Good website to rent anime from?

[Cognitive Gear]

Does anyone know of any good websites to rent anime from? I considered netflix, but one of my freinds who currently has it has told me that thier anime selection is limited.

Note: I'm currently looking at "GreenCine", which claims to have 3x the anime selection of netflix.... Anyone use this service?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[RedMage]

Never heard of GreenCine. Netflix works fine for me, quick shipping and I've yet to want a title they don't have aside from the third disc of Genshiken (strangely).

I used to use RentAnime.com, but I cancelled my subscription once I got Netflix. I like to support the little guy company run by fellow otaku, but they just couldn't come close to competing in terms of getting the discs here and back promptly.

[Bobtheduck]

Well, netflix has disto centers all over the US, wheras places like rent anime may only have one distro center... Even gamefly has fewer distro centers, so their service is much slower than netflix if you don't live near their distro centers...

[RedMage]

Well, netflix has disto centers all over the US, wheras places like rent anime may only have one distro center... Even gamefly has fewer distro centers, so their service is much slower than netflix if you don't live near their distro centers...

Yep. I get my Netflix discs from their facility in Dayton. RentAnime has one solitary hub in Tampa.

The smaller outfits simply don't have the infrastructure to compete with Netflix, it seems.

[Cognitive Gear]

Well, I decided to go with netflix. I'd rather have good, fast service than have to wait weeks for something to come. Hopefully I won't run into any problems getting the titles I want. (and now it occurs to me, why in the world don't we have a praying smiley?)

Thanks for the help.

[lj1958]

We've used Blockbuster Online for about a year now. There hasn't been any series that I've wanted (that has been released in the US) that hasn't been there to put in the que. We have had some problems getting certain series, though. Ironically, the worst has not been anime, but Battlestar Galactica. The company must have WAY underestimated the demand for that. I put it in the que about a month before release (December) and didn't get it till May!

[Kawaiikneko]

Yeah I use Netflix and get along fine... Usually I don't queue up a series until the entire thing has been released in America.

[Ashley]

Any fellow Texans have suggestions about this?

[RedMage]

Any fellow Texans have suggestions about this?

Annoyingly, I've been unable to find a list or map of Netflix's distribution centers on their website, but I'm sure they're all over Texas like ugly on an ape, if you'll pardon the metaphor.

[lj1958]

Yeah I use Netflix and get along fine... Usually I don't queue up a series until the entire thing has been released in America.

That might be a good idea. Many series come out on a fairly regular timetable , but ometimes there are gaps in distribution times. We have been waiting, waiting, waiting for Blockbuster to get Princess Tutu DVDs 5 and 6. I'm pretty sure at least 5 is released at this point. My kids are rather frustrated because sometimes it's months beofre we get the next DVD of a series they're following.

[FadedOne]

hmm...at college i'm definitely considering getting Netflix. we get all of 5 channels & torrenting is blocked. meh. So do you guys find the cost worth it?

[lj1958]

The cost of online rental services is worth it compared to the cost of renting 4 or 5 dvds locally a month.

Unless you turn around DVDs too quickly, and the company starts throttling you. Which still happens, even though there was negative publicity about it last year.

[loki]

Exactly how long do they consider too quick? Once I get a disk, I’m liable to finish it and send it back in on the day I get it.

[lj1958]

If the cost per disk falls below $2, the company is losing money on the account. Threfore, if you pay $19.99 a month and turn around 10 discs in a month, the cost per disc wuold be below $2

[Ashley]

Throttling you? How?

[CDLviking]

Then they're losing money on me, but I haven't been "throttled" yet.

What's this about Netflix's selection? My queue is maxed out at 500 almost exclusively with anime.

[lj1958]

Throttling you? How?

See:
Manuel's Netflix Journal

I think he's got a pretty good explaination of the impact of throttling.

And a related associated press story.

[mitsuki lover]

I generally order from their Pre-owned which is a must if you don't want to rent but also need to save money.

[RedMage]

I would totally recomend Anime Nation rentals^^. Its kinda like netflix, but its all anime.

http://www.animenation.com/

Anime Nation's rental service is the aforementioned RentAnime, which has a good selection of titles but (in my experience) glacially slow mailing unless you live in Florida or very close to it.

[mitsuki lover]

Then you should consider ordering and buying from their Pre-owned catalogue.
It might be cheaper in the long run.

[RedMage]

Then you should consider ordering and buying from their Pre-owned catalogue.
It might be cheaper in the long run.

And get stuck owning discs I don't want? Part of the point of renting a series is finding out whether you like it.

[mitsuki lover]

While then you should only look for the type of series that you like.No-one is forcing you to buy anything that you don't want.

[RedMage]

While then you should only look for the type of series that you like.

That assumes I'll automatically like anything in a certain genre.

No-one is forcing you to buy anything that you don't want.

No, but I could end up stuck owning a disc for a series I don't like.

I'll stick with renting from Netflix for sampling new titles, thanks.