Is streaming a show not accessible in my continent a sin?

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I’d like to watch DBZ since I read it and I really liked it, and it means a lot to me.
However, in Europe, there are literally no ways to see it by paying. I tried searching for a streaming site that has the rights to it but the only one is funimation and it’s only accessible in the U.S.
I then tried to buy the DvDs however the only reliable ones I found on amazon (provided by amazon itself) were of region 1 so only work in the U.S.

I don’t know what to do anymore.

I know this is irrelevant but the show was made 30 years ago and therefore the producers have already been paid. The money would only go to the rich streaming site that have the rights to it but as I said it’s inaccessible in Europe.

I was thinking that maybe the best solution would be for me to watch this on a free streaming site that does not have the rights to it, but to donate all the money I would have spent (and a bit more) to an orphanage I know in Peru.
I’m 15 so 150 euros is all the money I have saved up (not counting money I put a part for university) but I’d be willing to do this to watch my favourite show with no regrets.

However I’d like to hear what you think about this.
Please do not think that this would be charity out of guilt, it’s trying to take a bad situation and make it into something of good instead of just watching it for free and doing nothing.
 
Have you considered that, since this show is not essential to your life, you could live without it, and save your money?
 
I have, the thing is that the show really means a lot to me. In many ways it has inspired me to be a better person, which may sound strange from just a show.
 
Perhaps it means too much to you and you are unduly attached to it. Remember what Christ said to the rich young man?
 
The one which asked Him how to be a better person and Christ told him to leave all his possessions and follow him?
I remember it pretty well, however I don’t think it’s the same case.
Unlike him I’m not attached to the money, I realise that money is only a tool and in this case I’d like to use it see this show that means a lot to me, and since there seems to be no way I just came up with this solution.
I can see why from the outside someone may say that I’m unduly attached to it, and I know this may sound exaggerated but in some ways it has changed my life for the better.
 
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I’ve seen ads promoting the use of a VPN to watch streaming content on certain sites (Netflix, for example) that are licensed to countries other than your own. This seems morally problematic to me. If you’re in the U.S., for example, and use the VPN to access a movie licensed to Netflix in the Philippines. You would do this by spoofing an IP address in the Philippines. This seems to me to be a form of lying: you’re pretending to be in a different country than where you actually are, in order to watch that movie.
 
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My honest advice is, if you’re at the stage where you’re going to need (name removed by moderator)ut or approval from a group instead of just making your own decision and if necessary asking your priest, then you probably shouldn’t watch the show.

Technology and rights issues across jurisdictions raise these kinds of questions all the time, particularly given that intellectual property rights law (along with tax law) was completely invented by humans according to economic factors, and the moral view of various provisions is murky, differs depending on who you talk to, and has changed a great deal over time.
 
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Anonkun said:
But this is DBZ we’re talking about. I would argue it goes beyond a mere show. You really have to experience it to understand
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I do watch anime sometimes, but I’ve never seen DBZ, so I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I cracked up laughing anyways when I read your response. I have noticed that it does seem to have a very very strong following, which has always been a little mysterious to me, and your comment has made me even more curious.
 
You are really overthinking this.

Just buy a Region 1 DVD player online and then buy the Region 1 DVD on Amazon.com

It’s not a sin nor illegal for people living in other parts of the world to own a Region 1 DVD player & Region 1 DVDs.
 
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phil19034 said:
You are really overthinking this.

Just buy a Region 1 DVD player online and then buy the Region 1 DVD on Amazon.com

It’s not a sin nor illegal for people living in other parts of the world to own a Region 1 DVD player & Region 1 DVDs.
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I was thinking that too. A lot of players even come with the region unspecified. I had to configure my Blu-ray player to my region when I took it out of the box, and I am allowed to change it a certain number of times. But the OP is on a 150 euro budget, so if he spent half of that on the player, that doesn’t leave a lot left over to be able to buy the DVDs.

Apparently there’s 291 episodes of that show, so that’s a lot of DVDs to buy.

Though as a matter of principle I tend to agree with you. I have no scriptures to back up my opinion, but I’m skeptical of the idea that evading price discrimination practices (which is what regional content segregation is really meant to accomplish) is elevated to the category of “sin,” especially if you are paying for the content through a legitimate channel. If anything, I would argue the price discrimination itself is at best morally ambiguous.
 
Fair point, it’s been bothering me a lot lately, even though I don’t even plan to watch it this year, so I guess I just wanted to get a quick opinion since the priest I know best lives in a different city but when I’ll go visit it I’ll be sure to ask him.
 
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“But this is DBZ we’re talking about. I would argue it goes beyond a mere show. You really have to experience it to understand”

Thank you! Finally someone that understands.
 
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Thank you, I completely agree with you and this is exactly where the problem is.
All the DvDs would cost around 200 euros which with some work I could save up to, but when you add buying another DVD player just for the sake of watching this it become too much.

The other solution would be to buy a VPN and watch it on the site that I named before, but my believe is that it’s wrong to spend so much money on a thing I’ll only use once (the VPN which would cost me 90 euros for one year) and which I shouldn’t need to buy, and then also the premium membership for this site (60 euros a year).
I think I could make a far better use of this money rather than giving it to these big corporation that don’t need it whilst still watching the show, the reason I’m asking you is because I might just be fooling myself with my ideals whilst doing something of actually immoral.
 
Dug said:
… I might just be fooling myself with my ideals whilst doing something of actually immoral.
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Using a VPN to stream copyrighted material is also in violation of terms of use.

Dragon Ball Z emphasizes good overpowering evil and love overpowering hate, so it would betray that theme to steal episodes of it.
 
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So what do you suggest doing?
My solution was to give all the money I would have spent to an orphanage instead of 2 big corporations and then to stream it free.
Wouldn’t this be “good overpowering evil” since the money would go to those who actually need it and not to two big corporation that don’t need it?
 
Evil cannot be done so that good may result. Depriving the worker of his wages is a sin that cries out to Heaven for vengeance, and if you rip off the license holders, you are taking food from the mouths of the content creators.
 
Dug said:
So what do you suggest doing?
My solution was to give all the money I would have spent to an orphanage instead of 2 big corporations and then to stream it free.
Wouldn’t this be “good overpowering evil” since the money would go to those who actually need it and not to two big corporation that don’t need it?
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It is also sinful to set a bad example for others. Giving the money to an orphanage and then not watching the videos through an illegal stream is the proper solution for that method.
 
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