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ParkerALx wrote:

When it comes to Dragon Ball Z, Funimation acts like a completely different company compared to when they license any other anime.

penguintruth wrote:

Besides that? Their second DBZ "remaster".

Technically their third. Their second one (the Level Sets) looked great and maintained the original aspect ratio.

Yup I agree with this, like icomeanon4 also said, I agree with him DBZ is a special case.

ColonelYao47 wrote:

Hear hear...with this move, we're getting dangerously close to the atrocity that is video game pre-ordering ("exclusive" content and such). At least with CDJapan, AmiAmi, and company, the store exclusive is separate from the otherwise universal limited edition. You're playing with fire here, Funimation.

I'm curious what it's going to be since for Attack on Titan the Limited Edition set itself was the same and it was only the physical extras outside the case that were added to the Funi Store version so it could be something like that between the two stores. Similar to those Japanese store exclusives.

Stampeed Valkyrie wrote:

So... the big news is what?
Another rerelease?

Great for those that don't already have this..
I liked Bebop but I don't like it enough to rebuy what I already own.

Now this changes if they announce some sort of God Like premium... like say a "data dog" lol

This is not just a random new re-release of the show. This is the real HD remaster of it from Japan, presuming no problems with the release ofcourse.

icomeanon4 wrote:

I think we can consider DBZ a special case, even if they keep going to 16:9 for DBZ. It's more likely that they "learned their lesson" with DBZ in particular and found that most DBZ fans (a different demographic than general anime fans) wanted it in 16:9 and more DNR and color saturation. Funimation knows their audiences, and since the bulk of people (or at least the loudest people) looking for the Bebop blu-ray would react negatively to cropping, stretching, or other visual tampering, it's a very safe bet that Bebop will have a nice, faithful video transfer.

And in case there's still any doubt, their own teaser on youtube is 4:3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSxTcaDBPbs

The teaser is reassuring, but it is just that, a teaser; they could go a different direction if they wanted to. Especially in light of...

Raikuro wrote:

While Bebop was aired on TV for years with the aspect ratio altered, I doubt Funi would to that to people willing to pay for the Blu-rays, especially if they expect to sell multiple Special Editions.

The DBZ blus just sound like they were re-releasing those orange boxes on Bluray, so it was more out of laziness than actually trying to re-introduce cropped pictures. And I fail to see how Yu Yu Hakusho wouldn't have been a "mainstream" title for them. If they haven't done it to anything besides DBZ then the whining just seems unnecessary.

I don't know what their thought process was on YYH. But to me, the bolded text says that mainstream/casual audiences have been misled to think that Cowboy Bebop is 16:9, which could make the 4:3 pillarboxing doubly enraging to casual viewers -- "Hey, what's with the black bars? I know this show filled my TV the last time I saw it!". I agree that cropping seems unlikely in this case, but Funi's demonstrated with DBZ that they're willing to dance to the wishes of the casuals and normals if they think it'll make them more money.

And that's within their right as a business to do (assuming Sunrise et al sign off on it), just as hardcore fans have the right to be vigilant and make their opinions known. The dismissals of fan concerns feel like "Why is everyone thinking that Funi's going to crop the Blu-Rays of a popular mainstream show to get more sales from casual viewers when they've already (twice) cropped a popular mainstream show to get more sales from casual viewers?" While this hasn't extended beyond DBZ, I view it more as a "not yet" situation than a "never again" one.

That's great and all (and I'll probably at the very least order the regular Blu-ray), but what the hell is going on with FUNimation's release of Evangelion 3.33? I thought we were supposed to get it like six months ago. Did they just forget about it or something?

they are re-dubbing parts of the movie. don't really know why, but that's why it has been delayed

Jayhosh wrote:

That's great and all (and I'll probably at the very least order the regular Blu-ray), but what the hell is going on with FUNimation's release of Evangelion 3.33? I thought we were supposed to get it like six months ago. Did they just forget about it or something?

I'm starting to wonder about that too. They literally haven't said anything about it at all. They said it was delayed because of the theatre run back in like February. Nothing at all since then. Its just a little irritating. They could at least say something about it. Like "oh, by the way, Eva 3.33 is still on the way" Anything at all would be nice.

getchman wrote:

they are re-dubbing parts of the movie. don't really know why, but that's why it has been delayed

If they are re-dubbing parts I think I can see why since I found the dialogue to be a little awkward at certain points during the theatre showing I went to, but it would be nice if they came out and said that publicly so we aren't all sitting in the dark for 6 months.

