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Retro Anime Discussion |OT|

What retro anime titles are long overdue for a blu-ray release in North America?


  • Total voters
    68

JonnyMP3

Member
I've found you, my people!
Seriously though, 3 pages and no mention of Guyver?
I loved that series originally!
An alien bio weapon that is symbiotic to the user. Secret World controlling organisation of genetic monsters created from humans. The personal sacrifices of people that fight against the People that control the world.
And one of the coolest and most devastating weapons to ever be imagined in the 'Mega-Smasher'

But there's plenty of more old 'Manga' stuff I owned and watched back in the day. Series and Movies.
Definitely rate both Monster and Wicked City as talked about earlier in the thread. Ninja Scroll. The original Ghost in the Shell. Akira. Patlabor 1 and 2. Dominion Tank Police 1 and 2 and the series. Golgo 13. Megazone 23. Crying Freeman. The Fist of the North Star. The Legend of the 4 Kings.
I'll try to remember more as we reminisce! Lol
 

JonnyMP3

Member
I think Riki Oh might be one of the rare cases where the live action movie is a better adaption of comic than the animation. The second OVA came out a little better though. It's too bad the OVA's didn't adapt one of the later arcs where Riki fights some guy wearing Robocop's armour and near literal ED-209s. It was quite shameless... 😋
I'm slightly remembering something long forgotten.....
Intestines? Right?
 

Happosai

Member
I've found you, my people!
Seriously though, 3 pages and no mention of Guyver?
I loved that series originally!
An alien bio weapon that is symbiotic to the user. Secret World controlling organisation of genetic monsters created from humans. The personal sacrifices of people that fight against the People that control the world.
And one of the coolest and most devastating weapons to ever be imagined in the 'Mega-Smasher'

But there's plenty of more old 'Manga' stuff I owned and watched back in the day. Series and Movies.
Definitely rate both Monster and Wicked City as talked about earlier in the thread. Ninja Scroll. The original Ghost in the Shell. Akira. Patlabor 1 and 2. Dominion Tank Police 1 and 2 and the series. Golgo 13. Megazone 23. Crying Freeman. The Fist of the North Star. The Legend of the 4 Kings.
I'll try to remember more as we reminisce! Lol
Pretty sure you're the first to mention "the Legend of the 4 Kings." I've mentioned a little on the others but I welcome : screenshots, production stills, video clips, animation facts, soundtracks, and keep the references coming. I'm looking for more to talk about some of the lesser-known anime from the 70's-90's as well. I used to watch the trailers from U.S. Manga Corps, Manga Entertainment, CPM, ADV, Urban Vision, Anime Works, and Pioneer to get an idea of what to buy (this was in the 90's and my internet sucked).

 

JonnyMP3

Member
Pretty sure you're the first to mention "the Legend of the 4 Kings." I've mentioned a little on the others but I welcome : screenshots, production stills, video clips, animation facts, soundtracks, and keep the references coming. I'm looking for more to talk about some of the lesser-known anime from the 70's-90's as well. I used to watch the trailers from U.S. Manga Corps, Manga Entertainment, CPM, ADV, Urban Vision, Anime Works, and Pioneer to get an idea of what to buy (this was in the 90's and my internet sucked).


Hey. Legends was a Manga series about 4 brothers, based on Chinese mythology. These brothers were the 4 Chinese Dragon Gods of the Sea that had somehow reincarnated into the modern day. (well... 90s)
But then they slowly start discovering who they are and try to discover why they're reincarnated on Earth.
I can't actually remember much of else of the plot, being that I've not watched it in 20 years. But the opening theme was one that I always loved.
 

Happosai

Member
The might help if it's available in your country. But it seems to be the series. Shame it was cancelled after 1 season.

Many TV series anime didn't make it as it was and still is more risky. That's why the 80's-90's OVAs and anime movies were coming out more frequently.
 

Happosai

Member
There was a scene where one of the mini-bosses uses his own intestine in an attempt to strangle Riki. One of many things omitted from the OVA. Course the OVA even cut the fight with the warden which is like, the entire end boss fight of the arc. =P
Does the uncut exist anywhere? Sounds like someone's seen it.
 






