Video Quality: This show was produced at HD resolution (speculated to be 720p) so sharpness is decent. There's quite a bit of digital grain, and as you can see, grain particles are big so it was very noticeable. Not sure how this compares to the broadcast version but I think I read from the blog that they tried to reduce them a bit. Personally, I didn't mind but I can see how it might be bothering for some. I think there's slight edge enhancement but I could be wrong. Overall, pretty much what I expected. Not bad but pretty typical TV series PQ for today's standard. Considering that it came out in 2007 though, I'm very satisfied.
Audio Quality: 5.1 surroundtrack (DTS-HD MA 48kHz), still rare for a TV series, is included in this BD set. Quality is superb and mix itself is more than decent, I would say. Surround channels are effectively used and give quite a good directional feeling. Action scenes I checked out were pretty sleek. I was especially impressed with bass usage. Very satisfied.
I enjoyed this series a lot back when it aired. Top notch animation, solid story, and great BGM. Basically gave up on other big November releases to get this one. BD quality was superb so I'm pretty happy with the purchase.
Video Quality: I'll be honest. Windowboxing in Cowboy Bebop Japanese Blu-ray is ridiculous. It is one of the thickest I've seen in Bandai releases and it is one of the reason why I avoided buying this BD for so long. My TV can do overscan and make those go away so it's not a huge problem but knowing that I'm losing out on resolution does bug me. That said, other areas of the release is not bad. Black level is very good and while some scenes are blurrier than others, ovearll, sharpness is decent for a cel anime. Grain level isn't bad either. CG parts look okay mostly becasue they are meant to look analogue-ish.
So JP edition is actually a little cropped, it seems. That's a little disappointing.
Audio Quality: This is the reason why I got the JP release instead of the US release. Bandai has been very good with their surround mixes and I just could not give that up. And surely, the audio quality did not disappoint. It's a very fun mix where you have lots of opportunities to clearly notice the separate channels.
Extras: Trailers and non-credit opening and ending. While it's not much, I'm glad they kept the non-credit OP and ED. Both are in HD with 5.1 lossless audio.
When I heard about the exclusion of 5.1 surround mix in US release, I was very disappointed. Disappointment was doubled when I saw the non-windowboxed screenshot. If only it had the surround track... :( I mean it's Cowboy Bebop! It's an action movie with one of the best soundtrack ever! Also, while US release got rid of the windowbox, it still used the same master and my guess is that bitrate is lower than the JP release. Since I have the overscan function on my TV, I just decided to go for the JP release. And I did not regret it.
(Review equipment: 55" Sony HX701, PS3, Denon AVR-789, Energy Take 5.1)
Product Description: (via Aniplex USA)
Based on the Dengeki Novel Prize-winning story Baccano! by avant-garde novelist Ryohgo Narita (Durarara!!), the popular light novel series-turned critically acclaimed anime series has come back like gangbusters in High Definition Blu-ray format!
Hot off the “Roaring Twenties” and headfirst into the uncertain volatility of the “Dirty Thirties,” criminal syndicates stormed into power by bootlegging alcohol during the Prohibition Era, but the most notorious “liquor” of all time is about to set off a violent chain reaction within the mafia underworld! Each of the gritty stories in Baccano! involves an eclectic cast of innocent and not-so-innocent, turbulent characters in several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral further and further out of control. Immortal alchemists, mafia-operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction are brutally mashed together for a explosive massacre straight out of crime noir movies.
*I have not watched the entire BD-BOX yet. PQ & AQ impressions are from the first episode.
Video Quality: While upscale does have a bit of a smudging + edge enhancement look, it's within a tolerable range. Also, due to the fact that DVDs had a bad video quality, upgrade to Blu-ray is worth it (comparison shots by hissatsu). Detail improvement is pretty obvious.
Screenshots (スクリーンキャプチャ):shot1, shot2, shot3, shot4, shot5
(C) Aniplex USA, Project Baccano!, Brains Base
Audio Quality: Too bad it's just 2ch and not a 5.1 remix but I can live with that. I'm quite satisfied with the mix and the quality of the audio tracks.
