Examine the cover carefully for signs of piracy. Bootlegged anime DVDs often try to mimic the cover designs of their legitimate counterpart but can show signs of piracy. Pixelated, grainy or blurred images are often the result of bootleggers photocopying original artwork. You may have a bootlegged DVD if the cover features characters from other anime DVDs on it. Many legitimate companies use a hologram or some other premium printing service that's not easily replicated by bootleggers, indicating your copy is probably legitimate. Finally, examine the cover for foreign languages other than the country of origin of your anime. A DVD for an anime that originated from Japan but has Chinese or Arabic text on the cover may be a bootleg.
Identify the store or website that you purchased the DVD from. Fans of anime will sometimes create English subtitles in a process called fansubbing. Because fansubbers copy legitimate DVDs, all fansubs can be considered bootlegged copies and are not sold at retail. If you purchased the DVD from a website or specialty store that advertises selling fansubs, it's likely that your DVD is a bootleg.
Check for a region code on the DVD cover. Many DVDs are coded by the region that they are released in to prevent piracy and identify PAL and NTSC discs. Pirated DVDs will often remove the region coding and market the DVD as “Region Free." Region 1 is the region associated with DVDs released to the North American market. While legitimate region-free DVDs do exist, the lack of a region code is often a sign of a pirated DVD.
Check the film for production titles at the start of playback. All anime DVDs will feature title credits for the production companies involved in their creation in addition to an FBI warning found on all domestically-released DVDs. DVDs that lack the production company sequences or the FBI warning are likely bootlegged DVDs.