Advanced Anime Discussion Part II (2 Viewers)

[Kong Chang]

Joe:

Good-looking geek?

*laugh*

Isn't that an oxymoron?

 

[Joe_C]

Kong:
I proudly defy all stereotypes, rise above all preconceptions, and...and, uh, am under 300 lbs!!
----------------
Jehan:
The movie is pretty much a completely separate entity from the TV series. I own all 8 discs in the TV series, but have yet to see/own the movie. From what I hear, though, if you are truly on a tight budget (Kong give him hell ) and am looking for the "big time," then I would just go with the 3-disc movie set. But others who have actually seen both are free to chime in here and make me look like a complete jackass.
EDIT
Oh, and I finally have DSL in my apartment, so I finally updated the site...for those of you who care (Ted )

 

[Kong Chang]

Joe:
But the question still remains, are you "good-looking"? That's the most important question of all, but since you are in a fraternity (as I was), maybe you are. ;P
*laugh*
---
Jehan (and Joe):
In the limited edition, on both the R1 and R2, is included a booklet, detailing and conveyed by the creator, Shoji Kawamori, on how Escaflowne started. Make sure to get a good copy on the R1, since it seems Bandai released a lot that had bad pressing of the movie (luckily, if you read through AnimeonDVD.Com, you can call Bandai to get an exchange if you have a defective disc). As I stated priorhand, the R1 telecine transfer is a little bit too fuzzy, to a point where it looks kinda bad, and some of the telecine decay shows up too. I can take snapshots (as in PowerDVD) of the difference between the R1 and R2, if need be.
Anyway, as for the movie, the movie is completely different and separate from the TV-series. Some people think it's just a retelling of the series. I say, it's a total different concept than the TV-series, although certain elements are the same in both, the movie is darker than the TV-series...so it's more suited for a mature audience. You really don't need to watch the TV-series to understand the movie, so it's very independent.
As for replayability factor of the TV series, it's one of my favorite series, and I've watched it twice already. The only other show I enjoyed watching over and over is Nadia, which was Gainax's first big long series. Escaflowne is raunch with cliffhangers, so you'll always be on the edge of your seat wanting to watch the next episode. The characters are deep and meaningful, and the story caters to both boys and girls alike. It's the first best show that blends both shounen aspects and shoujo aspects together in a fantasy world.
If you want to watch it, you should definitely buy the boxset out right now, which is actually cheaper to buy the whole boxset than the individual discs alone. The empty box for Escaflowne sold out (all 1500 of them) in a day on RightStuf, so no empty boxes are being sold anymore. (I bought 2...hehe).
The covers for the DVD of the TV series are the Japanese rental VHS covers. I prefered the original Japanese covers that were actually used on the U.S. VHS covers, that Japan also used on the LDs and DVDs.
Anyway, watch it with a friend first. It's the best there is. And you live in Irvine, you should contact me and *I'll* show it to you to convince you that you need to buy it.

 

[Jay W]

Thanks Joe, any other opinions would be welcome.. I'm still undecided on whether to go with the set or movie To answer your question from the other thread as well Kong, no luck at Ken Cranes but I will check Fry's again and drive up to Burbank and see too.
Thanks for the help!

 

[JasonRH]

Jehan,
I can't comment on the movie since I haven't recieved it yet but I can tell you the TV series is excellent. Like Kong said the box set will be cheap now so it's probably the best time to pick it up. It definately has replay value.

 

[JasonRH]

Kong,
I'd be interested in seeing pics of the R1 vs. R2 release of the ESCA movie, if it's not too much trouble. I've never seen any screen caps of R2 releases so I'd like to get an idea of how much better they can be than R1 - maybe then I'll understand where you're coming from when you compare the quality of R1 vs R2 releases

 

[Joe_C]

The empty box for Escaflowne sold out (all 1500 of them) in a day on RightStuf, so no empty boxes are being sold anymore. (I bought 2...hehe).