Baccano! is a unique series. Scrambled timeline, psychotic but mostly likable characters, and interesting setting with good back story. While production quality wavers at times, overall, animation is fluid and dynamic for a TV series. Action scenes are well done, and don't shy away from blood. Story development could be confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, the ending will deliver great satisfaction. Aniplex USA did a decent job in packaging. I'm actually not a digipak fan so I'm not so disappointed about the change from the Japanese release. I'm also having fun listening to the English dubbing. It's done well and fitting because of the setting. PQ & AQ are good as well, so considering the price, I'm very happy with what I got.
(Review equipment: 55" Sony HX701, PS3, Denon AVR-789, Energy Take 5.1)
Product Description: (via ANN)
Naota is a detached sixth grader afflicted by the pangs of puberty. He's fooling around with his brother's ex-girlfriend when a crazed girl on a motor scooter runs him over, brains him with a bass guitar, and moves into his house. She says she's an alien, and hurls Naota into the middle of a mega-corporation's secret agenda. Now giant battling robots shoot from his skull when he has naughty thoughts.
Video Quality: Aye, aye, aye... First of all, smudging effect/excessive edge enhancement makes the general look of the picture worse than the DVD upscale (PS3). But I already knew that beforehand, so why get it? DVD suffers from interlace error at times, aliasing, and low bitrate (well, limitation of DVD, I would say). I did not notice interlace issues from the parts I checked on the Blu-ray and obviously, having a high bitrate/better codec really helps as FLCL is one of the shows known for its dynamic animation. Aliasing though, has not been improved AT ALL. On top of that I found microblocking on some of the scenes (ex. shot5 below) though these are on DVD as well.
Audio Quality: To be honest, I wasn't impressed. I actually thought there was something wrong with the mix but when I played the DVD, I realized it has the same issue: low volume dialogues.
Well, I have nothing to say about the content, since 1) I already own the DVDs so there's nothing new, 2) we all know this is anime classic and 3) this is my all time favorite series and all I'm gonna ramble about is how perfect this show is. Anyways, BD picture quality really is a shame. While seeing all those action scenes without picture breaking down was neat, smudging effect can get really annoying at times. I'm just gald it only costed me $20.
(Review equipment: 55" Sony HX701, PS3, Denon AVR-789, Energy Take 5.1)
Packaging, Video Quality, Audio Quality: Same as vol.1
Special Features/Bonus Material: Mosou drama, non-credit ending, and Irabu medical records cards. Unfortunately, that's all for vol.2-4.
Cameo appearances of guest characters from other episodes were fun and each episode felt unique despite the somewhat similar pattern. Now, the last episode... I personally thought it was a little too dark compared to other stories. I never really liked the cell phone guy in the first place so it was a little hard for me to sympathize with the story either. If they had chosen a different character for the finale, maybe it might have been more satisfying. I did like the way they wrapped up the series though.
Kuuchuu Buranko didn't blow me away but I thoroughly enjoyed the series. I think a lot of it has to do with the flamboyant and bizzare way of Irabu's approach (kind of like House) but I also liked the general message these episodes have: Sometimes, you need to accept who you are and perhaps build something positive out of it.
(Review equipment: 55" Sony HX701, PS3, Denon AVR-789, Energy Take 5.1)
Packaging: I was pleasantly surprised by the packaging. It's actually pretty good. Clear BD case with see through cover art. First time I've seen this kind of packaging and it is fitting for such an eccentric show.
Video Quality: Picture has a slightly soft feel to it but production resolution seems good (anibin analysis: 1440x810 from the TV airing). 1080i. I don't think combing is prevalent BUT I did notice it twice while watching episode 2 (shot 5 is one of them). There could be more (or less, I guess) depending on the AV system. Also, I don't think anti-aliasing is done too well. This is very noticeable during the ED credit roll. While overall look is not too bad, these PQ issues pop up time to time and they are noticeable and annoying.