The J9 series (Named after a betamax player) Braiger, Baxingar and Sasuraiger. A (now) fairly obscure mecha series from the early 80s. Of the three I've only seen Baxinger and Sasuraiger and they're "fine", with Sasuraiger being the better of the two. In many ways still a vestige of the late 70s robot period though with certain (then) modern aspects, so expect a lot of the usual. Animation and art are a bit on the low-end for the actual shows though. They typically resemble budget-y episodes from say, Time Bokan from the 70s. Expect lots of sloppy animation and weird off-model drawings that look like in-betweens frames. At least the intros are pretty good. =P

There was a plan for a 4th series, Jinraiger, to air in 2016 but it ultimately fell through during production.

Also I picked up the first bluray set of Sasurager a few years back and the quality was indiscernible from the dvd versions. I believe this is due to the original negatives being either lost or damaged and not a crappy bluray or anything. So if ever looking to purchase, perhaps best to avoid bluray and go cheaper.
 
Does the uncut exist anywhere? Sounds like someone's seen it.

Nah, it's not a matter of being cut it just wasn't adapted for the OVA.

The best way to consume Riki Oh outside of the comics is the live-action movie, which is kind of amazing and hilarious. I'd actually recommend watching that one with the English dub for the full cheese experience. 😋
 

JonnyMP3

Member
Man that 70s/80s art style... So nostalgic.
I don't remember much of that stuff because that was more when I was really small in the 80's but I remember renting loads of stuff on VHS.
But that art style definitely reminds me of Starzinger. Which was renamed Spaceketeers in the west for some reason.

But it's a space opera based on the Journey to the West myth.
Yup. Sun Wu Kong as a space marine! 🤣
 

Happosai

Member
Nah, it's not a matter of being cut it just wasn't adapted for the OVA.

The best way to consume Riki Oh outside of the comics is the live-action movie, which is kind of amazing and hilarious. I'd actually recommend watching that one with the English dub for the full cheese experience. 😋
I'm going to have to settle with the subbed version of Riki...just grabbed the 2 OVAs.

I'd say for obscure ones I've seen: Angels Egg, Cat Soup the movie, Big Wars (everyone in reviews sites hated this one; I thought it was awesome), Dark Cat subbed (the dub is unbearable and can be found on YouTube), and there may be more on my ever growing list. By the way, feel free to share your anime lists in this thread.

 

Happosai

Member
Space Runaway Space Runaway there's a lot of gross anime that came out that I don't see get mentioned in many retro threads. A few that I found gross but still own:

-Nekojiro Gekijou the series (it's cartoon but gross in some parts)
-Apocalypse Zero
-Some of the scenes in K.I.T.E. uncut...okay...a lot of scenes in that
-Always found the second M.D. Geist OVA to be the more...😳
-Genocyber

There are others...list them here.
 
I'm going to have to settle with the subbed version of Riki...just grabbed the 2 OVAs.

I'd say for obscure ones I've seen: Angels Egg, Cat Soup the movie, Big Wars (everyone in reviews sites hated this one; I thought it was awesome), Dark Cat subbed (the dub is unbearable and can be found on YouTube), and there may be more on my ever growing list. By the way, feel free to share your anime lists in this thread.


Oh I was only talking dubbed for the movie. I don't think the OVAs are dubbed and I wouldn't recommend watching them dubbed anyway. ;)

Space Runaway Space Runaway there's a lot of gross anime that came out that I don't see get mentioned in many retro threads. A few that I found gross but still own:

-Nekojiro Gekijou the series (it's cartoon but gross in some parts)
-Apocalypse Zero
-Some of the scenes in K.I.T.E. uncut...okay...a lot of scenes in that
-Always found the second M.D. Geist OVA to be the more...😳
-Genocyber

There are others...list them here.

What like the Shoujo Tsubaki ova series? :messenger_smiling_horns: Though that doesn't really have the kind of violence to be enjoyed. It has some pretty sick minded stuff.

And there's stuff that most everyone knows like Angel Cop and Violence Jack Evil Town. Though actually the real reason I brought those up is because they were directed by Itano Ichirou, who famously created the "Itano Circus" and appears to be responsible for gore scenes like the head crush in DYRL. I never saw Gantz but he directed that too and that's been notable for violence. I guess he liked his extreme gore.
 
