The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

[serpantino]

I'm not a huge fan of Hosoda either. His films look good but I only really enjoyed the girl who leapt through time. Wolf Children was OK but seemed unsure what it's audience was. If it wasn't for the bizarre sex scene it could've made for a decent family movie. Summer Wars just felt a bit too implausible and I just couldn't get into the world.

I might be in the minority here but I felt that Journey to Agartha (Children who chase lost voices) was the most Ghibli-esque movie I've seen in a long time and felt like a love letter to Studio Ghibli so I'd like to see Shinkai get a chance if someone had to take over or replace Ghibli's reputation.


OT: Has anyone seen the macross plus blu ray up for preorder anywhere yet?

 

[BanzaiJedi]

Is Hosoda really even that good though? The only film I've seen of his so far is Summer Wars and found that to be a very forgettable load of mumbo jumbo (http://uk.mumboandjumbo.com/ great website that is. It's like a whole world of secret information I shouldn't be privy to. Even found a "home salon" hairdresser in my local area on there. Though it's uncertain if she cuts men's hair.) that was in no way special. The only thing I do particularly remember about it is how incredibly twee it was, which is something that most Ghibli movies crucially manage to avoid.

Like you I'm not a fan of Summer Wars and I never really understood why so many people hype it as much as they do. On the other hand I am a big fan of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children, these are both films that are right up there with the best of Ghibli imo, and I feel they prove Hosoda's abilities as a director. It really is a shame that Yoshifumi Kondo worked himself to death, Whisper of the Heart is my favourite Ghibli film and it would have been wonderful to see more of his films, ultimately with him and Mamoru Hosoda taking over the reins at Ghibli. Alas, it was not meant to be.

 

[Professor Irony]

Wolf Children struck me as rambling and unfocused, but otherwise, my thoughts about Hosoda are broadly similar. I'm convinced he will make a masterpiece at some stage, I just don't feel he's managed it yet.

Kondo's death really was a great loss to the industry. Aside from his excellent work on Whisper of the Heart, the pilot film for Little Nemo that is attributed to him strongly suggests he would have been more than capable of helming a typical Ghibli fantasy-adventure.

 

[Rosencrantz]

Looks like the highly expected second season for Attack on Titan has been green-lit; it's now in pre-production.

Finally, good grief.

We all knew it was coming to be honest, it's more a factor of has the Manga got far enough ahead to risk starting a 2nd season, last thing we want is for it to run out of material and start making things up like so many shows have done in the past.

 

[robot monkey]

I'll be pre-ordering HAL 100%, Blood Lad is still a maybe due to the rather nice Viz release and with Kill la Kill I'll probably end up with Aniplex but we'll see what Box Set #2 is like first.

If you don't mind me asking - why the Aniplex version over the Anime Limited one? Not raging or anything but genuine curiosity as I'd at least like to try and cater our release to as many fans as possible .

AP

Went for the Aniplex version of KLK purely on the strength of the extras & presentation. I particularly wanted the remix soundtrack CD as I already have the original soundtrack CD.

 

[NormanicGrav]

Regarding the Aniplex Kill la Kill content, it's been speculated that the other sets would look like this:
- No Booklets, only production materials (storyboards, original drawings, art boards, etc) were used in the JP Volumes - AoA tends to avoid these types but I think Andrew is doing this
- Drama CDs were on JP Volumes 2, 4, 6 & 8 - AoA never adds Drama CDs
- Remix/Rearrange CD was included in JP Volume 1 - and also for AoA Volume 1
- OST 2 CD was included in JP Volume 3 - estimated to be included with AoA Volume 3
- Trigger Production DVDs were added in JP Volumes 3, 7 & 8 - estimated to be included with AoA Volume 2, 4 & 5, however these may be replaced by Aniplex Dub Voice Cast Interviews DVD

Meanwhile, K-On!! (Season 2) will be releasing a BD-Box this November (Nov 19th) with English Subtitles for all 27 episodes and Ura-On!! specials. Amazon pre-orders are currently at 29967 Yen (~£173).

