HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII - Page 70

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Max:

Unfortunately, the high-end market (and if you have an HDTV, you're considered 'high-end') is not a large enough market for them to bother with trying to please. Realistically, anime DVDs are made to look good on regular, SD TVs, which the vast majority of people have. If you watch GITS:SAC on a regular TV, unless you have a truly massive SD tube, you probably would never, ever notice that anything was 'wrong'. I agree that it's unfortunate that they put in the EE, but I think it will take a few years, plus a greater penetration of HD into the market, before enough people would complain to make it worth their while to master the disks without EE.

In regards to the GITS:SAC tin, mine arrived unscathed. It's made of the exact same material that the first season's was, so I guess luck was on my side .

John.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Thing is, there are so many that get it right that there is no excuse for this. For example, all of Geneon's output looks great on my projector.

Jason

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Although I love Geneon, the dot-crawls on the anime drive me insane and the alpha-blending is bad too on the background. But c'est-la-vie.

There's a slight EE on many American anime DVDs (as there are also on Japanese DVDs). That's what happens when you have people encoding mpeg2 and using small monitors as output devices.

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The dot-crawl is unfortunate since it should be completely avoidable by now. Hopefully the American companies are doing everything they can in order to prevent receiving worthless masters from Japan.

As for the EE, I'm just glad it isn't as prevalent as it could have been, a lot of shows have looked really good in this regard lately, particularly from Geneon as noted above; Samurai Champloo, Gungrave, Fighting Spirit etc. But GitS: Stand Alone Complex... yeah... I have no idea what the hell they were thinking with that one. It should have been given top-priority/treatment and would have looked so awesome if it was done by Geneon and speeDVD in their usual manner (progressive etc.), but instead we got the most horribly broken encode in the history of digital animation. And to top it off they dare market it with 'Encoded directly from hi-definition masters' on the back. Pffffft.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I finished off a couple more series today:

Yukikaze: Visually, this is one fine show. Nice CGI/cell blend, character designs that don't fit the 'standard' anime look, great action. I wish there had been a few more episodes, however. It seems like the viewer is dropped in the middle of the plot, with only a minimal amount of back story to fill you in. For what the writers did have, there was decent amount of plot to keep the viewer watching. If a studio decides to re-release this as a 26-episode series, I'll be all over it. As it is, if you can find the complete series, you won't be disappointed. 'B', recommended.

Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd Gig: Technically, this is one of the more controversial series out there, especially for those of us who have high-end setups. Compared to the other disks in the series, I'd say that there was a slight bit more interlace artifacting going on, but that the edge enhancement, while noticeable, wasn't distracting on my setup. YMMV. Story-wise, there is no question that this was one of the best series to come out this year, and I won't hesitate to state that it was better than the first season was. The last three episodes wrapped things up nicely, and I'll probably be rewatching both seasons here soon, once I get through my massive pile of new disks. 'A', highly recommended.

John.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

watched the first disc of Girls Bravo - Good cheesy fun with a surprisingly decent script and gentle satire on social roles and class divisions. Good times and enjoyment. :p

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I saw the first two eps of Burst Angel - I accidentally got it through Netflix instead of the next installent of Kaliedo Star: New Wings that I wanted (very goodo series, I am highly addicted to it and will buy it if they release a thinpak of it)... Burst Angel has some comedic moments but is mostly bingbangboom action. I like the character designs and the two girls so far.

I liked Galaxy Angel and Galaxy Angel A, is Galaxy Angel Z worth looking into?

Looking forward to finally seeing Koi Kaze again although my order is still "on order" at rightstuf. Blast it all to heck and back.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Gits wrapped up pretty nicely and I liked the homage to the original manga at the end with the Fuchikoma's. Gohda's arrest and the fate of Kuze seemed a little anti-climactic IMO.

Finished a small series call Lunar Legends Tsukihime yesterday and although it starts with an interesting premise (kid who sees the threads of life meets vampire) it had a very poor ending. The story starts falling to pieces in the last few episodes and then everything has a 1 episode wrap up like a Star Trek episode. The story felt like one adapted from a book where too much background was left out.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I really wished that there was one more episode for Gits: SAC 2nd gig. It ended a little bit too quickly for my tastes. But, still a very excellent show.

I have most of the 2nd season in HD - one day I'll get off my ass and sync the english DTS soundtracks and the official subtitles into them. The PQ is very nearly perfect, at least when compared to the DVDs!

Fighting Spirit is very enjoyable so far - I'm eagerly awaiting volume 11 from zip.ca - the preview of episode 51 (I think) has me excited - Ippo picks up chicks!

(Oh yeah - Fighting Spirit looks great on my projector and my HTPC - no obvious deinterlacing artifacts, no EE - it's all good!)

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Indeed, it really couldn't have been much better. Perfectly progressive (well, apart from the ED), no EE, good compression, and add to that the fact that it's one of the best-animated TV shows using traditional painted cels, with just the right amount of film grain. Absolutely beautiful.

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Fighting Spirit uses handpainted cels? No way! I always thought they used computer graphics - but done so well you don't notice.

If this is true it is quite spectacular.

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It was one of the very last shows to use cels (it has some CGI lighting effects during the boxing matches but I think that's it), and with that fact the superb, fluid animation in the fights, with all that old-school shading and those speed-lines just becomes all the more impressive.

It ran for a while though and I haven't seen it all so it's possible they changed somewhere mid-series, I don't know, but the first third is definitely animated with cels.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Wow, quiet lately. I haven't been watching any anime lately, since it's horror film month, although I'll probably start in on my massive stack from TRSI come November.

John.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Again, pretty slow here.

