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REVIEW: Barefoot Gen DVD




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Someone_II



Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Posts: 167
Location: Right behind you, watching you as you type...
PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:10 pm Reply with quote
I'm probably the only one who thinks this, but it's a bit of a shame about the dub (or rather the lack thereof)
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Rªdì¢âl_£Ð



Joined: 30 May 2005
Posts: 112
PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:28 pm Reply with quote
There is a slight error. It was Little Boy which was dropped on Hiroshima. The Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:43 pm Reply with quote
So is the violence as graphic as the manga?
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1684
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:38 am Reply with quote
A couple of corrections...

First, this is not the first DVD release. There was an Image release of the Streamline version (dubbed, badly and historically incorrectly -- one of their neighbors was changed to be a Korean national in 1945!!) around the same time as the first Grave of the Fireflies DVD release. That version had the Japanese language track and dubtitles, albeit in magenta. Talk about hard to read! This is, however, the first time the second movie has been released in the US.

It's unfair to compare the quality in the restored Macross to Barefoot Gen. Although the animation is simplistic, Barefoot Gen was a movie, and was shot on 35mm, whereas Macross was shot on quick-return 16mm for TV. That will always result in a massive quality difference, and no amount of restoration will change that.

I agree on most of the other fronts. The Japanese audio track is nearly as bad as the Streamline dub was -- real kids are used, and their lack of training shows. As for the mono audio, anyone who's seen the original Vampire Hunter D in Japanese knows what those old optical mono soundtracks sound like. They can be pretty rough. But the impact of the film, particularly the bombing scenes, cannot be understated.

It's no "Fireflies", but it's still a must-watch.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:43 am Reply with quote
Rªdì¢âl_£Ð wrote:
There is a slight error. It was Little Boy which was dropped on Hiroshima. The Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki.


Ugh, you're right. I can't believe I mixed those up. It's been corrected.

GATSU: I've only seen a couple of sample picture from the manga, but based on those, the anime is effectively even more graphic because the characters are in motion.

jsevakis: The first movie hasn't been easily available in several years, but you're right about it. As for the comparison to Macross, I was specifically referring to how well the print was cleaned up, not the artistic quality. Although ADV's Macross was supposedly restored, it looks disappointingly worn and dirty. This one doesn't, and it comes from the same time period.
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halochief_90



Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 466
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 10:30 pm Reply with quote
Someone_II wrote:
I'm probably the only one who thinks this, but it's a bit of a shame about the dub (or rather the lack thereof)
Hey, I love dubs too. I actually only watch subs after I've watched the dubs two or three times! Smile

This movie/movies sort of reminds me of Akira (which I couldn't even finish watching). With the dated look, dull character designs and whatnot. When it comes to 80's anime, I always feel too young...*sigh*...
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DragonsRevenge



Joined: 15 Nov 2004
Posts: 1150
PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:56 pm Reply with quote
This doesnt necessarily pertain to this review, so much as any other review that does it, but it's really unfair to fault an older series/movie for the animation, saying it's dated. No sh*t it's dated, it came out like 20 years ago. It's not going to be cutting edge digital animation.
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Whearn9999



Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 211
Location: Texas City TX
PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:16 am Reply with quote
Wow. After reading just the synopsis, I got one of those lightning rod feelings(if that makes sense to anyone). I am primarily a dub fan, but I will be getting this.
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Monumension



Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Posts: 268
Location: Norway
PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:03 am Reply with quote
Going to get this, even if I (naturally) doubt it's going to surpass the 10 piece manga. I also love old-school animation so I've got no problems there.
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