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WHERE DO I SIGN UP?
From: Wil Chung (wchung1@uiuc.edu)
I can't find where to be added to the mailing list, since every time I click
on a link that says 'mailing list', it kicks me to the home page, but
there's no sign up there... so I'm just emailing to see if I can get on this
way or if you can point me to where I can sign up to be notified when the
next EX issue comes out.
Thanks for writing in; the problem should be fixed by now.
And just a reminder to the other readers out there—signing up for the
EX mailing list
ensures that you're one of the first to know when a new issue comes out.
FOR THE FUTURE!
From: Michael Haenell
(turbo@futureweb.com.au)
I am hoping that you or your readers could help me with a little information
as I have searched numerous english language sites and magazines without
success. I am looking for information on a show called CAPTAIN
FUTURE (or The Adventures of Captain Future) by Toei Animation Co. I
saw the show in Germany where it has a huge following. I would like to know
if the show was successful in any english speaking markets, when was it
shown? Who currently holds the copyright for the possibility of a video
release? I know that a release on video is possible, but is it likely, in
other words, was the show popular to any degree outside of Europe? Your
assistance would be greatly appreciated.
I'm afraid I can't offer you any assistance here, so
I'll turn this over to our readers. If you've got any information on this
show, drop Michael a line and see if you can help answer his questions.
PROMISES, PROMISES
From: Aripa Vulpe (wingfox@ucla.edu)
You maintain a very impressive page. All the cool pics just make me green
with envy. But I want to know why you haven't done anything on RURONI KENSHIN. It's quite popular here in the States. I don't
recall one mention of this series from EX. Do you guys
have a thing against samurais? Mechas can get really dull from all the
overexposure.
And there is only so much you can write on GOLDEN BOY, TENCHI, MACROSS, KOR, and SLAYERS before getting repetitive. Those are all very
popular series and get more attention than they really need (or deserve). I
would much rather read about more obscure finds. With the resources you
have, I don't think that would be very difficult.
And I'm still waiting for coverage on the old DR. SLUMP or any past Miyazaki films. "Look forward and
look back" right? Make good on your promise.
I agree that some titles have received more than
their share of exposure of late, however, that doesn't necessarily make
them bad.
This issue we're covering LOCKE THE
SUPERMAN and GALAXY EXPRESS 999, both of
which are old titles, so I don't think that we've neglected what we said we
were going to do. As for covering the Miyazaki films, it gets more
complicated with Disney owning the rights to them all now, but we do have a
review of KIKI in this issue.
We'll continue to keep working and maybe we can
do a feature article on RURONI KENSHIN. But we have
reviewed various KENSHIN things, including CDs and games, and we even have the updates for the
current goings on in the manga series in our new
Weekly Jump Update.
DVD: THE AVALANCHE
From: Taro Nobusawa (taro@gte.net)
As usual, an informative and well done issue. I do however have some
questions regarding the article on DVD. A nitpicky
point is that not all DVD have region codes, but for
all practical purposes they do.
That aside, I do wonder about the statement that
LD has better surround sound capabilies. Is that
true? Both LD and DVD can
support Dolby Digital (AC-3). In addition,
DVD can support it on the tracks besides the
primary audio. LD, if using AC-3,
takes up one of the analog tracks, so on the secondary audio (usually
the Japanese) ends up being mono only.
That was my only major question. The other
regards the listing of KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
as a DVD release. Has this been confirmed? I
hadn't heard anything regarding this, but it would be welcomed news.
I like DVD, but am not abandoning
LD either, for reasons covered in your article.
Anyway, keep up the great work (I especially
enjoy Scott Frazier's Beyond TV Safety column,
it feeds my friends' and my fantasizing of getting into the industry.)
From: Toby Celeski
(kagato@earthlink.net)
Love the magazine. I just wanted to put in my two cents worth on
the DVD—Is it worth it for Anime? subject.
Overall, I do like the DVD format, though I
am still an avid LD collector, call me old
fashioned. My only problem with DVD is the
market that it's aimed at replacing VHS.
DVD is only as good as it's mastered and so
far, I've been quite unimpressed with some of the offerings in anime,
ie TENCHI MUYO IN LOVE and NINJA
SCROLL to name a few. In TMIL, Pioneer,
even though having to remaster it to DVD format,
still left an annoying bug currently found only on the English
LD release. Notice when Mihoshi boards the bus
in Tokyo and starts speaking, there is an annoying clicking sound for
several seconds in the english track only, not on the original Japanese.
As for NINJA SCROLL, the problem
is with the 5.1 track. Many people seem to argue that it's great, until you
realize that surround isn't supposed to take place of the front speakers.
The first five minutes of the movie seems mostly to be carried by the rear
speakers, Dolby 5.1 is supposed to help envelop you in the action, not force
you to direct your hearing at the surrounds. Overall I think DVD will someday reign supreme in the choice of format for
Anime titles, I just hope that the quality that is produced lives up to what
DVD can do, and not be inferior to that of VHS, until then, I'm sticking with my import LDs.
From: Stephen A. Quashnick
(q_ball@ix.netcom.com)
Hey, I love the online Mag. The article on DVD was
the kind of info I was looking for, but I heard there was a copy protection
lock on DVDs. Is this true? Thanx for having a great
Site.