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JonnyMP3

Member
Oh I was only talking dubbed for the movie. I don't think the OVAs are dubbed and I wouldn't recommend watching them dubbed anyway. ;)



What like the Shoujo Tsubaki ova series? :messenger_smiling_horns: Though that doesn't really have the kind of violence to be enjoyed. It has some pretty sick minded stuff.

And there's stuff that most everyone knows like Angel Cop and Violence Jack Evil Town. Though actually the real reason I brought those up is because they were directed by Itano Ichirou, who famously created the "Itano Circus" and appears to be responsible for gore scenes like the head crush in DYRL. I never saw Gantz but he directed that too and that's been notable for violence. I guess he liked his extreme gore.
Gantz Anime is shit compared to the Manga. It like a stripped down kid friendly Gantz. And the words Gantz and kid friendly should never be together. Go read the Manga if you want Gantz. Heard there's a sequel too.
 

JonnyMP3

Member
Ah I see. If I ever give Gantz a look I'll definitely start with the comic.
It's weird. Like Attack on Titan weird at first. Wtf and why is all this happening? How are humans meant to survive the odds? It takes a while to explain the reasons behind the situation as you get to know the protagonists but even when you know what's happening... It still doesn't really make sense.
One of THOSE Mangas.
 

Mobile Suit Gooch

Grundle: The Awakening
Imagine producing the English version of that. Some guy had to record those English vocals and hear them likely through a stereo system or headphones to record. It would have been better to just leave it as an instrumental than to put in vocals like that. Here's the other intro theme music that I couldn't stand. Some people might like it but the singer sounds like he's trying too hard to be a rock-star and his Engrish chorus of "Merody" doesn't help the performance. Eatman is a great OVA but the music throughout the series is just weird and doesn't fit in.
This is the full version...you'll have to skip about:56-seconds in where the edgy vocals start

lol awful.
 

Happosai

Member
Oh I was only talking dubbed for the movie. I don't think the OVAs are dubbed and I wouldn't recommend watching them dubbed anyway. ;)



What like the Shoujo Tsubaki ova series? :messenger_smiling_horns: Though that doesn't really have the kind of violence to be enjoyed. It has some pretty sick minded stuff.

And there's stuff that most everyone knows like Angel Cop and Violence Jack Evil Town. Though actually the real reason I brought those up is because they were directed by Itano Ichirou, who famously created the "Itano Circus" and appears to be responsible for gore scenes like the head crush in DYRL. I never saw Gantz but he directed that too and that's been notable for violence. I guess he liked his extreme gore.

Shoujo Tsubaki is right up there with those I listed. Many of the things that happen in Apocalypse Zero defy the physics of a human body under pressure.
Being squeezed so hard your intestines fly out of a hole in your head. Being eaten and vomited back up hours later...mostly digested...still alive.
Angel Cop...I couldn't handle the story of the last episode. That was ballsy to say the least. Violence Jack...still have all three OVAs. I can only find clips of Itano Circus. Was Itano Circus only sold in NA as a fansub;I can't find anything other than clips of it. Gantz was another title of his I missed.
 
I can only find clips of Itano Circus. Was Itano Circus only sold in NA as a fansub;I can't find anything other than clips of it. Gantz was another title of his I missed.

Oh it's not an animation. The "Itano Cirus" is a nickname referencing the style of the battle scenes Itano Ichirou pioneered, particularly Macross' effect/look of missiles swarming and spiraling all over when fired (Which has been copied by seemingly everything since). I just found it amusing the person behind influential stuff like that was also into splatter. =P
 

Happosai

Member
Oh it's not an animation. The "Itano Cirus" is a nickname referencing the style of the battle scenes Itano Ichirou pioneered, particularly Macross' effect/look of missiles swarming and spiraling all over when fired (Which has been copied by seemingly everything since). I just found it amusing the person behind influential stuff like that was also into splatter. =P
Sorry, I meant clips of Shoujo Tsubaki. I should check again but at the same time...I'm afraid I might find the full movie on YouTube. The kill scenes in the Riki OVA are pretty well-drawn/animated.
 

Happosai

Member
It's weird. Like Attack on Titan weird at first. Wtf and why is all this happening? How are humans meant to survive the odds? It takes a while to explain the reasons behind the situation as you get to know the protagonists but even when you know what's happening... It still doesn't really make sense.
One of THOSE Mangas.
Not to run it into the ground but Attack on Titan is like a mainstream take on Apocalypse Zero. Much of it doesn't make sense either. Just the part about a future in which giant monsters break into a city and start eating or mutilating people.
 

