In Costco the other day I spotted a veritable smorgasbord of Ghibli DVDs. Better yet, they were all priced at $12.99, considerably cheaper than for what they are going on Amazon. I picked up Porco Rosso and Whisper of the Heart (which I have never seen). Tales of Earthsea (a.k.a. Gedo Senki) was also there, and I thought about buying it so I could complete my Ghibli collection, but I decided not to. That film was a disappointment. The only redeeming thing about it is Therru's song. But I digress....
I saw Porco Rosso 12 years ago at my college's anime club. It was a fansub on VHS and was incredibly grainy, but since it hadn't been licensed yet that was the only way to view it. So I squealed with delight as I made my way to the checkout line with Porco in hand. Maybe someday someone will release it on Blu-Ray, but until then at least I have the DVD.
The other titles they had were Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away, but only on DVD.
If you have a Costco nearby you may want to check and see if they are stilling carrying Ghibli movies. I doubt that they would be cheaper anywhere else.
On a side note, there is a very interesting analysis of Porco Rosso in volume 2 of Mechademia. Anyone who is interested in looking at anime through the lens of academia should pick up a copy.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Sweet Blue Flowers, a.k.a Aoi Hana
Aoi Hana never really made a big splash in the either the American or Japanse anime market. This is a shame, because the show is one of the few series that depicts realistic homosexual relationships, instead of just being fanservice.
So I was delighted when RightStuf announced that they were licensing the title. RightStuf has a history of publishing very high quality box sets (The Emma, Utena, and Maria-sama box sets, to name a few) with the serious collector in mind. Aoi Hana, however, is released under their Lucky Penny imprint. Series that may not sell very well are released under this imprint, where there are no spiffy chipboard boxes or 100 page pamphlets with liner notes. Although, isn't that better than not having the series available at all? In any case, I expected something along the line of a bare bones Sentai release......
There are a total of 3 DVDs in a standard sized DVD case. Each disc has a lovely sketch of one of the backgrounds used in the anime, and each disc has a different sketch. The picture is printed in a light blue, giving the artwork an ephemeral quality, and the quality of the printing is remarkable. There are no weird hexagons or color seepage, each sketch is crystal clear.
The outside of the case has a nice picture of A-chan and Fumi on both the front and the back. Nothing special there.
I ordered my set from RightStuf's website, so I got a bonus artbook thrown in. It's also very nice, but it's about a quarter inch bigger than the DVD case, so I can't put it in there for safe-keeping. The artbook is only about 12 pages of heavy cardstock, and the pictures go from muted watercolor paintings reminiscent of the manga to production stills from the anime. The artbook is listed as "while supplies last" so if you want one, order quickly!
For the price I paid, I could have done a lot worse. This release does not seem cheap in any way. Kudos to Nozomi / RightStuf for publishing a budget release that doesn't feel like a budget release. I am looking forward to more overlooked series getting a treatment in this fashion.
So I was delighted when RightStuf announced that they were licensing the title. RightStuf has a history of publishing very high quality box sets (The Emma, Utena, and Maria-sama box sets, to name a few) with the serious collector in mind. Aoi Hana, however, is released under their Lucky Penny imprint. Series that may not sell very well are released under this imprint, where there are no spiffy chipboard boxes or 100 page pamphlets with liner notes. Although, isn't that better than not having the series available at all? In any case, I expected something along the line of a bare bones Sentai release......
There are a total of 3 DVDs in a standard sized DVD case. Each disc has a lovely sketch of one of the backgrounds used in the anime, and each disc has a different sketch. The picture is printed in a light blue, giving the artwork an ephemeral quality, and the quality of the printing is remarkable. There are no weird hexagons or color seepage, each sketch is crystal clear.
I ordered my set from RightStuf's website, so I got a bonus artbook thrown in. It's also very nice, but it's about a quarter inch bigger than the DVD case, so I can't put it in there for safe-keeping. The artbook is only about 12 pages of heavy cardstock, and the pictures go from muted watercolor paintings reminiscent of the manga to production stills from the anime. The artbook is listed as "while supplies last" so if you want one, order quickly!
