What are America’s Most Valuable Anime DVDs?
PriceCharting.com performed some extensive research and compiled a list of America’s most valuable anime DVDs. I’ve taken the liberty of contributing some supplemental commentary.
Cardcaptor Sakura: DVD Megaset (Vol. 1-18)
Used Price: $320
Description: A collection of all 18 DVD Volumes for the Cardcaptor Sakura series. Sakura opens a mysterious book and releases powerful magic cards into the world. She must learn to use her magic abilities to capture each of the extremely powerful beings within each card or disaster will destroy the world.
[Although never solicited as a conventional release, Geneon made 18 disc bundles available to select retailers just before the domestic distribution license expired, just to clear out its remaining inventory of Cardcaptor Sakura DVDs.]
Ronin Warriors Complete Collection
Used Price: $290
Description: A collection of all Ronin Warriors episodes. The Demon Emperor Arago returns to earth and attacks Tokyo. Nine suits of armor were made from the armor of the last evil emperor who attacked thousands of years ago. Arago has reclaimed four of them but the remaining five suits are in the hands of the Ronin Warriors; the last hope for stopping the Demon Emperor.
[We used to laugh about how cheap the packaging was for this set. Little did we know at the time how valuable it would eventually become.]
Cardcaptor Sakura: Sakura Book Set
Used Price: $210
Description: A collection of Vol. 10-18 of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime series.
[Very few of these sets seemed to get produced, and they sold out very quickly back in the day.]
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clow Book Set
Used Price: $170
Description: A collection of Vol. 1-9 of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime series.
Sailor Moon S: Box Set
Used Price: $160
Description: A six disc collection of every Sailor Moon S episode. Sailor Moon and the senshi continue to fight a new set of villains in this sequel to Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R. The new villains, named the Death Busters, plan to rule earth using pure heart energy from innocent victims.
[These days, the third season DVD collection seems to be the rarest of the four TV series season sets released domestically.]
Kimagure Orange Road Complete TV Series (Vol. 1-12)
Used Price: $150
Description: A collection of all 12 volumes of the Kimagure Orange Road TV series. Kyosuke Kasuga moves to a new city and falls in love with Madoka. Meanwhile he tries not to break the heart of Hikaru. To complicate matters everyone in Kyosuke’s family possesses secret powers, which he wants to keep a secret.
[The box must be worth a lot because sets with the collector box seem to command a significantly higher asking price than just sets of the 12 individual DVDs.]
Sailor Moon R: Season 2 Uncut
Used Price: $150
Description: 42 [out of 43] uncut episodes from season two of Sailor Moon. A magical cat gives a girl named Serena super powers. She becomes the leader of a team of girls named the Sailor Warriors. The uncut episodes are more mature than the original episodes which aired in the US.
[Due to insistence from Toei Animation, episode 67 was excluded from the American DVD release.]
Aura Battler Dunbine: Vol. 11 Secrets of Byston Well
Used Price: $140
Description: The eleventh volume of the Aura Battler Dunbine TV series – Secrets of the Byston Well. The volume originally retailed for $20 but sells for $140 used and up to $220 brand new. Show Zama is pulled into the world of Byston Well by Lord Drake Luft in order to pilot his new weapon: Aura Battlers. Show learns that Luft does not have good intentions for Show or other Aura Battler pilots.
[Volume 12 is also a rarity and is frequently cited as one of America’s most valuable anime DVDs, but an ex-library copy sold on Ebay earlier this month for only $50.]
Sailor Moon: Season 1 Uncut
Used Price: $130
Description: 46 episodes of Sailor Moon’s first season in an uncut collection. The collection includes eight DVD’s, a printed episode guide, and English subtitles.
When They Cry: Complete Box Set (6 Disc)
Used Price: $100
Description: The six disc complete box set of 26 When They Cry episodes. A boy transfers to a new town and school in the summer of 1983. He makes friends with some fellow classmates but soon stumbles upon the dark history of this rural town and realizes his friends may not be who they claim.
[It’s got to be diehards and a small cult of collectors driving up the price on this title because it originally sold so poorly that FUNimation has publicly stated that it has no intention of re-releasing it or licensing any more Higurashi anime.]