Releasing on November 19 for 37,000 yen (w/o tax), this 6 disc set contains all 27 episodes on 5 BDs along with a bonus CD. Discs 1-4 will have 6 episodes each while disc 5 has the final 3 episodes along with the textless OPs, textless EDs, all 9 Ura-on!! episodes, and the collection of CMs for S2. Included on each episode are the old cast and staff commentaries with disc 4 also containing newly recorded "Naoko's Room" commentaries with guests Seiki Tamura (art director), Akiyo Takeda (color design), Rin Yamamoto (Director of Photography), Hiroyuki Takahashi (Musical Instrument Design), Shoko Omori (Theme song lyricist), and Tatsuya Ishihara (Adviser). Included on all episodes and the Ura-On!! specials are Japanese and English subtitles.

This box (with a newly drawn inside) contains all 6 discs on a newly drawn digipak each with newly drawn cover art, Putitto figures to place on the side of your teacup, a booklet containing episode guides, classmate introductions, message collection, small item settings and additional information, and a set of postcards of all 9 cover arts from BD/DVD releases alongside the two key visuals.

Given that Sentai pretty much made a meh dub (and probably some QC issues) I might go for the BD-Boxes with K-On!

OT: Has anyone seen the macross plus blu ray up for preorder anywhere yet?

It's not up on certain sites since they still have the original stock but AmiAmi have it available for pre-order for 14680 Yen (~£84.75).

UPDATE -

Looks like Higurashi is getting a BD-Box as well for December while there's a complete Digimon Movie set (1999-2006) for BD Film-BOX in January. No news on Dub/Sub contents for both.

UPDATE #2 -

Twitter news:

The transfer on One Piece Movie 1 isn't the best is it? @MangaUK
I think it looks great considering it came off a PAL digi-beta master tape and was originally made for TV only.

Seeing as Funimation recently announced Blu-rays for both Index and Railgun, do you have any news regarding a UK release of either?
We are not licensing them for the UK because we cannot agree terms with the Licensor. Sorry!

Any chance I can get a new slipcard for the Ninja Scroll steelbook? Idk if you have any spares, but might as well ask.
Sorry. We don't carry any spares.

@MangaUK The BD version has no release date on Amazon, though. (referring to Mardock Scramble: The Third Exhaust)
It's definitely available now. Will make sure HQ are aware of this. Thanks. ^JG

It baffles me that there wouldn't be a legal alternative to just getting the entire thing (referring to Dragon Ball)
Hi [Redacted]! Toei Animation retain all digital rights for their shows including DBZ, Dragon Ball, One Piece etc. If you give the audience what they want, when they want it you negate the need for the audience to access it for free digitally. Just because it's illegal to download or stream some shows from certain places it doesn't mean people aren't going to do it. Some Japanese companies are too slow in developing meaningful distribution strategies for new media. It makes me sad. Your point is valid. But! Please think before you click to download >JM

My Horizon On The Middle of Nowhere Season 1 discs have' no audio' on my Samsung BD Players, what can I do?
Strange, you're the first person to encounter such an issue. Can you DM us the models of the players you've tried it on? ^JG

Hi guys - just wondering what happened to the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Blu-ray complete series collection? It was meant to be released ages ago...
We weren't allowed to release a complete collection on BD, so we released in two half sets: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_nos ... B00DC3OOOK … ^JG

Any chance of a Spice and Wolf Blu Ray release in the UK? Really love look of US box set but can't afford the £45 import tax :'[
As far as I'm aware this is unlikely happen. But if that changes we'll be sure to say. ^JG

@AllTheAnime Hi, is there any news of the Cowboy Bebop disc replacement? Thanks :]
Working on it now, we'll print in next week or two so will have the survey ready for folks needing a replacement soon :].

Is the 22nd December date for Place Promised on Amazon accurate?
No. It's been delayed due to the our upcoming Shinkai Collection. However that project is still being worked on. Working on getting rights to a couple other of his works to make it a truly complete Shinkai Collection. Updates soon... Hahaha! Yeah... Sadly until we get the Collection out it's on hold. Sorry about that! We'll make it worth your while tho :]

What about the Amazon Ultimate Edition? does it also get an OST? :] (referring to Patema Inverted)
Yep :]

 

[ilmaestro]

Looks like the highly expected second season for Attack on Titan has been green-lit; it's now in pre-production.

