With ADV treading water out of borderline bankruptcy (and WETA suddenly less of a "secret" and more mainstream than it was in '01 after Fellowship came out), um.....no. Call that one a safe answer.
(And Evangelion still attracts easily-impressed fans even in THIS decade, when there's so much more non-painful anime to subject oneself to, but it's still isolated as "The one show you do not show to first-timers if you want to keep them hooked on anime."
And yet some fans still make that crucial mistake...)
Manga & Anime THREAD
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Go easy on them, Droo!
Go easy on them!
Yeah, they're newbies!
I have to admit I haven't seen all of EVA myself. I've seen perhaps a half-dozen episodes courtesy of the Cartoon Network airings and do own all the Platinum Edition DVDs courtesy of ADV Films. It's a nice-looking show if perhaps a bit too depressive and introverted for my likes.
The new EVA "Rebuild" films that started theatrical releases in Japan around 2 years ago still haven't been licensed for R1 DVD yet. One has been released in Germany (the very first Rebuild film), but not the others yet. There are supposed to 4 Rebuild films in total. As far as I recall only 2 have been finished and actually hit theaters although I could be wrong about the second one. The first Rebuild film, at any rate, was a hit on home video in Japan and supposedly did well in Germany.
There seems to be feeling amongst some anime fans that the studio behind EVA (Gainax) is asking too much money for the domestic (USA) license to the new EVA films. One anime distributor almost went out of business this past year because of a financial disagreement with Gainax that resulted in Gurren Lagann (Gainax's last 26-episode TV series) ending up with Bandai USA.
Oh, and Droo, you're not the only EVA fan that felt the Director's cuts of the last EVA TV episodes and original EVA films were screwy.
For as groundbreaking EVA was, it has been cursed since day one on home video with poor quality video releases (until the Platinum/Perfect Editon remasters) and too many alternate retellings (I call 'em $$$-grabs) of various story arcs!
It's easier to keep track of all the legal bologna keeping most of the Macross franchise from leaving Japan than it is keeping a scorecard on all the different EVA releases...!
Go easy on them!
Yeah, they're newbies!
I have to admit I haven't seen all of EVA myself. I've seen perhaps a half-dozen episodes courtesy of the Cartoon Network airings and do own all the Platinum Edition DVDs courtesy of ADV Films. It's a nice-looking show if perhaps a bit too depressive and introverted for my likes.
The new EVA "Rebuild" films that started theatrical releases in Japan around 2 years ago still haven't been licensed for R1 DVD yet. One has been released in Germany (the very first Rebuild film), but not the others yet. There are supposed to 4 Rebuild films in total. As far as I recall only 2 have been finished and actually hit theaters although I could be wrong about the second one. The first Rebuild film, at any rate, was a hit on home video in Japan and supposedly did well in Germany.
There seems to be feeling amongst some anime fans that the studio behind EVA (Gainax) is asking too much money for the domestic (USA) license to the new EVA films. One anime distributor almost went out of business this past year because of a financial disagreement with Gainax that resulted in Gurren Lagann (Gainax's last 26-episode TV series) ending up with Bandai USA.
Oh, and Droo, you're not the only EVA fan that felt the Director's cuts of the last EVA TV episodes and original EVA films were screwy.
For as groundbreaking EVA was, it has been cursed since day one on home video with poor quality video releases (until the Platinum/Perfect Editon remasters) and too many alternate retellings (I call 'em $$$-grabs) of various story arcs!
It's easier to keep track of all the legal bologna keeping most of the Macross franchise from leaving Japan than it is keeping a scorecard on all the different EVA releases...!
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea might be hitting American theaters as early as March/April in 2009.
This is according speculation on Viz's upcoming visual storybook tie-in to the film. That book gets released in March.
Don't expect Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea to be released in the US later than May 2009. I'd bet on April 2009, myself. Books tend to get released the month before the film.
This is according speculation on Viz's upcoming visual storybook tie-in to the film. That book gets released in March.
Don't expect Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea to be released in the US later than May 2009. I'd bet on April 2009, myself. Books tend to get released the month before the film.
