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[Happosai]

I didn't get cable and YTV until September 1998 and don't recall Ranma airing then. Don't see it listed here either. It must have aired in the US where it's highly certain to have been censored.

Can not comment too much on physical released since I didn't buy too much in store. I did buy Cowboy Bebop volume by volume back when Future Shop was a thing. Also bought the Vision of Escaflowne movie from Future shop. I remember having to return it due to a defect in the disc. Their entire batch of DVD's was defective. Eventually I did watch it online, hopefully legally.

You're right about the listing and it surprises me that it didn't air in Canada as Canada were the first to work on getting the TV series into the West.

1989-04-15 to 1989-09-16 (Season 1, 18 episodes)
1989-10-20 to 1992-09-25 (Season 2 (Nettohen), 143 episodes)
1992-09 (France Air Date)
1992-09-09 to 1994-11-16 (France)
1993-03-12 (Spain, Antena3)
1998-01-26 (Mexico, Televisa Canal 5)
1999-02-20 (Colombia - Canal Caracol)
2002-04-11 to 2002-10-04 (Germany, TV channel: RTL II (80 episodes))
2006-07-03 (Cartoon Network Latin America)
2007-03-05 (Brazil, PlayTV - Otacraze)
2009-03-10 to 2009-05-22 (Philippines, Re-Broadcast, TV5)
2009-08-10 to 2009-10-20 (TV5 Philippines,Season 1-3,episodes 1-52)
2009-09-05 (Ecuador, Ecuavisa)
2018-09-10 (Mexico, Azteca 7)
2019-01-14 (Peru, Willax Televisión)

Pretty cool that French audiences got to see in in 92' as the series had just finished their last episodes around that time.

My theory would be that Latin American countries likely took the VHS releases and censored those. The quality of the Mexican version looks like a VHS rip and it seems like ripping the VHS would have been easier than the DVDs.

I can empathize too with products coming in damaged and feel a loss there. Kimagure Orange Road TV I order from Discotek on Blu-ray with the confidence everything was playable as I've never had a defective blu-ray. Well, 7-months after buying I watched it and disc 3 was unplayable. The marks were barely visible and my only conclusion was that this was a factory mistake as it was well protected in shipping and none of the discs were dislodged.

 

[-Minsc-]

Happosai

From what I remember there was no obvious visual defect I could see. I remember reading online of others having the same issue.

 

[JunkerWoland]

Sadly, every disc-based release has a certain amount of tolerance for defects, originating from the replication process. I (somewhat) recently got around to watching Nozomi/Right Stuf's Blu-rays of the Gundam films, and the third movie featured an extremely noticeable skip & visual glitch. No manner of cleaning or alternative playing devices was able to fix the problem. With KOR, there weren't any product recalls, meaning problems are simply down to a bad disc. It's the unfortunate downside of hobbyist buying practices: we tend to prioritize the purchase over immediate consumption of the product.

 

[Happosai]

Sadly, every disc-based release has a certain amount of tolerance for defects, originating from the duplication process. I (somewhat) recently got around to watching Nozomi/Right Stuf's Blu-rays of the Gundam films, and the third movie featured an extremely noticeable skip & visual glitch. No manner of cleaning or alternative playing devices was able to fix the problem. With KOR, there weren't any product recalls, meaning problems are simply down to a bad disc. It's the unfortunate downside of hobbyist buying practices: we tend to prioritize the purchase over immediate consumption of the product.

I hear ya. It's never stopped me from buying blu-ray titles from Discover but the discs looked fine and I've a pretty good eye for what type of scratches hit the data layer vs. protective. However, I read through the Amazon reviews that the same thing happened to a Japanese buyer of the Discotek release. It's my fault really for buying in bulk and letting things stay in their packaging without watching months or years after they shipped (any chance of a refund is long gone). It's here and there. Not to go off-topic but I recently bought the Xena: Warrior Princess complete series box from Universal. After reading reviews about people having missing discs, duplicates and/or damaged. I figured it would happen the same. I opened all 6 seasons, checked the discs, ran them through my main blu-ray player and none were damaged.

Scariest thing that was ever shipped to me was the U.S. Manga release of Photon : the Idiot Adventures. I bought it new and flipped the disc over and saw it scratched so bad I was given a return for the photos alone. However, I put the disc in a few weeks after out of curiosity and it played. Meaning, they were all scratches to the protective layer and by some miracle, none touched the data layer.

 

[JunkerWoland]

While I also give new Blu-ray purchases a once over for scratches, occasionally things just go wrong during the replication process, and you get stuck with a defective product--there aren't any scratches to find or surfaces to clean. Going back to my aforementioned Gundam disc, nothing is visibly wrong with it; I had a BD copy of Seven Samurai from Criterion with a similarly clean surface and glitched playback. In both cases, and like you with KOR, I let them sit around for too long, by which point any chance of replacement or refund was out the window. It's simply one of those unfortunate circumstances, where the only (often not practical) answer is to immediately watch the disc. The frustrating part is, even beyond the financial loss, we're in a time, when releases more readily go out-of-print, compelling expedient purchases for fear of missing-out.

 

[Happosai]

I showed 'Dark Cat' the 1991 anime movie to my wife this past weekend. I was first introduced to this title via a trailer on a VHS back in 1999 from Media Blasters (I believe the title was Ninku that had this trailer included with). At any rate, anyone who's heard of the title will sneer or automatically just push it away. I've mentioned many time in my defense of subs (although many titles I've watched are both dubbed and subbed) that this movie was given an extremely low rating by nearly all sites (even non-anime sites) a 1 or 2-star rating. Upon reading the reviews and even coming across several YouTube videos...it would seem the big complaint was the English dub. The English dub of Dark Cat...is horrible. The jerks who were cast in (can't believe Suzy Prue was involved with that) either disliked the title, disliked their pay or whatever and made no attempt to perform voices for the characters.

I'll leave this on the table for anyone and it'll cost 50-minutes of your time. Watch the original Japanese version with subs. It's really not that bad. I'd give it 3-stars for story and consistency. I'd give it 4.5-stars for the crazy transformation scenes (reminiscent of John Carpenter's 'The Thing') and the character design. I know that some time back Space Runaway attached GIFs from the OVA. I'd need to find those so you can get an idea of how neat that looked. Anyway, I asked my wife as she's not modest in stating whether she likes an anime title or not. She said it "wasn't that bad."

