Defective or Disappointing UK Anime Discs

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Also, the menu for BoG is just well horrendous, like real bad

You can tell they put zero effort in.
They copied Fairy Tail over from FUNi, so I don't get why they had to mess with this? I think this maybe my last purchase from Manga for a while. I am still contemplating weather to import from FUNi, but if I do, I can only watch on the laptop, hmm.

Very disappointed indeed.

 

[Just Passing Through]

Also, the menu for BoG is just well horrendous, like real bad

You can tell they put zero effort in.
They copied Fairy Tail over from FUNi, so I don't get why they had to mess with this? I think this maybe my last purchase from Manga for a while. I am still contemplating weather to import from FUNi, but if I do, I can only watch on the laptop, hmm.

Very disappointed indeed.

Why does everyone forget about Australia for Region B?

Unless Australia are using Manga's masters now...

 

[Emo185]

Also, the menu for BoG is just well horrendous, like real bad

You can tell they put zero effort in.
They copied Fairy Tail over from FUNi, so I don't get why they had to mess with this? I think this maybe my last purchase from Manga for a while. I am still contemplating weather to import from FUNi, but if I do, I can only watch on the laptop, hmm.

Very disappointed indeed.

Amusingly I actually preferred the UK DVD/Blu-ray Menu as opposed to the US Version but that's mostly because the US release had a tiny text menu (i.e. text in top right-hand corner) where as this is big and bold.

 

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Why does everyone forget about Australia for Region B?

Unless Australia are using Manga's masters now...

I haven't really found a decent site to import from Au and on Madman's website it comes to £22 which is not bad but then what if it get hits by customs.

Amusingly I actually preferred the UK DVD/Blu-ray Menu as opposed to the US Version but that's mostly because the US release had a tiny text menu (i.e. text in top right-hand corner) where as this is big and bold.

Fair enough, but it would be sooo much better if the had a still image.

 

[Emo185]

Also, the menu for BoG is just well horrendous, like real bad

You can tell they put zero effort in.
They copied Fairy Tail over from FUNi, so I don't get why they had to mess with this? I think this maybe my last purchase from Manga for a while. I am still contemplating weather to import from FUNi, but if I do, I can only watch on the laptop, hmm.

Very disappointed indeed.

Why does everyone forget about Australia for Region B?

Unless Australia are using Manga's masters now...

Whenever a FUNimation Blu-ray release was Region B there was a high chance of it being used by Madman Entertainment for it's Blu-ray release (and then sometimes MangaUK).

For instance Madman Entertainments release of Sengoku Basara Season 2 and The Last Party Movie were both the American Blu-ray discs; despite the packaging (i.e. the Blu-ray sleeve) being Australian.

Just a quick note but Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (and Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist) is being released on Blu-ray (and DVD) in the UK before it gets released in Australia (it's usually the other way around) which probably explains why Manga decided to author their own disc...... as it makes the release come out faster as opposed to waiting for the Australian Disc masters

 

[Emo185]

Why does everyone forget about Australia for Region B?

Unless Australia are using Manga's masters now...

I haven't really found a decent site to import from Au and on Madman's website it comes to £22 which is not bad but then what if it get hits by customs.

Amusingly I actually preferred the UK DVD/Blu-ray Menu as opposed to the US Version but that's mostly because the US release had a tiny text menu (i.e. text in top right-hand corner) where as this is big and bold.

Fair enough, but it would be sooo much better if the had a still image.

Haha yea... I agree with you there.

 

[Emulsion]

I haven't really found a decent site to import from Au and on Madman's website it comes to £22 which is not bad but then what if it get hits by customs.

You tried JB HiFi? Got Attack on Titan collection 2 LE from there. Was well packaged and arrived pretty quick.

 

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I haven't really found a decent site to import from Au and on Madman's website it comes to £22 which is not bad but then what if it get hits by customs.

You tried JB HiFi? Got Attack on Titan collection 2 LE from there. Was well packaged and arrived pretty quick.

Did you get stung by customs?

