Advanced Anime Discussion - Anime Fans' Discussion (1 Viewer)

[AndyVX]

quote:But dated has a negative connotation as being "bad" by new anime fans. Just want to make it clear that "dated" doesn't = bad"

So very true!
Anyways, though. I'm glad that I refound this thread. I just wanted to ask where people buy their anime DVD's from (online)? I've been looking for a good place to buy them from, that has the same or better prices then the "big" name stores like Amazon. Every other place I've found, their prices are way higher then amazon. I think that my problem with amazon is their high shipping cost to Canada.
Well, does anyone know of any places that will ship to Canada for a decent rate, + have good prices for anime on DVD? (hmm, maybe this is just wishful thinking)
Mainly I'm trying to find a deal/good price for the Escaflowne DVD's. Everywhere I've gone in Toronto the prices have ranged from $44.99 - $49.99. That to me is TOO much!
Thanks for any help.
Andrew
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My Anime on DVD List

 

[Max Leung]

Well, you can try a local A&B Sound store...if the A&B Sound store in Calgary, of all god-forsaken places, carries anime, then by hell and high water A&B in Toronto will have 'em.
I'd normally recommended trying A&B Online too, but with the recent credit card fiasco, I think they're out of the picture.

 

[AndyVX]

Umm, I wasn't aware that there were A&B Sounds in Toronto or Ontario for that matter...
Andrew
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My Anime on DVD List

 

[JasonRH]

AndyVX,
Try CNL.com for anime. They have a great stock and good prices. The entire Escaflowne line sells for $38.49 each. Another alternative is signing up for a service at Borderfree.com. They pay for shipping at Amazon so it's slightly cheaper. Good luck.

 

[Wes Ray]

The only two Anime films that have impressed me were Perfect Blue and Vampire Hunter D.
Films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell are highly overrated and a little too "original" for their own good.
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[Joe_C]

quote:Films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell are highly overrated and a little too "original" for their own good.

I completely understand how such highly acclaimed films as Akira and Ghost in the Shell can become so pumped up that when a new viewer finally gets around to watching them, their hyped up content falls a little short of expectations.
But I DON'T understand how you can say that they are "too 'original' for their own good." I understand the concept of being "too original", but I don't see how they apply to either of these two movies.
I'll take originality, especially if done at the same high levels as Akira and GITS, any day over bland, generic crap that fails to push any boundaries at all.
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I am Jack's Signature
"I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies..."

 

[Max Leung]

There should be A&B in Toronto...I recall visiting one a couple of years ago, on Yonge St.
I think. I could be wrong. I guess you'll have to let your fingers do the walking.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

What the hell is Akira or Ghost In the Shell about? I'm not trying to be mean, I just talk that way

I've never seen either movie so I'd like to watch them. I think I can find Akira at my local rental video place, but Ghost In The Shell may be hard for me to find.
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"I don't know, Marge. Trying is the first step towards failure." - Homer J. Simpson

 

[RicP]

quote:Films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell are highly overrated and a little too "original" for their own good

Didn't understand them eh?

Give Them another shot...both are extremely well written stories, and Akira is a little confusing at first, but remember they were cramming thousands of pages of Manga into a 2 hour movie. I think Otomo did a superb job and I'm looking forward to the DVD very much.
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Ric Perrott

Let's Go Devils!
My Theater ;My DVD's

 

[Joe_C]

I just finished up Wings Of Honneamise, and all I can say is, WOW. At first, I wasn't too excited about it. In fact, I just bought it on a whim at Best Buy the other day with an extra gift card I just happened to have.
While the colors aren't as vibrant as some of the latest offerings, the animation is AMAZING. It's incredibly fluid and detailed.
The characters and the world they inhabit are well-developed and add tremendously to the overall feel of the movie.
I can't recommend this movie enough. Buy it NOW.
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I am Jack's Signature
"I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies..."

