Viz Clarification of Animerica CD Reviews

In response to yesterday’s identification of a pair of dubious CD soundtrack reviews in the current issue of Animerica Magazine, Julie Davis, editor of Animerica Magazine, has taken the time to provide the following detailed statement of clarification.

Animerica magazine does not support bootleg merchandise. Throughout our nearly nine years of publication, we’ve made a concerted effort to feature and review only official merchandise from official sources. Any references to unofficial product that appear in the magazine are purely accidental (which of course we do try our best to avoid), and not an endorsement of bootlegs in any way.

In our Vol. 9, No. 7, two CDs from the Taiwanese firm “Ever Anime” were reviewed. As non-Japanese, unlicensed products, these would be considered bootlegs in our official policy and should not have appeared in the magazine. The mistake was an editorial one, and wholly mine – since I was working with a freelancer and did not have the CDs in front of me to check, I did not identify the CDs as bootleg until after the issue had gone to press. A correction will run in our next issue, Vol. 9, No. 8/9, that will give the correct information for the Japanese products.

We encourage anime fans to show their support of the artists and creators they love by supporting only the official merchandise of their favorite shows. Retailers carry bootlegs only because people buy them. Spend the extra dollars for the official product. It does make a difference.

Julie Davis
Editor in Chief
Animerica Magazine