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[Happosai]

Not that I remember. There was a Japanese DVD edition, back in 2002 IIRC ? And it became out of stock before I was aware of it. Currently sellers are asking 23K yens for it on Amazon JP... more or less the same level than for the Birth US DVD, apparently lol.


Aesthetically, a masterpiece. And at least Oshii got to recycle some of his ideas from his cancelled Lupin III movie with it.

Seems like there may have been a U.K. release. It never made it to the U.S. from what I can tell and without having a target buyer (considering the only ones who'd even attempt to get licensing would be Discotek)...sadly it will likely never see a U.S. release. You mentioned Birth...tell me the U.S. DVD (ADV)isn't a collectors item...I left it with a handful of other titles back in the U.S. That was 6-years ago.

Oshii really got his teams to shine with Angel's Egg. Why was he not allowed to direct a Lupin movie?

 

[Happosai]

Question to everyone. Was the anime Sorcerer Hunters from the 90's any good and is it worth watching?

The reason I ask is because I still have the ADV release. Back in 2015 I attempted to watch it but either because of my situation at that time or just for the amount of cliched fan service...I turned it off after about 3-episodes. Did it every get better or is there anything in it that'd be worth watching it from beginning to end?

 

[Labolas]

Question to everyone. Was the anime Sorcerer Hunters from the 90's any good and is it worth watching?

The reason I ask is because I still have the ADV release. Back in 2015 I attempted to watch it but either because of my situation at that time or just for the amount of cliched fan service...I turned it off after about 3-episodes. Did it every get better or is there anything in it that'd be worth watching it from beginning to end?

You know what's crazy? I remember I too went through a phase of disliking this show and blatant fanservice shows. Now that I'm looking at this doesn't look half bad and maybe I was harshly judging the series. Personally, if you don't really mind the blatant and overthetop fanservice and look at it as a dumb, fun series then yeah, give it a go.

 

[Happosai]

You know what's crazy? I remember I too went through a phase of disliking this show and blatant fanservice shows. Now that I'm looking at this doesn't look half bad and maybe I was harshly judging the series. Personally, if you don't really mind the blatant and overthetop fanservice and look at it as a dumb, fun series then yeah, give it a go.

I'll give it a chance. The fan service isn't annoying in everything. It pulled many 80's OVAs along. However, my wife's going to watch this with me and she likes strong male protags. She didn't like K.O.R. (Kyosuke was a bit soft), Golden Boy (guy who chases women but lacks much masculinity) and Tenchi in Tenchi Muy.o. She loved Guts in Berserk, Dark Schneider in Bastard!! and most of the male protags in Kawajiri movies (WIcked City, Demon City, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, BioHunter, etc).

Carrot seems like a character she'd get annoyed with but we'll see.

Speaking of Vampire Hunter D & Bloodlust...we watched those this past weekend. Amazing visuals in both and love the atmosphere created in both.

 

[Ladioss]

Seems like there may have been a U.K. release. It never made it to the U.S. from what I can tell and without having a target buyer (considering the only ones who'd even attempt to get licensing would be Discotek)...sadly it will likely never see a U.S. release. You mentioned Birth...tell me the U.S. DVD (ADV)isn't a collectors item...I left it with a handful of other titles back in the U.S. That was 6-years ago.

Oshii really got his teams to shine with Angel's Egg. Why was he not allowed to direct a Lupin movie?

Wouldn't be surprised for Birth, the OVA was still a bit obscure when it got its (unexpected) US DVD release.

I don't know if we have the definitive story about what happened to Oshii's Lupin project - his career was a bit turbulent after quitting the Urusei Yatsura TV series. Dallos paved the way for the OVA market, but Tenshi no Tamago flopped, and his Twilight Q episode and his first live movies were probably too niche for the mass market... the Patlabor franchise probably saved his career in anime, but before that he had some very hectic years during the 80s.

Question to everyone. Was the anime Sorcerer Hunters from the 90's any good and is it worth watching?

The reason I ask is because I still have the ADV release. Back in 2015 I attempted to watch it but either because of my situation at that time or just for the amount of cliched fan service...I turned it off after about 3-episodes. Did it every get better or is there anything in it that'd be worth watching it from beginning to end?

I remember that it was a pretty big hit back in very early 90s, because Megumi Hayashibara was the VA of Tiramisu and Keiji Gotoh did the chara designs. Pretty much a winning combo back then.

I've only read the manga and watched the OVAs, and I can't say that there is much going for it. The story is pretty much episodic and the overarching storyline, weak. And thematically, you have that weird blend between a sexy comedy and late 80s battle shounen stuff with young warriors and bloody battles to the death.
I *do* like when an anime blend several very different genres and modes, but Bakuretsu seems... pointless ?

 

[Happosai]

Wouldn't be surprised for Birth, the OVA was still a bit obscure when it got its (unexpected) US DVD release.

I don't know if we have the definitive story about what happened to Oshii's Lupin project - his career was a bit turbulent after quitting the Urusei Yatsura TV series. Dallos paved the way for the OVA market, but Tenshi no Tamago flopped, and his Twilight Q episode and his first live movies were probably too niche for the mass market... the Patlabor franchise probably saved his career in anime, but before that he had some very hectic years during the 80s.



I remember that it was a pretty big hit back in very early 90s, because Megumi Hayashibara was the VA of Tiramisu and Keiji Gotoh did the chara designs. Pretty much a winning combo back then.

I've only read the manga and watched the OVAs, and I can't say that there is much going for it. The story is pretty much episodic and the overarching storyline, weak. And thematically, you have that weird blend between a sexy comedy and late 80s battle shounen stuff with young warriors and bloody battles to the death.
I *do* like when an anime blend several very different genres and modes, but Bakuretsu seems... pointless ?

