Yeah, the "fireworks" picture sure looks very soft on the US version. As for EE, look at the side shot of Sophie. That's the best example here. Looks like the UK version is framed slightly differently, with a little more information on the bottom. I noticed when I was watching my copy that...
Just watched my copy last week. As DaVid said, there is definitly EE here, even tho not the worst I've seen. Course, I generally don't see it unless I'm looking for it, so it doesn't bother me that much. It is particularly obvious in the face of The Witch Of The Waste, with all those lines...
Considering that DWJ was happy with the film, I don't take an issue with it. It would have been nice if Howl was more of a jerk, like in the book, but I was more or less satisfied. Certainly not one of Miyasaki's best efforts, but even a lesser effort by him is better than most. Jason
Except that I feel most of this film is a creation by Miyasaki-san, and is more his work than DWJ. That being said, it was a bit strange to me to watch Steamboy in Japanese, since the setting and characters are English. Jason