Kimagure Orange Road: OVA/Movie Box Set
Used Price: $100
Description: A collection of three OVA DVD’s and a series ending movie. The episodes on these DVD’s are different from the Kimagure Orange Road TV series previously on this list.
Fate/Stay Night: 6 Disc Box Set (Geneon)
Used Price: $100
Description: The six disc box set of Fate/Stay Night by Geneon seems to be worth a little bit more than the set re-released by Funimation. The box set includes all 24 episodes of the TV series. Shirou Emiya learns to summon a “Servant” known as Saber and is drawn into a war for the Holy Grail, a relic that can grant your wishes. Shirou battles seven other Masters, each with his own secret weakness.
[With the Fate/zero TV series starting next month, interest in, and demand for, this original Fate/stay night anime is probably going to increase.]
Yu-Gi-Oh: Season 1
Used Price: $95
Description: A collection of 8 volumes of the first season of Yu-Gi-Oh. A young boy named Yugi Mutou finds an ancient puzzle and unlocks the spirit within. The spirit was the Pharaoh from an old Egyptian dynasty but he has lost all his memories. Yugi helps the spirit find the lost memories and send him back to the after life.
[Actually, I know of a new Season 3 set that very recently sold for $300! But I can’t cite any public record to confirm that sale price.]
Kyo Kara Maoh!: God (?) Save Our King!: Season 2
Used Used Price: $90
Description: Box set includes all episodes from Season 2 of Save Our King. Yuri Shibuya is sucked into a toilet after a getting a swirly and finds himself in a world like medieval Europe called Mazoku. Because Yuri has black hair and black eyes he is going to be the next Maoh (King), but his kingdom is on the edge of war and Yuri must learn to lead his country and adapt to their new customs.
[This set is largely expensive just because second season volume 9 is exceedingly rare.]
DearS: Box Set
Used Price: $82
Description: Box Set of all four DearS DVD releases. A high school student named Ikuhara Takeya helps a young girl named Ren, an alien who came to earth and who’s sole purpose is to please her master. She makes Takeya her master and he tries to teach her the culture of earth. Meanwhile Ren is being tracked down by her leader because she is malfunctioning.
[I thought everybody hated this show. Also note that it’s not worth $299.98, even new.]
Tenchi Universe: Complete Collection
Used Price: $80
Description: The complete collection of 26 Tenchi Universe episodes in one package. Tenchi Masaki lives in normal life in rural Japan. A space pirate crash lands at his grandfather’s temple and and Tenchi is sucked into an adventure that will take him across the universe with Galaxy Police, space pirates, a crown princess, and a scientific genius in the cast of characters.
[Soon to be re-released by FUNimation, so this show will get commonplace & affordable again.]
Sailor Moon: The Movies: Box Set Trilogy
Used Price: $80
Description: All three Sailor Moon movies in one special box set. Includes Sailor Moon R: Promise of the Rose, Sailor Moon S: Hearts on Ice, and Sailor Moon Super S: Black Dream Hole. The plot and villains are different in each movie, but each one revolves around Sailor Moon and the other Senshi as they save the world.
[Again, a seemingly valuable box because the individual three DVDs can be acquired for less than the cost of the set.]
Samurai X: The Complete Collection
Used Price: $77
Description: This collection includes the three Samurai X OVAs; Trust, Betrayal, and Reflection; and the Samurai X movie. Himura Kenshin was taken to be a slave as a child but is rescued and found by the master of the Divine Justice School of Swordmanship. Kenshin is trained in the school and joins the Meiji restoration and becomes the Ishin Patriots greatest killer.
[Now that these are being re-released on Blu-ray, demand for the DVD edition will probably drop off.]
Vampire Princess Miyu: Ultimate Box Set
Used Price: $75
Description: The box set includes 6 DVDs with every Vampire Princess Miyu TV episode and a soundtrack CD. Miyu is a born a vampire and is eternally 15. She is charged with returning evil demons, Shinma, back to the dark but she longs to return to the dark herself. She cannot return until she has banished all the Shinma from Earth.
