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HTF Anime Discussion Part VII - Page 90

post #2671 of 3082
3/1/05 at 7:36pm
GALL FORCE: ETERNAL STORY
An intriguing story of conflict and the eternal search for resolution. The Paranoid race, tentacly protoplasmic creatures which use a variety of body forms, are at war with the Solenoids [hey, I didn't make this up], a race apparently made up of human females. This is the sory of the Solenoid cruiser STARLEAF and its desperate attempt to reach and defend the terraformed world "Chaos", in the "ninth star system". The plot is, I'm afraid, tightly enough constructed that to say much more about it risks giving away the whole; but suffice to say that the subtitle, for once, actually means something. Speaking of subtitles, Central Park's subtitled presentation is OK but not much more than that, and the animation and film elements are both showing their age; but it's quite good for all that, particularly as a lead-in to the other stories in the GALL FORCE continuum. At least, I bought it having seen it once before!
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post #2672 of 3082
3/2/05 at 6:31am
Well finished Freeman last nite.... And re-read the manga, and there ARE divergences but nothing too major, except in the last story.
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post #2673 of 3082
3/2/05 at 7:48am
GALL Force was one of the first anime movies I watched back on Sci Fi Channel's late nite anime movie showings. Was probably heavily edited I would guess.
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post #2674 of 3082
3/2/05 at 3:58pm
Just finished the 3rd GitS: SAC disc and I'm really enjoying the series. The 3rd disc wasn't as strong as the the 1st or 2nd IMO but it was still pretty good. Unusually for me I watch the opening credits every episode because I quite enjoy the theme and the cgi.
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post #2675 of 3082
3/2/05 at 4:11pm
Alanna: unless you saw plenty of [undetailed] female nudity and a modicum of distinctly juvenile homo- and hetero-sexual behaviour [not going so far as actual acts], then, yeah. Mind you, in context there is really nothing inappropriate about it; but American TV, even cable, tends to get hinky about that kind of thing.
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post #2676 of 3082
3/2/05 at 7:44pm
I'm looking at the Cowboy Bebop box sets out on Amazon. They are under the marketplace sellers and I'm wwondering what the odds of these not being bootlegs is? A number of sellers with good feedback advertising an import version for $33. That prive seems way to good unless thery are not region 1 discs?
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post #2677 of 3082
3/2/05 at 7:47pm
Probably boots.

If you don't have them I'd probably wait and pick up the CB Remix disks that I believe start getting released in the summer.
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post #2678 of 3082
3/3/05 at 6:19am
I agree with ChrisBEA, the Amazon Marketplace thing is almost as bad as Ebay in terms of offering bootlegs for real items.

Got some stuff yesterday - Ikki Tousen #4 (finishes off this series - well the collecting part of it), Samurai Champloo #1, Bambi Platinum Edition, and GTO #22 (manga).

Watched the special features of Karate Kid - it's really fun and annoying as every one in it makes it out to be "the greatest movie evar~~".
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post #2679 of 3082
3/3/05 at 6:51am
I did some digging in the feedback on a couple of sellers and if you look for the negative responses you find people complaining about bootlegs. Which makes me wonder if the other people who got bootlegs didn't know or didn't care.
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post #2680 of 3082
3/3/05 at 8:03am
Andrew:

Probably a bit of both.

John.
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post #2681 of 3082
3/3/05 at 10:39am
I know I would be really pissed if I thought I was getting "legit" discs and they ended up being bootlegs. I wonder though, how do people manage to bootleg stuff with only single layer DVD burners? Do they compress the audio/video or what? I would be ripped if I got something like that.

I'm thinking about Thinpaking or maybe putting some of my lesser watched DVDs in cd cases to save room. Is there someplace online where you can find cover anime art to fit thinpaks or cd cases? I'm just running out of room and literally cannot get another DVD rack in my apartment. I have six already.. and its still not nearly enough.

Oh and I hate edited cable stuff... too bad Sci Fi doesn't show anime anymore though, it did introduce me to alot of stuff, and with Comedy Central showing uncut stuff late at night, they could air some of these without ripping the shows to shreds. See, I really didnt know GAL Force had any homo stuff in it or nudity.... lol I remember my mom liked the edited version though but she sure would hate and be shocked over that.

PreOrdered Full Metal Panic Collection and the rest of Wolf's Rain this morning. Plus the Europe - Rock the World DVD which is a Europe video collection. Am probably more excited about that than the anime.
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post #2682 of 3082
3/3/05 at 1:48pm
Alanna:

More likely, they're copying from some substandard source like a VHS tape or camcoder. If they're going from a real DVD then I would suspect that the DVD gets ripped to a computer for subbing before being re-encoded on a single-layer disk.