 

[Emulsion]

I didn't, but obviously there's no guaranty I won't next time.

 

[Shiroi Hane]

They copied Fairy Tail over from FUNi, so I don't get why they had to mess with this?

Why does everyone forget about Australia for Region B?

Unless Australia are using Manga's masters now...[/quote]
FUNimation is the UK licencee for Fairy Tail. While FUNi has both US and AU rights to Dragonball, Manga licensed Dragon Ball directly from Toei.

 

[Just Passing Through]

FUNimation is the UK licencee for Fairy Tail. While FUNi has both US and AU rights to Dragonball, Manga licensed Dragon Ball directly from Toei.

So who has the UK rights for The Devil is a Part Timer, Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell Arise, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, and Psycho Pass?

 

[Jeremy Graves]

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods

Extras stripped from Blu-ray to DVD only discs, similarly to how Attack on Titan Part 1 was treated. Meaning only the Standard DVD and Collector's Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo will have the extra content. Note the extras were released in 1080p HD Native according to Funimation's specification in their US release.

There are disappointments to be had though; for starters if you were hoping to buy the stand-a-lone Blu-ray release then you will not get any additional bonus content, so you’ll have to spend more money and get the Collectors Edition – at which point the Bonus Content is only available in standard definition, just like it is in the DVD release. If you aren’t interested in bonus content then this won’t disappoint you, but the content itself is great and is worth watching – especially the ‘Behind The Scenes: Voice Actors’ segment.
That’s not the only disappointment either, the Japanese audio track, for all versions of the film, is in LPCM 2.0 where as in the original Japanese (and American) release of the film it was available in Dolby Digital 5.1 – so we are receiving a lesser quality Japanese audio track. Mind you we do receive a ‘superior’ English audio option as, for the Blu-ray at least, it is available in DTS-HD as opposed to Dolby TrueHD 5.1; it’s not much of an improvement but when hooked up to a surround sound kit it does provide a more cinematic experience than that of the American Blu-ray release of the film. The final disappoinment of the Blu-ray was that the subtitles for the Blu-ray version of the film are grey-white colour, similar to that of Psycho-Pass, Gargantia and Devil is a Part Timer, thus suggesting that yet again Manga UK are doing in-house blu-ray authoring as opposed to using masters created by Madman Entertainment or FUNimation.

Courtesy of Emo185 and Anime Blu-ray UK

What amuses me is that on the audio menu screen it only shows English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese LPCM 2.0 for Manga's Blu-ray release. On Funimation's release, the theatrical cut is Dolby TrueHD 5.1 on both tracks and the director's cut is English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0. The US DVD version has English 5.1 Surround, Japanese 2.0 (Director's Cut) and Japanese 5.1 Surround (Theatrical Cut).

Hi guys, just to put this out there I have enquired about the omission of 5.1 for either version of the Japanese audio with Manga HQ and I was told that it was never supplied to Manga to include on the UK release. So that's the reason for it not being on there. (I know it's the not answer some of you will want to hear, but that's what I've been told.)

 

[Jeremy Graves]

I think for me, the problem is that Manga is very much not addressing a lot of these issues (as far as I can see) - ie. the issues with chapter markers etc. It's miles away from Anime Ltd where you're pretty much guaranteed a response within the day. Gone are the days of fortnightly podcasts and Q&As from fans where stuff like this would be addressed.

I can understand Manga's reasoning behind it - I mean, they're probably in a situation where the profit made on some of these titles is so minuscule, any deviation from the prescribed release plan would mean that profit evaporates. But even so, it can't be good for continued customer goodwill.

When it comes to the podcast it's just the way things have worked out in recent months. Believe me I want to do more and make them a regularly thing, but to be able to get everyone in the same room with has been very difficult. It's an incredibly busy time for all involved (including myself.)

 

[Emo185]

They copied Fairy Tail over from FUNi, so I don't get why they had to mess with this?

Why does everyone forget about Australia for Region B?

Unless Australia are using Manga's masters now...

