Okay, now this is a subject that could get people going, since it has legal and economic issues in there.
So, one person has shelves upon shelves full of anime and manga, along with other merchandise to decorate his/her room. This person will most likely say, "BUY UR ANIMU!!!" because this person buys ALL of the titles they found interesting because he/she is completely devoted to keeping the industry alive. Now, another person has little to nothing relating their favorite titles (this is going somewhere). This person will most likely go to a forum and ask, "where can i get anime and manga 4 free?" because this person reads and watches all of his/her favorite titles online, or he/she downloads it. Now, who do you think is doing the BEST (best. not right/wrong or smart/stupid, but either can be applied depending on your values) thing?
Now, my opinion is, they are both doing the worst thing on both sides of the spectrum, but have good intentions. The person who is buying all of their favorite titles is doing the right and ethical thing to do. The person viewing their favorite titles online (and possible downloading it) are doing the smart thing. Now I will put my opinion into more detail:
The person who buys everything he/she thinks will look interesting is doing a very good and ethical thing, but this system is flawed, believe it or not. The issue that comes with this is money. When it comes to checking out something to see if it's good, buying it would, to me, be very stupid, because if it's something that I don't find too interesting after I buy it, it would be a waste of money. I mean, if you do that (and not smart about it), this drains your money out. If you're not the kind of person who would read or watch what you have over and over, this can lead to withdrawal, or unhappiness.
The person who views everything for free, and/or downloads it is doing the smart (but downloading could be stupid sometimes) thing, but, obviously, it is flawed too. The issue here is money, the law, and the supply. If he/she is not contributing any money to the industry, then the industry will lose money, lay off employees, and it'll lead to the ultimate demise of the company. If you view your favorite titles from a certain website, it'll be illegal, and could get you in trouble. Also, the websites you use will more than likely get caught and shut down. Or, the videos will disappear.
Here is what I would do: view different titles ONLINE (will view as many episodes/chapters as I like), then if I'm a big fan of it, I will buy it, and view it over, and over, and over, simply because I like to do that (especially with Loveless). To me, I'm getting as much anime/manga crack as I could ever find, and I'm doing what I can to support the industry, so I can view it over and over. This to me is the best thing for me. Right now, however, I'm saving up or waiting for a better time to buy DVDs and books.
However, each person has a different rule, value, morals, or whatever for themselves, and will do whatever to make themselves feel better. Tell me, what do YOU do to view your favorite titles? What rules have you set for yourself? What are you comfortable with? How much did you spend on your anime? And anything that you can add, argue, debate, or whatever with this topic.
Summary: So, one person buys everything he/she found interesting to support the industry. Another person views his/her favorite titles for free, all the time, so that he/she could save money. Now, the buyer is doing the right and ethical thing, while the pirate is doing the smart thing. However, I think that these 2 things are the worst things to do on both sides of the spectrum. I would view various titles online, then buy whatever I love, because I'm known to look at it over, and over, and over, and it'll be worth it. I consider that the best for me, but each person has their own best, and I'd love to know what YOU do, and everything in between.