I left the Birth DVD behind as mentioned before in the U.S. but it's still there. You want to talk a rare U.S. DVD release...Maze: The Mega Burst Space TV. They had a U.S. DVD release (which I still own) was apparently never released in the U.S.

I'd feel bad for Oshii but the fact that he rebounded with Patlabor was a game changer. It still would have been great had he been able to direct a Lupin lll movie though. If he's still around, probably not too late...then again, not sure how Lupin lll movies are in terms of quality.

I was commenting in Kenny Lauderdale's live stream last Friday and he brought up lost anime titles (of all things Kenny) and I mentioned the Maze movie from 1998. I want to know why that was never given a release of any form...anywhere (not even JP). What did they not like about that movie so much? Even with the TV series...the U.S. had a DVD release but not Japan? Here's the rare trailer:

 

[Ladioss]

I've never seen Maze, I'm watching your trailer and I like how aggressively 90s it looks like lol

I'd feel bad for Oshii but the fact that he rebounded with Patlabor was a game changer. It still would have been great had he been able to direct a Lupin lll movie though. If he's still around, probably not too late...then again, not sure how Lupin lll movies are in terms of quality.

Well, he got to direct two episodes in the last Lupin anime : one is set in a restaurant with people talking about anything and everything (a clear reference to his Tachigui/Kerberos meta-cycle), and the other one was about an heist featuring a fossilized angel - a direct tribute to his old Lupin movie project.
So, he had his revenge... of sort - even if the result wasn't really interesting.

 

[Happosai]

I've never seen Maze, I'm watching your trailer and I like how aggressively 90s it looks like lol



Well, he got to direct two episodes in the last Lupin anime : one is set in a restaurant with people talking about anything and everything (a clear reference to his Tachigui/Kerberos meta-cycle), and the other one was about an heist featuring a fossilized angel - a direct tribute to his old Lupin movie project.
So, he had his revenge... of sort - even if the result wasn't really interesting.

Maze is someone strange in the TV series. I can say there are some episodes I enjoyed but it's a series that could only be enjoyed from Episodes 5 - 20 (if skip the first 3 extremely slow episodes and the weird ending...it's not that bad). The best Maze was the OVA which only has 2 episodes but was just a comedic thing all to it's own. Maze is also a nostalgia thing for me. Someone gave me the VHS boxsets back in 2000 and I had fun with that.

Well, two episodes is okay. I haven't seen Lupin lll newer movies/series...have they been leaning more toward a family friendly Lupin still? Seems like that started awhile ago.

 

[kunonabi]

Maze is someone strange in the TV series. I can say there are some episodes I enjoyed but it's a series that could only be enjoyed from Episodes 5 - 20 (if skip the first 3 extremely slow episodes and the weird ending...it's not that bad). The best Maze was the OVA which only has 2 episodes but was just a comedic thing all to it's own. Maze is also a nostalgia thing for me. Someone gave me the VHS boxsets back in 2000 and I had fun with that.

Well, two episodes is okay. I haven't seen Lupin lll newer movies/series...have they been leaning more toward a family friendly Lupin still? Seems like that started awhile ago.

Not particularly aside from the recent CG film but most of the content isn't super racy either aside from the Koike stuff. The last 3 main series are pretty middle of the road as far as content goes. Part IV might skew a little more serious and part V is a little lighter although it still ends up being way more dramatically fulfilling. I'm halfway through six and it kind of bounces around.

 

[Happosai]

Not particularly aside from the recent CG film but most of the content isn't super racy either aside from the Koike stuff. The last 3 main series are pretty middle of the road as far as content goes. Part IV might skew a little more serious and part V is a little lighter although it still ends up being way more dramatically fulfilling. I'm halfway through six and it kind of bounces around.

I couldn't bring myself to watch 3D Lupin...I struggled enough with the PS2 game.

Does the newer series touch anywhere close to seasons 2 ,3 or 4 from back in the day?

*Btw, I see you brought back Kuno-nabi in that AV.

 

[kunonabi]

I couldn't bring myself to watch 3D Lupin...I struggled enough with the PS2 game.

Does the newer series touch anywhere close to seasons 2 ,3 or 4 from back in the day?

*Btw, I see you brought back Kuno-nabi in that AV.

Part V is honestly one of the best Lupin runs. It sounded awful on paper but it ended up being pretty fantastic. I personally thought part IV was a slog to get through and I'm not super impressed by VI so far. The 3D film suffers from the usual problem where it's mostly about Lupin and a new girl and everyone else gets mostly nothing to do. Goemon in particular gets the short end of the stick.

Koike stuff has been decent but fujiko mine's lie is a real standout and a personal favorite of mine.

 

[Happosai]

Part V is honestly one of the best Lupin runs. It sounded awful on paper but it ended up being pretty fantastic. I personally thought part IV was a slog to get through and I'm not super impressed by VI so far. The 3D film suffers from the usual problem where it's mostly about Lupin and a new girl and everyone else gets mostly nothing to do. Goemon in particular gets the short end of the stick.

Koike stuff has been decent but fujiko mine's lie is a real standout and a personal favorite of mine.

Did you ever watch A Woman Called Fujiko Mine?

 

[kunonabi]

Did you ever watch A Woman Called Fujiko Mine?

Yup, absolutely loved it even though the ending is mostly just a big exposition dump.

 

[Ladioss]

Koike's take on Lupin is generally pretty solid, yes. It's a direct throwback to the older, hardboiled version of Lupin from Monkey Punch 60s manga (but without the surrealist, Mad Magazine humor).

Among his Lupin works, I would especially recommend The Blood Spray of Goemon Ishikawa, which is a fantastic hommage to the pop-cultural roots of Goemon from older chambara movies.



I'm not a fan of the blue jacket Lupin TV series, as they try to insert the character into the modern era, and it's doesn't work very well. Something that the Lupin Green vs Red OVA already tried to do 15 years ago from a very meta "standpoint" on the franchise, and failed to do - for the same reason that Sean Connery wouldn't work in a Daniel Craig James Bond movie : the pop culture and the world are too different, and "Lupin" doesn't really fit in a modern framework.