Tony K. wrote:

[sarcasm]I hope they crop and zoom the aspect ratio and over-saturate the colors![/sarcasm]

The amazon listing specifies an aspect ratio of 1:33:1, indicating that they plan to keep the original aspect ratio.

This is most likely the case, since Funimation tends to use Japanese masters. DBZ is the exception because there is no Japanese blu ray to speak of. Instead of blaming Funimation and saying they ruined the show, DBZ fanboys should consider the fact that Funimation actually put out a survey asking people whether they wanted the show to be in cropped widescreen or in its original 4:3. The majority voted for widescreen. No matter how much fans complain, it doesn't change the fact that people actually asked for this, indicating that cropping the footage would be more profitable for Funimation. Though I do agree that they should have at least tried to accommodate the other side my offering a 4:3 option on the blu-rays. But then again I guess that would have made the releases more expensive...

And if FUNi put out a survey for Bebop, I'm sure widescreen would still win out.

That's completely irrelevant. If the show is made in 4:3, it should be released in 4:3. There shouldn't even be a vote. It's the way the show is supposed to be seen.

The DBZ "fans" that voted for the 16:9 release probably didn't even have the right data to make an informed vote. Funimation knew ahead of time they'd vote cropped, the poll was just an excuse for Funimation to point their finger at the ignorant public when the informed minority blamed them. Funimation never planned the release to be 4:3. Smoke and mirrors by expert B.S. artists and uninformed, nostalgia-cowed consumers will result in some pretty poor products.

The Amazon listing lacks details for the Bebop set. I want to wait and see what the extras are before I commit to that particular version of the release.

My favorite series ever and something that ended up a as a keystone of my life on Blu-ray in a [potentially] swank collector's edition? I think know what I'm getting myself for Christmas...

I love Cowboy Bebop, but I've never owned it on home video, so I'm keen to correct that in grand style. The different Blu-ray editions for Amazon.com and FUNImation.com might be a little irritating, so I hope that one is clearly more appealing to me than the latter. I confess that I have been and might still be tempted to rustle up some of the old Bandai discs out of nostalgic affection, but this could be a really great edition. They'd better not screw this up.

What I really hope for is that it will include a translated version of the novel that Keiko Nobumoto wrote for the Japanese edition. I'm poised for disappointment, but that would be a splendid coup.

Otaku Rush Limbaugh wrote:

...Funimation knew ahead of time they'd vote cropped, the poll was just an excuse for Funimation to point their finger at the ignorant public when the informed minority blamed them. Funimation never planned the release to be 4:3. Smoke and mirrors by expert B.S. artists and uninformed, nostalgia-cowed consumers will result in some pretty poor products.

I'll bet it got 108% of the vote in a county in Ohio too.

Surrender Artist wrote:

I'll bet it got 108% of the vote in a county in Ohio too.

Har har har. I don't think they "fixed" the poll. The poll WAS the "fix". Just look at the advertisements for the sets. They were clearly aiming for the people who had no idea what they were buying.

walw6pK4Alo wrote:

And if FUNi put out a survey for Bebop, I'm sure widescreen would still win out.

No joke: I've seen young teens ask what those black sections on the sides of 4:3 movies and shows are and where the rest of the picture is. People would accept cropped versions just so it 'looks normal' probably even if it means losing 20% of the footage.

Cropping always makes me wary of watching movies on HBO, because not everything is 1.85:1. "Oh no, black bars, the very bane of my existence!"

I have the UK blu-ray release, and the quality of the picture and sound is exceptional. The colors were glorious and the sound FX were leaps and bounds beyond the dvd's. I don't see any way that Funi could improve it, other than package lots of goodies with it. The UK release was fairly spartan...

I wasn't too crazy about that series. But it had some good music.

I can't wait to see what the extras are. CB is one of the few shows where I'd actually be interested in seeing commentary and behind the scenes stuff from the English cast. I hope we get a lot of stuff from both sides though.

I honestly wouldn't mind cropping as long as 1) I put the disc in and I didn't notice like half of someone's head missing for and entire shot and 2) they labeled it as being 16:9. I haven't seen Bebop in probably close to 10 years and would not being able to point out what was missing. It could come in 16:9 and I probably wouldn't even dawn on me that it wasn't. DBZ Kai had that same effect on me. It looked great in HD 16:9 and it never occurred to me that I was watching it cropped content until I came online and saw people labeling it as an abomination and completely unwatchable.

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NEWS: Cowboy Bebop Blu-ray Slated for N. America in December