Labolas

Member
I like the older style of anime way more than the digital modern style of anime now. Plus, a lot of my favorite anime are considered retro now by today's standards. Gunbuster, Gunsmith Cats, Slayers, Bubblegum Crisis (both versions), Battle Angel Alita, Burn Up, Outlaw Star, ROD The Tv and the OVA, Birdy The Mighty OVA (Not Decode) and many more I can't think of right now. A lot of it has to due to how fun and unique the characters are back compared to now. Especially the female characters:
6e3249367b2bc0fda1f273f7b24a19b7a397e3fb.gifv

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cbc4362f13b972c6453b17ebec032cf2.gif

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CCjceU0.gif

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Happosai

Member
I like the older style of anime way more than the digital modern style of anime now. Plus, a lot of my favorite anime are considered retro now by today's standards. Gunbuster, Gunsmith Cats, Slayers, Bubblegum Crisis (both versions), Battle Angel Alita, Burn Up, Outlaw Star, ROD The Tv and the OVA, Birdy The Mighty OVA (Not Decode) and many more I can't think of right now. A lot of it has to due to how fun and unique the characters are back compared to now. Especially the female characters:
6e3249367b2bc0fda1f273f7b24a19b7a397e3fb.gifv

8TsJ.gif

fcc19965628d9936550238a9499c702b.gif

cbc4362f13b972c6453b17ebec032cf2.gif

w9B6vb4J0ffZ5urJQGgXhL6lvkZQEz7xH_OuLCHJbgnuTRPKMKsb5vvuy6I2FecbREoRgTkPs5MtVSa6is80L5X85oYDCGabQNnjdGvQK-3sb10VtQ

CCjceU0.gif

13d241469a180933ceb4d7e603da864f.jpg
Awesome! Birdy the Mighty and Burn Up finally got a mention. The animation was unbeatable without a doubt. I'm still waiting for more bold modern anime directors to go against the grain and scrap the whole "digital art" reliance and make something complex with traditional tools. I'll toss in some random GIFs: Taki from WC, BioHunter transformation,
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bJigt90.gif

, and glasses off A.D. Police.
 

Happosai

Member
kunonabi kunonabi Space Runaway Space Runaway Mobile Suit Gooch Mobile Suit Gooch Pejo Pejo
Seems like you guys have seen your share of anime dubs. So, when subbed is not what you're watching - what are the worst dubs you've heard in anime?

Some that sorta made me switch the back to Japanese with subs: Dark Cat OVA (it's really not that bad as long as you don't watch it in English), Yu Yu Hakusho the Movie (this was a short movie they made and Animax or some company like that originally dubbed it; David Hayter even voiced Kurama...but that was not enough to save it), Cyber City Oedo...I think the voice actors were just freewheeling this one, Devilman OVA (I like it because it's sooo bad), and Crayon Shin Chan. Crayon Shin Chan had relatively good VA's but some of the worst direction and scripting I've ever seen in an English adaptation. They constantly reference American pop-culture to the point in which it would appear that Shin Chan and recurring characters are just a bunch of whiny Americans. In the second season, they have one character who goes into rants against former U.S. president George W. Bush's administration. Even if people didn't like "W" at Funimation...why is that crap part of dialogue in a Japanese animation?

Honorable mention (this borders offensive with some people): Yu Yu Haskusho TV's Chris Sabat as Kuwabara. I get that people love the dub of Yu Yu Hakusho and that in many instances they out-performed the original VAs. However, why did Chris Sabat give Kuwabara this gruff, edgy, 55-year old chain smoker voice? I mean, the character is 14-years old. Some of the lines of the English script for Yu Yu Hakusho also made me raise my eyebrows in general. Chris Sabat is a great voice talent for anime dubs...but...I feel he was trying to base his voice on the similar sounding gruff voice used for Kuwabara in the Poltergeist Report dub (which was an even deeper chain-smoker voice for Kuwabara).