Well, two episodes is okay. I haven't seen Lupin lll newer movies/series...have they been leaning more toward a family friendly Lupin still? Seems like that started awhile ago.

Yes, back with Miyazaki - Lupin's transfomation from hardboiled scoundrel to the noble thief / knight in shining armour-at-heart who always try to save damsels in distress date back to his work on the first two TV series and his Cagliostro no Shiro movie. The comparaison between Cagliostro and the prior Mamo movie is especially telling on how the character evolved with Hayao.

 

[Ladioss]

A bit of sad news : RIP Shichirô Kobayashi. He was probably one of the best art director in the anime industry from the 70s to the early 2000s.
He worked on Ashita no Joe, Takarajima, Ie naki ko, Tenshi no Tamago, Lupin Cagliostro no Shiro, Urusei Yatsura Beautiful Dreamer, Berserk, Utena, the Space Adventure Cobra movie... incredible artist.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

That’s a big loss for the anime world. RIP sir and thank you for your wonderful work.

 

[Ladioss]

It's heartbreaking to realize that from the wonder team of TMS golden age - Osamu Dezaki, Shichiro Kobayashi and Akio Sugino -, there is only Akio Sugino left for now

 

[kunonabi]

Damn, shame to see another great talent gone.

 

[Happosai]

A bit of sad news : RIP Shichirô Kobayashi. He was probably one of the best art director in the anime industry from the 70s to the early 2000s.
He worked on Ashita no Joe, Takarajima, Ie naki ko, Tenshi no Tamago, Lupin Cagliostro no Shiro, Urusei Yatsura Beautiful Dreamer, Berserk, Utena, the Space Adventure Cobra movie... incredible artist.

Thanks for sharing some of his great work. I try not to get too sad when a great artist passes away because I feel the work lives on. Every time you look at it, it looks like it was made just yesterday. I think it'd be fair to show Angel's Egg while we can still see it. It's been out of print for awhile but you'll get to see a bit of Kobayashi's work in this.

 

[AzafuseKingTora]

Urotsukidoji has my recommendation. Its very wholesome and is suitable for the whole family

Something kinda screwed up that I recently found out really about Legend of the Overfiend is the fact this made controversy in Chile because the Manga Entertainment stores in those countries sold it to children. I'm not kidding there's an actual news investigation made on that matter and some people got arrested over it.

 

[Happosai]

Something kinda screwed up that I recently found out really about Legend of the Overfiend is the fact this made controversy in Chile because the Manga Entertainment stores in those countries sold it to children. I'm not kidding there's an actual news investigation made on that matter and some people got arrested over it.

Wow, that makes Sanrio's American distriburion of Ringing Bell toward a child audience seen less obtuse. The name translated alone would have given somewhat of an idea that it wasn't sonething to show children. Most N.A. adult anime releases used to come with a warning label tagged on the front, back and sides of the VHS.

 

[AzafuseKingTora]

Wow, that makes Sanrio's American distriburion of Ringing Bell toward a child audience seen less obtuse. The name translated alone would have given somewhat of an idea that it wasn't sonething to show children. Most N.A. adult anime releases used to come with a warning label tagged on the front, back and sides of the VHS.

They just didn't give a fuck. They did warn the kids that it wasn't appropiate but they sold it to them anyways and even discounted it (alongside Kamasutra, another hentai) for the national kids' day.

 

[kunonabi]

They just didn't give a fuck. They did warn the kids that it wasn't appropiate but they sold it to them anyways and even discounted it (alongside Kamasutra, another hentai) for the national kids' day.

My local anime store in the states would sell hentai to us back in middle school. I also had a video rental store in AZ that had a huge anime section with a ton of hentai in it too. Just out in the open not even behind the curtains or anything.

 

[Happosai]

My local anime store in the states would sell hentai to us back in middle school. I also had a video store in AZ that had a huge anime section with a ton of hentai in it too. Just out in the open not even behind the curtains or anything.

I recall Sam Goody originally had everything mixed and then one day moved all the adult titles into their own section with a warning. Local stores it doesn't surprise me.I recall back in the late 90's going to buy a few volumes of Blue Seed at a video store and someone asking me, "what's ann-niem?" That's why it surprised me how a fandom sorta popped up in the 2000's. Maybe I was just in a small Illinois hicktown off the grid but no one knew what anime was around me back then. That was just fine by me.

By the way, with the 'other' titles there were actually some funny things that Kitty did. I recall Rei Rei and Dragon Knight (I think that was the name) which were more comedies than anything else.

 

[Happosai]

Just checking in but am I the only person here who's seen Geobreeders and still has the 2 OVAs? I've never heard it mentioned...anywhere. It wasn't bad but apparently the original manga author let it incomplete due to an illness. The 1st OVA was actually great comedy. Ladioss I mentioned Maze TV/OVA a few posts up and this 90's anime seems to be just about as unknown.

 

[Space Runaway]

Quickie post but for Dragonball fans, Kineko Video did a 4k scan of DBZ movie 9 from an untouched 35mm copy. Unfortunately they could only do the third reel as the first two were thrown out but regardless, it looks great. I know Funimation will never do a good release of DBZ (Despite showing they have the original material in great quality) but maybe one day Toei will do a nice 4k release without fucking up the picture...

Open in a new tab to view at proper size:

If anyone wants to check it out you can currently download it off of internet archive:

dbz-m9-35mm directory listing

archive.org

 

[HiFiVideogameMusic]

Something kinda screwed up that I recently found out really about Legend of the Overfiend is the fact this made controversy in Chile because the Manga Entertainment stores in those countries sold it to children. I'm not kidding there's an actual news investigation made on that matter and some people got arrested over it.

I never knew about that. That's messed up.