 

[Kong Chang]

The R1 release of Wings of Honneamise is defective. Manga Entertainment double-interlaced the video, so the video is worse than the R2 DVD version which is done correctly and the colors are much vibrant than the R1 crap.
Anyway, buy this title at your own risk. Manga said they won't redo the title. If you have a region all player, buy the R2 DVD. It is anamorphic and progressive to boot.

 

[Gary Neuwirth]

I agree with Kong buy the Region 2 version of WOH. It's one of the few Region 2 DVDs that will play in any DVD player (Region 0).
Manga's denial of anything wrong with the video has gotten a lot of folk mad. They have made other mistakes -- Ninja Scroll and Macross Plus and in those cases have made things right. I don't understand why the quality control of this one anime company can't catch these before replication.
I now make a point of not ordering Manga DVDs till Chris gives his review. So if you want a beautiful looking WOH get the region 2 version.
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The Best Site for Anime DVD Images -- Anime Emporium

 

[John Chow]

Gary,
Not to defend Manga, ok, maybe I am a little, but other companies have totally screwed the pooch as well. Central Park Media is definitely at the top of my shit list for having the audio phase inverted for the whole Slayers TV Season 1 boxset and not offering to fix it. In the past Manga has at least offered replacements for everything. Personally I couldn't stand WoH, which is probably why this isn't a big issue for me, but I do feel bad for those who liked this, since the screenshot comparisons that I have seen show that there are definitely video quality issues. It definitely sucks that Manga is ignoring the problem, but they aren't the only ones with issues. Several Bandai discs are incompatible with players, etc., the list goes on and on. Basically anime companies seem to screw up more often than anyone else by virtue of the fact that they aren't huge studios with mucho resources at their disposal.

 

[Gary Neuwirth]

True -- CPM did screw up Slayers TV and at first they denied any problem with the audio. Finally they owned up to it. I wonder if they'll ever let us know when (or if) we can swap them for corrected ones.
Viz (Ranma OVA) is at least doing a swap out. Tylor missing footage was corrected by Right Stuf. Yea, the list of anime DVD mistakes is rather long.
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The Best Site for Anime DVD Images -- Anime Emporium

 

[Joe_C]

Yeah, I forgot to mention the video problems with this disc. Honestly, I was so blown away by the content of the disc that the quality of the video wasn't THAT big of a distraction.

quote:If you have a region all player, buy the R2 DVD.

I don't, so it looks like I'm stuck with the craptacular region 1 version

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I am Jack's Signature
"I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies..."

 

[Kong Chang]

It is soooooo true that many domestic anime companies have authored their discs (or have 3rd party authored their discs) incorrectly.
In terms of quality choice, my top domestic company would most likely be Pioneer for making great anime DVDs, albeit slowly than the others, but at least they, for the most part, get it right before duplication, and they have the least delays and postponements. Pioneer, though, may only license family title type anime, but they have been good at shelling quality DVDs.
Second would be Bandai. Albeit Bandai's DVDs have had problems in certain low-end players (e.g. Playstation 2), their video quality and audio quality has been excellent under Cinram. However, their new DVD dupe facility they are going with has done an awful job with the latest DVDs, especially on Crest of the Stars, which is more pixelated and crappier than ever than their previous DVD releases. What makes me choose them as 2nd is because they do listen to fans and try to make a benefit of the doubt. Okay, their releasal of the Cowboy Bebop boxset is very unjust to fans who already bought the 6 DVDs, but at least they are shelling out a new boxset. They are much like the Japanese anime studio company where boxsets are treated as a separate entity.
I agree that the worst company has got to be Central Park Anime, always known in the domestic anime market as the poorest anime distribution company of the lot. Not only did they let Image do the authoring of Record of Lodoss War OVA on DVD, but they somehow forgot to tell Image not to hash and cut off the opening and ending theme songs per episode!! And the bitrate!!!??? OMG!!! How despicable! CPM also has some other titles I hate because the compression is just god awful.
I'm not sure who should be 2nd worse, I think I would place ADV Films over Manga Entertainment as the worse anime company to be so money-prone and so fan-unfriendly that they would butcher their current stock of anime just to cater to money. Ugh, talk about serious overlays. Albeit they promised not to do it, but they are doing it again with Nadia. *sigh* I hate their freaking overlays. They should stop their overlaying crap and any hardsubs. Not just that, someone should fire their translation editor as well. The more and more I think their subtitles are becoming more and more like dubtitles. It's bad.
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*whew* Enough ranting...anyway, if I made more money, I would definitely purchase all R2 DVDs of the anime stuff I have. Most of the R1 are crap compared to the R2 version. I can't believe that the domestic anime companies can't treat the anime with respect like Japanese companies do.
I highly recommend purchasing R2 DVD whenever you can because the R1 DVD is crap in comparison.