Dark Cat the dub...can't believe Suzy Prue (a great English VA was involved with this)


The original dub for Yu Yu Hakusho: The Golden Seal (this is the Animax dub; Funimation re-dubbed this using the VAs from the TV series). I just scrubbed through it and had a few chuckles. Some very cliched edge lines and one I'll never forget from the main antagonist, "Ready for a nice death (or possibly depth...which still makes no sense)?! It's at 16:47


Cyber City Oedo...meh...not that bad


Devilman: The BIrth (like this one too but it's something else)


There are a million Crayon Shin Chan episodes but start watching in number of episodes past 15 and you'll start hearing constant American pop-cultural referencing as nauseum.
 

Pejo

Member
kunonabi kunonabi Space Runaway Space Runaway Mobile Suit Gooch Mobile Suit Gooch Pejo Pejo
Seems like you guys have seen your share of anime dubs. So, when subbed is not what you're watching - what are the worst dubs you've heard in anime?

Some that sorta made me switch the back to Japanese with subs: Dark Cat OVA (it's really not that bad as long as you don't watch it in English), Yu Yu Hakusho the Movie (this was a short movie they made and Animax or some company like that originally dubbed it; David Hayter even voiced Kurama...but that was not enough to save it), Cyber City Oedo...I think the voice actors were just freewheeling this one, Devilman OVA (I like it because it's sooo bad), and Crayon Shin Chan. Crayon Shin Chan had relatively good VA's but some of the worst direction and scripting I've ever seen in an English adaptation. They constantly reference American pop-culture to the point in which it would appear that Shin Chan and recurring characters are just a bunch of whiny Americans. In the second season, they have one character who goes into rants against former U.S. president George W. Bush's administration. Even if people didn't like "W" at Funimation...why is that crap part of dialogue in a Japanese animation?

Honorable mention (this borders offensive with some people): Yu Yu Haskusho TV's Chris Sabat as Kuwabara. I get that people love the dub of Yu Yu Hakusho and that in many instances they out-performed the original VAs. However, why did Chris Sabat give Kuwabara this gruff, edgy, 55-year old chain smoker voice? I mean, the character is 14-years old. Some of the lines of the English script for Yu Yu Hakusho also made me raise my eyebrows in general. Chris Sabat is a great voice talent for anime dubs...but...I feel he was trying to base his voice on the similar sounding gruff voice used for Kuwabara in the Poltergeist Report dub (which was an even deeper chain-smoker voice for Kuwabara).

Dark Cat the dub...can't believe Suzy Prue (a great English VA was involved with this)


The original dub for Yu Yu Hakusho: The Golden Seal (this is the Animax dub; Funimation re-dubbed this using the VAs from the TV series). I just scrubbed through it and had a few chuckles. Some very cliched edge lines and one I'll never forget from the main antagonist, "Ready for a nice death (or possibly depth...which still makes no sense)?! It's at 16:47


Cyber City Oedo...meh...not that bad


Devilman: The BIrth (like this one too but it's something else)


There are a million Crayon Shin Chan episodes but start watching in number of episodes past 15 and you'll start hearing constant American pop-cultural referencing as nauseum.

These are pretty great. I haven't really watched dubs in so long, it's hard for me to remember what was good vs. bad. When I was watching with dubs, it was mostly when I didn't have access to anything else because I only could view what was shown on TV. Since anime is much more accessible on the net now, I probably haven't watched a dub in 10+ years. I do find it funny when the translations are done in obvious anime ways, like hearing the line "it can't be helped" or other things that clearly is the work of a literal translation that have become common now instead of actually making a line that people would say.

I remember being a fan of JYB in all of his roles, especially Vash the Stampede. I thought the dub of Dragon Ball Z and Cowboy Bebop were good, and it's actually how I remember the characters now.
 

Happosai

Member
These are pretty great. I haven't really watched dubs in so long, it's hard for me to remember what was good vs. bad. When I was watching with dubs, it was mostly when I didn't have access to anything else because I only could view what was shown on TV. Since anime is much more accessible on the net now, I probably haven't watched a dub in 10+ years. I do find it funny when the translations are done in obvious anime ways, like hearing the line "it can't be helped" or other things that clearly is the work of a literal translation that have become common now instead of actually making a line that people would say.