 

[sol_bad]

Wife and I are currently watching Slam Dunk, my wife loved it when she was younger, I on the other hand had never seen it. I was really surprised at how comedic it was and how many different looks Sakuragi and the other cast members have. So many stupid faces and chibi modes. I thought from all the art I had seen it would be full on serious.

Does anyone know why there is no legal way to fucking watch the anime or fucking read the manga!?

 

[Happosai]

Quickie post but for Dragonball fans, Kineko Video did a 4k scan of DBZ movie 9 from an untouched 35mm copy. Unfortunately they could only do the third reel as the first two were thrown out but regardless, it looks great. I know Funimation will never do a good release of DBZ (Despite showing they have the original material in great quality) but maybe one day Toei will do a nice 4k release without fucking up the picture...

Open in a new tab to view at proper size:


If anyone wants to check it out you can currently download it off of internet archive:

That's something I was thinking about the other day. It occurred to me that none of the blu-ray releases I have from Funimation seem to be actually H.D. They look like upscaled DVDs. Think about this too, they never bothered with a blu-ray release of Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball deserved that and may to get that cropping fixed.

Thank goodness many of these are on internet archive. In the above poll I added Slayers to one of those which should be on blu-ray and with Funimation...goodness. The DVD set I have is the Funimation release and it appears to be a direct rip from the CPM releases prior.

 

[Space Runaway]

Wife and I are currently watching Slam Dunk, my wife loved it when she was younger, I on the other hand had never seen it. I was really surprised at how comedic it was and how many different looks Sakuragi and the other cast members have. So many stupid faces and chibi modes. I thought from all the art I had seen it would be full on serious.

Does anyone know why there is no legal way to fucking watch the anime or fucking read the manga!?

For the TV series, it was put it out on DVD in the mid-00s (Though I don't think the whole series got released) and currently Crunchyroll and Amazon have the full series available to stream.

Just checking in but am I the only person here who's seen Geobreeders and still has the 2 OVAs? I've never heard it mentioned...anywhere. It wasn't bad but apparently the original manga author let it incomplete due to an illness. The 1st OVA was actually great comedy.

I still have the DVD due to a friend lending it to me back in the day and he didn't want it back lol. I honestly don't remember any of it though. It's a shelf sitter. =P

That's something I was thinking about the other day. It occurred to me that none of the blu-ray releases I have from Funimation seem to be actually H.D. They look like upscaled DVDs. Think about this too, they never bothered with a blu-ray release of Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball deserved that and may to get that cropping fixed.

Thank goodness many of these are on internet archive. In the above poll I added Slayers to one of those which should be on blu-ray and with Funimation...goodness. The DVD set I have is the Funimation release and it appears to be a direct rip from the CPM releases prior.

Yeah I'm not sure what the issue with the original Dragonball is. I the recall the DB Kai project was originally going to done with DB but then went with DBZ instead. That's the last I heard of any talk regarding vanilla Dragonball. I guess they don't see the money in it. Plus who knows how Toei would handle it these days. They went and cencored content from the later DBZ movies and DB has a ton of such content. =/

 

[sol_bad]

For the TV series, it was put it out on DVD in the mid-00s (Though I don't think the whole series got released) and currently Crunchyroll and Amazon have the full series available to stream.

Not in Australia unfortunately.

 

[Space Runaway]

Not in Australia unfortunately.

Well that stinks. At least you found a way to watch it.

 

[sol_bad]

Well that stinks. At least you found a way to watch it.

If Discotek or someone similar gets the rights and releases the blu ray we'll buy and import it in an instant.

 

[Happosai]

For the TV series, it was put it out on DVD in the mid-00s (Though I don't think the whole series got released) and currently Crunchyroll and Amazon have the full series available to stream.


I still have the DVD due to a friend lending it to me back in the day and he didn't want it back lol. I honestly don't remember any of it though. It's a shelf sitter. =P


Yeah I'm not sure what the issue with the original Dragonball is. I the recall the DB Kai project was originally going to done with DB but then went with DBZ instead. That's the last I heard of any talk regarding vanilla Dragonball. I guess they don't see the money in it. Plus who knows how Toei would handle it these days. They went and cencored content from the later DBZ movies and DB has a ton of such content. =/

I think for sol_bad and many others, it'd be amazing to get a proper blu-ray release. Unfortunately, most of these great series that made it to DVD in the 2000's are oop and cost quite a pretty penny.

Geobreeders I can see as a shelf sitter for sure if your collection has many of the great 70's - 80's anime series. Anything from the bubble economy 80's of anime will trump most 90's titles. Geobreeders was one of the purchases I made after my first anime collection was destroyed. I wanted to go a different route and rather than buy everything back that was lost; I picked titles I'd read about but never seen. Reviewers were pretty harsh on it but during the VHS era (when I first saw the trailer on an CPM release...not sure which one though; I wanted to watch both OVAs and make my own discernment. I was never able to find it on VHS and but the DVD I bought from a local Midwestern video store that was going out of business.

Honestly, I enjoyed the first OVA. With the number of women to single male ratio you have, you'd assume it's a harem anime. But, seems like only one character really ever takes any interest in the male protag. So, that aside...it's the best 'dark cat' type anime I've seen...moreso that Lily CAT (although I did enjoy Lily CAT and have an extra copy un-opened).

Where Geobreeders starts to suck is during the 2nd OVA "breakthrough." Art direction was clearly different and it bordered on the 2000's. The story seemed to be all over the place, ton of recycled animation and a very unimpactful closing. I'd say if you ever go on a 90's binge. Watch it.

If Discotek or someone similar gets the rights and releases the blu ray we'll buy and import it in an instant.

