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REVIEW: Gunbuster Sub.DVD


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Nerv1



Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 601
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:37 pm Reply with quote
The boxset layout for Gunbuster makes it seem like a bootleg...
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:44 pm Reply with quote
It's worth noting, for those that care, that a brief segment of the first episode had its music replaced. It's not a big deal to me though, I'll still be picking this up at some point.
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Second_Ignition_Yui



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 33
Location: Nasty Sensou
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:34 pm Reply with quote
Gainax known for poor animation? On the whole I feel their production is fairly good, and given Gunbuster is an OVA the quality of the animation is a given. Well, at least back then. OVA quality now can mean anything Sad
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 1669
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:45 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Gunbuster also manages quite well on its animation, which is somewhat surprising given that animation quality has often been a weak point for GAINAX titles.


The Neon Genesis Evangelion may have a lot of reused shots and long period of stills, but what animation is there is incredibly fluid and easily up there with the higher quality work put out today, not to mention the little details that is included.

(Crap, I feel as though I've given Gatsu more of an incentive to bash Anno and whatnot. Ah well.)

Quote:
− ... more than a bit cheesy at times.


Well, Gunbuster started out as a pure parody, so early stuff is a given, and there really isn't any blatant cheese that stands out in the later episodes that I recall...

Anyway, great review, Theron (I keep alternating between your real and username for some reason). By any luck this will get more people to check out a classic in anime, and hopefully some will get over the barrier of, "It looks old, I don't wanna see it."
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jgreen



Joined: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 1325
Location: St. Louis, MO
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:37 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Bandai Visual finally picked it up last autumn and has now released it under its Honneamise label. While they apparently thought it would be too much of a niche title to merit an English dub, they otherwise went all-out on the production values, providing a beautifully remastered HD 24P print spread across three discs, which are encased within a high-quality trifold case inside a sturdy slipcover, all featuring incredibly sharp cover and interior artistry.


I have no idea how reliable their source was, but several posters pointed out previously that there are no separate music & effects masters for Gunbuster, so there was simply no way to make an English dub. The Japanese dialogue was is on the same track as all the other audio.

I haven't watched Honneamise's new release of Gunbuster yet, but I have seen the show before, and I concur: this is one series every serious anime fan NEEDS to see.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:38 pm Reply with quote
Nerv1 wrote:
The boxset layout for Gunbuster makes it seem like a bootleg...


Not if you hold it in your hands. The packaging is gorgeous; very glossy and sharp. Not at all like a bootleg.
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d.yaro



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 528
PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:51 pm Reply with quote
I've mentioned this release in a couple of other posts elsewhere in this forum so I'll try not to reiterate what I've said already....

But believe it or not I hadn't watched Gunbuster until this past week. So, for me the one thing this series made me reflect back on was Otaku no Video. I have no idea if my old subbed VHS copy of that thing is playable today. I think it's been the better part of a decade since I last watched it. Going back to Gunbuster, it's neat finally seeing what all the fuss was about.

As for the review itself, I wasn't quite sure at first if I would've called Smith Toren a "prominent" character. He certainly is an important character and he is prominent for the short length of screen time he occupies. So on a second go I suppose the adjective is appropriate. Yet in the long run he still lands in the supporting character department in my books. But that's just my observation. Also, I think mention should be made of the singer for the OP/ED tunes: Sakai Noriko, aka: Nori-P. I wasn't in Japan at the time (1988) but I believe she was a very, very popular idol singer then. Having her doing those tunes may not have been a real coup but it probably didn't hurt. I'm almost inclined to think that touch would've been icing on the cake for the otaku of those days.

Anyways, here's to hoping that anime fans who were just a twinkle in the milkman's eye when this series was made will get around to checking it out. Same goes to the ones who weren't in grade school then either. Cheers!
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dr. worm



Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:14 am Reply with quote
More stuff for those that care.

The preview for episode four, which has spoilers for episode three, is placed immediately after the preview for episode three at the tail end of the first disc. You can't use chapter skip to dodge it, but you can use the menu button. Unfortunately locked logo animations mean that swapping between the first and second discs to watch this stuff in order is more hassle than it's worth (for obsessives like myself).