Looking for a classic series to watch this Spring that we don't yet own. I'm open for recommendations. Many OVAs and movies in place already. Not too many series though.

Dark Cat (movie) - Anime News Network

www.animenewsnetwork.com

 

[Ladioss]

It looks so very much like any random fantastic/mystery/gore late 80/early 90s OVA, I love it - in a bad way lol
Dark Cat's staff doesn't look half bad. Apparently there was a 10-volumes manga, prepublished in Monthly Halloween (shôjo horror anthology)... never heard of the author, his works looks very forgettable.

 

[Happosai]

It looks so very much like any random fantastic/mystery/gore late 80/early 90s OVA, I love it - in a bad way lol
Dark Cat's staff doesn't look half bad. Apparently there was a 10-volumes manga, prepublished in Monthly Halloween (shôjo horror anthology)... never heard of the author, his works looks very forgettable.

The production has some areas where they were clearly cheap skating it (scene of the "tree healing cat"). Then there were others scenes where it was just crazy of the multi-paning looped overlay cel animation. That character design was just great, though. A lot of early 90's anime still had that 80's drawing style, even if the overall animation production had declined.

It's not great and I can see why some wouldn't like it but all the 1-star reviews popped up in the 2000's from Westerners who'd bought the VHS dub. It would have been forgotten but then YouTubers starting making videos which over focus on the English dub. So, people won't touch it from that bias alone. When I first bought the DVD years ago I immediately noticed the dub was off and switched the langue to Japanese before the title card popped up. I'd forgotten the story altogether until watching it last Saturday for the 1st time in 9-years.

 

[Ladioss]

That character design was just great, though. A lot of early 90's anime still had that 80's drawing style, even if the overall animation production had declined.

My first reaction was to think the characters looked like Devilman Tanjou-hen, so I was almost expecting Komatsubara for the chara design lol

 

[Porcile]

How come no one told me how fucking good Saint Seiya is? I mean the story is weird as fuck but this is some dope shit.

 

[Happosai]

My first reaction was to think the characters looked like Devilman Tanjou-hen, so I was almost expecting Komatsubara for the chara design lol

It's possible that it was based off that design or someone from the Dark Cat staff had worked with him. I know that in Western animation, layout artists and such tend to pick up character designs from an animation director. OVAs I imagine were on a decline at that point in time. So, it's a surprise things like that made it out of Japan at all.

How come no one told me how fucking good Saint Seiya is? I mean the story is weird as fuck but this is some dope shit.

It's very popular here in Mexico and has a different title (Los Cabelleros Del Zodiaco). I'd never heard of it in the U.S. but it's a classic. I haven't seen much myself but my wife watched it.

 

[Ladioss]

It was the biggest anime franchise in my country before Dragon Ball/DBZ took off, too. Kurumada's manga is pretty mediocre, but Seiji Yokoyama's music and Shingo Araki/Michi Himeno chara designs really helped to make the anime a classic.

More amusingly, apparently 80s Japan Bubble/late-showa pop culture has some kind of weird infatuation for classsical Greece - before Dragon Quest and JRPGs shifted pop culture more to medieval fantasy.

 

[NahaNago]

I never could get into Saint Seiya.

 

[Porcile]

I never could get into Saint Seiya.

It's weird and verbose, but the visuals and violence are trippy, the music is banging, and it's got some some cool hype moments. This is the first time I've been able to get past the first few episodes.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[JunkerWoland]

What's up with Escaflowne, is it worth watching? Apparently there are two versions?

Addressing your second question, episodes 1 to 4 and 6 & 7 of Escaflowne were updated with new footage for the Japanese home video release and--at least in English--are usually referred to as the Director's Cut episodes. The DVD editions of Escaflowne in the U.S. were based on the original, unaltered TV broadcast of the series; however, FUNimation and the UK's Anime Limited have since released Escaflowne on Blu-rays containing both versions of the aforementioned episodes.

Otherwise, there are three different versions of the Escaflowne manga, although only one (which was published in North America by Tokyopop) ran for any significant length.

 

[Happosai]

It's weird and verbose, but the visuals and violence are trippy, the music is banging, and it's got some some cool hype moments. This is the first time I've been able to get past the first few episodes.

I'd assume you're talking the 86' TV series. Again, I've seen like 2 episodes and just didn't seem like it was my thing. I can handle when a title goes mainstream and sometimes I don't care. For example -- Berserk TV, Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball are popular to the point in which fans used to drive me nuts and I put off watching the shows for that reason. I can like something but I don't really go into fandom with anything. Saint Seiya, Mazinger and Dragon Ball Z are something else in Mexico. Their popular is so exaggerated that you can find any piece of merchandising and fans watching that aren't really into anime. I actually used to say that DBZ and Ghibi movies were for non-anime fans to say to their friends, "I hate the stuff but this is good." Try not to get wrapped up in my bias on those shows but Mexico has a huge anime following but the titles mentioned are the big 3 and never knew that until I moved here. Side note that I've mentioned before about Mexico and anime...the majority prefers Spanish dubs and insists "they are the best anime dubs in the world." Although the majority out here watch movies in English (with Spanish subs); watching anime out here in it's original language is taboo.

What's up with Escaflowne, is it worth watching? Apparently there are two versions?

J JunkerWoland gave the best answer regarding the different versions. Which I'm glad he's here as with physical releases there are many things to take into consideration as many anime titles are on their 3rd or 4th printing in North America (if that's where you're at) at this point. It's sorta like Ghost in the Shell (the original). There are several releases but only one which keeps all the original animation intact. I can't remember what was removed exactly or changed but the first U.S. DVD release was the only one I'm aware that was mostly intact.

Is it worth watching? You'll need to come up with your own conclusions after watching. However, everyone I've met that's watched it had a similar opinion; they all stated it was extremely boring. But don't trust opinions or reviews. If I did, I would have passed on many titles which were hit with 2-stars. I postponed watching Record of Lodoss War (OVA & TV) due the fact that many who'd reviewed it stated it was boring. However, Space Runaway provided a very non-biased way to look at it from both sides. I ended up buying it and watching it for the first time (both the OVA and TV series) and really had a great time.