Finally, good grief.

We all knew it was coming to be honest, it's more a factor of has the Manga got far enough ahead to risk starting a 2nd season, last thing we want is for it to run out of material and start making things up like so many shows have done in the past.

Going by how much of the manga they covered in the first 25 episodes, they could have announced the second series for this Fall, imo. That said, I am actually happier with it looking like next Spring as they should be able to pace it much better with that bit of extra material.

 

[Agent-347]

► NEWS: Anime Limited Shop
I didn't see anybody mention this before, but the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Ultimate Edition is SOLD OUT via the Anime Limited Shop.
So either Andrew didn't allocate a lot for their shop, or this is looking to be another case of "you won't have an awful lot of time to order it if you want to own it".

► COMMENTING: Anime Limited: Patema Inverted OST
WHOOOHOOOOO, YEAHHHHH!!! AWESOME!!!

► COMMENTING: some other stuff

I still don't see Manga getting this out in September, nor do I really care if they do or not.

I don't know... Weirder things have happened. Remember that company... Ehhhm... What's it called again? *removed inappropriate World War II joke* Kaze! ("Khazi")
That's such a weird beast on the UK scenery (that has to die..).

I'd have to investigate previous UK vs. US release dates, but I'm pretty sure I have seen this happen before that the UK release is close to or ahead of the US release date.

Plus, it could always be that Viz already finished authoring their discs some time ago and could send the masters to Manga early?
I mean by that that their release date might have been pushed back due to a too full schedule or problems approving some extra/packaging or something unrelated to the discs.
If you look at reasons why titles by Anime Limited got delayed it doesn't even seem that unplausible. (and Manga's release is pretty barebones... so yeah..)
Either way.. I'm fine with a delay and I'm fine with it sticking to its release date. It's not a day 1 purchase I can afford making anyway.

- Media Blasters signing a deal for Yaoi stuff, in addition Holy Knight is getting a dub

Anime News Network is still slow at picking up news, huh... *shakes head disapprovingly*
Either way, I might watch Holy Knight dubbed someday then. Not completely sure. But yeah.

 

[Mangaranga]

I'd have to investigate previous UK vs. US release dates, but I'm pretty sure I have seen this happen before that the UK release is close to or ahead of the US release date.

I can only think of two. Tiger & Bunny Part 1 and Strike Witches 2(?). If it was a VME license for the UK (thank god it isn't) then maybe I could understand it being released here first, but why would Viz want to let Manga release it first if they're the ones doing the dubbing and authoring/encoding? Either way I've no intention of picking up the UK edition when the nice US set with the Artbook and Artbox is coming.

 

[GolGotha]

► NEWS: Anime Limited Shop
I didn't see anybody mention this before, but the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Ultimate Edition is SOLD OUT via the Anime Limited Shop.
So either Andrew didn't allocate a lot for their shop, or this is looking to be another case of "you won't have an awful lot of time to order it if you want to own it".

They only had 50 copies available on their online shop.

 

[Rosencrantz]

► NEWS: Anime Limited Shop
I didn't see anybody mention this before, but the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Ultimate Edition is SOLD OUT via the Anime Limited Shop.
So either Andrew didn't allocate a lot for their shop, or this is looking to be another case of "you won't have an awful lot of time to order it if you want to own it".

They only had 50 copies available on their online shop.

I think this is probably a move to not alienate Amazon, afterall you can't really ask Amazon to stock your titles if you then go ahead and also sell them from your own store in large numbers at prices that beat theirs because you've cut out the middle man.

 

[ilmaestro]

How much were they selling it for on their own store?

 

[NormanicGrav]

How much were they selling it for on their own store?

£89.99 with Free Postage

 

[anime_andrew]

► NEWS: Anime Limited Shop
I didn't see anybody mention this before, but the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Ultimate Edition is SOLD OUT via the Anime Limited Shop.
So either Andrew didn't allocate a lot for their shop, or this is looking to be another case of "you won't have an awful lot of time to order it if you want to own it".

They only had 50 copies available on their online shop.

