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Ask LadyCat
"
I am not
a committee!"
So, are you all ready for another round of questions? Well, then, let’s go!
J
The question so good you asked it twice!
From Lee Esposo:
Is Manga releasing Gunbuster on DVD?
And From Edmund Woo:
Hi!
I looked through your previous articles, and didn't find the answer to my
question. I'm sure you don't get many of questions about Gunbuster, but do you
know of any plans on putting the episodes on DVD? Any news is better than no
news at all! Thanks!
Well, I hate to be the bearer of no news, but I’m afraid I must. A peek
around the Manga site shows . . . . . .nothing about Gunbuster being released
on DVD. Unless it’s one of the "and more" that are scheduled to come out later
this year (and I somehow get the feeling that the title would be named on
their coming soon list if it was) . . . . . . . . If anyone has heard anything
about this title coming out on DVD, let me know.
[According to a chat with Manga some time ago, Gunbuster will be one of the
last titles to make the transition to DVD. The original audio tracks no longer
exist, which is why no dub has been done. Since there's no dub, there's not
much incentive for them to put it to DVD. Unfortunately. - Chris]
From Dan Moskovitz:
Has Akira ever been released on DVD ?
Well, it has not yet made a debut on region 1. If you head over to the FAQ
page of this site, you’ll see that Pioneer has acquired the rights, and there
is a possible release coming up within about a year. I’m not aware of a DVD
release for region 2 (or any other region), but if there is one out there,
drop me a line.
From Michelle Schott:
I am only recently obsessed with Anime and Manga (I mean it, I want to
absorb everything I can find) and I find new questions every day. here are
some of the ones I've been wondering about:
When IS Akira coming to DVD?
How can I find a copy of past Studio Ghibli works, like Nausicaa, and are
they out on DVD yet?
We have an older, first generation DVD player-American. Are most of the
DVDs released not compatible with my player? is there something I can do to
broaden the range of DVDs that HAVE been released that I can view?
I'd really like to either view the Anime or read the Mange for Angel
Sanctuary and Vampire Princess Miyu. I'm a graphic design major and the art I
saw on the web just blew me away. Is there some way I can get the actual Manga
books? I don't care what language they are in, though English would be best. I
just don't know where to look. I live in the Boston area, but so far have been
unsuccessful in locating these titles. and wasn't the Matix originally manga
as well? If so, how can I find those books?
I bought Ninja Scroll, and I love it. I've seen Ghost in the Shell, and
recently been told it's now out of print so I'm scrambling to find a copy
before it's gone. the guys at Tower are now used to me asking questions, since
that is really the only place to rent Anime in Boston, at least that I know
of. I haven't gotten into much of the series Anime, but there is just so much
out there and it's so expensive I figured I'd start with movies. Is Vampire
Hunter D coming out on DVD soon? and I've seen the subtitled and the dubbed
version out there for purchase on Video, which is better? I haven't seen the
movie yet but will soon. Dubbing can be annoying but I'm enthralled by the art
as well as a sucker for the story, so I tend to not miss as much of the subtle
things that make movies great if I'm not reading subtitles. and I heard a
rumor that there is a Final Fantasy movie in the works. maybe I should read
the rest of your issues before asking about that one. that's kind of how I got
into Anime, somewhere between my Sony Playstation and Princess Mononoke. I
remember seeing Nausicaa as a child on HBO and it knocked me to the floor. I
read that when it was released in America it was really cut to pieces, a whole
subplot removed, etc. is there some place I can get the original? And I plan
on buying Lane, just to get a look at the award winning animation, but it
sounds so awesome, I can't wait till my next paycheck! It's not available for
rent and I have a feeling that I'd rather own it anyway.
Also, I guess if you have any recommendations on what is out there in
innovative new animation I'd love to hear them
Thanks again. Sorry for the onslaught but I guess you're used to it and I
just can't get enough of this fast enough. I wonder if there is a support
group somewhere. :)
Where to start? Well, let’s see . . . .the easy part. Your player. It
depends on the DVDs you’re getting. As long as you’re getting region 1 titles,
you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. If you’re picking up region 2 DVDs,
well, you won’t be able to watch them on your player. If you are looking into
getting import titles, you’ll want to modify your old player, or get a
region-free/code/free player. You can check out my player mod column here,
which is mostly how to modify your current player. There are a few links to
places that sell code-free players down towards the bottom.
