Here is my review of the Grave of the Fireflies DVD for DVD Angle

Grave of the Fireflies is an incredible experience. VERY emotional and it really leaves an impression.

I got an advance screener of the Collector's Edition DVD due in October, the following are comparison screenshots of the old DVD compared to the new release:

Original non-anamorphic with Gibbs effect: click (or is it moire?)
New anamorphic with better transfer and corrected color: click

and

Old: click
New: click

And here are more. Central Park Media did an outstanding job on the restoration.

Old
and
New. :O

^ So cute.

Old (notice the blotchy pixilation)
and
New .

An article on NPR raved about Spirited Away. In fact, he said that the dubovers were done by a fellow or team of fellas that did Toy Story. In fact, in the NPR story they mentioned specifically that they paid special detail to the English voice overs.

i am a straight japanese dub fan. i was taught well.

the english dub of mononoke is definitely pretty good (i love minnie driver), but i find plenty of billy bob's lines to be very underacted.

thanks kelly: i will certaintly look into his other works.. i have both a region-free dvd player and a dvd-burner, so i can watch and convert to u.s. standard all i want. okay, off to ebay..

speaking of which.. got the *uncut* version of "ichi the killer" the other night off ebay, boy what a flick.

"got the *uncut* version of "ichi the killer" the other night off ebay, boy what a flick"

Has to be a bootleg, then. Unless you got one that isn't subbed. The only legit version that is subbed is the cut (international) version (I have the region 3). There is an uncut region 2 edition, but it has no English subtitles.

Quote:



yes, i have the cut 1:51 version that's region 3 first. then i heard about an uncut version (2:08) and went searching (i hate edited versions) and found one on ebay. it is an hk boot (i wasn't sure when i bid on it), region-free, complete with director's commentary (sounds like it anyway heh) and totally japanese menus. it's the fully dual-layer version and everything and looks 10x better than the region 3 (it being a higher bitrate and all). i think that they took the subtitles from the edited version and just used them on the uncut version though. there is definitely about 15-17 minutes of footage with no subtitles heh. however, you get the just of those edited-out scenes without subtitles. there isn't too much to be said when a guy poors boiling oil all over another man's back.

Does anybody like the Lain series? I had a friend who lent me a few episodes and I thought it was very weird stuff. Also, the closing credits borders on kiddie ****.

Serial Experiments: Lain is a pretty good series. I love the song from the opening credits (by Boa).

i agree. lain is amazing. i only have the first dvd and have yet to see the rest of them.. oh well, on the list to buy i guess. indeed, the opening song is awesome.

my favorite is evangelion though. nothing beats it. although, cowboy bebop gets close in coolness and fun-to-watch-ness.

Big anime fan here, there's some great stuff out.

Lain is an excellent series. While I think I have most of the series figured out, I'm still trying to figure out (kinda-SPOILERS) what happened to Lain's sister... And (IMHO) the rest of Boa's music is as good as the opening theme, though of a different style.

For previous mentions in this thread, my highest recommendation goes to Evangelion, one of the few series that I think has tremendous replay value. It has a great balance of action, plot, and humor, and a solid English dub as well. Cowboy Bebop is excellent as well, lots of style and bluesy music.

So I don't ramble on too long, I'll throw out just one more. I highly recommend Key the Metal Idol, which some have inadequately described as a dark version of Pinochio. If you liked Lain, but thought the pacing was a bit slow or didn't have enough action, definitely give Key a try. The music is wonderful, and the dub is solid.

As long as we're hijacking the Spirited Away thread to talk anime, I want to recommend the Macross box sets.

Not the Robotech sets widely released, I'm talking Macross here. Animeigo put out a great, restored edition of the original series.

If you even kinda like Robotech, you'll love Macross. You can order the sets direct from Animeigo.

FYI - Robotech is not a dubbed version of Macross. It uses art from Macross and 2 other series based on Macross (but are supposed to be totally separate) and combines them in a re-scripted and re-edited bastardized version.

By the way, if anybody wants any anime I have some on VHS tape and may even have some on DVD just let me know and I can check what I have.

There is always a little something in the For Sale / Trade folder of my collection.

PM me if interested.

hmm... i think i should issue a warning to people who have not been previously exposed much to anime and/or asian filmmaking. if u approach the film with an extremely open mind, much like the mentality of a child, u will be blown away. however, if u hold any previous expectations of the film or try to think too much about it from a western standpoint, u will be disappointed. asian cinematography is quite different from the west: plot structure, pacing, and themes (especially in a movie like "spirited away" which is steeped in japanese culture) are all very different from western conventions. i have several friends whocould not fully enjoy "spirited away" because the plot was not in the typical 3-part exposition-conflict-climax/resolution structure that has been engrained in many western movie-goers. miyazaki's style is also extremely creative and attentive to detail, so much so that some of my friends found it to be too much... in conclusion, watch the film as a blank slate, and u will be very, very impressed.

i'm surprised that noone's mentioned "kaze no tani no naushikaa" (nausicaa of the valley of wind), the first film miyazaki directed. it was only after the 3rd or 4th time watching it that i was finally able to resist the tears that had always welled up whenever i watched that movie. personally, despite (or perhaps due to) the fact that this was his first film, i feel that he was at the top of his form. it was a magnificient film, not quite as epic in scope or as artfully paced as mononoke no hime but much more accessible and immensely moving. it has all of his signature elements: environmentalist themes, a strong female protagonist, exhilirating flying scenes... if u guys have never seen it, U ABSOLUTELY MUST!! this film is the grado rs1's of the anime world...

although "hotaru no haka" (grave of the fireflies) was directed by Isao Takahata, Takahata and Miyazaki had long been close friends and collaborators (much like kurosawa akira and uekusa keinosuke), and u can tell that the style of animation was clearly influenced by miyazaki even tho the meditative pace is signature takahata. personally, i think this is a must for anybody even remotely interested in WWII from the japanese perspective to watch. u learn so much about the japanese attitude towards the war before and after their defeat, japanese culture itself, and most poignantly, universal lessons about the darkness as well as the brilliiance that can lie in the depths of humanity. excellent film...

man... i have too many comments on too many miyazaki/studio ghibli films, and to me, most of them are absolute musts, including takahata's "heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko" and his "omohide poro poro" as well as kondou's "mimi wo sumaseba" (which was written by miyazaki). what u guys should try to do is find an anthology of some sort... hehe...

and while we're on the topic of japanese film, definitely check out kurosawa akira's works... and ozu yasujiro... and yamamoto kajiro...

aaarrgghh... japanese film... a bottomless can of worms for me, why did i click on this thread?? i must... shut... up......

Hajime No Ippo

I pilfer off of my friend.

ATTN: San Diego

The Grave of the Fireflies: Collectors Edition is stocked in the DVD section of the Best Buy in Mission Valley, San Diego.

The release date is supposed to be Oct. 8th.

Go get it.