FUNimation is the UK licencee for Fairy Tail. While FUNi has both US and AU rights to Dragonball, Manga licensed Dragon Ball directly from Toei.[/quote]

Dragon Ball (TV Series) is licensed from Toei but the film (Battle of Gods) is licensed from 20th Centry Fox; hence probably explains why the US Blu-ray was Region Locked (as 99% of 20th Century Fox films have been region locked).

 

[Lutga]

I think for me, the problem is that Manga is very much not addressing a lot of these issues (as far as I can see) - ie. the issues with chapter markers etc. It's miles away from Anime Ltd where you're pretty much guaranteed a response within the day. Gone are the days of fortnightly podcasts and Q&As from fans where stuff like this would be addressed.

I can understand Manga's reasoning behind it - I mean, they're probably in a situation where the profit made on some of these titles is so minuscule, any deviation from the prescribed release plan would mean that profit evaporates. But even so, it can't be good for continued customer goodwill.

When it comes to the podcast it's just the way things have worked out in recent months. Believe me I want to do more and make them a regularly thing, but to be able to get everyone in the same room with has been very difficult. It's an incredibly busy time for all involved (including myself.)

Totally understand that - I only bring it up because, I'm sure like most people, I really, really enjoy the podcasts! I think they're one of the most informative, genuinely honest parts of the UK anime industry, and I'd love to have more like that.

Looking forward to the next one!

 

[NormanicGrav]

Another thing to point out with Kill la Kill Box Set #1 Blu-ray

- Disc 1 has English translated lyrics while Disc 2 has both the Japanese & English lyrics (like any Aniplex title - which has Japanese on the top and English on the bottom)
- Disc 2 looks like a direct replica of Aniplex Box Set 2.

 

[Mangaranga]

Another thing to point out with Kill la Kill Box Set #1 Blu-ray

- Disc 1 has English translated lyrics while Disc 2 has both the Japanese & English lyrics (like any Aniplex title - which has Japanese on the top and English on the bottom)
- Disc 2 looks like a direct replica of Aniplex Box Set 2.

FYI the full sub track on disc 1 displays Romanji and English subs. Only the signs track is affected.
Unfortunately neither of the discs are a direct replica of the Aniplex releases - video or audio wise. The JP/US releases have 24bit PCM audio @ 2304kbps whilst this release has 16bit DTS HD-MA @ 1536kbps.
The video has also seen minor quality loss where it's been re-encoded and hardsubbed, but unlike Fate/Zero and SAO it is minor - possibly due to the much higher than usual bitrate and/or competent encoding.
For comparison, the JP quality files on Aniplex's discs are usually 7gb+ each, whilst most western distributors end up with files ~4.3gb. Anime Limited's Kill La Kill is ~6gb per episode.

 

[black1blade]

Are the Fate/zero disks low quality?

 

[NormanicGrav]

FYI the full sub track on disc 1 displays Romanji and English subs. Only the signs track is affected.

I see. Fair enough.

 

[Mangaranga]

Are the Fate/zero disks low quality?

They're standard quality in my eyes with banding and compression artifacts, but Aniplex's BDs use the JP BD masters which are almost always flawless. (e.g. Monogatari BDs suffer from some banding but apparently that's down to SHAFT)
It's either pay the standard price for a standard release, or pay much more for a much higher quality release but with a lossy dub track. Depends how much money you're willing to spend and how much you care about getting the best quality.
For me it's pretty much always Aniplex's release > Everyone else as I feel that I get my money's worth. In fact I almost exclusively have Aniplex pre-orders in for the next 3 months as I feel that Funimation and especially Sentai releases just aren't worth buying.
I've felt burned too many times recently due to sub par video - and in Sentai's case - ugly subtitles and Hentai quality dubs.

That's one of many reasons I like AllTheAnime. Andrew seems to be pushing for better overall quality for self authored releases as proven by Kill La Kill and Gurren Lagann. If they can get the audio issue sorted out then everything will be hunky dory.
Speaking of AllTheAnime, Index/Railgun license when? Holding out importing in hope something is announced.