UPDATE:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... v-schedule
Anime is returning to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on Saturdays, airing between 1:00 AM and 6:00 AM (technically Sunday morning.)
New episodes of Bleach, Moribito, Code Geass (season 2), and Shin-Chan air between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM. The rest of the shows are reruns for the most part...
The change is effective starting this weekend on November 8th.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... v-schedule
Anime is returning to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on Saturdays, airing between 1:00 AM and 6:00 AM (technically Sunday morning.)
New episodes of Bleach, Moribito, Code Geass (season 2), and Shin-Chan air between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM. The rest of the shows are reruns for the most part...
The change is effective starting this weekend on November 8th.
Bubblegum Crisis gets live-action treatment?
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... age-posted
A company based in Singapore is making a movie based on the Bubblegum Crisis anime series. The movie is expected to use a combination of live-action and CGI effects. No other word on the film other than the budget is expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars. A single still image has been released and is available at the above URL.
The original Bubblegum Crisis series debuted in 1987 and ran through 1991 as an OVA/direct-to-video series in Japan. The video series follows the adventures of armored female bounty hunters as they deal with the threat of artificial being technology, Boomers, as these beings rage out of control in a post-mega earthquake Tokyo. (Must'nt say post-apocalyptic.... That implies a nuclear holocaust which is NOT the case here.) The series became an immediate classic and is famed for its character designs by Kenichi Sonada as well as its music and in-joke references to the sci-fi cult classic, Blade Runner. A sequel series, Bubblegum Crash, shortly followed as well a prequel, AD Police. Another series, Genesis Survivor Gaiarth, is said to have ties to Bubblegum Crisis as well. All these OVAs (excepting Gaiarth on DVD) have been released in the US through AnimEigo in English-dubbed and subtitled formats on VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. The original Bubblegum Crisis has had a Blu-Ray release announced for Japan by Bandai Visual but no American or other region releases in Blu-Ray have been announced thus far.
A remake of the original BGC, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, folllowed in 1997 and aired in Japan as a 26-episode TV series. It remains under license in the US through ADV Films and was re-released for the second time this past Tuesday as a special collection. The remake has been criticized for its character redesigns and generally cooler, crueler storyline but successfully revived the BGC brand and was followed by two further series, Parasite Dolls and a remake of AD Police.
A company based in Singapore is making a movie based on the Bubblegum Crisis anime series. The movie is expected to use a combination of live-action and CGI effects. No other word on the film other than the budget is expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars. A single still image has been released and is available at the above URL.
The original Bubblegum Crisis series debuted in 1987 and ran through 1991 as an OVA/direct-to-video series in Japan. The video series follows the adventures of armored female bounty hunters as they deal with the threat of artificial being technology, Boomers, as these beings rage out of control in a post-mega earthquake Tokyo. (Must'nt say post-apocalyptic.... That implies a nuclear holocaust which is NOT the case here.) The series became an immediate classic and is famed for its character designs by Kenichi Sonada as well as its music and in-joke references to the sci-fi cult classic, Blade Runner. A sequel series, Bubblegum Crash, shortly followed as well a prequel, AD Police. Another series, Genesis Survivor Gaiarth, is said to have ties to Bubblegum Crisis as well. All these OVAs (excepting Gaiarth on DVD) have been released in the US through AnimEigo in English-dubbed and subtitled formats on VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. The original Bubblegum Crisis has had a Blu-Ray release announced for Japan by Bandai Visual but no American or other region releases in Blu-Ray have been announced thus far.
A remake of the original BGC, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, folllowed in 1997 and aired in Japan as a 26-episode TV series. It remains under license in the US through ADV Films and was re-released for the second time this past Tuesday as a special collection. The remake has been criticized for its character redesigns and generally cooler, crueler storyline but successfully revived the BGC brand and was followed by two further series, Parasite Dolls and a remake of AD Police.
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I love BGC personally and I actually contemplated trying to write a screenplay myself (based on the classic series not the remake, which is good too). Nice to see the show getting some attention. This cements the fact that anime based films seem to be the hot new thing with Akira, Astro Boy, Robotech, Dragonball, Battle Angel, Ghost in the Shell, etc. Hopefully most of them will be good.
