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Best VHS-Only Anime Releases?


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rojse



Joined: 08 Sep 2010
Posts: 234
PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 7:27 pm Reply with quote
What are the best anime releases that have only seen an English release on VHS video?
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 7:30 pm Reply with quote
Please perform the common courtesy of providing your own opinion, first. Listing and one-liners are in violation of the rules.
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rojse



Joined: 08 Sep 2010
Posts: 234
PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 8:05 pm Reply with quote
I've only just got a working VHS player, so I haven't watched any VHS-only anime and have no knowledge on the subject.

However, I do hope I can find a copy of "Robot Carnival", even if only for an opportunity to watch Katsuhiro Otomo's short movie within.
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zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
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PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 8:33 pm Reply with quote
Mike Toole had an article on this, not necessarily good anime, but things that only stayed on VHS. The article is a bit dated though because Locke the Superman got a very recent DVD release by Discotek (who just grabbed Mighty Space Miners too)
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EricJ



Joined: 03 Sep 2009
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PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 9:51 pm Reply with quote
classicalzawa wrote:
Mike Toole had an article on this, not necessarily good anime, but things that only stayed on VHS. The article is a bit dated though because Locke the Superman got a very recent DVD release by Discotek (who just grabbed Mighty Space Miners too)


Not to mention, it's not "VHS or nothing" now that Discotek also did two none-too-shabby disks of Viz's Galaxy Express 999 Movie sub and (correct) dubs.

Don't think I ever found out, though: Did Pioneer/Geneon ever get as far as those two Miyazaki episodes of Lupin III S2? (Albatross, Farewell)
Still got my jealously-guarded Streamline Tales of the Wolf dub.
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
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Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Wed May 08, 2013 10:34 pm Reply with quote
EricJ wrote:
Did Pioneer/Geneon ever get as far as those two Miyazaki episodes of Lupin III S2? (Albatross, Farewell)


Pioneer only released the first 80 episodes of the second Lupin TV anime.

As for the subject of this thread, not too many VHS-only titles that I'd find noteworthy or worthwhile to pick up since they're mostly forgettable and subpar romps. Of what I have scrounged through outside of Robot Carnival, Ultimate Teacher and The Cockpit are solid titles to look into with the former being quite the bizarre 1980s one-shot comedy anime and the latter being a "hidden gem" of Leiji Matsumoto's that is a film anthology revolving around war and pilots.
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Mesonoxian Eve



Joined: 10 Jan 2012
Posts: 1858
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 10:00 am Reply with quote
rojse wrote:
What are the best anime releases that have only seen an English release on VHS video?

You make it sound as though all you have to do is rush out to Walmart and pick these up.

Do you realize what you're asking here? Frankly, you'd save yourself a considerable amount of coin to use the money to buy a DVD/bluray player, and a nice HDTV, than it would cost you to pick up the best anime on VHS, some collections going into the $1000s.

As far as answering your question, though, I've nothing. Frankly, I can't even remember what was released on VHS, let alone DVD over the years.

At best, you may find obscure and bad anime for a few dollars, but don't think you're going to buy Sailor Moon for $20.

That's not going to happen unless someone's selling you the copied TV version.
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thenix



Joined: 18 Apr 2012
Posts: 265
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 10:40 am Reply with quote
I have a ton of OVAs but I don't know if they are VHS only and they mostly suck lol
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
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Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 11:23 am Reply with quote
Mesonoxian Eve wrote:
Frankly, you'd save yourself a considerable amount of coin to use the money to buy a DVD/bluray player, and a nice HDTV, ...

That DVD/Blu-ray player will not let you watch something that is available only on VHS.

As to the topic:
The Adventures of Kotetsu is a dubbed 30 minute OVA that I enjoyed quite a bit. It is somewhat similar to Devil Hunter Yohko.

I do not see it in the encyclopedia but Maris the Chojo was released on VHS by U.S. Manga Corp.
It is a science fiction action comedy based on a story by Rumiko Takahashi. The anime added quite a bit to the manga story. I enjoyed it. It is 50 minutes, dubbed.

