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Ask LadyCat
"You, too, must learn the lesson of Ed Gruberman."
OK guys, this'll be the last column I'm doing before I start my Japanese
class, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up the frequency after I start.
But I'll try. :-) On to the column!
From Dennis Lu:
Hello!
Dear all purpose cultural ladycat-
Hello! I got a couple of questions regarding ebay auction dvd/vcd.
1. How is the quality of VCD compared to VHS and DVD? How is the quality of
a 2-3 episode disc.
2. I notice in Chirtian Nutt's review of MSG: Char's counterattack that he
said the english sub was horrible. That properbly goes for the rest of
imported chinese dvd as well but is the chinese subtitle equally as terrible
in chinese dvds? (since you properbly don't read chinese could you post it and
see if anyone who bought a chinsese dvd knows?)
3. What does the ladycat think about import DVDs in general? I saw a
auction for all 4 episodes of macross plus on one single dvd; I wonder how
that stacks up to the US version....
Thanks for reading
I think import DVDs are great, if that's what you want to buy, and you have
the money to get them. By all means, support the Japanese economy. :-) I don't
personally buy them, as I can barely afford my domestic anime habit. But if
you want to, go for it.
VCD quality widely varies. It can range from really, really bad, to pretty
decent. It depends on a lot of things: the original, the compression, etc. The
same goes for accuracy of the subs, although, the word is that the Chinese
subs are better than the English subs, which are supposed to be really bad. I
posted in the
Off-Topic
forum; you can head over there and check out the responses, if you like.
The consensus is, though, that since Chinese and Japanese are similar enough
languages, the translation's fairly accurate.
From John Adali:
Hi LadyCat! I'm new to the DVD scene with anime, and I was wondering if the
majority of anime DVD fans play their DVD's on: A regular DVD hooked up to a
television, or a DVD player on a computer?
I'm considering purchasing a DVD player, but I can't decide if I should get
one for my TV or for my computer. Are there any advantages to getting a DVD
player for my computer over getting one for my TV?
Thanks much.
I'd have to say that just by hanging out in the forum, I can see that a lot
of people that visit this site have multiple players. Usually at least a
DVD-ROM and a standalone, and a lot of people have a region 1 player and a
region free player. It really depends on the person and their budget.
There are advantages to having each, though. With a DVD-ROM, you can access
any features specifically tailored for DVD-ROMS on the disc, which would be
inaccessible to someone using a standalone player. The unfortunate part is
that there just aren't that many companies that fully utilize the DVD-ROM
potential on their discs (beyond some links to the company's homepage). If
you're putting the player on a notebook, portability is a great advantage. On
the other hand, if you've got a home theatre set-up, adding a DVD player is a
natural. And the prices are coming down on decent players, so it's getting
easier to pick one up.
There are definite things to take into consideration, though. What kind of
set-up do you want? Do you have room for a home-theatre in your own living
room, or do you have a teeny dorm room? How much money do you have to spend?
You might want to ask around the hardware forum and see what players people
are getting and why.
From Edwin Snaychuk:
There was a Japanese animated show I saw as a kid (which was a long time
ago......in a gal...uh...that's another story) that I'm looking to find the
title of. Really, all I remember was that it had a Norse feel to it and that
it was about a kid who travels to a Northern Kingdom under the thrall of a
demon. Along the way he runs into, and rescues, a girl. In their travels to
this kingdom they are set upon by ice spirits in the form of wolves. I am
curious if you or anyone in the wider anime community would have any knowledge
of this show or its title or if anyone might have a copy of the show.
Well, you've got me, the Wanderer, and Chris. We all have no idea. If
anyone out there has a clue, drop me a line and let me know.
From BigPants:
Hello Ladycat!
I love your weekly issues and thought it was nice to hear that you answer
everyone's questions, which is exactly why I'm emailing you :)
I have a question concerning the Urusei Yatsura DVD's from AnimEigo. Are
these TV episode box sets eventually going to be able from stores (online or
.. real-life(?) I guess), or is just this mail order offer from AnimEigo? Any
information would be helpful.
And in response to your question about the show, Weiß Kreuz, I might have
some helpful info. The actual title of the show is Weiß Kreuz in Japan. It's a
German title that translates into, White Cross. The main cast of 4 guys, are
actually modeled after the seiyuu group, Weiß, that started the show, more or
less. The idea came from Aya's seiyuu, Koyasu.. arg, can't remember his first
name _-_;. Weiß Kreuz originally started as a manga (An Assassin and White
Shaman, was the title of the manga I believe), and was then adapted into an
anime version. A radio drama might have come inbetween those two though.
The show is about a group of 17-2x year old guys who work in a flower shop
during the day and are adored by all of the schoolgirls around and by night,
are assassins. A truly excellent show and it would be great to see picked up
in America. If you would like to see fansubs on, VHS *shudder* (hehe), check
out Sachi's Distribution at :
http://members.aol.com/sachi999
Hope that was helpful!