Addressing your second question, episodes 1 to 4 and 6 & 7 of Escaflowne were updated with new footage for the Japanese home video release and--at least in English--are usually referred to as the Director's Cut episodes. The DVD editions of Escaflowne in the U.S. were based on the original, unaltered TV broadcast of the series; however, FUNimation and the UK's Anime Limited have since released Escaflowne on Blu-rays containing both versions of the aforementioned episodes.

Otherwise, there are three different versions of the Escaflowne manga, although only one (which was published in North America by Tokyopop) ran for any significant length.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Ladioss]

If we want to be exhaustive, Escaflowne has two mangas, a light novel series, a movie and a PS1 game in addition to the anime series. One of the key features of the franchise is that each media offer its own take on the story; IIRC, it was how Kawamori envisioned the project at that time.

It was definitely a big project for Sunrise at the time, with an all-stars staff (as well as one of the first series directing job of Kazuki Akane), a solid budget, CG effects (like the dragon skin in ep1 - it was still something new at the time) and a great OST from Yoko Kanno, and as such much overhyped among western fans, but I definitely understand how people may find it boring or why it has fallen by the wayside since then : it's a well-made anime series, but way too conventional to be really succesful outside of its original release timeframe.

I like the cover of the PS1 game :

the majority prefers Spanish dubs and insists "they are the best anime dubs in the world." Although the majority out here watch movies in English (with Spanish subs); watching anime out here in it's original language is taboo.

Never imagined it would be to that extent
Funny subject, given how subs snobbery may dominate in other countries.

 

[JunkerWoland]

It's sorta like Ghost in the Shell (the original). There are several releases but only one which keeps all the original animation intact.

If you referring to the 1995 film, while there are AV quality issues with the various U.S. home releases of Ghost in the Shell, none of them involve removed or altered content, outside the U.S. version usually featuring a different song for the end credits. Similarly, I'm not aware of any changes to Japanese releases, including both the original and re-issue Blu-ray. That said, there is Ghost in the Shell 2.0, which does contain significant alterations, but that version of the film has always been sold under the GitS 2.0 branding.

The original manga is a different story, however, when it comes to minor removed content for most of the U.S. editions.

Thanks both of you, I'll give it a go. The animation quality looks superb.

To not give the wrong impression, considering some of the comments in this thread, I quite enjoy Escaflowne and find the series deserving if its high regard. Of course, you may find yourself hating the show, but as you head into things, know it is an anime with many admirers. At the very least, you're not walking into garbage.

 

[Happosai]

If you referring to the 1995 film, while there are AV quality issues with the various U.S. home releases of Ghost in the Shell, none of them involve removed or altered content, outside the U.S. version usually featuring a different song for the end credits. Similarly, I'm not aware of any changes to Japanese releases, including both the original and re-issue Blu-ray. That said, there is Ghost in the Shell 2.0, which does contain significant alterations, but that version of the film has always been sold under the GitS 2.0 branding.

The original manga is a different story, however, when it comes to minor removed content for most of the U.S. editions.


To not give the wrong impression, considering some of the comments in this thread, I quite enjoy Escaflowne and find the series deserving if its high regard. Of course, you may find yourself hating the show, but as you head into things, know it is an anime with many admirers. At the very least, you're not walking into garbage.

I'm talking about something that was brought up about Ghost In the Shell back in post #705 of this thread. So, what's Runaway's saying is inaccurate...according to you? He brought up 2.0 have changes from 2D to 3D. That would be a considerable difference for someone watching who wanted to see the elaborate work they (the staff) did in rendering those complex scenes in 2D.

I never stated anything wrong with Escaflowne. My opinion was that it's boring and many share in that. That's not stating that I'm right. What's boring to me may be incredible for someone else. I find NGE and DBZ boring and have stated that before. Never could get into NGE and DBZ had too many pointless "let's fight!" scenes which could have been more creative or fun (ny) like Fist of the North Star TV. I always encourage people to watch something for themselves and have their own opinion.

 

[JunkerWoland]

I'm talking about something that was brought up about Ghost In the Shell back in post #705 of this thread. So, what's Runaway's saying is inaccurate...according to you? He brought up 2.0 have changes from 2D to 3D. That would be a considerable difference for someone watching who wanted to see the elaborate work they (the staff) did in rendering those complex scenes in 2D.

As was name-checked in my previous writing, Runaway's comment from post #705 is in reference to Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (circa 2008), an altered version of the original 1995 film that amongst its changes does replace certain 2D elements with CG. As I also previously suggested, Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (IMDB link) has always been its own distinct product, separate from the 1995 original.

You mentioned there are "several releases [of Ghost in the Shell] but only one which keeps all the original animation intact" and go on with "the first U.S. DVD release was the only one I'm aware that was mostly intact." My point being this is not the case. Speaking only of the U.S. and Japan, all releases of the movie titled simply Ghost in the Shell are of the original, unaltered 1995 film. Conversely, one can choose to watch or purchase the product named Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (Amazon link), if they're interested in a reworked version of that original 1995 material.

To put things another way, Ghost in the shell and Ghost in the Shell 2.0 are different things. If you watch any U.S. or Japanese official release of something simply titled Ghost in the Shell, the film will be the same as what played theatrically in 1995.

 

[NahaNago]

i've only ever watched the movie of escaflowne and keep forgetting that a anime series even exists.

 

[Ladioss]

Watched Galaxy Express 999 Eternal Traveler Emeraldas tonight, and I'm impressed : it's probably one of the most aggressively mediocre piece of anime I've seen in a long time and in spite of the "GE 999" name attached to it.
Giving a try to Yamato 2520 (the mid-90s OVAs) next !

 

[Happosai]

Watched Galaxy Express 999 Eternal Traveler Emeraldas tonight, and I'm impressed : it's probably one of the most aggressively mediocre piece of anime I've seen in a long time and in spite of the "GE 999" name attached to it.
Giving a try to Yamato 2520 (the mid-90s OVAs) next !

I've always enjoyed Matsumoto OVAs more than full length series. Things sometimes dip in the series and 999 has its moments. Speaking of Matsumoto works, the Cockpit was something else. Kawajiri as a writer/director too! Can't beat that.