For the price I paid, I could have done a lot worse. This release does not seem cheap in any way. Kudos to Nozomi / RightStuf for publishing a budget release that doesn't feel like a budget release. I am looking forward to more overlooked series getting a treatment in this fashion.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Rozen Maiden
Rozen Maiden is a license rescue from Geneon's back catalog. I never did get my hands on it when it first came out, so I was thrilled when Sentai Filmworks planned to distribute it here in the U.S. Even better, Sentai released both Rozen Maiden (12 episodes), Rozen Maiden Traumend (12 episodes), and Rozen Maiden Ouverture (2 episodes) all in one set! The icing on the cake was when I was able to snap up a copy from Right Stuf for less than half off the original price! I had only ever ordered Angel Beats from Sentai, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this set. Unfortunately, I am wholly disappointed.
The series comes in a clamshell case the width of two regular DVD cases. Not my favorite way to package anime, but it gets the job done. Upon opening said case, I found all 5 DVDs stacked on top of one another on a single spindle on the right side of the case. On the left side where inserts (or more discs) usually go, is a piece of Styrofoam.....Huh.... After some grumbling, I decided to take a look at the DVDs themselves. Let me say that getting the first one off of the spindle required quite the effort. The DVD came perilously close to breaking because the little nubs on the spindle would not let go. In the end, I finally got the first one out but with my fingerprints all over the disc. Then, to my horror, I saw this:
The image is corrupted, as if the device that printed the picture was misaligned or running out of ink or both. The other discs are fine, but this one is of very poor quality, the kind of thing you expect to see from Chinese bootleg movies.
So not only are the discs impossible to remove from the case, but the discs themselves aren't that great. I can only imagine my anger would be that much greater had I paid the full MSRP of $50 for this collection. I don't even know if I will be able to watch this show without breaking the discs when I try to wrestle them out of the case.
If this release is indicative of the quality of Sentai's other repackaging, then I will refrain from purchasing any anime licensed by them, unless it's a must-have series and is on sale.
The series comes in a clamshell case the width of two regular DVD cases. Not my favorite way to package anime, but it gets the job done. Upon opening said case, I found all 5 DVDs stacked on top of one another on a single spindle on the right side of the case. On the left side where inserts (or more discs) usually go, is a piece of Styrofoam.....Huh.... After some grumbling, I decided to take a look at the DVDs themselves. Let me say that getting the first one off of the spindle required quite the effort. The DVD came perilously close to breaking because the little nubs on the spindle would not let go. In the end, I finally got the first one out but with my fingerprints all over the disc. Then, to my horror, I saw this:
The image is corrupted, as if the device that printed the picture was misaligned or running out of ink or both. The other discs are fine, but this one is of very poor quality, the kind of thing you expect to see from Chinese bootleg movies.
So not only are the discs impossible to remove from the case, but the discs themselves aren't that great. I can only imagine my anger would be that much greater had I paid the full MSRP of $50 for this collection. I don't even know if I will be able to watch this show without breaking the discs when I try to wrestle them out of the case.
If this release is indicative of the quality of Sentai's other repackaging, then I will refrain from purchasing any anime licensed by them, unless it's a must-have series and is on sale.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Tenchi Muyo - OAV Collection
Recently I came into possession of the Blu-Ray Tenchi Muyo OAV collection. It has all episodes from the first two OAVs, plus some omake. The set also includes DVDs too. The Blu-Ray discs and DVDs each have their own cases, each being the size of a standard DVD case. Each case has different artwork on both the front and the back, though one of the art pieces looks like it comes from the disastrous Tenchi in Tokyo TV series. Also, the disc cases have reversible covers with different artwork. Both cases fit inside a chipboard artbox. It thrills me to no end that none of the art on either the artbox or the cases is reused, and some of the art I hadn't seen before; at least, it wasn't art featured on the original Geneon DVDs that I bought aeons ago.
But the really cool thing is a mini artbook that fits in between the two disc cases. It's paperback and a little smaller than a DVD case, but it contains the cast members in various poses; my favorite being the one mimicking the Return of the Jedi theatrical poster.
My husband found his copy of the Star Wars poster, and the Tenchi cast is in the exact same positions as the Star Wars cast. One day I'd love to have both posters hanging side by side.
As for the quality of the Blu-Ray..... I have a sneaking suspicion that they are merely upscales of the DVDs and not native 1080p. While the colors are eye-poppingly bright, the lines are not as crisp as one would expect a Blu-Ray to be. I cannot say for certain, as the box lacks a technical grid, but Funimation has been called on upscale releases before.
All in all, it's a great set, and if you have any interest whatsoever in Tenchi Muyo, you owe it to yourself to get this boxset.