WTF is wrong with me! I've been so out of it lately without Internet (save a few minutes here and there at work), that I had no f'ing idea that RightStuf was already selling the separate boxes. I knew it was inevitable once they announced the boxset, but....dammit!
But, Kong, you also said you have two....

 

[Jay W]

Thanks Kong, all the information I needed. I'll probably pick it up, thanks for the kind offer too!

 

[Kong Chang]

JasonRH:
I'll see what I can do in the next few days. I am so busy with other stuff, that it's hard to find time. I'll post a link as soon as I take some like 5 snapshots or so of both discs.
Joe:
Naturally, I bought 2, just in case something like this was going to happen. Luckily my friend bought his, so I can give up the 2nd one. The empty boxes are like $16 each. You really need to read AnimeonDVD.Com more often for good info to separate box sales by RightStuf.Com.
Jehan:
You're welcome.
---
Geez, a lot of "J"-names lately. ;P

 

[JohnAD]

Kong:
We're taking over the world, didn't ya know?
John. (another "J" name)

 

[JasonRH]

Kong,
That'd be cool. If you have the time I'd appreciate it, if not, that's fine. Just out of curiosity, why did you get the R1 release if you already had the R2? Are there differences (video/audio aside) between the two? Anything included in the R1 release that wasn't in the R2?

 

[James_Kiang]

Another "J" jumping into the mix....
I guess I would not consider myself a huge anime fan but there are definitely some things to come out of it that I really do like and enjoy. A quick rundown of what I have seen/own:
Princess Mononoke
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (really enjoyed this)
Vampire Hunter D (vhs - a bit slower than the new one)
Record of Lodoss War (the original box set release; has its moments but it didn't wow me as I hoped it would)
Fist of the North Star (a favorite; lost my vhs copy and will probably pick it up on dvd very soon)
Ninja Scroll (don't actually own this but I did like it so at some point I probably will)
Amon Saga (haven't seen it as it was a gift to a friend but he did say it was quite bad :frowning
Jeez, looking at that I feel like such a newbie . There's probably more that is escaping me right now. Anyway, I did come to ask a question. How is Berserk? From what I have read it sounds intriguing but I don't know. Others I should be giving a try - the wife isn't a fan of animation in general so I get limited viewing opportunities - would be Spriggan, Ghost in the Shell, X (which I actually did rent and started to watch but it was late and the movie just didn't hook me).

 

[Ted Lee]

j - (you guys figure out which one)
personally, i LOVE "ghost in the shell" - it's one of my all-time faves. "spriggan" was also good...lots of neat action and a good storyline. i thought "X" was...umm...not good - but see kong's previous post about why.
based upon your selections, i'd also recommend "akira" (an all-time classic) and "blood: the last vampire" - very cool short-feature. oh yeah, don't forget "cowboy bebop"!
btw - try to do a search using "recommend anime" - i suspect you'll have plenty of additional suggestions.

 

[James_Kiang]

Akira definitely is recognized as a classic - I just haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. I will correct that sooner or later. Blood is another one I've read positive things about lurking here and at other places. The only negative thing I've heard is that it is really short. I probably should go back and read the previous threads; it's just the number of messages to go through is a bit daunting .

 

[Kong Chang]

