By Philip Tan Boon Yew
As an avid collector of Japanese animation DVDs, I find myself visiting
this site every couple of days. The crowded, homemade look of the
pages belies sophistication in the organically grown database of information
available from the site. Chris Beveridge, the webmaster of the site,
manages to organize pages for both the hardcore fan and the casual
browser in a manner that neither disappoints nor overwhelms the visitor.
Sites such as Anime On DVD serve an important function in consumer
and industry reporting. Over the years, the site has established its
credibility and reliability by carefully citing sources and extensive
hyperlinking. The webmaster updates the news section several times
a day, and he is careful to classify rumors as rumors. There is a
minimum of jargon and even the most casual DVD shopper stands to benefit
from the reporting.
Reviews for specific DVDs are also available, and Anime On DVD addresses
the issue of consistent reporting standards by encouraging the hardcore
readership to write as many 'Alternate Angles' as possible. Like Thomas
Jefferson's ideal newspaper, every review is a strong, well-analyzed
opinion; among a reasonable number of opinions, an informed buyer
can easily tease out the necessary and useful information. For the
buyer sampling the Anime DVD market, an 'Essential Collection' summarizes
some of the best Anime DVDs out on the market into a single, easily
digestible page.
This site is one of the few success stories in the grassroots Anime
fan community, now established as both an authority and a liaison
between Anime distributors and customers. An agreement with an Anime
retailer now redirects a fraction of the profit for discs bought through
an Anime On DVD review to the site itself. With forums, opinion articles
and an active community of repeat visitors, the Anime On DVD site
excels at turning casual shoppers into hardcore fans and informed
reviewers.