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Shelf Life - The Haunting


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mewpudding101
Industry Insider


Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Posts: 2204
Location: Tokyo, Japan
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:55 pm Reply with quote
I'd have to say I'm the opposite about the original Sailor Moon anime (apparently, the Crystal staff are forbidden to call it that). I grew up and was like, "WTF is this filler!? And man, this is way too different from the manga!" I found that I loved the manga far more, which took a more dramatic approach. Thus it really irritates me when I hear original anime fans or dub-only fans screaming about how Crystal isn't whacky enough, or worse, why Kunzite ("Malachite") and Zoisite aren't dating. -_-; Funny to tell them who they were in love with in every single work outside of the anime...

Anyway, glad I didn't get the Blu-ray in the end. I ordered the DVD instead
Now I just have to complain for a release for Tokyo Mew Mew and Mermaid Melody (don't make me come grumbling to you, TV Aichi!). But hey, if an uncut Sailor Moon release became real, miracles can happen... Or uh, miracle romances...
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darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5459
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:56 pm Reply with quote
I'd imagine the reason for that arc after the Sister's arc was get Kuroko and the others involved again and invoke the badass girl power like last season's arc especially without having Touma involved (or for some peeps who dropped the series, have him "hijack" the plot).
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OH&S



Joined: 15 Jul 2013
Posts: 306
Location: Sydney, Australia
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:59 pm Reply with quote
Ahh yes. The infamous Silent Party Arc of the second half of Railgun S. Talk about an arc which drives a fissure right down the middle of the fanbase. Ultimately, what your take on the two arcs presented in Railgun S and which one you like more directly reflects what you originally came into the series for. To me, the Silent Party Arc was the worst installment to the Toaru Series, period. To me it represents everything I find wrong with the Railgun anime series in general.

(For the sake of balance, the Index Movie represents everything that I find wrong with the Index anime series in general).

The last episode in particular while being an amazing animated marvel was a huge insult to the Index fanbase with the sheer amount of facepalm moments. But despite what I've said, there are definitely fans that enjoy that arc more than the Sisters Arc. Which again, reflects on what they came into the series for in the first place.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:16 pm Reply with quote
Boy, I am so glad for not being that picky about video quality. I bought the Sailor Moon BD/DVD LE, and I am very happy that I did. The box is very nice, and the booklet is alright. And of course, I noticed that the video quality is shaky.

I am usually quick to blame Viz Media for poor video quality in their releases. But in this occasion, I am blaming Toei for most of it. I have heard stories about Toei not taking care of their video archives. I am convinced that Toei gave shit video to Viz and that there was not much that could be done to fix it.

Viz did an acceptable job with their "remastering". I think it is unrealistic to expect an old anime from Toei to look good (even new anime from them looks crappy). I could be wrong, but I do not think we will ever see a HD remaster version of Sailor Moon that looks truly great.

EDIT: Even if Viz had received all the necessary materials to do an amazing remaster, how much better would Sailor Moon have looked? Looking at some crappy character modeling and art, it seem that this anime was never great looking to begin. I imagine that Toei had a limited budget and/or had to take shortcuts to produce 200 episodes.

When Maiden Japan announced the BD release of the Patlabor tv series, I expected it to look good because it was done by a great studio, Sunrise. It also helped that Sunrise most likely took good care of the original materials, and this facilitated the HD remaster (I am aware that the remaster was done by a Japanese company, not Maiden Japan).

In the case of Sailor Moon, it was animated by Toei, which in my eyes is nowhere near the producer of high quality anime that Sunrise is. This was especially true in the late 80s and 90s when Sunrise produced some of the best quality animation.


Last edited by Angel M Cazares on Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:22 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
That having been said, this Blu-ray release sadly does not do the property justice at all. I'd been hearing whispers across social media of video problems, but I dismissed them. After all, Sailor Moon is 20 years old. Expecting magic would be foolish.


