Anime DVDs for the relative newbie (1 Viewer)

[EdwardS]

Hi crew,
Ok, I've alwyas been interested in japanime but I was wondering if any of you guys can recommend some good anime dvds which have quality sound and picture....I have Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Princess Mononoke, Neon Genesis Evangelion etc but are there any crucial ones which I have to have....
Thanks
Ed

 

[Matt<>Broon]

Do a quick search for 'Novice Anime Discoussion' Or you could just follow this link here -

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...4&pagenumber=1

The recommendations are generally considered the better examples of Anime available by the Otaku of HTF.

Cowboy Bebop is highly praised by most (I think that's partly because it's slightly 'westernised') and there's no denying that it's a great series.

If you're specifically looking for excellent transfers/colour etc then I recommend going for more modern Anime shows. Mahoromatic's transfer is rock solid throughout although you should probably read the DVD reviews to discover if that's the kind of thing you're into.

Personally I'm a big fan of Escaflowne (although it drifts apart a bit in the last few episodes) & I'd definitely recommend Spirited Away (or any film by Miyazaki in fact) as a must purchase as well.

 

[EdwardS]

Great, thanks for your help!

 

[Rob Lutter]

Mohoromatics transfer...

You mean Mahoromatic, right? Chobits and Sugar also have nice anamorphic transfers.

Edward, I definately suggest checking out GTO if you want a comedy... otherwise there are some really good suggestions on the list.

 

[Matt<>Broon]

Err.. Yeah, that's what I meant. The perils of a misplaced apostrophe and forgetting to proof read. :b

 

[Tony-B]

*SELF-PROMO ALERT!*
Why Don't you take a look at the wonderful

HTF anime recommendations list?

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Is there a Region 2 (w/ English subs) Anime recommended list?

 

[Rob Lutter]

Mark, there isn't enough subbed stuff to make a list

All the Ghibli movies are recommended and are subbed in R2 though

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Thanks, Is that R2 Japan or Europe?

 

[Rob Lutter]

Japan.

 

[Matt<>Broon]

R2 Europe? Unfortunately that list is quite small, I don't often see Anime on the shelves around here. :frowning:

Erm. Akira is out. As is Vampire Hunter D (actually that seems to have just been re released or something must check it out).

You CAN get Escaflowne if you look hard enough and Evangelion IIRC. Both come highly recommended. I'm a big Escaflowne fan myself.

 

[Chris Beveridge]

Not enough R2 to recommend? Baloney.

Region 2 (Japan) anime releases with subs and dubs

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Here's the $.65 question. How many of those R2 (japan or europe) releases don't have R1 counterparts?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The big one, Memories finally got picked up by Columbia Tri-Star. The Ghibli titles for the most part will be out here eventually

Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space
Tree of Palme
Boy Who Saw The Wind
Five Star Stories

I don't believe anyone here has those

 

[Terry St]

All the Ghibli movies are recommended and are subbed in R2 though

"Castle in the Sky", "Spirited Away", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Princess Mononoke" all have decent R1 transfers. Original audio and subs are available for all, although only "Spirited Away" has 5.1 Japanese. (the rest are stereo, unless my feeble mind has failed me yet again) You might find 5.1 Japanese versions in R2, but it's up to you whether or not the cost is worthwhile. Anime addicts tend to get used to paying exorbitant prices after a while I suppose. If you're a special features man, the R1 special features for these films are probably more comprehensible, but they're largely pointless. Disney, who has bought rights to distribute Ghibli's films in R1, decided that people are more interested in the generic hollywood talent they got to dub the english tracks for the film than the film itself!