JohnAD:
Ack, the "J"'s are coming! The "J"'s are coming! ;P
How little I saw the connection on this board until recently.
JasonRH:
The reason I got the R1:
1) the box. The box is supposed to be almost like the R2 Ltd. Ed. box for the Ah! My Goddess movie. However, it's a bit different, and whoever put the R1 box together didn't know that they aren't supposed to glue the spine part of the cover to the damn box. So the box is now very hard to open. The R2 Ah! My Goddess Ltd. Ed. movie box opens up really easily, and you can take out the DVD and the extras w/o hurting the box cover in anyway. I should take a picture of the AMG movie box too to show you the comparison.
2) the extras. There are more extras on the R1 of Maaya Sakamoto doing live performances of the song on stage, along with the Korean singer (don't know her name) who sang that pretty latin (as in Latin, the old dead language) song. Plus some other nifty little extras on the 2nd disc.
I really don't care for the movie, or the soundtrack because I own both already. I just wanted the box and the extras. *heh* Plus, it's always good to compare back and forth between the two. As I said earlier, I was checking my R1 to see if I got a defective disc, and was watching and noticed how fuzzier the scenes seemed, because I don't remember certain scenes being that fuzzy before. So I double checked the R2 and it was like night and day. The R2 really seemed clean and crisp while the R1 seemed like an aged copy. As for audio, I don't know how to compare, because the R1 DTS didn't sound as full as the R2 DTS. Don't ask me why, when they should be the same, yet the receiver doesn't lie in output because the R1 DTS isn't as robust as the R2 DTS.
James_Kiang:
You should give Berserk series a try. But be warned, even though it has fantasy elements and cool fighting scenes and a great story behind it all, it also contains an undertone (my friend calls it blatant overtone) of homoeroticness between the two main male characters. If this doesn't bother you at all, give it a try. The 2nd volume will be out next week Tuesday. The first volume comes with or without a box and the box is very sweet...as good as the R2 box. Media Blasters has always impressed me with their box designs and ideas.
Blood is a short movie because in Japan, a movie is anything longer than 25 minutes, so the anime movie can range from 25min to 2 or 2.5 hours. Short anime movies are usually attached to another anime movie and presented as a double or triple feature (depending on how long each movie are). As for Blood, the story continues roughly in the Japanese novel, the Playstation game, and something else, which I forgot. Production I.G. will be doing a 2nd movie for Blood, so expect it sometime in the near future (their projection of release in Japan is 2003).

 

[Jay W]

Well I finally bit the bullet and got the Escaflowne Series Box, I figure even if I don't like it (and judging by the reviews that would be unlikely) I can still sell it later on. Just a heads up to you guys on the fence about purchasing this, after doing a survey online to try and find the best price I noticed a lot of places are already sold out of this (I think it's limited to 10K pieces) - Amazon, DeepDiscountDVD etc. I think DVDPlanet still has it in stock as well as a few other places. The demand for this stuff is quite remarkable, so if you want it grab it while it lasts (I'm regreting not getting the Cowboy Bebop Box every day).
PS: if anyone does have a line on a copy of the Bebop box/box set (not at insane ebay prices), I would really, really appreciate it if you sent me a PM and point me to the store or site - looking for this for the past month has been hell.
Kong: I tried all the Fry's in my area with no luck, even got them to do a search for the other stores inventory :frowning:

 

[Joe_C]

James:
I have a review of Blood up on my site, so I won't go into it too much here, but suffice to say for such a short flick, I really enjoyed it. I've also got reviews for quite a few others, and will have the reviews for Gasaraki and (hopefully) Neon Genesis Evangelion up tonight.
I just have to keep plugging the ol' site. It's free advertising

 

[Kong Chang]

Jehan:

I'll look around. I know I've seen the box in stores before awhile ago. It shouldn't have all sold out already. I'm quite sure there are a few places that will still have on the shelf.

Luckily, I went ahead and bought the empty boxes for Escaflowne, so I hope I get mine soon from RightStuf.

Hmm, have you tried Best Buys?

 

[Jay W]

Kong if you do see it, do grab it - I'll be happy to take it off your hands .
I rang the BB's in the area a while ago with no luck, short of visiting a few of the further ones to see if there is a box on the shelf I'm not sure where else to look.

 

[James_Kiang]

Kong:
Thanks for the recommendation on Berserk. I was looking into it the other day and saw that the second set was being released next week. As I understand it there is a 3rd set to follow which completes what is available though the story itself is not complete yet? I'll take a chance on the overtones you referred to - as long as it isn't Urotskodoji (or however you spell it) type stuff I'm sure I won't be too put off by it .