Anime Limited's Q2 2015 Slate Revealed!

[BanzaiJedi]

Baccano is a definite buy for me. I'm interested in Nerima Daikon and Monte Cristo as well but I will be going in blind. Kill la Kill can wait until a standard edition emerges. Already got Hal CE at normal price not long before the AL webshop christmas sale (I'm still a bit sore about that, I hate missing a bargain).

 

[anime_andrew]

Is Escaflowne still on track for later in the year? We never seem to get an update on that.

Isn't Escaflowne being worked on for a Q4 release? I'm sure it was mentioned recently on the forum.

Yep - aiming for late Q3 or MCM October time on that one as we have to do a bunch of work as the new video masters don't match the dub so we're creating a director's cut sub-only and the version as it aired dubbed.

Best,

AP

 

[elaniel]

Is Escaflowne still on track for later in the year? We never seem to get an update on that.

Isn't Escaflowne being worked on for a Q4 release? I'm sure it was mentioned recently on the forum.

Yep - aiming for late Q3 or MCM October time on that one as we have to do a bunch of work as the new video masters don't match the dub so we're creating a director's cut sub-only and the version as it aired dubbed.

Best,

AP

Oh wow, that's pretty cool and will certainly be one up on the Funimation release as I don't see them doing the same thing. Silly question, but are they going to be in the same release or will they be separate ones?

Needless to say, I'll be buying the Anime Limited version and am intrigued to see it uncut for the first time.

 

[anime_andrew]

Oh wow, that's pretty cool and will certainly be one up on the Funimation release as I don't see them doing the same thing. Silly question, but are they going to be in the same release or will they be separate ones?

Needless to say, I'll be buying the Anime Limited version and am intrigued to see it uncut for the first time.

I think it's a huge challenge and Funimation are thinking through how best to proceed on that frontier - it's a tough call and there are several options they have that we don't. Downside is it takes a lot longer and our version seems the smartest with the facilities we have. I'm pretty sure the American one will be cool too is the long short but there are multiple ways to approach this challenge

I need to see what the disc volume looks like as I reckon we're talking 5-6 BD50s for the series and at least a BD25 for the film. If that's what we're looking at I'd include both editions on the same discs.

More as we push ahead on this project !

Best,

AP

 

[Buzzkillington]

Tiger & Bunny, Kill la Kill and Baccano for me. Space Dandy is a show that is just so hit and miss for me, part of me wants to own it and another part tells me to save my money, that's based of the first series, didn't even watch the 2nd and they kept saying they would get the dub up but took too long (did they actually put it up at all?) and I just lost interest. If there's ever a double pack on blu-ray I'll prob grab it.

 

[SnowWolf]

I think it's a huge challenge and Funimation are thinking through how best to proceed on that frontier - it's a tough call and there are several options they have that we don't. Downside is it takes a lot longer and our version seems the smartest with the facilities we have. I'm pretty sure the American one will be cool too is the long short but there are multiple ways to approach this challenge

I need to see what the disc volume looks like as I reckon we're talking 5-6 BD50s for the series and at least a BD25 for the film. If that's what we're looking at I'd include both editions on the same discs.

More as we push ahead on this project !

Best,

AP

I'll cast my vote for having the extended cut episodes on their own disc as I'm not sure how it would work on the same disc as the regular episodes.

 

[HdE]

Wait - Escaflowne was cut?

This intrigues me.

 

[Lutga]

It's a tough one, as ideally I'd want both on the same disc - but appreciate that might make it very tight in terms of space. But if not, won't we end up with a release that's like 10 discs, so it can house both versions then?

 

[anime_andrew]

It's a tough one, as ideally I'd want both on the same disc - but appreciate that might make it very tight in terms of space. But if not, won't we end up with a release that's like 10 discs, so it can house both versions then?

Really it just boils down to what is available. The issue is that there's a director's cut out there we want to integrate in that has new footage per episode (not every one - but most eps have something new).