Do you ever find Discotek releases in Australia or do they have to be imported? I know there are some countries that found them sold retail. By the way, when I used to collect horror films -- I have to import nearly all of my releases directly from Australia. And all of my 'The Seekers' memorabilia (which was only being sold in Australia...since they were indeed such a big hit in AU). I hope it does get to blu-ray and you get a chance to give that to your wife. Also, congrats on sharing your anime with her. That's how it's been since I got married. My wife was surprised because she'd only seen a handful of retro anime titles and once my full collection was imported in from the U.S.; she's enjoyed some titles more than I did. I've shown many people Wicked City throughout the years. My wife watched it and loved the story. She liked Wicked City more than Ninja Scroll actually.

 

[Happosai]

Started watching Cowboy Bebop for the first time ever. I've had this habit of avoiding mainstream anime titles from the 90's until recently. I've had the Remix DVD set for some years now which had gone untouched.

Visually for sensory perception 1st glance through the first 12 episodes: The backgrounds for a TV series of the late-90's are absolutely impressive. Seems like animation as a whole had really been cut in all areas in terms of budget in the mid-late 90's. Surprisingly, seems like they had a budget. Not just the impressive detail and coloring with backgrounds. The cross-over C.G./2D was executed well and doesn't look like the I've seen from CG in anime today. Character design, environment and probably the most notable - the music, were above average too.

Things that are...meh: I'm on episode 12 and I understand there are mini arcs around the main characters in Bebop but Spike's arc is something I figure will be shown toward the end of the series. Other than that, there's not a lot of continuity and there was a great potential for more humor but sometimes the humor's not there or it comes across as dull. The characters (aside from Spike & Jett) seem to just live about separately on Bebop rather than having a dynamic. Sorta like having an anime set with your coworkers rather than your friends.

Otherwise, surprised I took the time to watch. Overall I like it...my wife finds it a little boring but I'm going to keep going on to the last episode. I'll throw some pretty GIFs below.

 

[kunonabi]

Yeah I was never that fond of Bebop myself. Outside of Ed the characters are just kind of flat and the "best action scenes ever OMG" that people kept prattling on about never did much for me either. I started watching it again too and I've warmed up to it a bit but I'd still rather be watching Lupin or Space Dandy.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

It occurs to me I've never watched my 4k copy of Ghost in the shell. Was it any good quality-wise? Does hdr add anything?

 

[kunonabi]

It occurs to me I've never watched my 4k copy of Ghost in the shell. Was it any good quality-wise? Does hdr add anything?

It fixes the black levels although there is a touch of dnr but it's not too egregious if I remember correctly. The US release does have the wrong song during the end credits though.

 

[Happosai]

Yeah I was never that fond of Bebop myself. Outside of Ed the characters are just kind of flat and the "best action scenes ever OMG" that people kept prattling on about never did much for me either. I started watching it again too and I've warmed up to it a bit but I'd still rather be watching Lupin or Space Dandy.

Best action ever???...whoever said that has missed a lot of the great action series, ovas and movies from the 70' and 80's. Granted, I'm only 12 episodes in but 70's Lupin or nearly anything Nagai or Matsumoto had a lot of action to me.

It seems to have been handled well visually though in terms of production. I mean, look at something else from 1998. I think Trigun was also 98' or Eatman 98'...you can see why it seems to me Sunshine or whomever put a lot of money into Bebop. I guess where I don't get the hype is...character development and story. They're okay stories but seem rushed and sometimes forgettable. Character arcs like Faye, Jett and Ed are told in a single episode snd then just sorta looked past. Spike clearly has that "I used to be a bad guy but I'm semi reformed" nature to his arc. These things matter when using terms like "the greatest 90's anime of all time" as I've read on multiple anime sites.

Long story short, I think it's okay to watch till the end but not touching anthing Bebop related that was released after. My wife watches but is honest enough to say, she's pretty bored with it overall.

 

[Doom85]

Long story short, I think it's okay to watch till the end but not touching anthing Bebop related that was released after.

Whoa, hold up, you’re skipping the film? The movie should be part of the experience, in fact it’s best viewed between episodes 22 and 23 as that when it takes place, IIRC Faye in particular goes through a bit of change in the film that’s reflected in 23 and beyond.

But yeah, I dunno who was saying “best action scenes of all time”, even those of us who have Bebop as their favorite anime (including myself) don’t make that claim. Hell, Watanabe’s next anime, Samurai Champloo, I would say had generally better fights than Bebop. Now, best anime OST of all time, now THAT’S worth arguing. For me personally, the only anime OST I would put just (slightly) above Bebop is FLCL.

 

[Ladioss]

Loved the show back in the days, typical example of "right place at the right time" kind of anime series - even the producers underestimated what they had with Bebop at first and where surprised by its success (Brain Powerd being the new franchise Sunrise were focusing on parallelly, and which more or less flopped). That being said, I can totally understand that the show may appear as overhyped after 25 years of non-stop praise.

Still disappointed that Space Dandy - or any other recent franchise - never came close to replicate the kind of alchemy we had with Bebop. Maybe Firefly in the US ? But I've never watched it.

Yeah I was never that fond of Bebop myself. Outside of Ed the characters are just kind of flat and the "best action scenes ever OMG" that people kept prattling on about never did much for me either.

The characters are more or less action movies archetypes, with Faye being maybe the only one who show something like deeper personnal feelings during the course of the series. The characters worked in 98 because they were close to what we already had in the pop culture of the time, but agreed I don't think they would work as well nowadays.

And I agree too about the action scenes, they are nothing to write home about. We have seen much, much better during the OAV anime boom of the 80s, or more recently in TV series thanks to the rise of the new generation of sakuga animators since the early 2000s.

The music is still great though.

Whoa, hold up, you’re skipping the film? The movie should be part of the experience, in fact it’s best viewed between episodes 22 and 23 as that when it takes place, IIRC Faye in particular goes through a bit of change in the film that’s reflected in 23 and beyond.

The movie has some great scenes but I think it's much inferior to the TV series, too. It's hard to have any feelings for the characters or the plot when you already know how everything will end.