I remember being a fan of JYB in all of his roles, especially Vash the Stampede. I thought the dub of Dragon Ball Z and Cowboy Bebop were good, and it's actually how I remember the characters now.
Some of the literal translations seem to go into a different direction for me, too. I feel if it's going to be literal...better to go the with original Japanese. It's weird when dub actors try to go out of their way to sound like their filling in for a live-action role. Many criticize 90's dubs but it would seem that many during the 90's got a balance between original context and localization without getting too local. When anime first popped up in the West, many times it was too localized (Samurai Pizza Cats for example). The few 80's dubs that are out there show us that I think the American distributors were afraid of introducing something Japanese and would try to Americanize the anime as much as possible. They were chalked full of American pop-cultural references, names were changed sometimes to more Western sounding names, Japanese vocals removed from OSTs and replaced with English, and sometimes even the names the anime were marketed under. I still can't figure out how they took GoShogun and turned it into something called "Macron 5."
 
Sorry, I meant clips of Shoujo Tsubaki. I should check again but at the same time...I'm afraid I might find the full movie on YouTube. The kill scenes in the Riki OVA are pretty well-drawn/animated.
Oh. yeah i don't think it has any kind of official western release. I had to "grab" a fansub version under the Shoujo Tsubaki Midori title.

kunonabi kunonabi Space Runaway Space Runaway Mobile Suit Gooch Mobile Suit Gooch Pejo Pejo
Seems like you guys have seen your share of anime dubs. So, when subbed is not what you're watching - what are the worst dubs you've heard in anime?

I recall the Macross DRYL dub by Best Video, which was just released under the title Macross, had an awful dub. Prior to dvd it was the only way I could watch the movie and it sounds like it was dubbed by a buncha technicians. If I recall correctly it was the same dub used for the "Clash of the Bionoids" FHE release.





Also the Omni Productions dub of the Japanese Transformers series (Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory) was almost literally the same as those dollar store kung-fu movie dubs from the 70s. It was an atrocious and a horrific way to watch Headmasters, which was already an iffy series to begin with.
 
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Happosai

Member
Oh. yeah i don't think it has any kind of official western release. I had to "grab" a fansub version under the Shoujo Tsubaki Midori title.



I recall the Macross DRYL dub by Best Video, which was just released under the title Macross, had an awful dub. Prior to dvd it was the only way I could watch the movie and it sounds like it was dubbed by a buncha technicians. If I recall correctly it was the same dub used for the "Clash of the Bionoids" FHE release.





Also the Omni Productions dub of the Japanese Transformers series (Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory) was almost literally the same as those dollar store kung-fu movie dubs from the 70s. It was an atrocious and a horrific way to watch Headmasters, which was already an iffy series to begin with.

I wish they would just re-do everything with Macross: Do You Remember Love. It needs a good remaster, New dub and/or original Japanese, and sound correction.

You mentioned dollar store kung-fu dubs...that's kind of what the Dark Cat dub is like. Pissed me off because I liked that OVA (had the subbed VHS from AnimeWorks) and later bought the DVD to test drive the dub. I swear the idiots just wanted to mock the anime and their performance (lack-of) shows they don't deserve to be VAs. I think they were missed because Dark Cat was unknown prior to it's release and they felt it didn't deserve respect. I honestly think they botched it deliberately. On YouTube, one of the idiots who provided the English dub for one of the main characters writes about it as if he knows everyone is going to lynch him in future comments. He doesn't seem to care.

Yu Yu Hakusho the Golden Seal is horrible because of all the tacky action stereotypes and cliches. In some instances, it sounds like the main characters were dubbed all via improvisation.

DevilMan and Cyber City Oedo the voice actors are sub-par but pretty much ad-libbed excess profanity to try to make the chacacters sound more edgy. Somehow...It works. Although it's not even B-list acting.

Shin Chan is something that was too localized for the time of the dub. I think it was dubbed by Funimation around 2004 or 2005. If it was dubbed by 4Kids in the late-90's the localized references would have made more sense. I feel Funimation just wanted Shin Chan to come-off as a funny American kid (because they were too lazy to try to adapt the Japanese comedy into English).
 

Happosai

Member
I really wish the new Escaflowne blu rays had the old dub. It's just too ingrained in my brain.
The original run was with Fox Kids in the U.S. but dubbed with Ocean Group in Vancouver. I think Bandai Entertainment originally held the license. The current dub and license is with Funimation. Odds are you will not get that older dub on blu-ray unless the license expires with Funimation and Discotek releases it (Diskotek is known for keeping old dubs).
 
