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Worth rebuying stuff to conserve space?




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RedSwirl



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 344
PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 5:27 pm Reply with quote
I'm currently weighing re-buying some stuff on Blu-Ray, mainly to save space because of the smaller packaging of more recent anime releases.

I don't have a lot of space on my shelf, but a lot of the anime I have up there is from back in the "5 episodes per-DVD" days. It's stuff like Champloo, Gankutsuou, and Eva was split into seven DVDs each. Obviously I should get Black Lagoon, Hellsing Ultimate, Eva, and the Patlabor movies on Blu-Ray (but I'll put the Patlabor discs inside my special edition DVD packaging just because I like looking at it), but I have questions about Champloo and Gankutsuou (and Eva).

Is the Champloo upscale that bad? Is it still the preferable version of the show? And I also just found out they never released the Gankutusou Blu-Rays in the US. What's the best way to get it? If I got the later DVD set I'd just be re-buying the same stuff to save space. Lastly, I've been completely out of the loop on Eva home video releases since the original US DVD set back in like 2001. What's the ideal version of the original series to get? I understand the movies are sort of an spoiler[alternate-universe retelling] or something.

Or is there some way I can buy generic DVD cases that have space for like 6 discs each? I'd like to avoid putting my discs inside a binder like I had to do for ALL of my video games.

Actually on the subject, I might as well ask about the US Blu-Ray versions of the following even though I have the DVDs in the more modern small packages:

--Jin-Roh
--Blue Sub 6
--Last Exile
--FLCL (I remember specifically buying the DVD because the Blu-Ray is an upscale)
--Tenchi in Tokyo
--Sword of Doom
--Moribito
--Metropolis
--Samurai X
--Revenge of the Ninja
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 11:02 pm Reply with quote
If you like the anime enough then upgrading to a BD can be worthwhile. If you are only doing it to conserve space then think about what you have and how important is it really? Consider getting rid of stuff that you consider just good enough or that you don't love. Consider purchasing digital versions of anime you aren't super attached to or ripping them to your hard drive to save space.

Quote:
Is the Champloo upscale that bad?
Funi's first release (2009) was a smeary mess that eliminated details. They fixed it with the anime classics version (2011?). Depending on who you ask some people feel that the old Geneon DVDs upscaled by your player still look better others disagree. However, that's ignoring that on the BD you get Dolby TrueHD 5.1 for both Japanese and English which I think that in itself is a big deal.

Quote:
Gankutsuou
I'd be surprised if the BDs don't come over at some point. The thing is the wait might be long. It wouldn't be worth my effort to sell the older version to get a slimmer DVD set then tripple dip for a future BD version. Better to just wait and sell box set (more valuable) the minute the BDs are announced.

Quote:
Lastly, I've been completely out of the loop on Eva home video releases since the original US DVD set back in like 2001. What's the ideal version of the original series to get? I understand the movies are sort of an alternate-universe retelling or something.
For NGE I have the thinpak Platinum Edition with the remastered audio. I think it takes less space than the others. The problem is that for most NGE stuff there is a tremendous amount of bootlegs out there, some that look very close packaging wise to the originals. There's a Japanese BD, but we probably wont get a release of it until after the last Eva movies are done. This could mean another 4-5 years down the road before we see a BD release for NGE.

Jin-Roh--I have it but haven't had a chance to compare it with my Bandai Special Edition DVDs. I believe I read the new BD is decent but contains no extras.
Last Exile-- Has had a Japanese BD release, but no NA release.
FLCL-- People don't think highly of Funis BD release, but the first JPN one wasn't much better and had bad packaging. A second release in JPN last xmas is considered slightly better and has PCM audio for both JPN and ENG an improvement over Funis BDs.
Moribito-- OOP Media Blasters BDs or VIZs more recent BDs. The consensus is that the newer VIZ BD release is the superior one.
Metropolis-- Just got a BD release, but its MOD (manufactured on demand) using BD-R discs. Some players do not support BD-R or have problems with it and there is a question of longevity with them. I believe some people have imported the UK version in response.
Samurai X-- Do you mean Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal? It had a BD release by AoA in 2011 and is now OOP. You can still pick it up new from Japan and its usually a little cheaper than the AoA retail price of its release, which is what I did.

Quote:
Or is there some way I can buy generic DVD cases that have space for like 6 discs each? I'd like to avoid putting my discs inside a binder like I had to do for ALL of my video games.
Yes you can buy cases that will hold 6 DVDs. I did this for my Princess Tutu set that came as a stackpack. You can also buy thinpaks that hold 2 DVDs each which would also shrink space. Only problem becomes the case art as what came with your original cases usually wont fit the new ones.

Be very careful about binders! Some people have overstuffed them and put them on their sides only to find that the weight of the discs have cracked some on the bottom after time. Others have found that the backing came off and stuck to the disc.
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Just Passing Through



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 276
PostPosted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 8:33 am Reply with quote
Stick to the Gankutsuou DVDs unless the Blu-rays get a new transfer. I have the UK discs, based on the Japanese masters, and the image quality is dire, DNR-d and Q-Tec smeared to the point where a lot of texture and detail has been lost. In terms of visuals the US Geneon DVDs that I have are much better. The UK discs also lack extra features that the DVDs had.

But, if you're an audiophile, the Blu-rays are rich, vibrant and crystal clear, and Gankutsuou is a music oriented show. In comparison the DVD audio is thin.

EDIT: I don't know about the US DVDs, but the original UK release of FLCL on DVD had a brilliant Easter Egg, a music and effects only audio track where you get the full Pillows effect. The Blu-ray doesn't have that.
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RedSwirl



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 344
PostPosted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:35 pm Reply with quote
So in other words most of these BDs are hard to get. Thanks.

One-Eye wrote:

Be very careful about binders! Some people have overstuffed them and put them on their sides only to find that the weight of the discs have cracked some on the bottom after time. Others have found that the backing came off and stuck to the disc.


Right now I've got the binder upright on a shelf, but it's a big one and it's filled almost to the brim. Not having a lot of wall space sucks.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7981
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:19 am Reply with quote
I ran out of space myself about 4 years ago and been fighting that battle ever sionce. First I built more shelves. Next I started selling off titles I didn't really like or knew I'd never rewatch. This reclaimed a whole shelf and a half. After that I started replacing a lot of my old space hogging singles + artbox collections, or the ones I felt I could part with, with more compact collections, preferably BD if available since it takes up less space. That gave me another shelf. It was a success, yes, but eventually I filled the shelves back up again.

If your shelves are deep enough and you have a lot of large franchises like I do it also can save space if you arrange them differently on the shelf.

It's probably a personal preference, but death before binders. I like the looks of all the colorful packaging way too much.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6864
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 3:12 am Reply with quote
Maybe it is, if you have the money and can get a product that's the same or better quality. I did a quick estimate and found ~460 DVD cases' worth of potential space savings (shows that have actually been re-released in thinner versions, though some are OOP), but I don't see myself doing so. A lot of the time, the older versions have on-disc and/or printed extras that didn't make it to later releases, especially if the license changed hands. And later re-releases nearly always put the content on fewer discs, which nearly always means reduced video quality. For instance, I could save 7 cases by going from the 8-disc Geneon version of Vandread to the 4-disc, 1-case Funimation version, but at the expense of worse quality and outright glitches.
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