 

[Happosai]

As was name-checked in my previous writing, Runaway's comment from post #705 is in reference to Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (circa 2008), an altered version of the original 1995 film that amongst its changes does replace certain 2D elements with CG. As I also previously suggested, Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (IMDB link) has always been its own distinct product, separate from the 1995 original.

You mentioned there are "several releases [of Ghost in the Shell] but only one which keeps all the original animation intact" and go on with "the first U.S. DVD release was the only one I'm aware that was mostly intact." My point being this is not the case. Speaking only of the U.S. and Japan, all releases of the movie titled simply Ghost in the Shell are of the original, unaltered 1995 film. Conversely, one can choose to watch or purchase the product named Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (Amazon link), if they're interested in a reworked version of that original 1995 material.

To put things another way, Ghost in the shell and Ghost in the Shell 2.0 are different things. If you watch any U.S. or Japanese official release of something simply titled Ghost in the Shell, the film will be the same as what played theatrically in 1995.

I don't own 2.0 and only research a title in-depth if it's something I'm really into. So, I'll admit that my memory was wrong about their being several other release. My reference was with regard to any reshaping of the original film which was what I understood 2.0 was. I'd also ask what moron thought they needed to replace cel animation with CG. The only time I remember watching CG in a 90's title that looked somewhat okay was with Macross Plus. Golgo 13: The Professional I'll give a one handed clap to as that atrocious CG was in 1983 and it's a great movie regardless.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Want to know the last series I bought on vhs? Street Fighter 2 V. LOVED this show when I first got into anime. I can remember buying these vhs tapes for 30 bucks a pop at Suncoast for 3 episodes. I was a big fan of the game and the anime film so I was stoked to find a series that was really good unlike that shitty animated abomination of a series we got here. It's basically an origin story for Ken and Ryu. Pretty great fight choreography for a show.

The english op is also hype af.



Here's Guile and Ryu fighting. This is early on so Ryu isn't as powerful as he would become.

 

[Happosai]

Want to know the last series I bought on vhs? Street Fighter 2 V. LOVED this show when I first got into anime. I can remember buying these vhs tapes for 30 bucks a pop at Suncoast for 3 episodes. I was a big fan of the game and the anime film so I was stoked to find a series that was really good unlike that shitty animated abomination of a series we got here. It's basically an origin story for Ken and Ryu. Pretty great fight choreography for a show.

The english op is also hype af.



Here's Guile and Ryu fighting. This is early on so Ryu isn't as powerful as he would become.

My wife owns 2 copies of the Manga Entertainment DVD release with the mini poster (2 because the first had some bad shelf wear). I wrote about it last year. Not a high budget budget production by any means and if one switches from the Japanese dialogue to the dub...beware! (Wow! Chunnnnnnnnn Leee...that mispronounced name)

However, interesting story arc, fight scenes were cool and overall pretty fun.

 

[-Minsc-]

Don't remember if I watched the whole series but I do remember getting a hold of some VHS tapes in the late 90's or early 2000's Was cool what I saw. I remember the hyped Hadouken being a little amusing when compared to DBZ. They were really proud of making it look awesome and a big deal.

 

[Happosai]

Don't remember if I watched the whole series but I do remember getting a hold of some VHS tapes in the late 90's or early 2000's Was cool what I saw. I remember the hyped Hadouken being a little amusing when compared to DBZ. They were really proud of making it look awesome and a big deal.

I'm not sure that it was so much hyped on account of the Street Fighter ll V series. Despite there being this animation and the 1995 U.S./Canadian/Japanese TV show; the game really took the hype for the expanse of Hadouken. If you were to ask me if Street Fighter ll V was more enjoyable that DBS; my bias says "yes." There was only so much they could do with those 30-some episodes of ll V but DBZ was just an unending fest of fights and floating rocks. As mentioned, the animation really wasn't that great though. It was reflective of the cost-cutting used in 90's anime and some episodes seemed to barely make it to completion as things would get muddy due to a decline in production. The two particular fights that I believe fans may have pushed was also used by U.S. Manga to promote the series (the Ryu vs. Guile bar fight scene and Chun Lee's fight at her father's dojo).

It was a fun watch though. In fact, for Street Fighter fans...it's about the best you're going to get in terms of film. The live action movie was pretty bad, the 95' series was Saturday morning TV boring and Street Fighter Alpha was...meh. Well, actually...the animated movie was probably the most popular piece of film media related to Street Fighter.

 

[Ladioss]

Obligatory :



Love the OST.

Spoiler: Project X Zone 2

lol

I've always enjoyed Matsumoto OVAs more than full length series. Things sometimes dip in the series and 999 has its moments. Speaking of Matsumoto works, the Cockpit was something else. Kawajiri as a writer/director too! Can't beat that.

About animated movies, Rintaro's 999 movies are still masterpieces, Arcadia of my youth is a great Harlock movie, and IIRC the Queen Millenia one was good too. But other than that yes, animated Leijiverse is somewhat of a mess ^^
Kawajiri is a great pick for something like Cockpit. Made more sense than seeing him on Birdy ^^ (even if his version is fine)

 

[Happosai]

Obligatory :



Love the OST.

Spoiler: Project X Zone 2

lol

About animated movies, Rintaro's 999 movies are still masterpieces, Arcadia of my youth is a great Harlock movie, and IIRC the Queen Millenia one was good too. But other than that yes, animated Leijiverse is somewhat of a mess ^^
Kawajiri is a great pick for something like Cockpit. Made more sense than seeing him on Birdy ^^ (even if his version is fine)

Wow, the music video reminded me that artists (usually a solo singer) often had solo promotional takes like that. Sometimes the artist could pull of an amazing video and other times I prefer the text less credits of the anime (or openings) with the soundtrack behind. The second ending song of K.O.R. (Fire Love) looks much better with the weird charcoal brush animation thing. The artist version is a bit awkward to watch. By the by, do they still have solo artists performing promotional videos from anime they sung in or is that gone too? I noticed in 2000s anime that most solo singers were replaced by bands...most of which sucked (love Berserk TV but hate the opening/ending songs).

