Where to buy J-pop?

sailships · 30-10-2005, 04:32 PM

Hello!
I'm somewhat new to Anime, and *brand new* to this message board!

I'm very interested in how I can get some J-pop that I have heard on the Anime's that I watch...

I love:
Nana Kitade (Full Metal Alchemist)
Origa (Ghost in the Shell)
and now
Nanase Aikawa ("Unlimited" on Samurai 7)

Can anyone tell me where is a good source to find out more about these artists? And especially where I can pick up their music? I'm in the United States, and it seems nearly impossible to find a good source to get these.

Or, at least in the case of Origa, I have seen it on Amazon, but its so highly priced it makes it hard to get what I want.

Am I the only one in this fix?
Thanks!

raynebc · 30-10-2005, 06:20 PM

Some of my favorite stores:

CDJapan (New releases, pre-orders)
AnimeJungle (Used CDs, pre-orders, even some new CDs)
Yahoo Japan (Expensive, but you can find just about any Japanese item you want, you need to go through a third party called a Deputy Service)

If you want to buy on ebay, do it at your own risk, Ebay protects nothing but itself and it high-volume sellers (sales fees=profit). Make sure you know how to tell the difference between a legit CD and a bootleg.

dheu · 30-10-2005, 06:27 PM

Highly priced? Welcome to the world of the J-music lover. It's rare to find J-music that's been released Stateside, so expect to pay top dollar for Japanese CDs. You might be luckier with anime music, though, since a lot of companies are selling the soundtracks. If you're actually looking for the albums by those artists, though, you'll most likely have to buy from overseas.

The anime soundtracks that are released in the US can be found probably at either:
RightStuf (www.rightstuf.com)
Robert's Anime Corner Store (www.animecornerstore.com)

And then, of course, there's www.ebay.com. But they're more likely to have bootlegs than anything, so if you want legit then you'll have to search long and hard.

Websites straight from Japan:

Amazon Japan. (www.amazon.co.jp) Don't buy imports from the American Amazon; they'll really fleece you there. Amazon J is fairly good; I've found some CDs there that I haven't found elsewhere. Negative: Amazon Japan is, of course, entirely in Japanese. There is an option for the ordering page to be translated into English, but everything else is in Nihongo, so if you don't understand a lick it might be hard to hunt down what you're looking for.

CD Japan. (www.cdjapan.co.jp) Your best bet. This is probably the best place I've bought from, but then I haven't sampled every J-music store out there. They have a good selection, are very fast and reliable with their service, and the entire site's in English. Shipping, though, is a *****, easily costing around $20. But get used to that if you're importing, since most legit sites have a cost somewhere in that range.

HMV. (www.hmv.co.jp) I actually haven't purchased from them before. Their selection seems decent, and I've seen some indie records on there before, which is more than I can say for a bunch of other sites. Again, their site is entirely in Japanese.

YesAsia. (www.yesasia.com) I haven't bought from them either. Their selection doesn't seem as extensive as other sites, but then I haven't really been looking too hard at them. I've heard that shipping through them is usually cheaper, but I have no experience to back that. They also sell Korean and (I think) Chinese products as well. The YesAsia site is in English.

Tower Records Japan. (www.towerrecords.co.jp) Haven't bought from them. I've heard the rumor that they carry a lot of indie records, but I haven't found much on their site. Worth a look, but you'll probably find what you're looking for in the other places I've listed, unless you're searching for the extremely hard-to-find CD.

Third Stage. (www.mandrakeroot.co.jp/english) Sells used and new Japanese CDs. Their search method is a bit annoying, since it requires you to register and sign in before you can even look for products. They sometimes have those hard-to-find essentials, though. Their site is in both English and Japanese. Negative depending on how you look at it: They currently aren't taking credit card orders.

There are other sites out there that I'm sure someone is going to mention, but a lot of them sell bootlegs. Simple test: if it looks too good to be true (i.e. super cheap), then it probably is. Tread carefully.

sailships · 30-10-2005, 06:43 PM

Thanks guys!

Curious... are there any american (or at least English) based websites regarding these artists?

So I can at least know whats new, or what to look for?

Or is a message board like this my best bet?

dheu · 30-10-2005, 07:29 PM

Try Googling for each name. You'll usually find some kind of English-language fansite for the artists that'll have information about discographies, news, etc. Those three artists aren't exactly unheard of, so you should have some luck.

raynebc · 30-10-2005, 10:31 PM

The official websites of Japanese artists are shockingly usually branched off of their record label's web site. So if you want English you'll usually need to find a fansite instead of the official site. There may be some exceptions such as Utada Hikaru, who has both an English (struggling/retreating) and Japanese (thriving) career.