Also science lesson four is placed before episode four despite having a spoiler for episode four, though it is easy to miss if you're not paying attention unlike the aforementioned episode four preview.

These might not be flaws since, according to some, this is the order on the Japanese release, but I feel that if you need to warn a first time viewer not to watch it in the default order then something is wrong.
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Steventheeunuch





PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:15 am Reply with quote
I realise a review is a subjective opinion, but how is a lack of a dub for Gunbuster a minus? Sure, it's not a plus, infact I'm suprised the "replacement of music" isn't also considered a minus for principle alone, but whatever, it kind of strikes me as odd.

Anyway, regardless of those issues it's an incredibly solid release. I was sort of thrown off to begin with, but it's a show that just continues to grow and grow till it reaches an appropriate final. Not sure how Diebuster will go though.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:07 pm Reply with quote
HitokiriShadow wrote:
It's worth noting, for those that care, that a brief segment of the first episode had its music replaced. It's not a big deal to me though, I'll still be picking this up at some point.


Yeah but its not a big deal, its not as if they took out the main score. I rather have an English Dub then have that little piece of music inserted back in.

jgreen wrote:
I have no idea how reliable their source was, but several posters pointed out previously that there are no separate music & effects masters for Gunbuster, so there was simply no way to make an English dub. The Japanese dialogue was is on the same track as all the other audio.


Well if that was case, whereas creating an English dub would be next to near impossible then I understand how Honneamise decided to not put an English Dub in this movie. I still wish there was a basic release for this series at $25, but I guess I will have to fork over some dough.
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:31 pm Reply with quote
Nerv1 wrote:
The boxset layout for Gunbuster makes it seem like a bootleg...


Hahaha! Now that is funny. Well, at least it's being released here. The sad thing is that one of the tracks were removed from the 'training sequence". Which sucks. I'm sure the Japanese version kept theirs intact. So of course we have to lose it when it finally gets released here after all these years. But at least it's better than nothing.
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Cowpunk



Joined: 03 Nov 2004
Posts: 168
Location: Oakland - near the Newtype Lab
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:36 pm Reply with quote
Yes the original effects and music tracks were lost. This is also why the soundtrack is not 5.1.

The show itself is also dense with references to science fiction (Japanese and American) as well as to various anime, war movies and even documentary film styles, as is shown in the last episode which I have been told was influenced by a WWII documentary that used a large amount of black and white still images.

Does anyone know what OS the new science lessions show in the background? The older ones were Hypercard stacks.
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ManSlayer07



Joined: 09 Apr 2006
Posts: 214
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:47 pm Reply with quote
I think that it's actually a plus for the release to be sub-only. Very Happy A dub would've only made the price tag higher. I'll buy the release eventually.

Cowpunk wrote:
Yes the original effects and music tracks were lost. This is also why the soundtrack is not 5.1.

The show itself is also dense with references to science fiction (Japanese and American) as well as to various anime, war movies and even documentary film styles, as is shown in the last episode which I have been told was influenced by a WWII documentary that used a large amount of black and white still images.

Does anyone know what OS the new science lessions show in the background? The older ones were Hypercard stacks.


The last episode is in B&W and 1.85:1 letterboxed (the AnimeOnDVD review has that info).
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:03 pm Reply with quote
Cowpunk wrote:
Yes the original effects and music tracks were lost. This is also why the soundtrack is not 5.1.


Wait, do you mean to tell me all the original music was removed? What soundtrack is available on the feature? I just want to get a better insight to this.
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jgreen



Joined: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 1325
Location: St. Louis, MO
PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:24 pm Reply with quote
Chrno2 wrote:
Cowpunk wrote:
Yes the original effects and music tracks were lost. This is also why the soundtrack is not 5.1.


Wait, do you mean to tell me all the original music was removed? What soundtrack is available on the feature? I just want to get a better insight to this.


No, what Cowpunk means is exactly what I said before: the separate music and effects tracks were lost. All they have is the final, mixed down track that has the music, sound effects, and Japanese dialogue all on one track. The reason they couldn't do a dub is because they didn't have a track with just the music and effects by themselves. The music on this new DVD is still the original soundtrack.
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