Arcadia of my Youth is great and I'll sheepishly admit I liked Harlock Saga unrelated. Matsumoto's getting up there in age, so I feel his best work that was animated was between 79' -93'. After that there was a serious lack of quality (No offense to anyone who liked the digi-animated Daft Punk movie). Would have been nice to see a bigger collaboration between Leiji and Yoshiaki back in the day. The last great Kawajiri movie I saw (although I don't recall him directing it) was BioHunter. Now from what several have shared in the group, he's been reduced down to a storyboard artist. Seems modern Japan has no respect of their greatest past masters of animation...

 

[Ladioss]

Thanks you for reminding me of that KOR ED ! I have mixed feelings about KOR, but as an approximation of 80s Japanese teen middle-class pop-culture, I feel it's close to perfect. And the OST is awesome.

I noticed in 2000s anime that most solo singers were replaced by bands...most of which sucked

Isn't it just the result of the complete Johnny's-ification of pop culture ? Same problem with their cinema industry : the suits have completely taken over, and make sure nothing of at least some artistic value is produced ever again.

Arcadia of my Youth is great and I'll sheepishly admit I liked Harlock Saga unrelated. Matsumoto's getting up there in age, so I feel his best work that was animated was between 79' -93'. After that there was a serious lack of quality (No offense to anyone who liked the digi-animated Daft Punk movie). Would have been nice to see a bigger collaboration between Leiji and Yoshiaki back in the day. The last great Kawajiri movie I saw (although I don't recall him directing it) was BioHunter. Now from what several have shared in the group, he's been reduced down to a storyboard artist. Seems modern Japan has no respect of their greatest past masters of animation...

Endless Odyssey was pretty too, but felt way too rushed.
I recall loving seeing Kawajiri doing Tezuka with Hi no Tori - Space. Still impressed by how flexible his distinctive style could be.
Never seen Bio Hunter, I should give it a try (I never was really big on the Guyver school of animation ^^)

 

[Happosai]

Thanks you for reminding me of that KOR ED ! I have mixed feelings about KOR, but as an approximation of 80s Japanese teen middle-class pop-culture, I feel it's close to perfect. And the OST is awesome.

Isn't it just the result of the complete Johnny's-ification of pop culture ? Same problem with their cinema industry : the suits have completely taken over, and make sure nothing of at least some artistic value is produced ever again.

Endless Odyssey was pretty too, but felt way too rushed.
I recall loving seeing Kawajiri doing Tezuka with Hi no Tori - Space. Still impressed by how flexible his distinctive style could be.
Never seen Bio Hunter, I should give it a try (I never was really big on the Guyver school of animation ^^)

KOR to me reminded me exactly what the middle-class type upbringing was up around myself. After my wife and I watched it (first time on blu-ray 2021); I thought it'd be the type of anime I'd give to my own teenagers. It's anime, so not meant to give anyone an impression on real life but I'd rather a newer generation had a chance to grow up on hand-drawn, cel painted anime/cartoons.

Regarding that drastic shift in musical direction between Japanese city pop/singer centered soundtracks; I'd like to post three videos to contrast between 80's, 90's and late-90's/2000's anime soundtracks. Bear with them but the last one is about the time we start hearing pop/rock bands being used for anime soundtracks (I picked one of the most awful ones I've ever heard...but I like Eatman).

80's City Hunter OP - "Love, Don't Leave Me" (not all but most using city pop themes)


90's (earlier) Record of Lodoss War OVA Opening - Adèsso e Fortuna: Honō to Eien (The shift is to solo singer based singers with an instrumental background)



Late-90's Eat Man Opening - Chiisana Koino Melody (band openings which you can hear in nearly every other late-90's anime opening/early 2000's opening...just awful!)



You've not watched BioHunter? Wow, you missed a big one there! Director was Yuzo Sato. He's got a pretty interesting repertoire. Script and supervision was all Kawajiri. Now, you'll notice it's a bit unlike the projects where Kawajiri had directed or acted as a creative director. You don't see his art style completely but for a mid-90's OVA/movie...there's really some incredible animation.

Here's the trailer. Urban Vision used their own music backgrounds for these teaser trailers. I think nearly all the U.V. Trailers were tracks pulled from the same solo indie artist. Forget his name but he was uncredited and you won't hear his music in the actual OVA movie. There's another video out there which has the "creepiest scenes" of BioHunter. I'd rather not share that as it'd be a bit of a spoiler to some of the best scenes of the movie.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Seeing that Bio Hunter preview really makes me miss that kind of stuff. What was the last one of those do you think? Those ultra-violent sex-filled ovas and shows. We had Devil Man Crybaby I guess a few years ago. Before that though? We have sex in shows now but it seems to be all fanservicey weeb shit. Don't get me wrong I watch some of that lol but when was the last time that was paired with violence?

 

[Happosai]

Seeing that Bio Hunter preview really makes me miss that kind of stuff. What was the last one of those do you think? Those ultra-violent sex-filled ovas and shows. We had Devil Man Crybaby I guess a few years ago. Before that though? We have sex in shows now but it seems to be all fanservicey weeb shit. Don't get me wrong I watch some of that lol but when was the last time that was paired with violence?

The last thing I ever saw (which in my opinion goes into the realm of modern anime) was an awful anime called Ichi the Killer. With regard toward classic titles -- I mean it started to disappear mostly after the 80's. In the 1990's there were a select few that were released that had that violent and creepy effect to them but not nearly like the 80's. Those would be titles (90's) like: Apocalypse Zero, M.D. Geist Deathforce, Genocyber, Ninja Scroll, Twilight of the Dark Master, Psycho Diver and maybe a handful of others. If you were to throw an anime like that out into the modern anime "seasons" (Spring season for example); they'd bury it and I doubt any of the JP TV networks would even be willing to pick it up. Anime is pretty tame now. There are edgy characters and series.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

The last thing I ever saw (which in my opinion goes into the realm of modern anime) was an awful anime called Ichi the Killer. With regard toward classic titles -- I mean it started to disappear mostly after the 80's. In the 1990's there were a select few that were released that had that violent and creepy effect to them but not nearly like the 80's. Those would be titles (90's) like: Apocalypse Zero, M.D. Geist Deathforce, Genocyber, Ninja Scroll, Twilight of the Dark Master, Psycho Diver and maybe a handful of others. If you were to throw an anime like that out into the modern anime "seasons" (Spring season for example); they'd bury it and I doubt any of the JP TV networks would even be willing to pick it up. Anime is pretty tame now. There are edgy characters and series.