As for YesAsia, I have heard they have off-and-on quality control problems, and since the shipping is so cheap, there have been complaints of damaged goods on the consumer's end of the purchase.

dheu · 30-10-2005, 11:46 PM

Is that so? Not surprising. A lot of people rave about YesAsia, but I've never really liked the site for some reason. *shrugs* I'm content to pay $20 for shipping as long as my beloved CDs get to me quickly and undamaged. (Heh, if I'm going to pay about $30 a pop anyway, might as well pay more to get them to me safely.) I've had nothing to complain about with CDJapan, so as long as I can find what I need through them, I'm sticking with them.

Oh, by the way. Welcome to AB, starships.

sailships · 30-10-2005, 11:53 PM

Thanks again for the leads....
CD Japan looks like the best source. At least I can find all sorts of stuff out there.
Its still a wee bit frustrating tho...

Like, for Origa, of course I know her just for her GitS:SAC songs, which I would most definitely want on a CD. But in her listings, it doesnt tell me what songs are listed. I know I am looking for "Inner Universe" from the first season, and I forget the name of the new song for 2nd Gig.

Also, does anyone here currently own the Samurai 7 soundtrack? Is it all instrumental? Or does it at least feature Nanase's song from the beginning and the other song from the end of the show?
I know Nanase's song is "Unlimited", but it doesnt seem to appear in the track listing, unless its just "Samurai 7".

Another question... I think I found a CD of her's out on CD Japan that has that song, but it looks like its a CD single. Is that a common practice? I'd love to get a CD that has "Unlimited" on it, but a full CD of other stuff, so I can really get a feel for her music, you know?

Is there anywhere (in english), or perhaps even on this message board, where people review the CDs? So you might know what you are getting before the $$$ investment?

Thanks again... sorry if I seem like I am ranting. I'm not, I just want to make sure I either A) getting the right thing, or B) not missing out on what I am looking for... does that make sense?

Thank you all! I really appreciate all of your insights!

dheu · 31-10-2005, 01:10 AM

CD singles are really common practice over in Japan. Usually an artist will release three singles, even, before he/she will release an album with all the singles included on it. It's a way for them to build hype up. If you don't mind waiting, the song might come out on an album.

To find out opening and ending themes for a series, remember you can always go to Anime News Network (www.animenewsnetwork.com). They have good listings of songs, staff, voice actors, and licenses of most titles.

Anyway, I'm procrastinating right now, so I did the work for you. Origa sang "Inner Universe" and "Rise" for the series. Her official website, which looks like it's in English (or at least has the option) is at www.r-s.co.jp/origa. You can find a full listing of her discography there, which, unfortunately, does not seem to include either of those two songs on one of her CDs. You'll be able to find them on the Ghost in the Shell soundtracks, though.

"Rise" is on this CD single:
http://www.animecornerstore.com/ghinshalco9.html
OR
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/...735227-5479414

"Inner Universe" is here:
http://www.animecornerstore.com/ghinshalcoso.html
OR
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/...735227-5479414

Not sure if the Corner Store charges special fees for imports, so that's why I put both down. You can probably find them through CDJapan too, but I got lazy.

Oh, and scratch what I said about finding Nanase Aikawa's "Unlimited" on an album. Apparently it's a B-side, which means that you'll only be able to get it on the single. Hey, at least you'll get one song with it to figure out if you want more.

raynebc · 31-10-2005, 08:45 AM

Most of the time, singles are released for the price of around 1000 yen. Sometimes the price varies, but since most albums are around 3000 yen, it's a little more difficult to mistake the two based on price.

I also wish CDJapan spent more time providing tracklists in Romaji, sometimes there's nothing you can do but just take the product code and your favorite search engine (Google is the best) and see if you can find anything.

Guildenstern · 31-10-2005, 05:59 PM

Not I-Tunes.

sailships · 31-10-2005, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by dheu

CD singles are really common practice over in Japan.

Anime News Network (www.animenewsnetwork.com).

...so I did the work for you.

"Rise" is on this CD single:
http://www.animecornerstore.com/ghinshalco9.html
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/...735227-5479414

"Inner Universe" is here:
http://www.animecornerstore.com/ghinshalcoso.html
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/...735227-5479414

Oh, and scratch what I said about finding Nanase Aikawa's "Unlimited" on an album. Apparently it's a B-side, which means that you'll only be able to get it on the single. Hey, at least you'll get one song with it to figure out if you want more.

Wow!
Thank you, and all things... ...good to know. If I have reason to hold out for albums, I will, but if they aint out there, then I dont want to wait any longer than I have to.... so your answers (and sites) really hit the spot! Thank you so much!

Brutus · 22-02-2007, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by Guildenstern

Not I-Tunes.

But are there any other mp3 stores out there that has anime music?

crimson2 · 16-07-2008, 02:15 PM

You can check IMEEM to see if someone uploaded it. While you cant download it you can stream it.

diabolique_nfg · 30-11-2008, 01:04 AM

Anime musics (ost, bgm, op, ed) usually easy to find around the Internet, if u just want to listen to them and download them on your computer and stuff.

Same goes with the bands/singers, u usually can get information about them by googling their name. If not much, probably there's still some info's on them in English around.

The only problem is to get the CD. I usually chose yesAsia or regional ebay.