Now, on to the fun part. J lain is really
cool. The character designs are unique. The backgrounds .. . . I guess you
could call them simple, but it works really well with the story. The whole
thing is really stylized. Vampire Hunter D does not have a release for DVD
scheduled as of yet. There was just a rerelease on VHS, but no mention of the
DVD so far. I’ve not actually seen Vampire Hunter D, but the Wanderer tells me
that the dub is old and most likely bad. Ghibili stuff, eh? Well, as of right
now, the only thing that’s been mentioned for a release on DVD is Mononoke.
There was a bit on the newspage on 23 feb 2000, (depressing really, although
not all that shocking) that Disney currently only has the rights for Mononoke
on DVD and not any of the other Ghibili stuff that they have the rights to.
Who knew this anime thing would actually catch on, eh? ;-) But I’m not bitter
or cynical or anything. Which would lead into the question about Nausicaa.
Another Ghibili title, so no DVD yet for region 1. Also, there’s no uncut
version available here. There’s a version called "Warriors of the Wind" that’s
the hacked up dub. You could try getting a fansub of the series. As far as I
can remember of the other titles, there are versions available in sub and dub
on VHS if you want to go that route. Now, about Ghost in the Shell. I don’t
know who told you it’s out of print, but as far as I can tell, it’s alive and
kicking. You can get it at the online stores, and it’ll ship almost
immediately. I think that’s all the DVD-related questions, right? OK, so on to
the manga.
Yes, you can get manga. Dark Horse (www.darkhorse.com) has a few series,
like Gunsmith Cats, Oh! My Goddess, Blade of the Immortal, You’re Under Arrest
and a bunch of other titles. If you’re looking for a shop to buy them at in
the Boston area, Chris suggested Million Year Picnic for domestically
translated manga. There’re also several places online you can order from, like
Anime Castle (
www.animecastle.com)
and believe it or not, Borders Online (www.borders.com),
and Amazon (www.amazon.com).
Just keep in mind that when manga gets translated to English, it usually
becomes a "Graphic Novel", or in the case of Borders, a "Trade Paperback". You
might also want to try the Borders in Boston. I know my local store has a
pretty decent collection of manga, and they can also special order (I used to
work there, so pardon my heavy promotion). I would suggest going to a brick
and mortar store before ordering things online, though, so you at least get a
good look at what you’re getting.
Now, for recommendations. You’ve already seen several of the titles that I
would have recommended, but I do have a few others up my sleeve. I’ve stuck
with titles that are out on DVD already, just FYI. First, on the very top of
the list is Perfect Blue (well, it’s not out yet, but it’s coming! YES!!!).
Incredible animation, and an incredibly messed up story to go with it. And, if
you watch the dub, that is in fact the (English) voice of lain doing the voice
of Mima. Makes it even creepier. That title is definitely a must see. Next on
the list are Iria (great ship and city design), Venus Wars (great use of color
as a mood/theme, but beware the dub. It’s old and very bad.), and Nazca (just
plain cool). Now, if you’ve seen any of the Urusei Yatsura or Tenchi series, I
would also recommend Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer and Tenchi Forever.
Actually Beautiful Dreamer isn’t too bad by itself, but it does help to have
seen some of the other UY stuff. And you should definitely see some other
Tenchi stuff before jumping into Tenchi Forever. Otherwise, you’d probably be
totally lost.
Whew! I hope I answered all your questions. If I forgot any, drop me a line
to let me know. Oh, wait, I know one thing. The Wanderer informs me that there
is a rumor of some sort that there’s a Final Fantasy movie in the works,
although it has nothing to do with the video games, and the voice cast is
really weird. So if there’s anything I forgot, or you think of anything else,
let me know! J
Addendums: The questions that were so cool they came back. ;-)
Mini Sailor skirts? Here’s the lowdown from a couple of world travelers who
have experienced "the skirt" up close. ;-)
From Michael Chang:
Dear Ladycat,
Wanted to throw in my $0.02 in response to Syrian, on this amusing subject.