I wish they would just re-do everything with Macross: Do You Remember Love. It needs a good remaster, New dub and/or original Japanese, and sound correction.

The JP bluray is a pretty solid remaster. Well the second release, the first release was censored... Slap some subs on that and it's good to go. =P It's a shame that movie became such a nightmare to release in the West. By the time that's ever worked out it won't matter anymore.

You mentioned dollar store kung-fu dubs...that's kind of what the Dark Cat dub is like. Pissed me off because I liked that OVA (had the subbed VHS from AnimeWorks) and later bought the DVD to test drive the dub. I swear the idiots just wanted to mock the anime and their performance (lack-of) shows they don't deserve to be VAs. I think they were missed because Dark Cat was unknown prior to it's release and they felt it didn't deserve respect. I honestly think they botched it deliberately. On YouTube, one of the idiots who provided the English dub for one of the main characters writes about it as if he knows everyone is going to lynch him in future comments. He doesn't seem to care.

Yu Yu Hakusho the Golden Seal is horrible because of all the tacky action stereotypes and cliches. In some instances, it sounds like the main characters were dubbed all via improvisation.

DevilMan and Cyber City Oedo the voice actors are sub-par but pretty much ad-libbed excess profanity to try to make the chacacters sound more edgy. Somehow...It works. Although it's not even B-list acting.

Shin Chan is something that was too localized for the time of the dub. I think it was dubbed by Funimation around 2004 or 2005. If it was dubbed by 4Kids in the late-90's the localized references would have made more sense. I feel Funimation just wanted Shin Chan to come-off as a funny American kid (because they were too lazy to try to adapt the Japanese comedy into English).

Too much trouble dealing with dubs. I honestly wouldn't have bothered with them much but back in the day the subbed tapes were an additional $10 and video rental stores tended to carry the only dub. Luckily that was solved come dvd. Fun memories of certain titles but I'm not going back outside of rare instances where the dub was more suited to the work. 😋
 

kunonabi

Member
I'm actually having trouble thinking of old bad dubs that I hated. I knew there were some that got me nerd raging back in the day but I think the current state of godawful modern dubs has kind of taken over that shelf space in my brain.

I actually remember more old dubs that I love come to think of it.
 
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Happosai

Member
I'm actually having trouble thinking of old bad dubs that I hated. I knew there were some that got me nerd raging back in the day but I think the current state of godawful modern dubs has kind of taken over that shelf space in my brain.

I actually remember more old dubs that I love come to think of it.
Modern dubs seem to have a lot of screeching. It's almost as if the voice actors are competing to see who can sound the most like the original JP VA.

Aside from the older ones have mentioned...most older dubs were not as bad as people say. Ranma 1/2 is the only Rumiko title I have watched dubbed in English. My wife is Mexican and showed me the Mexican Spanish dub of Inuyasha. It's not bad but it gets annoying that the Spanish singers dubbed the music and can't match a single harmony. All other Rumiko titles like Urusei Yatsura, Rumik World OVAs, Maison Ikkoku I watch subbed.
 

Happosai

Member
The JP bluray is a pretty solid remaster. Well the second release, the first release was censored... Slap some subs on that and it's good to go. =P It's a shame that movie became such a nightmare to release in the West. By the time that's ever worked out it won't matter anymore.



Too much trouble dealing with dubs. I honestly wouldn't have bothered with them much but back in the day the subbed tapes were an additional $10 and video rental stores tended to carry the only dub. Luckily that was solved come dvd. Fun memories of certain titles but I'm not going back outside of rare instances where the dub was more suited to the work. 😋
As I get older, I tend to look more for subbed anime. However, I've heard a large share of 80's and 90's dubs I liked alongside the original Japanese. Meaning, I like both. It seemed like in the 90's the studios were hiring stage actors. Today, it seems that someone just walks in and says...I like anime! I'll read the script! Many of those Canadians and American VAs from the 90's weren't anime fans and yet they still did their job as if they were being paid more than a couple dollars an hour. They were older, too. There were rarely any kids or people in their 20's working on dubs. A lot of those actors are now in their late 50's-60's today (Some still voice acting, too).
 

