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REVIEW: Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal Blu-Ray


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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6867
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:38 pm Reply with quote
immortalrite wrote:
Easily the best $60 I have ever spent on any single anime anything. A total and complete masterpiece with an equally astounding HD transfer.

As regards the dub, I still consider it unwatchable, and was even somewhat baffled that they included it at all. In your typical run-of-the-mill 90s anime series, it would perhaps have been passable; but in Trust & Betrayal it is a lot like watching someone irreverently defile an elegant, beautiful painting with a can of spray paint.
It should also be noted that the R1 DVDs aren't terribly good as DVDs go. All talk of HD aside, the R1s have a ton more rainbowing, artifacting, and general noise than the R2s have.

I've only heard a few clips of the dub, but what I heard was dull, emotionless, and not terribly fitting. It's beyond me why ADV farmed out the dubbing to their "second-string" Monster Island studio (which normally gets B- and C-titles like Sakura Wars, Lost Universe, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Cosplay Complex, and Happy Lesson) for such a landmark OVA. Heck, they could've outsourced it to Bang Zoom and gotten a few of the TV series VAs back. After all, ADV had been contracting some work to California studios at the time for projects like Wild Arms, Arc the Lad, and Burn up Excess.

The other downside of ADV using Monster Island for production are the pointless and inexplicable subtitle rewrites. For example, consider this line from episode 03 at about 15:00:

Quote:
Japanese line: Sukoshi Tomoe-chan no kimochi wo kangaete yatte wo kure!
Actual translation: Think about Tomoe-chan's feelings a little more!
R1 subs: This calamity has wounded Tomoe more than anyone else!
English audio: This tragedy has wounded that poor girl more than anyone else!


So not quite dubtitling, but definitely (and given the simplicity of the line, I must assume intentionally) straying from a real translation. I have no idea if the original subs were updated for the Blu-Ray, but I doubt it.
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The King of Harts



Joined: 05 May 2009
Posts: 6712
Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia
PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:46 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
So not quite dubtitling, but definitely (and given the simplicity of the line, I must assume intentionally) straying from a real translation. I have no idea if the original subs were updated for the Blu-Ray, but I doubt it.

When it first came out people pointed out that Aniplex made a different sub script than ADV's and is more accurate. So, yea, they were updated.
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gatotsu911



Joined: 18 Jul 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 9:11 pm Reply with quote
I've only ever seen a few minutes of the dub out of pure curiosity, and I recall it being thoroughly unremarkable - not outstandingly bad, but not particularly good either. It doesn't really matter to me, since a series with a heavy historical/cultural context such as this one would never feel right to watch in English anyway.

The review is easily one of the better-written ones I've seen on ANN. I particularly liked the bit contrasting the film-influenced (and influencing) stylings of Furuhashi, Oshii and Anno's generation with the inbred, anime-unto-anime aesthetic of many subsequent directors. Very true, and in many ways very regrettable.

Carl (or other informed viewers), how would you say the original episodic format of the OVA compares with the "director's cut", in which all four episodes are edited into a single feature-length film? I have only seen, and only own, the latter version. Is the episodic version sufficiently better to warrant a separate purchase?
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Levonr



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 808
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:50 pm Reply with quote
I think the dub is watchable, for years I hated it but after viewing it recently I don't think its thats painful. They underacted a little too hard and the result was sounding a little too flat. But I still think the dub captures the somber tone of the show.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
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Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:43 am Reply with quote
Well I liked the dub and it definitely deserves the A grade. though during those times, it would have been nice if they had used the cast for the TV series to do the OVA, and if Anime Works had the OVA license,they might have.

However what's going to turn me off is that price I know it's blue ray, but SERIOSULY???? For one OVA and they have it at that price in this recession? I dont see how it's going to do well.
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luffypirate



Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 3186
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:06 am Reply with quote
Well, it's an import release so it doesn't quite abide by any of our markets pricing models for BDs. The same disc is $80 (before shipping) on Amazon.jp, and I'm assuming that's what a bunch of the Japanese had to pay for their copy. Taxed MSRP is like $110 LOL. SH*T I got Tsuiokuhen AND Seisouhen for around $110. I'm sold on RightStuf's $65.
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504NOSON2
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:55 pm Reply with quote
This was, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest OAV series I've ever witnessed; and one of the greatest anime productions of all time. The gore, accompanied by tear-inducing emotional devastation, beautiful artistry and an excellent soundtrack, solidify Trust & Betrayel as a true animated masterpiece. The ending theme, which was a vocal-less musical score named "Quiet Life" by Japanese composer Taku Iwasaki, adequately depicted the emotional over/undertones of the series; it plays in my mind to this day.

The consensus seems to be that the dub was absolute sacrilege. I can't really comment because I was one of the few here--probably the only--who saw it as it was being released in Japan(only the first two, though). $64.98 is a bit steep, but I don't think you'll be regretting your purchase. It'll definitely get your mind off of being pissed about Rurouni Kenshin - Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Shin Kyōto-Hen.
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gatotsu911



Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 457
Location: US of East Coast
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:04 pm Reply with quote
504NOSON2 wrote:
The consensus seems to be that the dub was absolute sacrilege.

Not really, it's just mediocre.

Again, can anyone who's seen both comment on the differences between the episodic and film versions (and which one is better)?
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504NOSON2
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:03 am Reply with quote
Well, the "franchise", for lack of a better term, only has one "movie", or motion picture: Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for Patriots. It was pretty good. It had nice action sequences in a well-conceived historical Japanese setting. However, compared to the actual episodic series, I think it's just decent. I don't know if it's even fair to compare series to their full-length film counterparts, though. The other OVA series, Reflection, was a two-part series, and pretty much just excellent art, animation and music plagued by sappy drama scenes; I think most fans will finish part 2 generally satisfied, while part 1 will leave many disappointed.

Hope that helped some, if at all.
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gatotsu911



Joined: 18 Jul 2006
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:11 am Reply with quote
Thanks, but I was referring to the original episodic version of the OVA versus the "director's cut" version which edited all four episodes into one movie.
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504NOSON2
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:21 am Reply with quote
Ohhhh... sorry. Embarassed Laughing
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