 

[Happosai]

Whoa, hold up, you’re skipping the film? The movie should be part of the experience, in fact it’s best viewed between episodes 22 and 23 as that when it takes place, IIRC Faye in particular goes through a bit of change in the film that’s reflected in 23 and beyond.

But yeah, I dunno who was saying “best action scenes of all time”, even those of us who have Bebop as their favorite anime (including myself) don’t make that claim. Hell, Watanabe’s next anime, Samurai Champloo, I would say had generally better fights than Bebop. Now, best anime OST of all time, now THAT’S worth arguing. For me personally, the only anime OST I would put just (slightly) above Bebop is FLCL.

Series (even my favorites) are usually a bit of a stretch for me. I grew up on anime movies and short OVAs. I also finished Trigun for the first time earlier this year and am aware a movie was made...but didn't get into that. About the movie, if I were to watch this...are we talking animated? Not like action of Berserk 3D animated...sometimes the mode in which a film was made can turn me away but I'll try that. My saying is if you can sell me on it...I'll try it. Agreed that Samurai Champloo did have better fights although I'd only watched a handful of episodes. I'd state best original soundtrack may be more fitting. However, I loved city pop soundtracks and felt those were tough to touch. Or the variety of jazzy versions of the Lupin the lll theme...I feel they touched on that jazz edge decades before Bebop. It is great and as one who enjoys fusion jazz...it's my type of music for the sake of bias

Loved the show back in the days, typical example of "right place at the right time" kind of anime series - even the producers underestimated what they had with Bebop at first and where surprised by its success (Brain Powerd being the new franchise Sunrise were focusing on parallelly, and which more or less flopped). That being said, I can totally understand that the show may appear as overhyped after 25 years of non-stop praise.

Still disappointed that Space Dandy - or any other recent franchise - never came close to replicate the kind of alchemy we had with Bebop. Maybe Firefly in the US ? But I've never watched it.


The characters are more or less action movies archetypes, with Faye being maybe the only one who show something like deeper personnal feelings during the course of the series. The characters worked in 98 because they were close to what we already had in the pop culture of the time, but agreed I don't think they would work as well nowadays.

And I agree too about the action scenes, they are nothing to write home about. We have seen much, much better during the OAV anime boom of the 80s, or more recently in TV series thanks to the rise of the new generation of sakuga animators since the early 2000s.

The music is still great though.



The movie has some great scenes but I think it's much inferior to the TV series, too. It's hard to have any feelings for the characters or the plot when you already know how everything will end.

The 70's / 80's were on fire with action anime...I wouldn't even know where to start that list. The thing is that Western audiences aren't going to talk about that when they have a nostalgia moment. Most I know who have continued watching anime on into today is they get nostalgia vibes from late-90's anime but that's about it. So, if you had to place your mind back 23-years or so into the past to look for an action anime...it may end up being Bebop. I've stated this before but despites Street Fighter 2 V (the anime series) having some pretty budgeted animation, there were some great fight scenes and I'd say it and it's movie were great examples of 90's action anime...or Macross Plus...I could keep going.

I'm on episode 15-ish right now as I only watch one or two at night but the quality of the overall production really is impressive to me. I said to my wife the other night, "If they (Japanese animators today) had continued this hybrid style of 3D with 2D with this production value...maybe I would have given digital anime more of a chance. Why don't modern Japanese studios push for challenges like this?"

If Bebop's hype was for the overall animation...I'd agree. Compare the animation in Bebop to other anime from 1998 and you'll never match that quality. Some examples (even though I like some on this list too):

- Trigun - Great adaptation of the anime in 1998 but clearly didn't have a great budget even being a relatively popular name
- Golgo 13: Queen Bee - I was very disappointed when I'd seen the Professional and then bought the VHS for Queen Bee. Not sure if it was just the lower production stature or if the story was just too boring but I never watched it again.
- Record of Lodoss War: The Chronicles of the Heroic Knight - Great opening (which was a different studio) and a fun series to watch. Yet, it's production was clearly cut compared to the original OVA nearly 7-years prior.
- Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 - Nowhere comparable to the original Bubblegum Crisis production or some of the spin-offs like A.D. Police

In short, Bebop trumped all of those in production quality and that's where I'll hype on it.

 

[Doom85]

Series (even my favorites) are usually a bit of a stretch for me. I grew up on anime movies and short OVAs. I also finished Trigun for the first time earlier this year and am aware a movie was made...but didn't get into that. About the movie, if I were to watch this...are we talking animated? Not like action of Berserk 3D animated...sometimes the mode in which a film was made can turn me away but I'll try that. My saying is if you can sell me on it...I'll try it.

The movie (Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven‘s Door) came out a few years after the anime series. So it feels right at home with the rest of the series.

Trigun was a bit different, its anime film came out long after the TV series. I never watched it but apparently it exists in its own continuity apart from both the manga and the original TV anime.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

https://animecorner.me/new-rurouni-kenshin-anime-gets-trailer-2023-premiere-cast-and-staff/


Kenshin is getting a reboot. I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the Kenshin series back in the day. The ovas were good too.

 

[Ladioss]

Damn, it really looks good.
And Twitter is already mad AF about this because of Nobuhiro Watsuki.
I may end up watching it, because I'm a sucker for Meiji (and Taisho) era.

Trigun was a bit different, its anime film came out long after the TV series. I never watched it but apparently it exists in its own continuity apart from both the manga and the original TV anime.

Isn't Stampede still scheduled for this year or the next one, btw ?

The 70's / 80's were on fire with action anime...I wouldn't even know where to start that list. The thing is that Western audiences aren't going to talk about that when they have a nostalgia moment. Most I know who have continued watching anime on into today is they get nostalgia vibes from late-90's anime but that's about it. So, if you had to place your mind back 23-years or so into the past to look for an action anime...it may end up being Bebop. I've stated this before but despites Street Fighter 2 V (the anime series) having some pretty budgeted animation, there were some great fight scenes and I'd say it and it's movie were great examples of 90's action anime...or Macross Plus...I could keep going.

