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REVIEW: Star Blazers 2199 - The Complete Series


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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3980
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Completely agree. Such a damn good remake in pretty much every way.

Loved the updates and additions and the animation was beautiful.

spoiler[Akira became a quick new favorite for me so one of my favorite little side bits was her unexpected friendship with Melda, who was also really cool.]
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 4:43 pm Reply with quote
While I don't agree with the grades in the review, I appreciate this review of an excellent remake of one of the most important shows in the history of anime.
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Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4352
Location: New York
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 6:56 pm Reply with quote
I would have rated the music higher, but this is how you do a remake.
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Fluwm



Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 881
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:44 pm Reply with quote
It is indeed fantastic. This is the kind of remake I'd hoped for when they announced an animated adaptation of Gundam The Origin.
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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4784
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:47 pm Reply with quote
I think it’s also appreciable how the reboot is very friendly and easy to get into for any newcomers who haven’t seen the original. The story is just that good on it’s own even separate from comparisons to the original. Funimation’s English dub is also quite good.
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ValkyrieZeroZeroOne



Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 432
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:51 pm Reply with quote
The grade for the music should be A if not A+. Back in 1974, Hiroshi Miyagawa set a benchmark for anime soundtracks with Yamato and continued this throughout the saga (although the plot of the various productions in the original saga subsequent to Be Forever Yamato went downhill fast and never improved, the music was always exceptional).

With the Yamato 2199 universe, not only was Hiroshi Miyagawa's legacy done the utmost justice by his son Akira, he added value to it both with his arrangements of his father's work, as well as adding some new pieces of his own composition that fit into the universe mostly seamlessly. Add to that the fact that 2199's use of this music was more judicious not only in frequency of certain pieces, but how they were used (key piece example, the track "Yamato Departs the Earth" and its variations were used much more sparingly than in the original and as a milestone piece for key events in the series), and you have music that is brilliant in its own right, doing the original work justice, and for the majority of the series, setting the pace and mood better than the original did.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:11 am Reply with quote
Cardcaptor Takato wrote:
Funimation’s English dub is also quite good.

I agree. When I first watched the simuldub the voice work didn't impress me, but I found it way better when I rewatched it. I also found it refreshing that not many of the regular Funimation's VA's were in this dub.
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LagannImpact



Joined: 03 Apr 2009
Posts: 574
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 2:45 am Reply with quote
This show needs to air on Toonami, even if it is at 3:30 AM...
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Sandstar



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 196
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:56 am Reply with quote
The dub is exactly what the review says: serviceable. They couldn't even be bothered to do a better job than the original dub made 40 years ago. The actors are simply unable to carry the emotional weight of the show. It's almost like they can't be bothered to care.
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4410
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:11 am Reply with quote
Cardcaptor Takato wrote:
I think it’s also appreciable how the reboot is very friendly and easy to get into for any newcomers who haven’t seen the original. The story is just that good on it’s own even separate from comparisons to the original. Funimation’s English dub is also quite good.


As someone who hadn't seen the original, I was very pleased with how easy it was to get into this. It can be a tricky line to walk with a remake, but it's pretty obvious that the people making this one came into it with understanding that given its age, there were bound to be a lot of viewers who never saw the original, even if Yamato itself was a big deal.
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Raebo101



Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 792
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:52 am Reply with quote
Sandstar wrote:
The dub is exactly what the review says: serviceable. They couldn't even be bothered to do a better job than the original dub made 40 years ago. The actors are simply unable to carry the emotional weight of the show. It's almost like they can't be bothered to care.


While I somewhat agree that the dub for 2199 is nothing special, I think it's interesting to note that the performances improved a lot in 2202.
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Sandstar



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 196
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 11:31 am Reply with quote
Raebo101 wrote:

While I somewhat agree that the dub for 2199 is nothing special, I think it's interesting to note that the performances improved a lot in 2202.


Speaking of Funi dubs, i was listening to Rokka brave of the seven flowers, and I thought "oh hey, Funi made a pretty good dub." till I looked it up,and found out that it was put out by Animaze, and the dub was made in LA. It's good to hear they improved in 2202, but I wish Funi had put some effort into 2199 (and I doubly wish Bang Zoom had been able to dub it back in the late 2000s. I don't think much of funi's dubs, because most of them have been mediocre to good, at best)
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
Location: PA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:38 pm Reply with quote
I grew up just missing "Star Blazers" as it aired on US television, but I was introduced to SBY the same way I was introduced to SDF Macross via VHS Fansub tapes. As I got older I became a pretty big fan of Leji Matsumoto and the series he worked on, so I was able to watch "Star Blazers" and its Americanization, then later go back and watch the original.

The 2199 remake is probably one of the best anime remakes I have ever seen. While it's not 100% exact to the source material.. as there are some changes.. it does however update and bring the story to a modern audience.

I can't speak for 2202 as I have not yet gotten around to checking it out, I hear mixed reviews mostly stating that 2199 did a better job.
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ValkyrieZeroZeroOne



Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Posts: 432
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 3:38 pm Reply with quote
Stampeed Valkyrie wrote:
I can't speak for 2202 as I have not yet gotten around to checking it out, I hear mixed reviews mostly stating that 2199 did a better job.


That pretty much sums it up. Overall, 2199 is a tighter story, which is due to its removing less necessary parts of the original story, fleshing out the parts they kept, and adding new scope to the plot which slotted in really well. While some of the plot elements of 2202 were interesting and helped continue the story established in 2199, there were others many found contentious. I'd still recommend watching it; while 2199 was a 9.9/10 (I had some minor issues with 2199's writing continuity which fell away towards the end of the series), 2202 was (IMHO) about a 7, largely because at least in my view spoiler[it retconned certain aspects of 2199 and the Ark of the Stars movie.]

If you can afford it, I'd recommend importing the 2199 movie Ark of the Stars, officially titled Hoshi Meguru Hakubune (Odyssey of the Celestial Ark). It has English subtitles and is a good story that covers spoiler[part of the journey back to Earth between episodes 24 and 25]. It's still available through CDJapan.[/spoiler]
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ZeetherKID77



Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Posts: 980
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 4:35 pm Reply with quote
Easily my favorite anime of this decade by far. Love the take on the story and the stuff about Gamilas being expanded on is great. I'd say the dub was pretty great too, especially spoiler[Chris Wehkamp's Kodai getting emotional over Yuki's "death" in the final couple of episodes]

I just wish we could get Ark of the Stars here. I don't want to import it just yet because 2202 isn't finished being released and I'm still holding out hope Funimation will pick it up down the line (I can only wonder if sales are doing good, the LE for 2199 sold out just recently and I heard of quite a few folks getting 2202's LE as well but obviously none of us seem to know what constitutes something doing good enough for another license to happen)...plus I love the dub and while the sub would be fine I'd also be going "god why didn't this get a release here with a dub??". It's really puzzling why they haven't gotten it, Italy got a dub and release for crying out loud. I'll stop beating the dead horse though because I've done it in basically every thread about 2199 etc at this point.

Also I disagree with the B in music too, it's a wonderful update to the original score and easily one of the best anime soundtracks I've listened to. The 70s style is still there and gives it this very distinct flair that I cannot help but fall in love with.
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