It was. Thanks!
To answer your question, I believe (back in the deep recesses of my mind)
that Robert said that the set will be available after the preordered sets are
shipped, but at this point, it's hard to say how long it'll be before that
happens, what with all the pressing problems they've been having. When they
eventually get a good pressing, I'm sure we'll find out when/where/how the
sets will be available at retailers and etailers.
From Adri:
Hi there Ladycat!
I've come across something today while planning on adding to my anime DVD
collection. Apparently, express.com has decided to raise it's prices on anime
DVDs. With preorders, it's now 35% off instead of 40% off, a $1.50 change.
Cowboy Bebop 6, Trigun Vol. 4, and Jubei-chan Vol. 2 for example are now
$19.49 instead of $17.99. Since the anime community, especially your site,
fully endorse express.com, I thought I should bring this to attention. Just
when the anime DVDs really penetrate their top 10, express.com ups the price.
I know this is a capitalist system, but isn't that abusive of the fans' show
of loyalty and support? I personally am not overly cheap, but I used to feel
*incredibly* good getting an anime DVD for just a nice $20 bill with shipping.
The price hike just tarnishes that luster. What do you think?
From a disappointed fan who usually isn't *that* penny-pinching.
I, and I think several other people, have been waiting for this to happen
for a while now. I really don't think there's any way that they would be able
to stay in business forever if they're not making enough profit to cover
expenses. Just look at Reel. I don't think any of us wants Express to go out
of business just so we can save an extra couple of bucks on a DVD. I
personally prefer using Express, even though I have to pay sales tax because I
live in California. I like getting my DVDs on the Monday before street date.
And I don't think that the price hike was intended to coincide with anime
ending up on the Top Ten. They've probably been planning this for a while now.
I'm pretty sure that the people at Express know that they have a core audience
of anime people that buy DVDs solely from them, and they wouldn't want to
screw us over. I mean, they could have lowered the discount to 30% like they
did with their Hollywood movies, right?
Addendums: Questions so good, they came back!
Marmalade Boy update:
From Justin Emerson:
First off Marmalade Boy is probably my 2nd favorite series after Sailor
Moon. Those who want to check out the series, Fumei Anime (a joint project
between SenshiTV and Parasite Anime) has the first 36 episodes of it online,
and we're in the process of getting the rest online. These are fansubs, of
course. http://fumei.dhs.org (Fumei is Japanese for "unknown" or "obscure")
As for those of you waiting for it to be licensed commercially, don't hold
your breath. There are several reasons why it is highly unlikely it will ever
be released in the US. There are apparently licensing issues with the Music to
the series. MB had the best music of any Anime I've ever seen (there have been
10 different CDs released off it, and oh-so-many great songs) but licensing
the music would require a license with a different company that produced the
anime, or something to that effect. Anyways, removing the music from MB would
be like removing a major character. As anyone who's seen the series knows, the
music was one of the best parts (no one can forget the "thunka-SHMACK" from
the beginning of "Egao no Aitai" that would always play right after the huge
surprise plotpoints at the end of episodes ^_^).
Then there are some other problems in terms of the content of the series. I
suspect with the commercial Anime market in its current state, the US Anime
companies probably feel there's a very small market this kind of a show. Then
there are all the cultural aspects of the show and those concerning location.
After all, for the last third of the show one of the characters is in America
(where everyone speaks Nihongo....hmmmmmm). The nail in the coffin, though, is
probably the fact that one of the lead female supporting characters ends up
having a relationship with one of her teachers. This is a "bad thing" in
Japan, but no where near as taboo as it is here. Considering this is pretty
critical to the plot, I don't think there's any way that you could remove it
and keep the series intact (although that's never stopped US anime companies
before...). *SPOILER* And who knows what they would have to do when Miwa kicks
the crap out of Namura, who totally deserves it. Student beating up an
ex-teacher probably wouldn't go over well here.*SPOILER* Sorry, had to put
that in since it's probably one of the more satisfying moments in the series.
=)
Hope that answers some reader questions.
English Seiyuu databases:
From Jeremiah Hahn:
Dear Ladycat,
A few actor databases that I know of are:
http://www.cyhaus.com/camp/jupiter/seiyuu.htm
http://members.localnet.com/~invid/DVAP/Index.html
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/3330/va/voice.html
http://www.voicechasers.org/Anime/
The first one listed is my personal favorite of them all. I hope these
help.
From Mark Walker:
Seiyuu (voice actor) databasehttp://www.tcp.com/~doi/seiyuu/
Voice Chasers (english)
Urotsukudoje Cuts?:
From The Lizzard:
Hey Ladycat. Saw the question (and answer) you just posted about
possible cuts in Overfiend II. I'm not a big fan of these films but I can
confirm that the scene she describes DOES appear -- at least in the UK
release. Over New Year's I was staying with friends in Edinburgh, Scotland,
and after a long night at the pubs, we put in that flick. I remember the scene
she descirbes quite clearly -- despite the brews. ;-P Just thought that might
help.