The Official Lugofilm Ltd Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bartsimpson83
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Foreign language animation - subtitles or dubs?
Given the recently revealed English voice cast for Ponyo on a Cliff, I thought this would be a fitting topic to bring up. I don't know - maybe nobody else here has this problem, but whether or not to watch a foreign animated film in its dubbed form or not is a big problem for me 
.
I'm a bit of a purist, right, so if it ISN'T an animated film, I would most assuredly want to see it in its original language, with English subtitles.
This conflicts with my desire to pay attention to animation in an animated film, and I must admit - if I try watching a film with animation quality of at least Studio Ghibli's level, then I tend to find subtitles very distracting because I feel that I need to keep my eyes on the rest of the screen at every second.
For some people, it may be possible to just get used to watching the film AND reading the subtitles at the same time; but for me, I'm just so conscious of potentially missing out precious frames of illustrations that I never really settle into that zone while watching something that's animated.
It's with some embarrassment (maybe it's just because everyone I know is crazy about Japan and automatically likes everything that comes out of that country simply by virtue of it being Japanese) that I admit that given the choice, I'd watch a Miyazaki film dubbed in English FIRST. I'm aware that they might actually edit the animation a bit to make it more lipsynch-y, but there aren't a whole lot of Western-style lip movements anyway, so I don't feel TOO bad in that regard.
So yeah, in a nutshell - what about you guys? When watching a foreign language animated film for the first time, would you opt for watching it dubbed in your first language, or seeing it in its original form, but subtitled?
.I'm a bit of a purist, right, so if it ISN'T an animated film, I would most assuredly want to see it in its original language, with English subtitles.
This conflicts with my desire to pay attention to animation in an animated film, and I must admit - if I try watching a film with animation quality of at least Studio Ghibli's level, then I tend to find subtitles very distracting because I feel that I need to keep my eyes on the rest of the screen at every second
.For some people, it may be possible to just get used to watching the film AND reading the subtitles at the same time; but for me, I'm just so conscious of potentially missing out precious frames of illustrations that I never really settle into that zone while watching something that's animated.
It's with some embarrassment (maybe it's just because everyone I know is crazy about Japan and automatically likes everything that comes out of that country simply by virtue of it being Japanese) that I admit that given the choice, I'd watch a Miyazaki film dubbed in English FIRST. I'm aware that they might actually edit the animation a bit to make it more lipsynch-y, but there aren't a whole lot of Western-style lip movements anyway, so I don't feel TOO bad in that regard.
So yeah, in a nutshell - what about you guys? When watching a foreign language animated film for the first time, would you opt for watching it dubbed in your first language, or seeing it in its original form, but subtitled?
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Dubs first, always. I have a small TV so when there's subs, I have to squint to read them. I spend so much time reading subs, I can't view the image. No one goes to an art museum to read the summary but not observe the art. So when it comes to foreign films, if there's a dub, I choose that. It allows me to watch the art without distraction.
Many of the 'purists' complain about dubs because they heard the original language track first and therefore see it as superior. When I listen to the English track first, then I become accustomed to it and see the original language as inferior.
I theorize whichever you hear first, you get attatched to. I always listen to English first so I always prefer it.
And the Ghibli dubs are pretty well done. They get good actors who have the right emphasis and tone. Ghibli dubs are about all I have in the foreign department.
Except for Pan's Labyrinth which is sub only and Nocturna, which admittedly does have a flat dub.
Many of the 'purists' complain about dubs because they heard the original language track first and therefore see it as superior. When I listen to the English track first, then I become accustomed to it and see the original language as inferior.
I theorize whichever you hear first, you get attatched to. I always listen to English first so I always prefer it.
And the Ghibli dubs are pretty well done. They get good actors who have the right emphasis and tone. Ghibli dubs are about all I have in the foreign department.
Except for Pan's Labyrinth which is sub only and Nocturna, which admittedly does have a flat dub.
Feature Animation Favorites:
- Tekkonkinkreet, Watership Down, A Town Called Panic, Howl's Moving Castle, Rio 2096, Mind Game, Fantastic Planet
Depends on the acting, really.