Audio Quality: Stereo only. Pretty good mix though.
Special Features/Bonus Material: Mousou Drama was an odd special feature. Basically each guest seiyuu talks about all the fantasy he had while watching Mayumi-chan puts a needle in. Each of them is about 2 minutes long. Staff/cast interview and making of Mayumi and non-credit OP/ED included. At the back of the Irabu medical record card, there's a short Q&A session for each seiyuu.
First two episodes were surprisingly enjoyable. I like the overall atmosphere. It doesn't get too dark and it doesn't make a mistake of lecturing the audience. Stories are about patients facing their inner problems and that somehow untangles the situation naturally. I really like that aspect of the show. It is also very humorous. I noticed that the guest character from episode 2 appeared in episode 1 as well. I wonder if this will be like Tatami Galaxy where everything comes together in the end? BGM usage was fantastic. Amazing OP/ED. It definitely has a unique visual. I remember reading an interview with director Nakamura. He was asked why he chose to use live action footage and I remember he said something like he wanted viewers to actually get excited when there's something like a close-up boob shot, or something along that line (I don't really trust my memory these days though...). I think that idea worked somewhat but I can't say it was a smart choice when it comes to attracting the core anime fans who would SPEND MONEY on DVD/BD. Yes, it mega-bombed. It was released a year ago and I was still able to get the first pressed (And note that in many retailers, this series was heavily discounted).
*p.s: Mayumi is pretty good looking but if you watch "Making of Mayumi", you will notice that she looks much hotter when she doesn't pretend to be a bitch.
(Review equipment: 55" Sony HX701, PS3, Denon AVR-789, Energy Take 5.1)
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Package: Not exactly the same as 1.11. Different digipak type and material. My film strip was horrible. Scenery of buildings.
Video quality: A little better than 1.11. Previous movie had some scenes where outlines were thick and blurry I didn't see those in 2.22. Probably because they did not copy any of the old drawings(or at least I didn't notice any). It's one of the better looking anime BDs around but not as sharp as Ponyo or Princess and the Frog.
Screenshots(スクリーンキャプチャ): shot1, shot2, shot3
(C)カラー/KING RECORDS
Special Features: Hmm... There's "I would give you anything" Noguchi ver., Making clip, script, omitted scenes and some PVs. Making is just a clip that shows how they add layers and layers over the sketch to make the final product, so I didn't find it too interesting. I don't think I'll ever try to read the script, so that's that. Omitted scenes and noguchi ver. clip were pretty interesting. Since it does not have any staff interview or audio commentary, this BD feels quite lacking in speacial features department.
Spoilers ahead. Click to read more...
This movie was... hmm... It's not like I don't like it. It was an exciting movie, but I have to point out some things I didn't like. First up is the song they use where EVA 03 gets brutally murdered. Maybe they did it on purpose, because it kinda makes the scene gross. The way they combined the grotesque scene with a melody that's so contradictory didn't sit well with me. Especially so because this is right after we see Asuka finally opening up a little. Situation is so much different from the original TV series. Now, the last battle... I don't think the song is bad but the battle scene felt quite different from the original. I mean... Eva is shooting a laser beam... hmm... EVA IS SHOOTING A LASER BEAM... The thing I like about Eva going berserk is that when it does, it beats down the opponent by raw power and EVA feels like it's a living thing. Similar to the scene where EVA 03 gets beaten(though that one didn't feel right because of the music). I guess it can't be helped since this time, Shinji had to save Ayanami who was inside the Angel. By the way, that scene... director Tsurumaki was written all over it(though I have no way of confirming that). It gave me chills and all but it also felt so different from the Evangelion I know. Then again, this IS technically a new series and I think I should try to accept it as it is.