As for Thinpaking, dvdcoverart.com used to be the place for getting custom DVD artwork, but right now they're in legal trouble with Warner. It's probably much simpler just to get a good paper cutter and modify your covers. For a single disk DVD, it's only 3mm on each short side, so it's not as big of a change as some people would have you think. Fiskars' paper cutters, with the cutting wheel, is what I use and I highly recommend it.

John.
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post #2683 of 3082
3/3/05 at 8:53pm
Sadly, there are many people who buy bootlegs and understand exactly what they are doing.

On a happier note:
EL HAZARD -- THE MAGNIFICENT WORLD Volume 2
This series is wonderful. The villains are wicked, the heroes are droll, and the women are [what is the title of that episode again, oh yes] Beautiful. The scenery is astonishing, the artwork is gemlike, the comedy is literally laugh-out-loud hilarious. I have to say that, in many ways, Hayashi and crew surpassed TENCHI-MUYO! with this one. And did I mention that I recommend it? [somehow this is the 2d disc in this lot to feature extensive nudity and underage lesbianism, but it's all good... not to mention that Arielle is a speaking part for Kozakura Etsuko, who otherwise does only animal voices, e.g. Ryo-Ohki]

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post #2684 of 3082
3/4/05 at 6:50am
Heh El Hazard OVA 1 is indeed awesome. Fun stuff, especially Arielle. As to whether it surpases Tenchi Muyo! I can't say. I really enjoyed Tenchi Muyo! OVAs more than El Hazard...

And I agree with your statement that people buy bootlegs and simply do not care one way or the other. It happens everywhere....

Well, on a push to finish off my Gokudo-Kun box. Finished disc 1. A more irreverent and anti-heroic char has never existed.... Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
(Right in the beginning of the series, he steals an item from a fortuneteller, skips out on the bill after laying a really disgusting fart that clears out the restaurant, and runs off)
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post #2685 of 3082
3/4/05 at 8:19am
Christopher:

I think I'm going to have to agree with Woo on this one. I really liked El Hazard the first time I saw it, but I don't think it was quite as good as the Tenchi Muyo! OVA. Still, a great series (which I still need to pick up on DVD). I've rather enjoyed the harem series that AIC have put out - Tenchi Muyo!, El Hazard, Dual!, etc..

John.
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post #2686 of 3082
3/4/05 at 12:08pm
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go with El Hazard. This was the show that got me back into anime. It really has a beautifully written story that works on all levels for me. Also, the relationships between the characters seem very organic to me. Tenchi has the better characters, but I think El Hazard OVA 1 was the complete package.

Unfortunatly, all the sequels are pretty substandard.

Jason
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post #2687 of 3082
3/4/05 at 12:31pm
I really liked the El Hazard OVA myself. I could never see spending $70 on 13-ish eps though, though. When a deal on it comes around I will pick it up.
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post #2688 of 3082
3/4/05 at 12:57pm
"In Many Ways" I said. I think I like the Tenchi OVA better overall, but El-Hazard has definite points of superiority -- particularly the way in which the creators, despite the Arabian Nights ambiance, don't let themselves get locked in to the "harem" idea and manage to create more of a linear, coherent storyline [yes, I have already seen the whole thing, as with most of what I buy]. SPECIAL NOTE which I forgot yesterday: the English dub of the closing theme song must have been recorded inside a tin can, though given the quality of the lyric and vocals this is [as with most P-Anime song dubs] no great loss .
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post #2689 of 3082
3/4/05 at 1:16pm
Saw Nausicaa for the first time last night and I was impressed. The film is almost 2 hours and it hardly felt like that at all. The ending seemed a little short though. I'd have liked a little more on events after the climactic battle.

I noticed the scene where Nausicaa is raised by all the Ohm(sp?) tentacles looked very similar to a scene at the end of the last Matrix film. Since Nausicaa was early eighties no guess was required as to who copied who.

I was watching with my wife so I listened to the dub and it wasn't too bad. Only took me a couple of minutes to recognize Patrick Stewart but I didn't pick up on Mark Hamill till the credits.
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post #2690 of 3082
3/4/05 at 2:41pm
Another comment I forgot about El Hazard: It probably has one of the best dubs out there. I actually prefer the dub, and while the dialog isn't exact, they do come across with the same feel.

Jason
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post #2691 of 3082
3/4/05 at 2:47pm
Christopher:

I'm sure the list has argued episodic vs. story-arc several times before, but other than personal opinion (which is fine), I'm not sure that one is necessarily better than the other. I think that each is useful for telling different stories in different ways. Part of the reason I enjoy Tenchi Muyo! is because it's episodic and 'slice of life'. I enjoy El Hazard's story line as well, but the difference in the characters (as Jason brought up) makes the difference for me. It's also been a few years since I've seen El Hazard, so that may be affecting my choice, too.