The original Guyver ovas come to mind as well. As I recall the ADV series really tamed down the violence. They even promoted it as "ultra-violence" There was a series a few years ago that I'm struggling to remember that was supposed to be pretty violent and sex-filled... Can't remember what it was called. I'll do some googling lol.

 

[Happosai]

The original Guyver ovas come to mind as well. As I recall the ADV series really tamed down the violence. They even promoted it as "ultra-violence" There was a series a few years ago that I'm struggling to remember that was supposed to be pretty violent and sex-filled... Can't remember what it was called. I'll do some googling lol.

That's weird that ADV had cut down the violence. The last time I saw the Guyver OVAs was about 21-years ago on VHS. Some used to say the ADV and CPM (I'd add U.V.) were known for keeping the violence and other stuff intact. Manga Entertainment had some titles come put with minor censorship.

I don't think it will ever come back as a big thing. K.I.T.E. also has some pretty violent scenes. Not a title I've watched more than once as the subject matters is something I feel no one should have put into media (same with Mezzo Forte).

 

[OmegaSupreme]

That's weird that ADV had cut down the violence. The last time I saw the Guyver OVAs was about 21-years ago on VHS. Some used to say the ADV and CPM (I'd add U.V.) were known for keeping the violence and other stuff intact. Manga Entertainment had some titles come put with minor censorship.

I don't think it will ever come back as a big thing. K.I.T.E. also has some pretty violent scenes. Not a title I've watched more than once as the subject matters is something I feel no one should have put into media (same with Mezzo Forte).

I was referring to the series that ADV funded in the early 2000s. The ovas seemed more violent to me but that could entirely be just because of the tv format. It wasn't a bad series. I'd love to see more Guyver animated in fact. I've seen both Kite and the Mezzo ova. Kite was pretty gross for a few things. I watched it uncut once. I don't think it'll come back either. I'm not even sure if there is any good source material that could make a hyper-violent ova that hasn't been adapted already. I think Garo was the name of the anime I was thinking of. I haven't watched it myself outside of maybe a few minutes.

 

[Happosai]

I was referring to the series that ADV funded in the early 2000s. The ovas seemed more violent to me but that could entirely be just because of the tv format. It wasn't a bad series. I'd love to see more Guyver animated in fact. I've seen both Kite and the Mezzo ova. Kite was pretty gross for a few things. I watched it uncut once. I don't think it'll come back either. I'm not even sure if there is any good source material that could make a hyper-violent ova that hasn't been adapted already. I think Garo was the name of the anime I was thinking of. I haven't watched it myself outside of maybe a few minutes.

Garo is relatively modern and I don't recall there being much discussion about it amongst the current anime community. I think that by the 90's audiences were less interested in violent anime and if you read reviews on Genocyber (for instance); they're extremely negative. Not so much about a particular questionable scene but they didn't like the violence. With 80's anime, someone else may know more than myself why there was a lot more splatter gore during that time. Especially with OVAs where you could pretty much do anything.

I remember my wife showing me Inuyasha a couple years back (which I've mentioned before was really something I was unable to get into past the 30th-ish episode). In the first season there was some mild violence but I recall we watched an edited version on Prime and if blood was shown...they'd altered the color to black.

I sorta agree with the crowd that doesn't want to see it anymore. It was a bit excessive in the 80's and by the 90's it seemed to be simply being sold for shock value. Often times, the anime shown were just not that great in the first place.

As for those classics...they're best left untouched as rebooting has been a thing with anime as of late.

 

[Happosai]

I have a line-up of surprisingly uncommon 90's anime OVAs and series lined up to watch in the coming months. One that I pulled from the library (which I have purchased but never seen) is Shamanic Princess. I'm not going to lie, I like the CLAMP art style despite not being a fan of anything related to Magical Knights Rayearth. I've read a few reviews on this (which I tend not to be swayed much by reviews) but was surprised that some of the most stuck up reviewers had given some credit to Shamanic Princess. Well, it's short from what I gather. I guess that the artwork particularly stood out with people and I've only one image to throw out there.

This may be a different discussion completely but...is CLAMP still producing anime?

 

[Ladioss]

Well, the Tokyo Babylon project got canned, but there is still that Netflix Grimm Tales project left IIRC ?
I really like Shamanic Princess, much more moody series than what I did expect. Some of those 90s OVA really enjoyed that weird tone of grim seriousness (Key, Shin Kujakuou...)

I was referring to the series that ADV funded in the early 2000s. The ovas seemed more violent to me but that could entirely be just because of the tv format. It wasn't a bad series. I'd love to see more Guyver animated in fact. I've seen both Kite and the Mezzo ova. Kite was pretty gross for a few things. I watched it uncut once. I don't think it'll come back either. I'm not even sure if there is any good source material that could make a hyper-violent ova that hasn't been adapted already. I think Garo was the name of the anime I was thinking of. I haven't watched it myself outside of maybe a few minutes.

Anime Shigurui is only 15 years old, if that count... ? And modern shows like Demon Slayer can be pretty violent too, even if it doesn't compare to the kind of stuff we had on the 90s OVA market.
Kite wouldn't be possible in 2022 because ambitious, big budget ero anime are no longer economically viable.

You've not watched BioHunter? Wow, you missed a big one there! Director was Yuzo Sato.

I know next to nothing about Yuzo Sato, I skipped most of the series he directed. Gonna give a try to BioHunter !

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I have a line-up of surprisingly uncommon 90's anime OVAs and series lined up to watch in the coming months. One that I pulled from the library (which I have purchased but never seen) is Shamanic Princess. I'm not going to lie, I like the CLAMP art style despite not being a fan of anything related to Magical Knights Rayearth. I've read a few reviews on this (which I tend not to be swayed much by reviews) but was surprised that some of the most stuck up reviewers had given some credit to Shamanic Princess. Well, it's short from what I gather. I guess that the artwork particularly stood out with people and I've only one image to throw out there.