Put in Vol 3 of Jubei-Chan 2 last night. More of what I expect from the show. Lots of Jiyu rejecting the eyepatch yet again and trying to avoid conflict wherever possible, but she should know that never works! A little twist at the end which gives her father more heartache.

And Bantaro and gang are getting more superfluous with every episode. They might as well not be in the show.

Jason

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I finished volume 11 of Fighting Spirit the other day. Yes! Ippo gets invited to a cute girl's house! FINALLY!

Oh - I think volume 11 is the start of season 3. The OP (opening) and ED (ending) music sucks! Especially the ED - yuck, it gave me a flashback to those mullet "rock" bands that were all the range in the late 80s and early 90's. *gag*

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I also finished off Gankutsuou. Pretty damned good! The ending didn't suck, the visuals in the last episode are breathtaking.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Max:

Agreed. I thought the last episode wrapped things up nicely.

John.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

The anime party over the weekend was a moderate success. As usual, I don't get through half the stuff I wanted to get through, but everyone has a good time.

I got through two discs of Last Exile, which went over fairly well. Then, while waiting for dinner to arrive, I showed the non-anime "The Return Of Captain Invincible". To wrap up the evening, I showed Interstella 5555, which also went over well.

Jason

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

The anime party over the weekend was a moderate success. As usual, I don't get through half the stuff I wanted to get through, but everyone has a good time.

I got through two discs of Last Exile, which went over fairly well. Then, while waiting for dinner to arrive, I showed the non-anime "The Return Of Captain Invincible". To wrap up the evening, I showed Interstella 5555, which also went over well.

Jason

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Hmmm...no messages for a week. It almost seems like we should declare this thread dead.

John.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Got my rightstuf order, havent watched anything from it (yet anyway).
Ive seen the first four volumes of Kaliedo Star : New Wings. A definite must view for anyone that liked the original KS. It just keeps getting better and better even if I question some of the plotline twists.
Finished Strawberry Marshmellow too. A very cute sliceoflife series that is worth a peek. Some genuine laugh out loud moments occured here too. Endearing characters, but a bit too much Miyu. She is like the hyper active kid that everyone liked but still annoyed the heck out of ya at the same time. Anyone that dug Azumanga should enjoy this I would think. It has real heart and soul and isnt overly sweet. even though theres no real story arc it doesnt detract from the series and the ending is satsifying as it seems to show how the girls are going to continue on after the curtains have closed. Very nice. I recommend it.

Still have not checked out Kamichu. Not enough volumes out for me to dive in yet.. but Princess Tutu is next on my list to tackle. After rewatching Koi Kaze of course.

Also have seen alot of Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends lately. I know Tony used to talk about the cartoon and you know what? It really is VERY funny. My two year old likes it too which is a bonus, but I will watch it even if Im by myself and not watching her. Just cos its so darn funny.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Three of the four volumes of Kamichu are now available with the final volume due on December 19. Do yourself a favor and Netflix it-it's one of the top releases of the year for me. I also completely agree with your assessment of Strawberry Marshmallow.

I just finished off the first four volumes of My-Hime and am eagerly awaiting volume 5. It's a good show and a decent presentation by Bandai. However, it would be nice if they encoded a time remaining counter on the disc.

I'm going to crack into my RS Geneon discs and first up will be Koi Kaze(because of your strong recommendation).

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I was away for the weekend, but I was still able to catch up with R.O.D.: The TV Disc 1. So far, an interesting setup and a mystery right off the bat: where is Yomiko Readman? It definitely leaves me wanting for more.

Jason

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I was away for the weekend, but I was still able to catch up with R.O.D.: The TV Disc 1. So far, an interesting setup and a mystery right off the bat: where is Yomiko Readman? It definitely leaves me wanting for more.

Jason

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Oh I didnt realize that Kamichu was ending in December. I thought it was a six disc series. That will be next up after Princess Tutu then. Im also curious about My-Hime...

I do love Koi Kaze even though it is quite "messed up" in some ways. Very risque subject matter but the show is so honest and down to earth that it sucks you in.

I only wish I had had more $$ to spend on the Rightstuf sale. Wonder if theres any chance of them doing something similiar again in the future?

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I'm looking forward to watching Koi Kaze too - I should be able to rent it from zip.ca before the holidays.

I'm heading to Tokyo for a week and Hong Kong for two more with my gf in a couple of weeks - we're going to tour around for the food, the sights, and the otaku merchandise!

I'm really looking forward to putting in hundreds (thousands?) of yen into the gachapon machines. I will squeal in delight if I get a little Aramaki figure in those shiny little toy capsules!

Oh - and I must have a look at the Tokyo Tower with my own eyes, before it is destroyed in the inevitable nuclear/psychic/asteroid/tentacle blast.

As for recent anime - I finished Sol Bianca: The Legacy last week. It didn't make a lot of sense but it was still a fun ride. The PQ was atrocious though - it was so soft I was wondering if my projector was broken! What the heck happened? I suppose very early Pioneer (now Geneon) releases are like this.

Oh - and who thinks the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack would be a drop-in replacement soundtrack for Firefly?

BTW, if I find any Satoshi Urushihara artbooks in Tokyo (I will browse through Animate!, Mandarake, and other giant anime/manga stores) I will weep openly - I am 100% certain that the Hong Kong customs officials will confiscate them. And if by some miracle they make it past them, Canada Customs will liberate them from me and stamp "sex offender" on my passport. Yes, I've heard the Canada Customs horror stories...we hire the finest former concentration camp administrators and guards from all over the world! Diversity at its best!

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I finished Last Exile recently and it was quite enjoyable. I think the only thread they left up in the air was what happened to Deo?

The story of Gilgamesh looks interesting. How is the series?

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

I thought about trying Gilgamesh last year. However, Kong Chang scared me off of it in post #856 of this very thread.

Re: HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII

Found it.