But the really cool thing is a mini artbook that fits in between the two disc cases. It's paperback and a little smaller than a DVD case, but it contains the cast members in various poses; my favorite being the one mimicking the Return of the Jedi theatrical poster.
As for the quality of the Blu-Ray..... I have a sneaking suspicion that they are merely upscales of the DVDs and not native 1080p. While the colors are eye-poppingly bright, the lines are not as crisp as one would expect a Blu-Ray to be. I cannot say for certain, as the box lacks a technical grid, but Funimation has been called on upscale releases before.
All in all, it's a great set, and if you have any interest whatsoever in Tenchi Muyo, you owe it to yourself to get this boxset.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Spice is Nice
My copy of the 7th Spice and Wolf book arrived today, and I was thrilled to see that Yen Press has finally ditched those awful original covers with poorly photoshopped wolf ears on a skinny blond model. Of course, now this means that the books won't match on the shelf, but that irritates me less than those stupid covers.
I have been meaning to review the packaging of several anime series that I got for Christmas, but I keep putting it off. I will get to it eventually, though.
I have been meaning to review the packaging of several anime series that I got for Christmas, but I keep putting it off. I will get to it eventually, though.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Streaming subscriptions
After the great enjoyment of subscribing to Crunchyroll, I thought I would give Funimation's streaming service a try. After all, they have an equally large catalog, with titles that aren't available on CR, including simulcasts. And also, I was getting really sick of the same commercials over and over. $7.95 seemed a small price to pay to avoid soundbites from Geico, Ford, and whatever new show Hulu is trying to push.
Anyway, I signed up for the free 2 week trial, with every intention of becoming a subscriber after the 14 days were up. But since I signed up and logged in, I haven't been able to watch anything. If I log out the videos work (albeit with ads) but the moment I login to enjoy exclusive commercial-free content, the videos cease to function. >_<
I really hope that they are rewriting the code for the site and that is why things are a little buggy. Although I am not really impressed with their interface. There really isn't a "queue" system ala Netflix and CR. You can add shows to a favorites list, which took me a while to find (it's buried in the "my accounts" settings somewhere, not in the profile), but there isn't a button on the page that takes you instantly there. Also, if you finish watching an episode and wish to add the show to your favorites, you have to go back to the show's main page. If you click the favorites button on the episode page, you are merely adding the episode to your favorites, not the entire series.
Granted, CR wasn't as polished as it is now when it first came online, but even in their latent phase they were better than what Funimation currently has to offer. I want to stick around in the hopes that Funimations's site will improve with time, but if I can't get a single video to play in the two weeks of my trial I will not. There is no point in paying for a service that doesn't work.
Anyway, I signed up for the free 2 week trial, with every intention of becoming a subscriber after the 14 days were up. But since I signed up and logged in, I haven't been able to watch anything. If I log out the videos work (albeit with ads) but the moment I login to enjoy exclusive commercial-free content, the videos cease to function. >_<
I really hope that they are rewriting the code for the site and that is why things are a little buggy. Although I am not really impressed with their interface. There really isn't a "queue" system ala Netflix and CR. You can add shows to a favorites list, which took me a while to find (it's buried in the "my accounts" settings somewhere, not in the profile), but there isn't a button on the page that takes you instantly there. Also, if you finish watching an episode and wish to add the show to your favorites, you have to go back to the show's main page. If you click the favorites button on the episode page, you are merely adding the episode to your favorites, not the entire series.
Granted, CR wasn't as polished as it is now when it first came online, but even in their latent phase they were better than what Funimation currently has to offer. I want to stick around in the hopes that Funimations's site will improve with time, but if I can't get a single video to play in the two weeks of my trial I will not. There is no point in paying for a service that doesn't work.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Madoka Magica Volume 3, Limited Edition
Let me just start off by saying that this is the most money I have ever put down for anime on a price per episode basis. Even buying it at a discount it still worked out to $18.75 an episode. Let me also say that it is completely worth it.
The Limited edition comes packaged in a very elegant slip case with a picture of Akemi Homura on the front and a picture of all five of the magical girls on the back. The cover has a matte finish and is made out of very heavy card stock (it is probably one step below chipboard).
The anime itself comes in a standard DVD sized case, with the Blu-Ray and DVD tucked neatly inside. When I first opened the case the DVD fell out and landed on one of my cats, who was sitting on my lap at the time. Considering how much I paid for this ensemble I screamed because I thought the disc was damaged, but it was fine. My cat was fine too. ^_^ Anyway, the case has a high-quality reversible cover, and both the discs have art from the series that differs from any of the art on the DVD case.