I'm on episode 15-ish right now as I only watch one or two at night but the quality of the overall production really is impressive to me. I said to my wife the other night, "If they (Japanese animators today) had continued this hybrid style of 3D with 2D with this production value...maybe I would have given digital anime more of a chance. Why don't modern Japanese studios push for challenges like this?"

If Bebop's hype was for the overall animation...I'd agree. Compare the animation in Bebop to other anime from 1998 and you'll never match that quality. Some examples (even though I like some on this list too):

- Trigun - Great adaptation of the anime in 1998 but clearly didn't have a great budget even being a relatively popular name
- Golgo 13: Queen Bee - I was very disappointed when I'd seen the Professional and then bought the VHS for Queen Bee. Not sure if it was just the lower production stature or if the story was just too boring but I never watched it again.
- Record of Lodoss War: The Chronicles of the Heroic Knight - Great opening (which was a different studio) and a fun series to watch. Yet, it's production was clearly cut compared to the original OVA nearly 7-years prior.
- Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 - Nowhere comparable to the original Bubblegum Crisis production or some of the spin-offs like A.D. Police

In short, Bebop trumped all of those in production quality and that's where I'll hype on it.

15 is my "My Funny Valentine" isn't it ? Good, you still have a good mix of comedy and more serious episodes to look forward to, before the final

Agreed about Trigun budget.
I liked Queen Bee, but production values is not its strong point.
That Lodoss TV OP is peak Kazuto Nakazawa and a serious contender for the title of GOAT of anime OPs, but yes, the rest of the series is... not as good.
BGC 2040 was just your typical late-90 nighttime anime series, and they were really cheaply produced at that time. Awesome Op though.

I'm not clever enough to remember good action anime from the 90s without the help of a good encyclopedia, but I think I remember that Spriggan, Gasaraki, Memories, X, the SF2 and Fatal Fury movies, Hakkenden, Kenshin (especially Tsuioku hen), even 1996 GITS had some good action pieces ?

"If they (Japanese animators today) had continued this hybrid style of 3D with 2D with this production value...maybe I would have given digital anime more of a chance. Why don't modern Japanese studios push for challenges like this?"

I think the industry reached a turning point in 2000-2001, when titles like FLCL could have served as the template for the future of the whole industry... other choices were made, that's life.

 

[Happosai]

Damn, it really looks good.
And Twitter is already mad AF about this because of Nobuhiro Watsuki.
I may end up watching it, because I'm a sucker for Meiji (and Taisho) era.



Isn't Stampede still scheduled for this year or the next one, btw ?



15 is my "My Funny Valentine" isn't it ? Good, you still have a good mix of comedy and more serious episodes to look forward to, before the final

Agreed about Trigun budget.
I liked Queen Bee, but production values is not its strong point.
That Lodoss TV OP is peak Kazuto Nakazawa and a serious contender for the title of GOAT of anime OPs, but yes, the rest of the series is... not as good.
BGC 2040 was just your typical late-90 nighttime anime series, and they were really cheaply produced at that time. Awesome Op though.

I'm not clever enough to remember good action anime from the 90s without the help of a good encyclopedia, but I think I remember that Spriggan, Gasaraki, Memories, X, the SF2 and Fatal Fury movies, Hakkenden, Kenshin (especially Tsuioku hen), even 1996 GITS had some good action pieces ?



I think the industry reached a turning point in 2000-2001, when titles like FLCL could have served as the template for the future of the whole industry... other choices were made, that's life.

All of the big anime titles are getting remade or spin-offs. Not sure what's spurring animators to do this. I don't mean to sound cliched but...it's all media no one asked for or needed. Goodness, to think some of these shows in their original run (Urusei Yatsura) ran close to 300 episodes or more...where do they suddenly 40-some years later 'find new stories.' The only anime that seems to maintain over the years of continuation in Lupin lll IMO.

My Funny Valentine was a good one. They make the viewer feel we're going to have some deep melodramatic past with Faye and turns out it was a con artist who used some injection to go from 'Mr. Handsome' to a chunkified playboy. (Still going by the way...)

Trigun deserved a better budget. I mean, look at Berserk 97's animation through most of the episodes. Again, late-90's but they really pushed it and producers funded it. Why Pioneer cheapskated on Trigun always makes me scratch my head when only about 5-years prior Pioneer releases were pretty decent quality.

Queen Bee...I still think my expectations were that it'd pick up the same way the Professional did.

Lodoss TV as mentioned was a enjoyable to watch but if someone saw it and went back to watch the OVA...it's easy to how production qualities had declined for the most part with late-90's anime.

Plenty of great action anime titles in the 90's too and you did last some. I'm not sure where 'greatest action anime' would come from when reviewing Bebop. However, if you type in "top 90's anime series"...they typically put Bebop at number one or will simply write "best anime of the 90's." Which even that's debatable too. There were amazing anime series in the early 90's and I've always felt reviews based those opinion on the fact that they'd only seen anime from the late-90's (which Toonami typically would run on into the 2000's).

The industry changed in a great way if you're into gaming. 80's/90's anime-based video games were so-so but 2000's - present anime based video games have just gotten better. I may be biased because I prefer JRPGs and action type games but the style doesn't bother me. Maybe that's because video games should have digital artwork and it just seems more fitting. I read through the Spring/Summer 2022 anime line up and I just don't really feel anything. I've never given up on modern anime but it just doesn't move me.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

What are some of the better retro ovas/shows/movies that have gotten recent blu ray releases? I was looking at Venus wars. Violence Jack got a blu ray. What else? Did we get all of Ranma on blu ray?