John.
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post #2692 of 3082
3/4/05 at 3:44pm
Speaking of storylines, or the lack of them:
TOWARD THE TERRA is a real chunk of weirdness. I guess it didn't help my attention that it was cropped from its proper aspect ratio -- except for occasional letterboxed scenes! Whoever at The Right Stuf got the idea to do that was clearly unhinged; it was driving me batty the whole time. Why can't they just leave the picture alone?
Ahem. Translation and subtitling was by the usual crew who did Central Park Media releases [and still may for all I know], exhibiting their usual deficiencies.
The artwork is what would be expected from a 1980 production, soft lines and round shapes and those thin, attenuated character designs. The voice acting is nothing special, the music jars somewhat with the picture, and the audio -- which claims to be stereo, but feels mono -- is something less than great, although reasonably clear.
Anyway, the plot is very convoluted, involving the efforts of a group of psychic mutants, the MU, to escape their totalitarian colony world and return to the ecologically devastated Earth. Along the way there is a mass of incomprehensible red-herring detail caught in a net of plot threads which lead nowhere, and the "resolution" at the end resolves nothing. I can't really recommend it, not this shoddy edition anyway.
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post #2693 of 3082
3/4/05 at 7:44pm
Well, ADV is having another sale:

http://www.advfilms.com/sales.asp

Jason
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post #2694 of 3082
3/5/05 at 2:09pm
Yesterday was pretty busy for me. Tenchi in Tokyo vol. 5 arrived from Amazon.com yesterday (along with some books). I also picked up Tivo, which has was an interesting exploration of the messiness of the cabling behind my entertainment center . This morning, I watched Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Quite the excellent movie. I agree with Andrew about the connection with The Matrix series; the defenders around the machine city in Matrix Revolutions really resemble the Ohmu.

John.
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post #2695 of 3082
3/6/05 at 10:13am
Quote:
...the defenders around the machine city in Matrix Revolutions really resemble the Ohmu.


Man, your right I completely forgot about that. It's been a while since I watched the 2nd and 3rd Matrix films. IMO They were not worthy. Especially the 3rd. Might be interesting to watch Nausicaa and the 3rd film in close proximity.
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post #2696 of 3082
3/6/05 at 12:19pm
Andrew:

While I disagree with your assessment of the 2nd & 3rd Matrix movies, I think your suggestion about watching Matrix Revolutions back-to-back with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is intriguing. Next time I'm in the mood, I'll have to remember it.

All:

I watched Tenchi in Tokyo vol. 5 this morning. Not my favorite set of episodes. I'm going to have to rewatch this when I (finally) finish the series, since it's been so long between episode purchases that I can't keep the story in my head.

John.
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post #2697 of 3082
3/7/05 at 1:00am
Well...
No Nausticca for me as of yet, I will be picking it up eventually though.
I did watch the first half of Millenium Actress though, I hadn't previously seen it. It seems to be very good! I'm watching the rest of it tomarrow though so, I suppose I'll see.
Currently shipping to me are: Chrono Crusade Vol 4 & Paranoia Agent Vol 3. Equally excited about both...

Any idea where Steamboy is going to be released and on what sort of scale?? In other words, how long will it take to cycle through to nowhereville, MI? Or will it?

Stacey
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post #2698 of 3082
3/7/05 at 6:18am
Good morning

I got some more stuff this weekend.

Mostly, it was X- a CLAMP TV series - BestBuy had two sets of four discs for $39.99 each. Read the manga to this show ages ago, and I think I've also seen the movie at some point. Another series I saw in an AMV at Otakon last year and said, "Damn, that stuff looks like the shiznit. Gotta get it..."

I also ended up getting more Kodomo no Omocha manga, and it just seems really fun. Gotta find the rest of it - need volumes 5 and 8~10.
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post #2699 of 3082
3/7/05 at 7:16am
Some updates to my Web site if anybody cares; more are coming soon.
In my own, purely personal opinion, Shin Tenchi isn't a good enough series to justify keeping any of the details in memory. Of course, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place, so I suppose your opinion differs from mine.
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post #2700 of 3082
3/7/05 at 7:57am
ChrisDAC

I'd say if Tenchi Muyo OVA 1 is an A+, then OVA2 is A-, Tenchi Universe is a B, and Tenchi in Tokyo is like C+ or B-, depending on my mood.

Oh, and I finished Gokudo-kun and as much as a hoot as it was, I'd say it rates a B-/B series label. Funny impossible and ridiculous stuff.
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