There were CG usages in 1.11, too but it somehow bothered me more this time around. It's okay when they use it for Angels but I really don't like it when they use CG on people. Sheesh, these guys made tons of money from 1.0. Can't they at least draw people by hand? I guess I'm not too fond of them using CG on EVA either but at least it was done well, so that didn't really bother me. My last complaint would be the horrible Engrish(and this is coming from someone whose English skill is far from perfect). I can tolerate poor English in most cases but Kaji's English was more like French than English.
So... that was my huge list of things I didn't like about Eva 2.22. Like I said in the beginning though, it was an exciting movie. It didn't feel rushed and I thought it was more than a fan service for old Eva fans. I think it was good enough to be considered as a separate series. I did notice some fan service moments for original TV series fans. For example, when Shinji and Kensuke are talking about new pilot, it looks as if Toji is the new pilot. Then we hear Toji saying "Tsk, no prize for me." I think those who watched the TV series probably gave out a few chuckles there. Other than the EVA 03 scene, action scenes were very good. The part where EVA 02 comes down from the sky and the part where 3 EVAs running at full speed were especially to my liking.
Overall, very solid movie. BD was lacking a little on the bonus materials but other than that, it was a pretty satisfying release.
*p.s: Remember the scene where Shinji gets angry over what Gendo did? When I was watching the TV series, I could somehow relate to his anger, but now... I was thinking "Grow up, man;;;" I wonder if it's a different directing style or I got too old... ^^;;
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I've been waiting for this title since last summer but Japanese version was so expensive, so I was going to buy US/UK/Korean ver. I held out for about a week but I eventually gave up. It's tiring to wait and I didn't want to miss out on special features.
Package: Not good. I hate these huge space gobbling extras. It would have been better without hanafuda cards. Gah!! and that paper sleeve on top of plastic slipcover. What the hell am I supposed to do with this? I can't throw it out and it's hard to store... grr... -_-
Video Quality: Not as bad as I expected when I saw the screenshots but it is quite soft. There's intentional digital noise so I'm guessing they are trying to give it a film-like feel. Since it's a theatrical release, I did expect sharper video quality.
*ADDED:
screenshots(スクリーンキャプチャ): shot1, shot2, shot3
(C) SUMMER WARS FILM PARTNERS/MADHOUSE/VAP
Audio Quality: Not bad, I guess. Soundtrack felt like it had pretty busy high frequency level to give "cyber space" like feel to it.
Special features: Amazing. There's tons of stuff to look at and you can check all these at the right moment by selecting them as the movie plays. Rough draft is shown at the same time as the movie progresses, and there's commentary track as well. This is probably better than most Hollywood movies out there.
Hosoda Mamoru worked in anime industry for a long time, but it was really The Girl Who Leapt Through Time(Toki-kake) that brought him fame. Toki-kake won critics and audience over Ged-senki which premiered around the same time and director Hosoda was suddenly in the centre of attention. His highly anticipated new movie Summer Wars premiered last Summer and I had high hopes for it as well, but there were some negative comments that made me hesitate to pick up the movie. Many claimed that plot development was forced and generic. It seemed like a lot of Toki-kake fans were disappointed, too. That said, I was one of those people who thought Toki-kake was a bit over-rated so I wasn't sure how to interpret these responses.
Anyways, I finally got to see the movie this week. To make the long story short, I liked it more than Toki-kake. You know, one of the greatest strength of director Hosoda, is his ability to express daily life so realistically. Despite the not-so-realistic drawing style, his animation is always full of life and everything feels as if they are tangible. It's his directing talent that really brings these characters to life. I was very impressed. Ironically, both Toki-kake and Summer Wars suffer from countless plot holes that make these films unrealistic. The fact that it contradicts with director Hosoda's realistic expression makes it worse. When I watched Toki-kake, these plot-holes were eye-sores. More than it should have been. After I watched Summer Wars, it became clear to me why this was so. It's somewhat compensated by exciting pacing but these plot-holes do affect the evaluation of the movie. I'm not really sure who to blame though. Director Hosoda or script writer Okudera Satoko.