[Ironically, the individual DVDs are near worthless, but a set with the series box, soundtrack CD, and charm necklace is extremely rare]
Dragon Drive: Complete Collection 2
Used Price: $75
Description: Dragon Drive Collection 2 includes episodes 19-38 and includes an illustration gallery. Oozora Reiji discovers a virtual reality game called Dragon Drive in an underground arcade. Reiji spends hours training an extremely rare dragon but soon he realizes the game is so much more. He might be the only one who can save an entire world.
[As is the case with many titles, nobody bought this when it was in print, so now that it’s been off the market for years, completists realize that it’s a hole in their collection.]
Pokemon Master Quest: Part 2
Used Price: $70
Description: A collection of episodes from Pokemon Master Quest (Pokemon Season 5). Some episodes from the season are included on Part 1. Ash, Misty, and Brock finally make it to the Johto League Championships and face new rivals and meet new Pokemon along the way.
Blood +: Part 1
Used Price: $70
Description: Part 1 includes 25 episodes, collectible packaging, and originally came with a t-shirt. Throughout time there has been a battle waging between monsters known as Chiropterans, who feed on blood of the living, and an organization called “Red Shield”, who is tasked with exterminating the monsters. Saya Otonashi, a young high school girl, has amnesia but is given a katana sword by a mysterious man. She soon learns she is part of Red Shield and has a destiny to fulfill.
[This one remains pricey because it was expensive to begin with, at $119.95 list price. The boxed set also includes an exclusive bonus features disc, which may explain why the set costs much more than the individual series DVDs it contains.]
Article research and DVD Prices provided by PriceCharting.com
So what do you readers and collectors think? Any noteable exclusions like the Patlabor Original Series and New Files collections, Fighting Spirit collections, or Night on the Galactic Railroad? What are the ImaginAsian Classics sets of Cat’s Eye, Nobody’s Boy Remi, and Orguss worth? They surface for sale so rarely that no one seems to able to even accurately value them. And keep in mind that PriceCharting.com’s list is based on confirmed actual sales, not on fanciful inflated price demands that no one ever actually pays. Has anyone ever actually paid $80 for a copy of Geneon’s censored Dog of Flanders DVD?
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I actually bought all 18 of the Cardcaptor Sakura DVDs for just $75 when AnimeNation had a sale in Xmas of 2006! One of my luckiest buys ever =D
I have one of the sets listed here, DearS. While it wasn’t the best show it was okay, I bought it after watching Chobits (which I thought was much better).
I thought I had the Fate/Stay Night but it is the FUNIMATION release. I bet the original release had individual DVD cases instead of a combo pack with all of them in one. While this saves space it certainly takes away from some of the aesthetic value.
I collected all of the Tenchi Universe as separate DVDs, by the time I started collecting I’m not even sure the box set was in production.
Wish I could find When They Cry and Blood+ at a decent price. Heard good things about When They Cry and after watching Blood-C I thought that the original might be worth a watch.
Chobits is one I would think of before DearS I’m surprised it wasn’t listed but notably missing are the major mecha shows: Robotech, Gundams, or Escaflowne. I *assume* the market is flooded with copies so they aren’t as rare?
Indeed, FUNimation is presently distributing Chobits on DVD & BD, so there’s no reason for the older Geneon release to be valuable when the whole series is available brand new right now from FUNimation for $20.
Escaflowne has been released several times, and there are way more DVD copies floating around than collectors, so Escaflowne TV series discs are worth very little. Similarly, the only genuinely rare American Gundam DVD is the live-action G-Savior movie, and it’s not worth much because nobody wants it.
I have that Miyu set… not that $75 is all that valuable, though. I think I paid $80 for it back in its day.
It’s funny how expensive the Card Captor Sakura DVDs are. I suppose that’s the only way you could watch it officially with English subtitles, but they put the show on Blu-Ray (with a rather nice transfer, IIRC) a couple years ago in Japan, so you could argue that the American DVD set is no longer the “best way” to watch the show with Eng. subs. It shows how hardcore the fanbase still is, I guess, to pay so much for an obsolete release.
I don’t know who in their right mind would pay some of these prices… especially for titles of which I, personally, don’t think are all too good. FATE/STAY NIGHT left me feeling empty, and DEARS left me with brain damage… and then there’s YU-GI-OH. But alas, it’s as John noted, completists have to have their stuff.
