOfShe]

I'll get around to putting the kit together on the weekend.

Wow... with a BD release costing 100+ USD... that whole ensemble package must have cost... over 1000+ USD? Are you sure your parents aren't worried?

They don't know how much I'm spending. Even if they did, I don't think they'd mind much, since they don't tell me what I can or can't do with my money anyways. By the time vol.9 arrives, I probably spent over $1200 on it, give or take.

[TTB]

A compilation release is usually significantly cheaper than the monthly disk release, albeit there won't be any limited edition goods included. It shouldn't cost more than $300-$400.

I was thinking more of the arcade cabinet costs, if its no longer being produced isn't it a valuable collector's item?

They don't know how much I'm spending. Even if they did, I don't think they'd mind much, since they don't tell me what I can or can't do with my money anyways. By the time vol.9 arrives, I probably spent over $1200 on it, give or take.

Hmmm, aren't Canadian laws strict when it comes to any anime/manga style artwork of girls? Even more strict than down here in the states? As for your parents... well I don't know... I guess maybe they're just really tolerant...? 

[animagic4u]

The arcade cabinet is a 1/12 scale model kit.

No more than 3,000 yen.

Confusion solved.

There is some truth in the whole set of G4U being expensive though.

[AweOfShe]

Oh, was there confusion about the kit? Sorry, I never caught it. Yeah, it's only a small scale model kit. HOWEVER, if I could somehow get my hands on the real cabinet along with the PCB? Yeah, I'd sink thousands into it, easily. Not even a second thought.

As far as the laws? I don't think they're that strict. There shouldn't be any problem as long as it isn't pornography, AFAIK.

[Daverost]

Hmmm, aren't Canadian laws strict when it comes to any anime/manga style artwork of girls? Even more strict than down here in the states?

They're strict in the states? I doubt customs has so much as given any of my imports a second look.

[animagic4u]

Yeah besides, they're going to look at G4U and not give it a second thought. It's not like the cover is super pornographic.

I've imported some pretty interesting doujinshi and it came through okay.

[zeda12123]

Canadian law is pretty much no lolicon.
If it aint porn it should be fine. The worst case is they double check a swimsuit cover but even then it isn't porn it'll be fine.

[TTB]

Oh, a scale model, ok

I've read that it can depend on who's opening your boxes, 99.9% of postal workers will let it go by... but there's always a chance that a fanatic biblepreacher, an uber-feminist, or simply someone who's watched too much CSI will find it and start something. And probably 99% of those reports get waved away by doubtful supervisors. But...

I remember ordering some pretty tame artwork books (it did have some nudity though) from I think it was Tokyo Tosho or Tokyo MetroCity or something? Or some other company that's out of business now, and then later reading about Christopher Handley and thinking "Holy crap, praise the powers that be that my mail stuff didn't get struck by lightning like his did."

I'm paranoid about the evil gov't so I haven't ordered anything since. Even canceled my subscription to Megami! from JList after the Handley thing...

Canadian law is pretty much no lolicon.
If it aint porn it should be fine. The worst case is they double check a swimsuit cover but even then it isn't porn it'll be fine.

Yeah... the thing is though, that "porn" is usually defined as anything meant to arouse one's erotic faculties, and so even with a swimsuit cover... who knows? Better safe than sorry.

[JNiles]

I think the doujinshi thing is risky.  I'm not sure how customs officials and postal officials open packages and reseal them- my imported CDs happen to come in sticky bubblewraped packages that are hell to open.  I do hear silly stories on the internet about customs officials or TSA agents being jerks and insisting that all manga is porn, or action figures are a security threat.  These stories are unverified, but really... it only takes one jerk to cause trouble.


I did ask Hen Da Ne (the doujin importers) at a local con how they managed to do business with the state laws shifting as they do... they said 1) no little kids, and 2) something else I forgot.  They are also careful about making sure that all purchasers are of legal age.

About the Handley case... I don't know the details, but I speculate he may have been caught with other things and the manga/doujin just happened to be what got the internet's attention?

[Julio]

If you really look into it, the G4U packages are a great deal compare to the LE BD sets alone and sometimes they are cheaper than those whenever there is a sale.

[Funkies]

When it comes to things related to official iDOLM@STER merchandise, nobody should really worry about importing anything.  There is really so little objectionable from a glance with any of the material.  At most it's stuff like this or even this that comes through, and I'd hardly consider that pornographic.  All of the G4U packages have fairly tasteful representations on them so far.  G4U is fairly tame all things considered, as it's what the user decides to do with the game that could call any inappropriateness to the table.  That's for the user to decide, as I could care less what someone does with their own copy.

Doujinshi I suppose might need careful consideration, though I've had little issue with importing any thus far.  I use a deputy service to order from Toranoana on occasion.  They tend to include the catalogs that come with the orders.  One's a general audience catalog, another is a BL catalog (despite... not ordering anything of the sort myself), and the last is an adult oriented catalog.  No packaging, they just plop it on top of whatever's in the box.  It only displays covers for the variety of manga and doujin material they sell, but those can be explicit enough on their own.  I've not had any issues so far, and I don't particularly anticipate them either.

The postmaster in this town is a good friend, and she's been in the business for thirty-odd years.  I asked her about it once upon a time and she assured me that unless the content is mostly driven at a specific controversial (or illegal) concept?  Then you should be A-OK.  These folks that search mail have superiors to report to.  Their superiors have others above them to report to.  The entire chain has to agree to escalate the issue at each juncture before any action can proceed at the top.  I worked for the federal government for seven years myself at the IRS, it was a nightmare gettin' anything done.  Now I'm associated at the state level as a foster care provider... still it's a nightmare gettin' anything done.

Try not to worry so much about it when it comes to iM@S.  It's all good, so you should enjoy it.

I won't comment on that Handley case or the fella himself, it's not for me to say since I don't know him personally.

[AweOfShe]

I made sure that G4U vol.6's Gold Trophy was my 1000th trophy milestone.