I think this is probably a move to not alienate Amazon, after all you can't really ask Amazon to stock your titles if you then go ahead and also sell them from your own store in large numbers at prices that beat theirs because you've cut out the middle man.

Partially - but also if you have only 2,000 units - you really want to ensure everyone gets their fair allocation and if we kept the lion's share then it'd put our friends in retail in an awkward position .

It's all about balance anyway too as people have commented on - definitely something I believe in personally .

AP

 

[ilmaestro]

How much were they selling it for on their own store?

£89.99 with Free Postage

Not bad. I'm still semi-tempted to order from Amazon, but just not sure if I'll watch the show again and already own a fairly well presented version on DVD.

 

[anime_andrew]

How much were they selling it for on their own store?

£89.99 with Free Postage

Not bad. I'm still semi-tempted to order from Amazon, but just not sure if I'll watch the show again and already own a fairly well presented version on DVD.

Well between yourselves, we'll blog on this soon - but because we keep getting revisions to the artbook the best solution I could find was go bigger! This means instead of a standard sized BD box size (like DRR but a bit wider) and book that fits inside you will now get:

- An 116 page, 18.1CM x 21CM book
- Collector's packaging that fits the book and Digipack inside with all discs.
- Art card certifying the number of the edition.

The packaging has been done upwards too - I'm adding a very cool Spot UV layer to the characters on the cover just now! Means they'll stand out a bit more, a trick used more on books than homevideo but is really cool.

Oh also while the book has been in approval we bumped the bitrate up on the video too based on user feedback so it averages out at >30MBPs which is basically unheard of in western authoring houses for this kind of project. Having watched the re-done discs, I'm happy with what we've done anyway!

TL;DR - This may be the longest approvals project I have ever worked on in my 11 years in the industry - but boy I'll be damned if it isn't a crowning jewel of my work to date by the time we're done.

Andrew

 

[ilmaestro]

Heh, it does sound really tempting. I also don't own the second set of Parallel Works, so it would be nice to have everything together in one collection.

 

[Emulsion]

Well between yourselves, we'll blog on this soon - but because we keep getting revisions to the artbook the best solution I could find was go bigger! This means instead of a standard sized BD box size (like DRR but a bit wider) and book that fits inside you will now get:

- An 116 page, 18.1CM x 21CM book
- Collector's packaging that fits the book and Digipack inside with all discs.
- Art card certifying the number of the edition.

The packaging has been done upwards too - I'm adding a very cool Spot UV layer to the characters on the cover just now! Means they'll stand out a bit more, a trick used more on books than homevideo but is really cool.

Oh also while the book has been in approval we bumped the bitrate up on the video too based on user feedback so it averages out at >30MBPs which is basically unheard of in western authoring houses for this kind of project. Having watched the re-done discs, I'm happy with what we've done anyway!

Wow, sounds good. Out of curiosity, seen as you have upped the bitrate, have you had to increase the disc count for the series from 4 to 5? or was there still enough disc space to use 4 discs?

 

[Rui]

Geez Andrew, you're a dreadful tease. That sounds ridiculously nice.

R, who may have added it to her shopping basket now for further deliberation >_<

 

[sora]

Well between yourselves, we'll blog on this soon - but because we keep getting revisions to the artbook the best solution I could find was go bigger! This means instead of a standard sized BD box size (like DRR but a bit wider) and book that fits inside you will now get:

- An 116 page, 18.1CM x 21CM book
- Collector's packaging that fits the book and Digipack inside with all discs.
- Art card certifying the number of the edition.

The packaging has been done upwards too - I'm adding a very cool Spot UV layer to the characters on the cover just now! Means they'll stand out a bit more, a trick used more on books than homevideo but is really cool.

Oh also while the book has been in approval we bumped the bitrate up on the video too based on user feedback so it averages out at >30MBPs which is basically unheard of in western authoring houses for this kind of project. Having watched the re-done discs, I'm happy with what we've done anyway!

TL;DR - This may be the longest approvals project I have ever worked on in my 11 years in the industry - but boy I'll be damned if it isn't a crowning jewel of my work to date by the time we're done.

Andrew

Sounds great, I have been wondering will the book be a Hardback or Paperback?