Mobile Suit Gooch

Grundle: The Awakening
There are a million Crayon Shin Chan episodes but start watching in number of episodes past 15 and you'll start hearing constant American pop-cultural referencing as nauseum.
Honestly I didn't mind it. In fact, it got a laugh out of me. but to be fair, it does make the show seem dated.
 

Porcile

Member
Yeah this is my kind of thread. Any VOTOMS fans here? Luckily these days I can understand Japanese well enough that I can pick up any anime and watch it with some enjoyment so retro anime is a huge treasure trove for me.
 

Happosai

Member
Honestly I didn't mind it. In fact, it got a laugh out of me. but to be fair, it does make the show seem dated.
it could also be last buyer's remorse with me. I watched like 5-episodes back in 2012 and then bought all three seasons expecting it not to derail too much. It was Season 2 where the 2000's American pop-cultural references started to get annoying. I never watched it subbed and I'm curious how that version looked in text.

DId you watch the videos for the others? Yes, the DevilMan dub is good and I own it lol
 

Happosai

Member
Yeah this is my kind of thread. Any VOTOMS fans here? Luckily these days I can understand Japanese well enough that I can pick up any anime and watch it with some enjoyment so retro anime is a huge treasure trove for me.
VOTOMs and Giant Robo. Didn't mind the OVAs either.
 
As I get older, I tend to look more for subbed anime. However, I've heard a large share of 80's and 90's dubs I liked alongside the original Japanese. Meaning, I like both. It seemed like in the 90's the studios were hiring stage actors. Today, it seems that someone just walks in and says...I like anime! I'll read the script! Many of those Canadians and American VAs from the 90's weren't anime fans and yet they still did their job as if they were being paid more than a couple dollars an hour. They were older, too. There were rarely any kids or people in their 20's working on dubs. A lot of those actors are now in their late 50's-60's today (Some still voice acting, too).

That was actually one of the good things about Streamline Pictures, they used a lot of experienced voice talent or character actors from tv who knew how to deliver the dialogue. Now the same can;t be said for Streamline's localization but that's a different story. :messenger_winking:

Yeah this is my kind of thread. Any VOTOMS fans here? Luckily these days I can understand Japanese well enough that I can pick up any anime and watch it with some enjoyment so retro anime is a huge treasure trove for me.

Absolutely. One of my all-time favorite mech shows; the first two arcs in particular. I'm actually in the process of watching through the VOTOMS spin-off Armor Hunter Mellowlink. :messenger_sunglasses:
 
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Yeah this is my kind of thread. Any VOTOMS fans here? Luckily these days I can understand Japanese well enough that I can pick up any anime and watch it with some enjoyment so retro anime is a huge treasure trove for me.
It’s one of my favorite mecha shows (I have yet to watch the OVAs and Mellowlink though). I love the unique mecha designs, the focus on pilot skill instead of op mechas, the settings, the previews, and of course my pahfecto soljia Chirico.

 
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The forgotten Guyver OVA - Guyver: Out of Control (Or Out of "Standardrized"...). Before the 89 OVA series that made it a cult hit in the west, there was this 1986 one-off OVA. It's basically an altered depiction of the first part of the story where Sho becomes the Guyver and ending with the battle with Guyver 2. A lot of the story is mostly the same, the most notable differences being Tetsuro beng outright omitted and Guyver 2 has been gender swapped to a female (And of course that means her becoming Guyver 2 must now resemble a tentacle rape scene). Also while the designs are largely the same as the comic and later OVA series, the lead characters are done in a very different style and are basically a proto-version of the look found in Dancouga.

It's a pretty entertaining OVA with a some nice animation, a soundtrack that sounds like a PC Engine CD shmup and decent action except....for some inexplicable reason, they decided to mega cheap out on the fight between Guyver 1 and 2, re-using scenes and replaying every action at least twice!

I don't know why they did this and when you watch the OVA, you don't really get the impression it was due to the production running into budget issues but more someone having a really, really bad idea on how to save a couple bucks. It does sort of ruin the final fight as the scene reusage starts to make the fight appear comical. Not unlike when they cheaped out on the final fight with M. Bison in the SF2V series.

Still...despite that it's really not a bad watch overall. As far as I can tell it remains only available on VHS and Laserdisc, so if one wants to watch it then maybe youtube it something.

Oh and for the gore freaks, the violence is depicted much more graphically than in the later OVAs :messenger_smiling_horns:

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