I just wanted to say that you'd be surprised at how short the skirts in Japan
really are. My friends and I visited Japan the past two summers for a couple
of weeks and high school girls were running around everywhere (school was
still in). Maybe everyone is rolling up their waistbands or taping up their
hems, but it's pretty consistently short for all the different schools that
I've seen. We were quite surprised. Interestingly enough, only the high school
girls have these short skirts. Elementary and middle school kids still have
decently normal length skirts. Those old Japanese men making the rules have it
all figured out I guess. Heh. I can also see where that school girl obsession
comes from...;)
And From Miguel Loo:
I saw your answer on animeondvd.com, and I just had to add a few lines.
I noticed that up to middle school, girls wear the famous blue sailor
uniforms, like in urusei yatsura. However, high school girls do wear skirts
that are well above the knees, almost at mid thigh level; you can actually
call them mini skirts. But then again, that was on the streets; I don't know
if they can wear them that high during class. I was in Japan this last
October, and that was one of the millions of things that caught my attention,
HS girls wearing uniform miniskirts on the streets.
War in the Pocket? God, I am so confused!
My bad. I seem to have given out some confusing (mis)information about
Gundam last week. Now, I haven’t actually seen the series, so I was going off
of what I could find on Anime Village. I think, this is the point where I
really started to get confused, because Anime Village has "War in the Pocket"
listed as Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket. This sounds exactly like
all the other Gundam titles they have listed (e.g. Mobile Suit Gundam 0069:
Ladycat is Confused!). I was also going off a few other sites, and the
Wanderer’s advice of what he remembered about the series. And he has
graciously said that I can partially blame him if the info was wrong. Which it
looks like it was. So, here is some better info sent in by people who can
actually keep track of all the Gundam series. I really have to apologize to
everyone, and especially to Netranger. Hopefully the info sent in clears this
up for everyone.
From Alicyn Simpson:
Well I am sure you're going to get a lot of email on this one, but here
goes. If you did already know this, apologies, but it seemed like you didn't
from your recent article.
The person was asking about Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket on DVD in Region
1. This is not Gundam Wing. AnimeVillage has already released Gundam 0080 and
0083 on VHS in the US, as well as the three Mobile Suit Gundam Movies.
Gundam Wing is a more recent series that has not seen any release in the US
yet and the DVDs will be the first. And it is going to be playing on Toonami
according to many reports of previews on the Cartoon Network. It's due to
start next month. It will be shown censored in the toonami block during the
week, and then a 1-hour uncut block on Saturday nights for the more mature
fans.
Bandai has a policy of normally not allowing AnimeVillage to release
anything on DVD until it is out in Japan, so the Region 2 DVD release of
Gundam 0080 means that next year AnimeVillage may well release it in Region 1,
possibly coupled to Gundam 0083 like the VHS releases.
Again, sorry if this is stuff you already knew. Gundam is very confusing
with close to a dozen different series, many of them only vaguely related,
several hundred episodes, plus movies and so on.
Hope this helps.
From Susumu Kodai:
Sunrise/Bandai has instituted a six month moratorium between US and
Japanese releases to wear down holdout Japanese otaku that are waiting for the
cheaper R1 release :) Hence, we should see Gundam 0080/0083 around Xmas, but
not necessarily together like the sub tapes in the box set. Probably 2
seperate sets.
[Actually, this seems to be less enforced than it once was; Bandai US is
releasing the Vision of Escaflowne series one month after the Japanese box set
release. Bandai US has more than likely shown the larger importance of DVD in
the U.S. market and emphasized this strongly with the Japanese parent company
- Chris]
OK, guys. That’s it for this week. I hope I’ve cleared up a few things,
anyway. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go watch the screener copies of
the Power Puff Girls videos that the Wanderer just got.
J Have a good week, y’all!
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