I'm at the stage of ingesting initial assets so we're going to digest and figure out from there how to proceed. We have a version that synchs up to the dub for now and we need to figure out how to proceed. It's going to be a whopper of a project though on an authoring side...

Andrew

 

[DesuDayo]

If the two versions would be completely different "files" rather than just different audio tracks wouldn't you need twice the amount of discs? If so it really does seem like a stretch, putting essentially 52 episodes on just 5-6 discs that is

In any case I too cast my vote on having each version on seperate discs! It'd be more spacious, disc-wise at least, and less "messy" if that makes any sense ( ＾∇＾).

 

[anime_andrew]

If the two versions would be completely different "files" rather than just different audio tracks wouldn't you need twice the amount of discs? If so it really does seem like a stretch, putting essentially 52 episodes on just 5-6 discs that is

In any case I too cast my vote on having each version on seperate discs! It'd be more spacious, disc-wise at least, and less "messy" if that makes any sense ( ＾∇＾).

It really all depends and until I have the video materials I can't really make a call on that frontier so we'll see. What may work is:

Ultimate Edition containing:

- Director's Cut (sub-only, 1080p, 3 BD50s, 1 BD25 + bonus features)
- The edition we all remember (sub, dub, 1080p, 4 BD50s)
- The Film (1 BD)
- Physical extras depending on remaining budget.

SRP: £149.99 (like Gurren Lagann)

Regular edition containing:

- Edition of the show we all remember (Sub, Dub, 1080p, 4BD50s).
- Film (1 BD)

SRP: TBC but I'd guess given 5 BDs and the runtime approx £69.99

DVD collection containing:

- Series as we all remember it
- The movie

SRP: £49.99 or £59.99 depending on final costs on our end

That's what I'm currently mulling anyway and is highly tentative! Thoughts always welcomed though .

Andrew

 

[elaniel]

Ultimate Edition tentative plans look good to me. Hopefully when you mention physical extras you mean art books, art cards, etc. I've never been a fan of "tat" items. (IE: Love Chuniybo as presented by Sentai.)

Having the uncut version just for the Ultimate Edition seems appropriate too.

 

[anime_andrew]

Ultimate Edition tentative plans look good to me. Hopefully when you mention physical extras you mean art books, art cards, etc. I've never been a fan of "tat" items. (IE: Love Chuniybo as presented by Sentai.)

Having the uncut version just for the Ultimate Edition seems appropriate too.

No tat really planned - I'd rather do a art book or similar - depends on what resources are available to us though as well so will keep folks updated .

Andrew

 

[Mangaranga]

A quick question Andrew. Going forth, are your Ultimate edition sets all going to be made to the same size as Gurren/Patema/Giovanni?

 

[anime_andrew]

A quick question Andrew. Going forth, are your Ultimate edition sets all going to be made to the same size as Gurren/Patema/Giovanni?

That's what I'm thinking - we've set out a template for scale so it'd be weird to go backwards on it but it really depends what we're including with the set. No point in doing one at that size if you don't have a book or something similar that requires that size if that makes sense?

Any feelings one way or another on it?

AP

 

[Mangaranga]

That's what I'm thinking - we've set out a template for scale so it'd be weird to go backwards on it but it really depends what we're including with the set. No point in doing one at that size if you don't have a book or something similar that requires that size if that makes sense?

Any feelings one way or another on it?

AP

I like the size of the current Ultimate editions, but as you say - depending on the materials available I think it would be foolish to make an ultimate edition big just for the sake of consistency. For me personally it would cause the same issue I have with NISA's Long Style Premium editions. The booklets are usually only 32 pages, yet NIS print massive hardcover booklets and use two slim DVD cases in a large box. It looks nice, but it seems to me that their sets are big just for the sake of being big. They take up much more space than necessary.
I think NIS's newer sets, and Aniplex's older artbox sets show that you can include booklets/OST's etc and still have a fantastic looking product at a "normal" size.