From Godai San:
Hi Ladycat
With regards to the letter on your site asking about a scene cut from
Urotsukidoji epsiode 4 or 5, I can confirm I remember the scene in question
from the UK version of the Demon Womb movie (edit of eps 4 & 5). It should
therefore be in the US dubbed version, but the reader is correct in pointing
out that it is not present in the subtitled Perfect Collection. I can only
assume that it was edited IN to the movie version, like extra footage was
edited into Macross Plus the Movie.
The "Deer Chaser":
From Edward Hillman:
In regards to the shishiodoshi (deer scare) device mentioned in Issue
34, I first read about it in The Anime Companion by Gilles Poitras. At the
moment, this is my only reference to Japanese culture in film (outside of
AnimEigo liner notes, that is :-) ), but I've found it informative. I'd
recommend it for anyone who would like to learn a little something about
Japan, its' culture/society, people, and history. I'd also welcome any
suggestions as to other publications in a similar vein.
Creative DXR3 Update:
From The Cabbit Master:
I'm responding to the question that Lord Spacy, Duke of East Moonland
asked about getting the Creative DXR3.
I have the DVD ROM in Question and I have to say that it is best avoided.
While the display is beautiful, It suffers greatly from compatibility
problems. Many DVDs including EatMAN '98 and Cowboy Bebop Session 1 have menu
systems that are incompatible with the player. Also many recent mainstream
releases such as the last James Bond Release, The Ninth Gate and many others
have major problems with chapter stops and subtitles. One of the most annoying
problems that I expreience are with the French Subtitles appearing even when I
have them turned off.
I play the same DVDs on other players and they work perfectly. I have
contacted Creative numerous times about the problems and have yet to receive
any feedback. I've tried everything I could think of to solve the problem,
downloading patches, physically removing and re-installing the drive and card
and nothing works. There seem to be major problems in the drivers or in the
decoder card itself.
I would recomend that if anyone is thinking about buying this DVD ROM that
they reconsider it. Yes, when it works it's really nice, but the
incompatibility problems mean that you'll spend hours trying to get the darn
thing to work rather than enjoying it.
Addendum Master!
From Mike Marcelais:
>From Issue 31: Unusual honorifics --
In "Wedding Peach", Yousuke sometimes calls Momoko "Momo-pi": this is very
familiar, like the way you would speak to your cat -- or a lover.
In "I'll Make a Habit of It" (Chou Kuseninarisou), Nagisa just invents the
word "pyon" using it much the same way the Smurfs used "Smurfy" -- a cute
nonsense word. Nagisa never uses it as an honorific, but she does cover just
about ever other part of speech during the series.
So, Nene is being ultra-cute towards Leon, probably because she knows how
much this gets under Leon's skin.
[The explanations came from the liner notes to those two shows, fansubbed
by the Technogirls and Tomodachi Anime, respectively.]
>From Issue 32: Weiß Kreus:
Weiß Kreuz (sometimes romanzied "Weiss Kreuz") is the original Japanese
title of that series (which is German for "White Cross"). To my knowledge, no
US company has shown any interest in acquring that series. I also don't see a
DVD release of it in Japan yet; only VHS and LD.
>From Issue 32: Ah My Goddess:
>From AnimEigo's web site (main page): AnimEigo's State-of-the-DVD Message
We will release most of our titles on DVD, starting with the most popular
ones. The only exception is that we will often do lesser-known titles when
testing out a new authoring house. We are currently working with 2 authoring
houses, and will be adding more soon.
We will announce when a title goes into authoring. Currently, Spirit of
Wonder, Baoh and Lone Wolf & Cub (all 6 movies) are being authored.
Titles likely to be next up for authoring include Bubblegum Crash, You're
Under Arrest, Oh My Goddess, UY Movies and OVAs, and UY TV 26. And we'll try
to sneak Otaku no Video in there somewhere as well.
We won't announce a release date on a DVD until it has been authored and
meets our quality standards.
The best way to keep up-to-date is to check the website every so often, or
subscribe to AnimEigo-News (see below). [end include]
In otherwords, AnimEigo knows that people want AMG; they are working on
getting it released; AE isn't going to announce it until its _done_; and
pestering them is unlikely to get it released any faster. Patience.
>From Issue 32: Escaflowne
The Bandai 2000 promotional DVD lists the DVD release as Bilingual.
Cardcaptors was the only show listed that will have separate dub and sub DVD
releases.
Whew! Maybe I should start my own column.
OK, that's it for this week. Maybe next week I can import some incredible
language skills that I will have learned in the first whole week of Japanese
class! ;-)
Catch ya later!
LadyCat =^-^=
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