Next up we have the soundtrack, which also comes in a DVD sized case (this collection must have been designed for OCD in mind, because everything matches and is the same size). The cover is very sleek; a metallic pink Soul Gem glimmers on a stark black background. The inside cover is also black and features a tracklisting and a Grief Seed underneath the CD itself.
The booklet has a sketch of Madoka on the cover, and inside has episode summaries, a conversation with the director and writer, and interviews with two of the voice actresses. It also has character models and sketches, as well as an inucurry art gallery, artwork from the Japanese DVD covers and a set of four panel comics. For being only 22 pages it really crams a lot of info in there. Aniplex spared no expense: the booklet is printed on high quality paper in full color.
We're not done yet! Also included were two double sided posters. These are approximately 11 x 14 inches. The posters are a beach scene (of course), a picture of Homura, Ultimate Madoka, and a festival scene with all of the girls in yukata. I can't imagine actually hanging these up and putting tacks through them, but they are certainly nice to look and feature completely different art from any of the other items included in the collection.
The limited edition also came with a set of postcards. These showcase the artwork from the next episode preview segments of the anime series. They were all drawn by different artists and so have a different take on the characters. The cards themselves are larger than an average sized postcard and for all intents and purposes are to be put in the mail. This is something I will never do. My precious........
Last but not least we have an Aniplex survey card. That I will put in the mail and let them know I will have to sign all my paychecks over to them from now on. There is also a "Proof of Purchase" with a serial number on it. I am not sure what to do with this other than wave it around and sing happily about this acquisition.
All in all, this Limited Edition set was worth every penny, but would I buy another show that got the same treatment? Probably not. I splurged for Madoka because it is my favorite show and would not pay the same amount for a show I had lukewarm feelings about. But good job, Aniplex! You could not have done better.
The Limited edition comes packaged in a very elegant slip case with a picture of Akemi Homura on the front and a picture of all five of the magical girls on the back. The cover has a matte finish and is made out of very heavy card stock (it is probably one step below chipboard).
The anime itself comes in a standard DVD sized case, with the Blu-Ray and DVD tucked neatly inside. When I first opened the case the DVD fell out and landed on one of my cats, who was sitting on my lap at the time. Considering how much I paid for this ensemble I screamed because I thought the disc was damaged, but it was fine. My cat was fine too. ^_^ Anyway, the case has a high-quality reversible cover, and both the discs have art from the series that differs from any of the art on the DVD case.
Next up we have the soundtrack, which also comes in a DVD sized case (this collection must have been designed for OCD in mind, because everything matches and is the same size). The cover is very sleek; a metallic pink Soul Gem glimmers on a stark black background. The inside cover is also black and features a tracklisting and a Grief Seed underneath the CD itself.
The booklet has a sketch of Madoka on the cover, and inside has episode summaries, a conversation with the director and writer, and interviews with two of the voice actresses. It also has character models and sketches, as well as an inucurry art gallery, artwork from the Japanese DVD covers and a set of four panel comics. For being only 22 pages it really crams a lot of info in there. Aniplex spared no expense: the booklet is printed on high quality paper in full color.
We're not done yet! Also included were two double sided posters. These are approximately 11 x 14 inches. The posters are a beach scene (of course), a picture of Homura, Ultimate Madoka, and a festival scene with all of the girls in yukata. I can't imagine actually hanging these up and putting tacks through them, but they are certainly nice to look and feature completely different art from any of the other items included in the collection.
The limited edition also came with a set of postcards. These showcase the artwork from the next episode preview segments of the anime series. They were all drawn by different artists and so have a different take on the characters. The cards themselves are larger than an average sized postcard and for all intents and purposes are to be put in the mail. This is something I will never do. My precious........
Last but not least we have an Aniplex survey card. That I will put in the mail and let them know I will have to sign all my paychecks over to them from now on. There is also a "Proof of Purchase" with a serial number on it. I am not sure what to do with this other than wave it around and sing happily about this acquisition.
All in all, this Limited Edition set was worth every penny, but would I buy another show that got the same treatment? Probably not. I splurged for Madoka because it is my favorite show and would not pay the same amount for a show I had lukewarm feelings about. But good job, Aniplex! You could not have done better.
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