 

[Joe_C]

Ok, I just got in a huge car accident the other day. I broke three bones in my foot, split my lip open, and broke my two front teeth basically in half (horizontally not vertically). I'm practically bedridden. The only good thing in this whole crappy situation is that I'm going to get quite a bit of money from the other guy's insurance company. He admitted all responsibility to the police when they arrived AND an off-duty police officer witnessed the whole thing. So I don't have to worry about all that bullshit.
You're probably wondering what this has to do with this thread. Well, the combination of my complete boredom of being forced to stay off my feet and in bed, and the extra money I'm going to get out of this has caused me to begin looking for other anime series to get into.
I'm finishing up Neon Genesis Evangelion right now (absolutely amazing) but at the rate I'm watching them, they won't last me much longer.
I was thinking about getting into Tenchi. The sheer number of OVA's, series, and movies turned me off before, but with the extra dough I'm thinking of just going for it.
I'm just a little confused as to the continuity of the whole thing. I know a little bit, like how Tenchi in Tokyo and I think Tenchi Universe are entirely different continuities as far as the original Tenchi universe is concerned. I have no idea where the movies and the OVA's fit in.
If some of you could help clear this up a little I'd be greatly obliged in my painful state

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I am Jack's Signature
"I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies..."

 

[Kong Chang]

Tenchi Muyo has many OVAs, TV series, and movies. I will try to help with what I know (and can remember). Albeit, IMHO, the first OVA is the only series you need to buy and watch.
First OVA: Tenchi Muyo
First TV Series: Tenchi Muyo in Tokyo
Second TV Series: Tenchi Universe
Second OVA: Tenchi Muyo Ryo-oh-ki
Movie: 1st and 2nd "Tenchi Muyo in Love" follow the first TV series (those will be 1st and 3rd movie). The 2nd movie, Tenchi Muyo Eve in the Summer, follows the Second TV series.
A 3rd OVA series will be coming out which will follow the First OVA series. That has yet to come out.
None of the stories are continuation of the other. They are all independent storylines with same characters.
I think this is the right order. I may be wrong since I've stopped watching Tenchi during the initial first TV series.

 

[Joe_C]

Thanks Kong. I had a feeling that the person giving me the answers would either be you, Jeff Kleist, or Chris.
Ok, so none of the movies follow in the same timeline as the first OVA series. But does the second OVA series follow it? This clears it up quite a bit, but I guess I'm just a bit too dense to FULLY understand what you're saying.
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I am Jack's Signature
"I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies..."

 

[Kong Chang]

As far as my knowledge goes for Tenchi, none of the other TV or OVA series, or Movies follows the original OVA series. The new OVA series coming out in Japan, announced by the Tenchi creators, said this new one will continue the loose end plot of the original series (which I still think is the best, IMHO).
Now, I could be wrong with the order, and Chris or Jeff can correct me on this, but it's not that I've been following Tenchi. Only the first OVA and first movie were great...the rest seemed mediocre to bad.