Anime in 4K

NoSurprises

Straw Hat Pirate
Since it cropped up in one of the other threads. Only very recently have I acquired a 4k player (I've had a 4k TV for a while now, it's not exactly a newer model so it doesn't support fancy stuff like Dolby Vision, but it does a fine job of HDR). I've always been kinda sceptical of 4k releases, as if you showed me an image with no context, I probably couldn't tell you if it came from an upscaled 1080p source or a 4k source.

But down the rabbit hole of 4k discs I went anyway, spending time trying to figure out which releases are actually worth it, and have actually found stuff like Leon/The Fifth Element to be pretty brilliant in 4k (the mix of slightly sharper visuals and HDR really do improve those movies for me). I've also purchased the 4k release of 1995's Ghost in the Shell, which I've found to be a not insignificant upgrade over my previous Blu-ray copy. I've not picked up anything beyond Ghost in the Shell yet, since this stuff is prohibitively expensive, and for the majority of folks, probably not worth the extra price of admission.

Anime is a bit odd in 4k, since nothing actually seems to be created at that resolution, meaning (almost?) all newer releases will be upscales with the added benefit of HDR. Older titles that were transferred to film appear to fair a bit better in this arena, as new 4k scans of the original masters have the potential to give those films a new lease on life.

Anyway, below is a list of English friendly 4k anime I've found so far, as well as their (current) price from CDJapan (shipping/customs not included):

(As of 20/01/2020)
Akira - £73 (4k scan of 35mm + HDR)
Ghost in The Shell - £73 (4k scan of 35mm + HDR)
Ghost In The Shell Innocence - £73 (Upscale +HDR)
Ghost In The Shell & Innocence Double Pack - £96
Gundam Thunderbolt December Sky - £60 (Upscale +HDR)
Gundam Thunderbolt Bandit Flower - £67 (Upscale +HDR)
Mary and The Witch's Flower - £78 (Upscale +HDR)
Weathering With You - £84 (Upscale +HDR)
Your Name - £90 (Upscale +HDR)

It's worth noting that CDJapan is probably not the best price for this stuff, and that it's definitely worth shopping around.

Let me know if there's anything I've missed and I'll add it to the list. I'd also be interested to know if anyone has had any experience with any of these titles in 4k?
 
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Not seen anything yet but I imagine trying to get 4K is a terrible strain on the animators wrist. It would just take too long to create that kind of detail in animation, animators just don't work like that - they often limit detail to create more frames.
If it looked like kentaro' s work on berserk then maybe it would have the detail for 4K
 
I've heard that the original Ghost in the Shell is a fantastic upgrade, but Innocence is the victim of over-zealous DNR and banding.
 
I would love to see GitS [1995] in 4k to be honest. While I admit I'm not the biggest GitS fan, the film was really well animated and is part of the reason I love Cel Animation even though I started watching anime WAY past the old days of Cel animation.
 
I'll be shocked in Ghibli on 4K BD doesn't happen soon, I believe that they were at least scanned in 6K for their Blu-Ray releases.
 
Upgraded to a 4K TV today and I notice that the following are available on Netflix in 4K w/ HDR:

Blame
Ultraman
Flavors of Youth
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: The Planet Eater

There may be others...I'm guessing all the recent 'Netflix originals' and no catalog titles.
 
Your Name is available via a cheaper and English friendly Hong Kong release:

Space Adventure Cobra is the obvious missing one.
 
I've got a digital copy of the HK 4k release muxed with the english dub-god but the video is dim on my tv (42" 1080P Panny plasma)-I know 4k hdr on 1080P=dim.
 
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