So, why did I like it more than Toki-kake if the weakness and strength are exactly the same? First of all, it's a happy ending! (spoiler. highlight to read) No.1 rule of family movies. Secondly, plot developments are straight forward. I'm guessing these are exactly the reasons why many Toki-kake fans didn't appreciate this movie as much since that lingering sad feeling is what many people liked about Toki-kake. Apparently, plot is very similar to digimon movie War Games, but I never watched it myself, so... can't complain. Despite numerous plot-holes, overall story development is reasonable. It had plenty of entertaining elements as well, such as cyber martial-art action and love-relationship.
I would like to talk about visual aspect of the movie a little bit. When I was watching the movie, I found these Avatars fascinating because some didn't look like CG at all. So I checked out the interview, and just like I expected, Avatars of family members, King Kazuma, etc, are not 3D CG but hand-drawn. I thought they did a very good job on blending hand drawn and 3D avatars together. Non-cyber space is visually spectacular as well. Even compared to other theatrical anime, it has a very dynamic animation. I really liked it. BGM was okay, but none of them felt too memorable. Ending theme was amazing though.
In the end, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit and special features were awesome so I guess I'm satisfied with the purchase. That said, I'll be very sad if all these special features are included in the US/UK/Korean BD. T__T
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Video & Audio quality: Same as pervious volumes
Special features: This time voice actors of Dagmyer and Babalun are guests for the radio program. It was louder than usual....
Finally! We haven't gotten much robot action since episode 1, so it was great to see some real action this time around. That said, animation quality was underwhelming. This was probably one of the most important episode so it was a letdown to see poor drawing quality. And for whatever reason, episode 6 had the highest animation quality of this series. Seriously, I just don't get it... At least battle scenes were great...
Spoilers ahead! Click to read more...
There were many new revelations this episode and one of them was Doll's
identity: Mexiah;;; I was quite shocked because I've been assuming
Mexiah = Neizai. Now I have no idea who Neizai is supposed to be... I
guess this explains why Doll hasn't shown up since episode 1, despite
her importance in the series(reminds me of GXP). She turned out to be
one of the ancient ruins and this sounds a lot like Dual! I wonder if
they will be able to separate Mexiah out of Doll and if Mexiah knew
about this all along. You know... when Doll appears, she makes this
evil laugh but right after that, her personality changes 180 degrees. I
thought that was really awkward.
Unlike Dagymer(THE loser of
the series), Babalun came to Seichi to find something but this episode
doesn't tell us what it is. Flora foresaw Babalun's attack and fought
back but really... a train? I don't see how it can fight equally with a
flying ship when it can only run on a fixed lane.
While
revealing that Kenshi is Seikishi of Light, Principal also mentions
that Seikishi of Light can also become Seikishi of Darkness. Could it be that Kenshi will turn into Sekishi of Darkness in a later episode? And I'm curious if this
has anything to do with the reason behind Washu transporting Kenshi
into a different world.
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Video quality is the same as the previous volumes.
Audio quality is the same, too. Nothing much to add at this point.
Spoilers ahead! Click to read more...
When I heard that this episode would be sports festival, I had this
feeling that it would be drawn out like volume 5. However, this episode
was surprisingly enjoyable. Jokes were decent and there was that Aura
dere. ^^ That said, nothing much happened. Ulyte was trying to find a
location of something using Kenshi and just before the end, someone
invaded the school(supposedly Babalun) but that's about it. There were
some Tenchi related comments like how Kenshi makes animal like faces
and how Mexiah has the same kinds of eyes as Kenshi's sisters... ^^;;
You know, I think giving Kenshi such superhuman power was a mistake.
It's hard to sympathize if the main character is perfect in almost
every aspect.
Maria's seiyuu was invited as a guest for this volume's radio program
but... I really don't think that's her real voice. It somehow felt like
she's pretending to be someone else. Personally, I liked the episode with
Mexiah's seiyuu(Ayumi) the most.