This may be a different discussion completely but...is CLAMP still producing anime?

I kind of dig the clamp art style too. I've spoken before about my love for X. The last thing I really remember animated from the was Tsubasa and xxxholic? Have they done more since then?

 

[Happosai]

Well, the Tokyo Babylon project got canned, but there is still that Netflix Grimm Tales project left IIRC ?
I really like Shamanic Princess, much more moody series than what I did expect. Some of those 90s OVA really enjoyed that weird tone of grim seriousness (Key, Shin Kujakuou...)


Anime Shigurui is only 15 years old, if that count... ? And modern shows like Demon Slayer can be pretty violent too, even if it doesn't compare to the kind of stuff we had on the 90s OVA market.
Kite wouldn't be possible in 2022 because ambitious, big budget ero anime are no longer economically viable.


I know next to nothing about Yuzo Sato, I skipped most of the series he directed. Gonna give a try to BioHunter !

There were many old folklore story based anime TV series which were coming out in the 1970's and I feel that was the generation in which they were at their best. Now, I'm talking about Brothers Grimm tales and others were produced. I doubt Netflix and the glossed digital age could top the amazing original animations we got from story tales back in the 1970's. Most remember 70's anime for being the decade of mechas and they forget how many anime titles were made based on classic stories alone. Here in Mexico, collector's set with original Japanese dialogue are sold of those titles as they were very popular here back in the day.

No spoilers on Shamanic Princess. I'm getting there to watching it but finishing up one series before putting that OVA in. I was surprised to find it from a private seller actually. I did purchase the Media Blasters first release of it back in 2008 but it sat on a shelf and was lost without ever having been watched. After reading last December about some of the beautiful visuals; I decided to buy it again and I'll watch it this time.

Well, when the OP was created back in 2020; I put a cut-off to the discussion to retro anime at 2001. I'm even skeptical about listing anime from 2001 due to the vast change in animation even during that year. Like I mentioned a few weeks ago -- I guess you could consider all the popular anime from the mid-2000's retro as it's nearing 15-20 years old. But, 20-years ago Japan had moved away from OVAs, traditional animation and the series at that time seemed to be nothing more than replicas of existing anime. I recall Negima and how people were into that where I lived back then. A harem anime from the mid-2000's which is retelling a variation of stories such those from Tenchi Muyo, Ranma 1/2 and many others who'd done it already.

Agreed there have been some modern shows that were violent but it doesn't seem like modern Japanese production are using that as a selling point. The gratuity of violence and skin in 80's anime was particularly there as a selling point and it worked. It was relatively common and became less of a thing by the late-90's. Berserk 97' has some violent scenes but the violence isn't like that of Violence Jack, Riki Oh, M.D. Geist and others from the 1980's.


Yuzo Sato was not particularly some real big name but I did find that some titles he worked on to be relatively diverse and interesting. BioHunter is out of print but you can likely find it on eBay and a not too steep pricing. My DVD copy was purchased used (like new) on Amazon in 2014 as U.V. had already long stopped distributing anime. As a matter of fact, take a look at U.V.'s library of releases and you'll notice 3/4 of their small catalogue have still never been re-released. Psycho Diver never even made it to DVD in North America and I enjoyed that OVA/movie.

I kind of dig the clamp art style too. I've spoken before about my love for X. The last thing I really remember animated from the was Tsubasa and xxxholic? Have they done more since then?

Well, X the movie as I've stated before is not so interesting story wise. But, the animation and visuals are very much some of the best of CLAMP. I imagine CLAMP likely won't be putting out very many original series in the future but I can see them try to revive Rayearth.

 

[Ladioss]

There were many old folklore story based anime TV series which were coming out in the 1970's and I feel that was the generation in which they were at their best. Now, I'm talking about Brothers Grimm tales and others were produced. I doubt Netflix and the glossed digital age could top the amazing original animations we got from story tales back in the 1970's. Most remember 70's anime for being the decade of mechas and they forget how many anime titles were made based on classic stories alone. Here in Mexico, collector's set with original Japanese dialogue are sold of those titles as they were very popular here back in the day.

Well, as a fan of WMT/meisaku-type series where a couple of children go on an adventure to discover the world, I can somehow relate with you on that chapter ^^
Waiting for your impressions about Shamanic Princess !

Well, X the movie as I've stated before is not so interesting story wise. But, the animation and visuals are very much some of the best of CLAMP. I imagine CLAMP likely won't be putting out very many original series in the future but I can see them try to revive Rayearth.

I'm still a little fascinated by how the Clamp went from literally dominating the 90s among fans, to being in large part irrelevant for a large part of the audience in 2022. How time changes. The X movie came at the right time, both the group and the X manga were at their peak in 96. Still a very pretty little piece of animation from Rintaro, with a slick OST. I *vastly* prefer it (along with the X² clip) to the later anime series.

They did try to revive Rayearth some time ago in Japan already - they released some new merch (new figs, iphone cases) for a few years after the 2014 bluray boy IIRC, but I don't think it worked as well as Sailor Moon own revival.

 

[Happosai]

Well, as a fan of WMT/meisaku-type series where a couple of children go on an adventure to discover the world, I can somehow relate with you on that chapter ^^
Waiting for your impressions about Shamanic Princess !


I'm still a little fascinated by how the Clamp went from literally dominating the 90s among fans, to being in large part irrelevant for a large part of the audience in 2022. How time changes. The X movie came at the right time, both the group and the X manga were at their peak in 96. Still a very pretty little piece of animation from Rintaro, with a slick OST. I *vastly* prefer it (along with the X² clip) to the later anime series.

They did try to revive Rayearth some time ago in Japan already - they released some new merch (new figs, iphone cases) for a few years after the 2014 bluray boy IIRC, but I don't think it worked as well as Sailor Moon own revival.

I'll give an update here once I get into Shamanic Princess for sure! It's a ways off as my wife and I are still wrapping up the current series we're on.