From: Keith Yatsuhashi
(pdeac@concentric.net)
Thank you for your discussion of DVD. This is one
format Anime fans cannot be without. I am interested to know if where you
got the information on a DVD release of KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE. That title has neither been
announced nor rumored AFAIK. I can only hope your
info is accurate. Please email me if you can.
Most people (including some anime companies) liked our
DVD article. A few people wrote in with minor
corrections and additional details, some of which we've reprinted above. As
for me, I won't be giving up my LDs anytime soon
(especially once I get my VAMPIRE MIYU TV LD box!)
The information about KIKI being
released on DVD was from a preliminary list
researched by our staff. At this time, however, Buena Vista Home Video has
not confirmed a release date for this title.
MACROSS PERFECT COLLECTION IS HERE—BUT NOT FOR LONG
From: Tim Neems (otaku@home.net)
In the current issue's letter's section you stated that MACROSS has never been subtitled. This of course is
competely incorrect. Streamline
released the ROBOTECH: PERFECT COLLECTION several
years ago. Each volume has 2 of the ROBOTECH episodes
and the corresponding episode from MACROSS, SOUTHERN
CROSS, or MOSPEIDA uncut and subtitled. Now I
have no idea if these are still available, or if they ever finished the all
of the episodes, but they did get about 14 of each series completed, maybe
more.
From: Z. Reddy
(mrgone@concentric.net)
Regarding Keith Christy's letter regarding Macross:
Huh? Have I stepped into another dimension? Macross can easily be
found subtitled, under the label ROBOTECH: PERFECT
COLLECTION (I think it's published by Streamline). Perhaps they are
not all available, but a good chunk of them are, each vid containing two
original episodes subbed, and their American analogs dubbed as Robotech.
A ridiculously expensive way to collect them, but they exist. Surely
I'm not the only one to have noticed this... or maybe I am going
delusional...
A similar, related question though: how can I find
Macross DYRL subbed? Egan Loo says a British
version was made...
A lot of people wrote in to tell me that I was
incorrect about MACROSS not being available subtitled
in the United States. And I do mean a lot of people. MACROSS fans are some of the most dedicated I've ever
seen. OK, so I was wrong about this, although I
personally have never seen the "Perfect Collection."
Nor am I ever likely to do so now. In an unusually
fortuitously timed move, Streamline Pictures announced a moratorium on the
ROBOTECH PERFECT COLLECTION series. This was done
at the request of Harmony Gold, who owns the rights to ROBOTECH (and consequently the original MACROSS series) in the United States. So, if you're
fortunate enough to find these collecting dust on a store shelf somewhere,
you had best snatch them up post haste, as there aren't any more.
As for the film
DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE?,
the British distributor Kiseki Films produced a (somewhat loosely
translated) English-subtitled videotape for several Commonwealth
nations in both PAL and NTSC
formats. The key is finding an importer who sells the format your
player can accept. (If you live in United States or Canada, that
would be NTSC.)
ANIME VILLAGE NOT TRULY GLOBAL?
From: Nick Carver
(nickcarver@dial.pipex.com)
As an avid fan of ESCAFLOWNE I was overjoyed to
read of Bandai's distribution of this series through their Anime Village
company. With palms sweaty I tapped in the URL and headed on over. I filled
in the 'local' registration form noting that there was no space for country
but put it in alongside my hometown in the 'city' box, thinking nothing of
it. So, now, enough with this divulging of personal info, I wanted the good
stuff. I wanted release dates, prices, box set details, international
shipping costs? While perusing the ordering FAQ I
was crushed (think of Dilandau's most agonised expression and you're not
even close) to discover that the products (my beloved Esca included) were
only available for residents of the US and Canada.
Now, living in merry-old-Engerland I, like many other non-US/Canadian anime fans am very disappointed. I know that Bandai only
want to sell direct to fans and that translating anime both in language and
in format (NTSC,PAL,SECAM etc) is probably more work than Anime
Village/Bandai want to undertake, at least for the moment. I'm not asking
for a conversion of the tapes to PAL format - most anime fans in the UK have
an NTSC compatible video as the state of the market is not as healthy as the
US one, to say the least.
But it seems unfair that a company
offering the superb wares of a company as
celebrated as Sunrise cannot cater to the huge number of fans who do not
live in America or Canada. There is a point to this (honest). Anime Village
say that they are always keeping up to date with fans wishes and suggestions
through newsgroups, bulletin boards and even the mighty EX itself. So, if
they are true to their word and fans of the shows available at the website
who cannot currently order them make enough noise in the places Anime
Village state on their site, then global ESCA, GUNDAM et al should be a
thing of the near future. Well, that's the theory.
Keep up the excellent work.
Well, you're on the right
track to getting the situation changed. If our
overseas readers want things released overseas, you need to write to the
companies that have the rights in the U.S. In many instances, however,
companies only purchase rights for limited areas outside of Japan (such as
North American or North and Central America and Europe). This is pretty
obvious if you look at some of the titles that are available both in the
U.S. and in Europe, but are released by different companies in each continent.
I have yet to check with Anime Village
on this, but if they give me a response, we'll be sure to post
it to our news section, so stay tuned. |