There are good casts and bad casts, and also good/bad voice directors.
I enjoyed watching Howl's Moving Castle at the local art theater in BOTH English-dubbed and English-subbed versions. It's also one of the few times in the past 10 years I've bothered to watch a film at the theater twice!
Every situation is different.
I love the voice cast for the original Robotech but don't care for the ADV Macross dub as much. Basically the same characters, but 20 years apart in recording with totally different casts. I generally like Macross in English better, too. For some reason, I just didn't warm up much to the Japanese cast in this case even though it's one of my favorite shows.
Likewise, I can give or take Ranma 1/2 in English or Japanese. They're pretty much the same quality to me.
With some people, they pretty much have their minds made up based on what version (dubbed or subbed) of the film they've seen.
I'm beyond trying to convince people to watch a film one way or the other... What matters most to me as a collector is getting the original soundtrack with subs in addition to a dub if it's available. Oh, and I also appreciate the ORIGINAL theatrical aspect ratio, too! And not every film WAS made widescreen, either!
Lack of a dub has NEVER stopped me from getting a film so long as I like the content and there's a decent English subtitled script for me to follow. There's definitely an art to subtitling, too, and it's probably the most neglected thing for foreign translation. A company can be too literal with translations and there can be jokes and allegories that just don't translate from one culture to another. It's more important to be generally faithful to the story and acting than blindly literal to the point that you bore the audience to death.
Spell-checking is also nice because if there's one thing they do way too often with subtitles it's misspell common words and use possessives and contractions interchangeably in the wrong places!
There are good casts and bad casts, and also good/bad voice directors.
I enjoyed watching Howl's Moving Castle at the local art theater in BOTH English-dubbed and English-subbed versions. It's also one of the few times in the past 10 years I've bothered to watch a film at the theater twice!
Every situation is different.
I love the voice cast for the original Robotech but don't care for the ADV Macross dub as much. Basically the same characters, but 20 years apart in recording with totally different casts. I generally like Macross in English better, too. For some reason, I just didn't warm up much to the Japanese cast in this case even though it's one of my favorite shows.
Likewise, I can give or take Ranma 1/2 in English or Japanese. They're pretty much the same quality to me.
With some people, they pretty much have their minds made up based on what version (dubbed or subbed) of the film they've seen.
I'm beyond trying to convince people to watch a film one way or the other... What matters most to me as a collector is getting the original soundtrack with subs in addition to a dub if it's available. Oh, and I also appreciate the ORIGINAL theatrical aspect ratio, too! And not every film WAS made widescreen, either!
Lack of a dub has NEVER stopped me from getting a film so long as I like the content and there's a decent English subtitled script for me to follow. There's definitely an art to subtitling, too, and it's probably the most neglected thing for foreign translation. A company can be too literal with translations and there can be jokes and allegories that just don't translate from one culture to another. It's more important to be generally faithful to the story and acting than blindly literal to the point that you bore the audience to death.
Spell-checking is also nice because if there's one thing they do way too often with subtitles it's misspell common words and use possessives and contractions interchangeably in the wrong places!
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Yeah, it mostly depends on the acting for me as well (I read quickly, so I usually don't have a problem following a subbed film this way). When watching dubs, I sometimes get a feeling that the English actor isn't quite doing the character justice. There are also some cases in English dubs where the actors all use different accents, and it won't really make sense.
Neal makes a good point though. Whichever version of a film you see first tends to be the one you grow partial to. I saw Persepolis at our local art-house theater, with French subtitles. When I got the DVD later on, I tried to watch the film in English, and I just couldn't. Everything seemed "wrong" about the voice acting, and the changes in dialogue.
I have a feeling that if I'd seen the English dub first, it would've been just fine.
Neal makes a good point though. Whichever version of a film you see first tends to be the one you grow partial to. I saw Persepolis at our local art-house theater, with French subtitles. When I got the DVD later on, I tried to watch the film in English, and I just couldn't. Everything seemed "wrong" about the voice acting, and the changes in dialogue.
I have a feeling that if I'd seen the English dub first, it would've been just fine.