One memory I have of Clamp was at my public school library back in the late-90's. They had no manga and most adults who'd stuck the libraries back then would refer to manga as "graphic novels." The only manga that were there back then were some heavily worn volumes of Rayearth. I recall Clamp being written in big letters on the front and having no idea what that was. I gave it a chance but it was what it was (Magic Knight Rayearth)...it was a manga and anime tailored for young girls. I know despite other opinions that I didn't feel RG Veda or Tokyo Babylon were that bad. Seems the bad publicity in the West of RG Veda is likely why there hasn't been a new release in decades.

I guess it's better they didn't revive any of these Clamp series. The same way I'm fed up with Hollywood live action movie remakes (one of many reasons I don't watch modern cinema anymore); I'm fed up with the idea in anime that "that old OVA didn't tell the full story...let's remake it." Still just repulsed that someone thinks they're going to successfully pull off Bastard! in today's day and age. The animation in the Pioneer release was something that you simply will not ever get again. You also have to think about the amount of work that was put into that traditional animation. One thing that many animators have stated in their reasoning for defending the switch to digital was that "it's more economical." Animation was never meant to be economical. It was meant to be expensive because cinema needed to be something T.V. or theater quality. The quality of anime (and even Western animation) is something anyone with the right software and drawing tablet can put together with no more than 3 people and no budget.

Anyway, to end that rant...as with film...the only it hasn't stopped is so people have entertainment to talk about that's new. I encourage those who younger would enjoy traditional if they were able to see it. I can't really say that much of the anime I saw at a younger age was being targeted specifically at me. Many of the show I watched growing up were already over 10-years old by the time I saw them at age 12.

 

[Ladioss]

One memory I have of Clamp was at my public school library back in the late-90's. They had no manga and most adults who'd stuck the libraries back then would refer to manga as "graphic novels." The only manga that were there back then were some heavily worn volumes of Rayearth. I recall Clamp being written in big letters on the front and having no idea what that was. I gave it a chance but it was what it was (Magic Knight Rayearth)...it was a manga and anime tailored for young girls. I know despite other opinions that I didn't feel RG Veda or Tokyo Babylon were that bad. Seems the bad publicity in the West of RG Veda is likely why there hasn't been a new release in decades.

Both RG Veda and Tokyo Babylon were highly regarded by the fans around 1992-1994 - RG Veda because you had all the drama from Saint Seiya with Hindu myths instead of Greek and some nice Giger-like tentacles, and Tokyo Babylon because it was one of the first "serious" psychological/melodramatical occult series published in the west - quite a shift away from the typical shounen TV stuff at the time like Dragon Ball and Go Nagai series. Being a Clamp fan at the time was a sign of sophistication.
Now that I'm a little older and I've slightly more experience, I know Tokyo Babylon is "just" Kujaku-oh with a paint job of late-80s fashion and glam/pop hipness, and it amuses me to no ends

In 2022, the Clamp are probably much too old, and not fashionable anymore - to say nothing of how never finishing their X (and Clover) series aggravated a part of their fans. Like most succesful manga artists past a certain age, there are in an early retirement trajectory, doing some designs there and there for series like Code Geass but nothing more...
And granted, a series about the apocalyse like X hasn't exactly the same feeling in 2022 compared to the 90s. The subject has become taboo in Japan anyway, especially since Fukushima (but the manga had already been in hot water in the past, especially after 1995 Kobe). But worst than that : I don't think a lot of people still care about the ending nowadays.

I have no bloody idea where they picked up that idea of doing an anime series for Bastard!. It's a terrible idea for 2022. The manga is shock full of... mildly bawdy situations that will send the twitter crazies over the edge. Also, pretty girls, booty and heavy metal. Someone over at Netflix is feeling edgy.

Anyway, to end that rant...as with film...the only it hasn't stopped is so people have entertainment to talk about that's new. I encourage those who younger would enjoy traditional if they were able to see it. I can't really say that much of the anime I saw at a younger age was being targeted specifically at me. Many of the show I watched growing up were already over 10-years old by the time I saw them at age 12.

We surely never attached a lot of weight to how old or how long an anime/series was. But we didn't have a lot of choice available anyway.
For best and worst, western manga/anime fandom has gone mainstream more than twenty years ago, and the consumerist mindset replaced the sheer passion of the fan a long time ago.

 

[OmegaSpirit32X]

When I worked in animation -- I became nitpicky about coloring. I worked storyboards and layouts in Chicago as a student animator from 2006-09. Everyone saw the prospect and affordability of using digital inking. Aside from cel shading, there's that 'real' texture that gets lost in digital ink in anime. Now, to your point about new series' like Ushio & Tora bringing fans back to the manga and OVA; I agree 100%. I've actually stated this before but, I can't discard modern anime at all due to the fact that it keeps it from fading away. Reboots do often turn newer fans back to older work. Birdy is a great piece of work but I haven't gotten around to picking up the DVD/Blu-ray. It'll happen.

Yeah. And to fully close the Ushio-Tora topic, andconsidering I'm currently reading the manga right now It is a damn shame neither adaptation gave the manga the full justice it deserved. Not saying either of them were bad, but the OVA's if you asked me felt like 10 episodes of a cancelled TV adaptation, (why else there would be commercial break eyecatchers, and two openings, the latter teasing later stories that weren't adapted in the new version either) and the new anime while not bad either it did skip a lot of cool shit from the manga because the mangaka insisted on getting to the final fight as fast as they could. (Plus a lot of the violence was even more censored)

(and to reitarate I dislike the animation style tbh, it would've benefited from brighter colors and the original smoother designs, and it still wouldn't look as good as the OVA's, Imagine seeing the Hakumen fight in that style, or the stories that weren't adapted in the new version animated, good god we truly missed on something)

It also seems Karakuri Circus, another manga by the same author was going to get a TV/OVA treatment aswell, considering there's a promotional VHS by the exact same studio, with the exact same artstyle and animation that animated some parts of that manga. (Could it be possible lost media?)

 

[Ladioss]

It also seems Karakuri Circus, another manga by the same author was going to get a TV/OVA treatment aswell, considering there's a promotional VHS by the exact same studio, with the exact same artstyle and animation that animated some parts of that manga. (Could it be possible lost media?)

Are you talking about the 1998 commercial for the manga ?

 

[OmegaSpirit32X]

Are you talking about the 1998 commercial for the manga ?

Yeah that was a thing. It just was something I wanted to point out due it's obscurity.