UK Anime Distributor Anime Limited Discussion Thread

Welp, I gotta import Sentai's release of Kakegurui's both seasons. Sucks ass that I bought AL's Kakegurui S1 Collector's Edition for nothing, I could have used that money for something else. I have also lost all the hope for there being anything for me in AL's Christmas Showcase 2024. They will probably have Love Live! Superstar!! Season 2 in it but I won't be jumping with excitement with that due to my mixed feelings about the second season. I will most likely use AL's Christmas Sale only to buy some Crunchyroll titles, lol.
 
NormanicGrav said:
I've been keeping track on what's licensed and what not for UK anime for the past decade or so. Anime Limited in recent years have managed to get through some titles here and there but there's still a chunky list to go through.

Looking at the list, they could breeze through them without too much issue but my problem is that the gap between the US and UK has been widening more and more especially when it comes to Sentai's catalogue. I get that Anime Limited have a lot on their buffet, but it would be better if they announce it in advance rather than leave it to the last second.
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Small notes on this:
City Hunter: Angel Dust = English-friendly DE & FR release by Plaion pictures this December (sub-only), incl. Steelbook
The First Slam Dunk = already released in DE & IT by Plaion, also in 4K, but not English-friendly
Komada: A Whisky Family = already released by Anime House in DE, Japanese Blu-ray not yet released
TEKKONKINKREET = English-friendly DE release by Plaion Pictures this December
The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbye = DE & IT release by Plaion Pictures later this year, not English-friendly

So it seems likely that at least City Hunter: Angel Dust & Tekkonkinkreet are likely to be scheduled very soon
 
All three of my sets arrived. I have to say these wide boxsets are really making me regret my choice of a segmented bookshelf... (Also the TYBW box is nearly impossible to read until you get right up close to it. I guess hot pink with black writing is fine, the reverse is not...)
Anime Collection.jpg
 
ussjtrunks said:
Screenshots from Naruto courtesy of forum member @Law

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That looks super clean. I'll have to wait to boot up my copy tomorrow to see it properly, but those are promising screenshots.

Obviously, there's only so much you can do with an upscale for an anime from that time period, but it looks pretty clear and sharp. It's been a while since I've taken a look at the VIZ transfer, it would be interesting to compare them.
 
BrokenPhoenix said:
That looks super clean. I'll have to wait to boot up my copy tomorrow to see it properly, but those are promising screenshots.

Obviously, there's only so much you can do with an upscale for an anime from that time period, but it looks pretty clear and sharp. It's been a while since I've taken a look at the VIZ transfer, it would be interesting to compare them.
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If anyone has access to the viz version to compare screens it’d be interesting
 
ussjtrunks said:
If anyone has access to the viz version to compare screens it’d be interesting
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The above image is taken from a remux (basically a digital copy of a Blu-ray disc that has been "responsibly sourced" for those that don't know) I have of the first VIZ set. Captured on VLC player; not sure if that would affect anything, image wise.

I was flicking between the two screenshots on my computer and what is noticeable straight away is that the colours are different between the two shots. You can see this most noticeably with Naruto's goggles and his orange jumpsuit, as well as his hair. Although, I am not sure if this is maybe a result of the TV/computer screen settings from where the AL screenshots have come from.

In terms of the sharpness and clarity, they look pretty much identical, in this shot anyway. I'd argue the colour looks more accurate in AL's upscale compared to VIZ's, as the orange jumpsuit looks a bit brighter and punchier to me. Also, in the VIZ shot, Naruto's hair seems to have this strange, neon yellow tinge to it, whereas in AL's shot, it's a bit more mellow - which I prefer.

This probably demonstrates the colour difference best. Anime Limited on the left, VIZ on the right:

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But again, these colour differences could be a result of the screens on which the screenshots were captured - nothing scientific going on here, unfortunately.
 
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VLC has issues with chroma upscaling and may not use the right transfer matrix; it does not represent accurately the ViZ encode.

On a related note, whoever authored Macross Plus and Naruro used some of the most hideous font and outline I've seen for subtitles in the recent years. Those sharp angled borders are absolutely hideous and are akin the oldest Blu-ray, based on loosely updated DVD software.

AL being cheap with authoring, as usual. And yet premium price.
 
Anime Limited on the left and VIZ on the right, with the VIZ portion captured on MPV player this time. The colour difference seems to be less pronounced on MPV. Again, not a proper expert with the different media players though, so take it with a pinch of salt. I'm sure someone far more technical than me will provide a better comparison.

The main thing is, I can't see much of a difference in terms of the clarity and sharpness of the image. Although, the more I look at the style of the subtitles on AL's release, the more I hate them. I'm leaning towards just picking up the VIZ releases, which would be cheaper in the long run.

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bakura said:
home now, lot's of great announcement's and i finally got to meat @HellCat in person, great weekend.
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He's lying, we all know I'm a particularly obnoxious chatbot!

Always nice to have a face to put to an online name (though in my case the guy next to me shot a side eye hearing me referred to as HellCat.)

AL did have a cool 360 Arcane photo op at their booth, the kinda thing that used to be common at MCM. Was tempted to do it but I'm out of shape currently and I don't need a 360 vid of that.

As for our earlier speculation- EGX regulars weren't impressed. It was basically shoved into a corner and seemed to largely be already released games and the usual free play arcade machines. They even had the official Shadow the Hedgehog bike but with no signage to highlight it. A lot of EGX folk saying they won't bother next time (along with discussion that the continental con scene hasn't fallen off like ours. Golly, I wonder why...😓 )
 
Managed to get my hands on Anime Limited's Naruto set 1 this morning. The upscale is good and going by my unscientific methods, looks very similar to VIZ's upscale.

Now, if I was a dub watcher, I'd be more than happy with this set. However, I don't know what they were thinking with the subtitles. I'd be so curious to know the exact issues they had with the original subtitles to cause the delay. First impressions was "Oh... those subtitles look a bit funny". Then the more I looked at them, the more my eyes weren't agreeing with them.

I can't put my finger on it, the subtitles just look amateurish on Anime Limited's set and the thick black border around the letters isn't helping their case. The only thing that could have made them worse would have been if they were done in comic sans. They also appear to be a little smaller in text size compared to VIZ's subtitles (I'm getting old!). I'm not sure if I could deal with reading AL's subtitles for 220 episodes personally.

AL:

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VIZ:

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I think I'm going to pick up the VIZ sets on payday. I'll probably still end up completing Anime Limited's release because I'm a degenerate and because it's Naruto.
 
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