I have seen quite a few reasonably priced VHS tapes, some new, on eBay.
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vanfanel



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 1239
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 11:37 am Reply with quote
"A Dog of Flanders" I believe was released on DVD, but unless things changed while I wasn't looking, the uncut version (with the real story's ending) was only ever out on a subbed VHS version.

Was there ever a DVD for "Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yoko"? That was a gorgeous little film.

The "Phoenix 2772" movie is another good one, though it's an aquired taste. There was an uncut version on VHS long ago. I say uncut, but the closing credits are missing, and at the end you just get a looooong shot of the sun slowly rising while music plays. Which...actually works really well for the context.

I can't remember the name of the company that put out that "Phoenix" movie but, but I do remember they released uncut dubs of a lot of old movies that had only existed in edited form prior to that. "Locke the Superman," "Cyborg 009," and a few others. I even got hold of an uncut "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" dub that they put out briefly. Sadly, my copy wouldn't play and I never, ever saw another one afterward (thank you, Harmony Gold).

I don't believe there was ever an uncut "Dangaioh" on DVD -- there is the hack and slash "movie" edition but you've got to see it on VHS to get the whole story.

The Rumik World OVAs? "Fire Tripper," "Laughing Target," "Maris the Supergal" and so on?

The list used to be a lot longer, but thankfully companies keep getting these things out. I've been out of the US market for several years now, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of the stuff I listed above has come out without my knowing.

In Japan, there's a whole universe of "lost" anime that only came out on VHS. Those tapes are cheap as dirt if you can find 'em, but so few places carry them now...
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 11:44 am Reply with quote
I agree that Kotetsu and Maris the Chojo are good. In addition the following do not seem to have come out on DVD: Fire Tripper, Laughing Target, both Rumiko Takahashi stories, Compiler and Compiler 2. If you like Ranma 1/2 there is a VHS video Juke box of all the openings and endings. Also the VHS versions o Hyperdoll 1 & 2 have live action sequences not found on the DVDs.
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EireformContinent



Joined: 30 May 2009
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Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land)
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 12:00 pm Reply with quote
I used to have 2 volumes of Black Jack OVA with English dub- they were heavily edited but nice to watch. Sadly, they seem to be really out of print.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 12:02 pm Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
I agree that Kotetsu and Maris the Chojo are good. In addition the following do not seem to have come out on DVD: Fire Tripper, Laughing Target, both Rumiko Takahashi stories, Compiler and Compiler 2.


I did not realize that Fire Tripper and Laughing Target had been released on VHS. I have them on a bootleg DVD, but I will definitely look for the legitimate tapes.
I was going to suggest Compiler but the encyclopedia says that it did have a DVD release. After looking at it again I suspect that the DVD was announced but never released. I enjoyed Compiler. It reminds me a bit of Ken Akamatsu's "A.I. Love You." I just discovered that I have the Compiler 2 tape and have never watched it.
I really need to work on reducing my backlog. Anime smallmouth + sweatdrop
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 7:12 pm Reply with quote
@Touma
Laughing Target and Fire Tripper did come out on VHS, I have both of them. Also based on a Takahashi manga were the Mermaid's Forest and Mermaid's Scar OAVs. I don't think they came out on DVD either.

The Compiler OAVs are one of those that acted like an advertisement for the manga (by Asamiya) and started in mid story with the expectation that you knew who the characters were.
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ailblentyn



Joined: 28 Mar 2009
Posts: 1688
Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney
PostPosted: Thu May 09, 2013 9:13 pm Reply with quote
Other notables that haven't been mentioned either here or (as far as I remember) in the Mike Toole article — and lots of goodies have been — would be Grey Digital Target, Eat-Man, Luna Varga, The Tale of Genji, One Pound Gospel most of the Animated Classics of Japanese Literature, and (if you cast your eyes PAL-wards) The Sensualist.
My own VCR is broken. I really need to find someone who can fix it, or else get another one. Sad
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