Anyways, "Castle in the Sky" is probably the first film I'd pick up. It's the most intelligent "lost city" film I've seen in ages. If you've seen Atlantis, you'll probably notice a lot of stuff Disney "borrowed". It's all-ages rather than adult oriented as most of the films you listed above are, but it truly is superb. Although it was made in 1986, I first saw it just recently and was literally flabbergasted that such an animated masterpiece could escape notice for so long! After decades of overly commercialized and intellectually insulting Disney dreck it restored my faith in all-ages animation. Disney hasn't made a film like this since 20,000 leagues under the sea! Atlantis was an attempt, but it pandered to it's target demographic and had no regard for the audience's intelligence whatsoever. True, Atlantis was underrated, but it is still soulless Disney dreck. "Castle in the Sky" is the film Atlantis was trying to be, but failed. Unfortunately, the R1 DVD release of "Castle in the Sky" has a rather dorky looking cover that will probably turn a lot of people off. (Thankyou Mr.Eisner)

As for other anime you might check out... Metropolis was pretty good. It had some very stunning animation, but didn't live up to the silent classic it was based on. (Admittedly, no easy feat!) I'll second the recommendation of Cowboy Bebop. Get the TV series first though. The film, while good, was wholly unremarkable. If you ever want "Top Gun" in Anime form, look no further than the Macross Plus series.

Another great anime classic that you shouldn't miss is "Wings of Honneamise". It's about the events leading to the first manned flight in space, but in an alternate version of reality that is totally immersive and incredibly imaginative. The R1 release, unfortunately, has been badly mangled by Mangle er... Manga Entertainment. I am not sure if there is a R2 version with subs though. Even so, it's one of the most imaginative anime films out there. It is also of great historical significance, since Gainax, one of the larger Anime companies currently operating, came into being to make it. It also had an unprecedented budget at the time it was made.

 

[SeanMW]

princess mononoke has a 5.1 jap track as well as the 5.1 english dub

 

[CraigF]

I know nothing about anime, and only have (and have seen) Spirited Away. Princess Mononoke sounds intriguing, but before I get it I'm wondering if there's expected to be a 2 disc release of it soon, like for some of the other Miyazaki features? Also, I vaguely recall something amiss with the Kiki's Delivery Service DVD...is that so, is it something I should worry about? Thanks for the help, and saving me from reading all the anime threads *right now* to find out!

 

[Rob Lutter]

The Kiki disc has some problems with the English Dub being out of sync... I also see problems with the subs...
...now I am not in any way fluent in Japanese, but I know some of the basics and I saw lots of errors in the sub track. This is because (from doing research) they used the dub script to create the literal sub script (if that makes sense). There is a way around this... if you know how to use DVD Subber and get a script from ScriptClub.ORG... you can run a literal translation on a HTPC. It's not too too big of a deal though... and the subs are the same as both the J-disc and the Hong Kong disc IIRC... so it's not as if Disney is screwing us.

Also worth getting (outside of the Disney-Ghibli deal) is Ghibli-non-Miyazaki film Grave of the Fireflies which is directed by other Ghibli frontman Isao Takahata. It's probably MY favorite war film of all time and gives a rare glimpse of WWII from the eyes of an everyday Japanese teenager and his sister. It's been released by Central Park Media in a 2-disc set and is and EXCELLENT disc... can be found at Best Buy for $19.99 ($29.99 MSRP).

Miyazaki's continuation of one of his TV affairs can be found in Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro which pre-dates Ghibli. Spielberg is a big fan of Lupin (the "James Bond" of anime) and it's quite obvious that this film had a BIG influence on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It's been released by Manga Entertainment and although it's non-anamorphic... it's still one of their best discs. There is also a 2-disc SE released in Region 2, but that will run ya around $60 to import it (w/o subs... although, again, you can use DVDsubber).

Boy Who Saw The Wind

Excellent film! I hope someone picks it up soon.

 

[Matt<>Broon]

Funnily enough (since this thread has emerged again) I was watching Spirited Away the other night on my new TV and I noticed two things I hadn't really spotted previously.

1) Absolutely no red tint visible (except where it's supposed to be). Not sure how but it's vanished I tell ya.

2) The soundtracks in Japanese are a) Japanese Stereo & b) Japanese DTS. There is not traditional 5.1 soundtrack on the disk.

Most unusual.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I assume you wree watching the R2 or R3 version?

DTS is huge in Asia, and it's not suprise that Ghibli dumped DD 5.1 in favor of DTS, since 90%+ of 5.1 equipped people have DTS