Edit: Found this while browsing lol. Is this unedited? I thought this was basically a hentai?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099YD4LSL/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Happosai]

What are some of the better retro ovas/shows/movies that have gotten recent blu ray releases? I was looking at Venus wars. Violence Jack got a blu ray. What else? Did we get all of Ranma on blu ray?

Edit: Found this while browsing lol. Is this unedited? I thought this was basically a hentai?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099YD4LSL/?tag=neogaf0e-20

For recent releases of retro anime, there's always Discotek and there are some upcoming which J JunkerWoland shared a couple pages back.

Lesser new releases on blu-ray of retro titles from Sentai or other distributors. A pretty big one I posted too a few back was the release of Cat's Eye (first volume anyway)...that's been a long time coming. I recall someone posting that Gunbuster was supposed to have a blu-ray release too. Again I tagged JunkerWoland as they would be able to confirm without a doubt or Space Runaway

Venus Wars has been released several times on DVD (the first being CPM in North America), then a DVD release by Discotek on DVD & blu-ray in 2015 (I bought it during that release). Here's the most recent release of Venus Wars on blu-ray of Venus Wars. Not sure about the audio on the recent release, I've heard there were some issues compared to the previous Discotek release. Violence Jack did and there are couple posts on that in this thread too. Ranma 1/2 was released on blu-ray by VIZ Media in 2016. There were two versions of each volume and the OVA/Movies set: you had the regular blu-ray which was improved greatly from the original Pioneer/ VIZ video releases of the 2000's. There's a 2nd more expensive blu-ray release of each which are the limited editions; I know they have some extras and may have come with a full color booklet as well as decorative slip cases. Those are still available but will go oop at some point, so if you're buying...do it now before it's $150 + per volume.

About that link you dropped, some 'interesting' person made a driveby post about Urotsukidoji a little while back. It is hentai. I get that it has a 'cool story' but just like La Blue Girl or the uncut versions of something like Dream Hunter REM or Mezzo Forte...it's hentai. I'll say this too, it's great discussion for someone else's thread. I don't mind that the history is discussed but I don't want the thread to violate site policies (remember the weirdo who recently got the ban hammer after his suicide thread and post some GIFs); there's a fine line and I don't want this OP going in that direction.

Anyway, since you brought up Venus War...I believe I'll decorate this post with some cool GIFs to close this with...

 

[OmegaSupreme]

For recent releases of retro anime, there's always Discotek and there are some upcoming which J JunkerWoland shared a couple pages back.

Lesser new releases on blu-ray of retro titles from Sentai or other distributors. A pretty big one I posted too a few back was the release of Cat's Eye (first volume anyway)...that's been a long time coming. I recall someone posting that Gunbuster was supposed to have a blu-ray release too. Again I tagged JunkerWoland as they would be able to confirm without a doubt or Space Runaway

Venus Wars has been released several times on DVD (the first being CPM in North America), then a DVD release by Discotek on DVD & blu-ray in 2015 (I bought it during that release). Here's the most recent release of Venus Wars on blu-ray of Venus Wars. Not sure about the audio on the recent release, I've heard there were some issues compared to the previous Discotek release. Violence Jack did and there are couple posts on that in this thread too. Ranma 1/2 was released on blu-ray by VIZ Media in 2016. There were two versions of each volume and the OVA/Movies set: you had the regular blu-ray which was improved greatly from the original Pioneer/ VIZ video releases of the 2000's. There's a 2nd more expensive blu-ray release of each which are the limited editions; I know they have some extras and may have come with a full color booklet as well as decorative slip cases. Those are still available but will go oop at some point, so if you're buying...do it now before it's $150 + per volume.

About that link you dropped, some 'interesting' person made a driveby post about Urotsukidoji a little while back. It is hentai. I get that it has a 'cool story' but just like La Blue Girl or the uncut versions of something like Dream Hunter REM or Mezzo Forte...it's hentai. I'll say this too, it's great discussion for someone else's thread. I don't mind that the history is discussed but I don't want the thread to violate site policies (remember the weirdo who recently got the ban hammer after his suicide thread and post some GIFs); there's a fine line and I don't want this OP going in that direction.

Anyway, since you brought up Venus War...I believe I'll decorate this post with some cool GIFs to close this with...

Venus Wars looks like a winner. Outside of the animation do you like it? I was looking at Cyber City Odeo as well. I think it's called that anyway. One of Kawajiri's early works. I might pick that up too.

Ranma I must admit I've never seen. I've heard nothing but good things about it over the years.

Yeah, I did buy Kite and Mezzo Forte uncut back in the day because I was curious. I found them both pretty gross. Kite especially. I like sex as much as the next guy but those had some nasty situations as I recall. It's a shame because the both have some cool action. They made a Mezzo series back in the early 2000's that was pretty good.

 

[JunkerWoland]

To confirm, Discotek did license Top wo Nerea!; based on various comments from the company, unless the disc gets solicited for this December, it'll probably be an early 2023 release. As mentioned previously in the thread, Discotek's version is essentially confirmed to have the music replacement for the Chariots of Fire-theme parody in Episode 1.

Regarding that Urotsukidoji Blu-ray, Media Blasters dribbled it out, back in 2011 (the disc is now OOP), and it's worthless. While seemingly based on some film print of the movie version, the video is inappropriately cropped to 16:9 and has spliced in materials from an analog source (probably a LD release). The lack of interest on the Japanese side for the initial OVA and its two-episode follow-up, along with all the funky international versions, could unfortunately see this becoming a lost series, unless some (likely international) company is willing to do the leg work to uncover and license the original film materials.

Also, in terms of Cyber City Oedo 808 and Discotek's releases, people will want the more recent "Remastered Steelbook" edition. Yes, it's more expensive and comes in the stupid Steelbook case, but it's a remastered-2K scan from film materials, whereas the cheaper release from 2021 is a HD upscale.