Age alone has nothing to do with how good something can look. Those silent films from the 20s and teens can look AMAZING if the materials were well kept and well restored. 20 years is nothing considering it wouldn't have even been kept on easily flammable material. In Sailor Moon's case, there's just no way Viz had the negatives so a pristine 1080p transfer of even low budget 16mm film (which is doable!, far older anime have done it) would have been impossible. What you get on the BDs here is just upscaled and overfiltered video vomit.
Quote:
Sure, the final video is largely grain-free, and the colors are smooth, but the color contrast is messed up.

You wouldn't be seeing grain in the first place unless it was introduced as some extra non-film noise.
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Sam Murai



Joined: 01 Dec 2006
Posts: 1051
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:24 pm Reply with quote
I agree completely with your review of Railgun S' second half. It wasn't bad, but in the wake of the incredible first half and with its overly-sentimental and saccharine finale, it does not hold up quite as well (though its heart and messaging is in the right place). Now to just wait for a BD/DVD re-release…

Sorry to hear about the SM BD. I can surmise where they seemed to have been aiming their efforts at, but hopefully, the other sets will be improvements.


Last edited by Sam Murai on Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:26 pm Reply with quote
I figured the new dub of Sailor Moon would be quite good. I had no doubts.
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:28 pm Reply with quote
angelmcazares wrote:


I am usually quick to blame Viz Media for poor video quality in their releases. But in this occasion, I am blaming Toei for most of it. I have heard stories about Toei not taking care of their video archives. I am convinced that Toei gave shit video to Viz and that there was not much that could be done to fix it.


Quite a few Japanese studios mistreat their archives like this and it's not only a crying shame but nothing new either. This is the reason the US didn't get Aoki Ryuusei SPT Layzner. It's also the reason that a facility that can store archives from various anime, drafts, sketches and concept art for manga and light novels is in dire need in Japan.
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Felis



Joined: 01 Dec 2012
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:57 pm Reply with quote
It's sad to hear about Sailor Moon's video quality but I'm no videophile so I'll take what I can get. At least they didn't crop it like Funimation did with DBZ. I could totally see Funimation creating a widescreen transfer for such a big license like Sailor Moon so I'm glad Viz are the ones releasing it.
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Looneygamemaster



Joined: 21 Jan 2012
Posts: 192
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:59 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I could totally see Funimation creating a widescreen transfer for such a big license like Sailor Moon so I'm glad Viz are the ones releasing it.


You do know that DBZ is the only title Funimation's ever blundered on that regard, right?
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:04 pm Reply with quote
Looneygamemaster wrote:
Quote:
I could totally see Funimation creating a widescreen transfer for such a big license like Sailor Moon so I'm glad Viz are the ones releasing it.


You do know that DBZ is the only title Funimation's ever blundered on that regard, right?


I also think Funimation could have made a cropped, widescreen version of the mega popular Sailor Moon because Dragon Ball Z is another mega popular title.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:06 pm Reply with quote
Huh. Well, SM looks good on Hulu, so the Blu-Ray is a step down from that?
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Looneygamemaster



Joined: 21 Jan 2012
Posts: 192
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:10 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I also think Funimation could have made a cropped, widescreen version of the mega popular Sailor Moon because Dragon Ball Z is another mega popular title.


One show. ONE SHOW.

I'm sorry if I come off as snippy, but this really cannot be repeated enough.
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tasogarenootome



Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 593
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:11 pm Reply with quote
penguintruth wrote:
Huh. Well, SM looks good on Hulu, so the Blu-Ray is a step down from that?


This is what I was wondering - the episodes on Hulu look all right to me, could someone say how they compare to the BD?
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Felis



Joined: 01 Dec 2012
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:17 pm Reply with quote
Looneygamemaster wrote:
Quote:
I could totally see Funimation creating a widescreen transfer for such a big license like Sailor Moon so I'm glad Viz are the ones releasing it.


You do know that DBZ is the only title Funimation's ever blundered on that regard, right?


Yes, I know that. DBZ is their cash cow and they did it to appeal to their more mainstream fans. It is not a stretch to think that they would consider doing it to such a big franchise like Sailor Moon as well.


Last edited by Felis on Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:45 am; edited 1 time in total
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