I don’t know if ADV’s old SAMURAI X release will change either way with the Aniplex USA Blu-ray release… Aniplex didn’t bother to get a new dub or re-translate the subtitle track. The only thing Blu-ray fans are really paying for is a “deluxe booklet.”
I own the CARDCAPTOR SAKURA DVD “bricks” — watching them off and on for years, and am now about halfway through the second Set. I also own a couple of individual DVDs of WHEN THEY CRY, but I haven’t watched them at all. Considering that I still have them, I’m guessing they are probably screener copies (meaning I’m unable to trade them in to a retailer). And until FUNi decides to get off their butts and re-release it, BLACK LAGOON is going to stay outrageously high in the secondary market.
$150 for KOR TV sounds about right. The OAVs and movie, OTOH, are a different story.
“Now that these are being re-released on Blu-ray, demand for the DVD edition will probably drop off.”
Not necessarily. As long as there’s no official R1 DVD release for Samurai X outside of the ADV versions, there’s still a market for ’em. BD just makes the asking price for the DVDs a bit cheaper. Dunno why Aniplex chose to make the Kenshin specials a BD-exclusive, rather than putting out a buy-both like Bandai Visual U.S.A. Speaking of which, I’m surprised you didn’t include the Jin Roh BD. Plus, I don’t doubt those steel box editions of Akira are a bitch to find nowadays, especially since they ported over the bonus content previously only available on LD and VHS. And certain volumes of Fighting Spirit are indeed a pain to find, along w/ Master Keaton. It’s not going to help w/ everything, but Anime Depot *does* have certain leftovers. Oh, and I’m surprised people still charge a lot for the Manga editions of Honneamise; but I guess I think the most unjustifiably overpriced anime I’ve seen, though, has got to be Baoh. At least Jojo has good production values and extras. No reason I should be fronting $50+ for Baoh, though, just ‘cus it’s OOP. Plus, the Geneon and FUNi Lupins are getting harder to find as people get into the Discotek releases of the franchise. Though you’re more SOL if you try to find the Lupin manga.
“What are the ImaginAsian Classics sets of Cat’s Eye, Nobody’s Boy Remi, and Orguss worth? ”
Dunno about those, but some of those City Hunter sets got mighty pricey over the years.
Any chance of doing this for Japanese Anime Editions? I’ve been slowly collecting first prints & first editions for the last 15 years, things like Mind Game limited box set, GiTS Innocence Dog Box, even have the original Nausicaa Ghibli DVD that comes with an Ohmu in a box the size of a crate. Many others including mangas which are another kettle. Signed Tezuka Black Jack manga is my pride & joy.
I bought these and others as investments for my old age (I’m 68) & am wondering what sort of prices they might get in this double-dip recession.
BTW, I used to be active in AnimeNewsNetwork, but they’ve turned to commercial crap in the last years, I now mainly look at yr RSS for news & views, well done! They do have a great encyclopaedia tho 🙂
I would add Haruka: Steam of Time 3 to the list. I’ve been looking for over a year, and I still can’t find the *&^%$@! thing!
It seems the complete Macross set by Animeigo is pretty rare and expensive nowadays. I bought mine on eBay 2 years ago for less than US$ 90.00, and now I see people selling it for US$ 175.00.
I know that the Maison Ikkoku sets go for a pretty penny as well as the Fushigi Yuugi sets. The Hellsing Ultimate DVD’s are also pretty expensive. I’m hoping that when Funimation starts releasing the newer episodes of Hellsing Ultimate in the future they also re-release the older episodes.
Just want to clarify that this list was compiled by PriceCharting.com. If I was to make my own list, it would be fairly different, but any “valuable DVD” list I make up would be largely based on theory and second-hand anecdote while this list is based on actual, verifiable after-market sales.
A lot of domestic OOP DVDs like Maison Ikkoku, Master Keaton, and Sherlock Hound command high prices, but there’s very little way to determine if they actually sell at those high prices.
A list of most valuable Japanese release would be extremely difficult to assemble, partly because there are so many Japanese releases that are Godawful expensive because they were just ferociously expensive at original retail.