 

[DesuDayo]

One thing i'd like to suggest is that the Ultimate Edition boxes should either be made thicker, or have another material that is more rigid. The way I can bend and tweak the GL box is pretty hilarious, and that's because it's just as thick as the slipcase-sized Collector's Editions despite being many times larger. I'm not asking for NIS America quality boxes, but some improvements in that area would be cool（￣∇￣）

I too echo the part about extras. Art books, CD soundtracks etc is where it's at. I'd also dare to say that i vastly prefer the book included in the Patema Inverted Ultimate Edition as opposed to the one we got with the GL Ultimate Edition as there was a lot of information, groundwork art and plenty of interesting interviews.

 

[qaiz]

I'll try not to sound like a broken record, but like always I'm really not a fan of the larger sizes. Don't fit on my bookcase useless I put them face first, also find them a bit unwieldy. Also another thing I was wondering, if you do go with the larger sizes is it possible to forgo the whole large paper/card slip and either make it more 'clean' or just try and get all the text on a little obi instead (like the one with KLK)? The reason I say so is because I always keep slips and such as it’s a part of the package for me, but when you buy a limited, expensive item, even the slip/packing is something that I'd like to be as attractive as possible...being a CE/LE and all that. The kinds of people who buy them want them as attractive as possible. It does seem a bit counterproductive as the whole point of the slip is to keep the main box clean in the first place, but that's why I usually like smaller sets like the KLK one you did where you just slapped all the info on a small obi. These looks a lot nicer, no?
RahXephon (6 discs, digipak)

Clannad After Story (5 disc)

Lain (6 disc, digipak)

Baccano (3 disc, digipak)

Giant Robo (4 disc, digipak)

I always go for Limited editions but I may have to skip these releases all together going forward as they so far haven't felt special or had any material (physical or otherwise) that justify the price. I don't care for art books. Getting the Gurren Movies was the only extra that made that set worth more than the normal set but even then that's pushing it. Hurts me to say it, but that’s how I feel. The sets above don't come with anything much other than the show itself really, but they look so amazing presentation wise that I feel that I have to buy them and own them. That's the reason I actually bought the Rahxephon and Lain sets for example. The box just looked so awesome. For me, the presentation is just as important. Maybe that's just me.

 

[NoSurprises]

I'm probably in the minority, but I'd totally go for your current size of ultimate edition even if no art book was included.

I'd much rather the budget was spent beefing up the digipak if you couldn't get hold of enough assets for a book. Like the JP Gurren set for example, a pair(?) of sturdy hardback digipaks with some pretty art assets on would solve the only real issue I have with your ultimate editions.

Though thinking about it, I'm not sure how you'd manage to fit 9 discs in a setup like that at the current dimensions.

Edit: New post popped up while I was posting, seconding qaiz on the idea on the smaller obi rather than an entire slip. Much like was done with Giovanni's island.

Borrowed off the internets for reference:

 

[anime_andrew]

One thing i'd like to suggest is that the Ultimate Edition boxes should either be made thicker, or have another material that is more rigid. The way I can bend and tweak the GL box is pretty hilarious, and that's because it's just as thick as the slipcase-sized Collector's Editions despite being many times larger. I'm not asking for NIS America quality boxes, but some improvements in that area would be cool（￣∇￣）

I too echo the part about extras. Art books, CD soundtracks etc is where it's at. I'd also dare to say that i vastly prefer the book included in the Patema Inverted Ultimate Edition as opposed to the one we got with the GL Ultimate Edition as there was a lot of information, groundwork art and plenty of interesting interviews.

Definitely agree on book - but given committee approvals I am sure we'd have to have re-written the book many times in a way that just wouldn't be viable for Gurren Lagann.

That said I am very much invested in trying that going forwards but it is a huge cost to have that mixed in depending on the project so we have to be careful on how we do it. Let me look into things going forwards - soundtracks are usually tough due to clearance rights but you never know when a project may overlap perfectly!

Definitely will look into box thickness going forwards on wider sets too!

Andrew