Is there a Yamato release with english subs?

[Rhodes]

Just finished the Yamato movies box set that Voyager released in the states and was wondering if any of the Asian releases has English subs to em?

I doubt the US will get a better quality release for the movies or the TV series, so I am looking to import em if they have english subs.

Also looking at the booklet that was in the voyager box set, it mentioned that Leiji was looking to do a remake of Yamato... did that project die or is it still in planning stages or was it released?

With Gatchaman being released uncut in the states now... yamato is the only show I want uncut in good quality from before the 90s.

[Panon]

Unfortunately I don't believe there are any English language releases of Yamato to be found anywhere, other than the atrocious Voyager release of the movies.

[ QUOTE ]
Rhodes said:Also looking at the booklet that was in the voyager box set, it mentioned that Leiji was looking to do a remake of Yamato... did that project die or is it still in planning stages or was it released

[/ QUOTE ]

Matsumoto's remake is "Dai Yamato Zero Go", an OAV.

It's bit of an odd case - nobody seems to know anything about it, despite three episodes already being released.

On top of that, the rather ominous sign that it's been on what seems like an indefinate hold for over a year now to be 'reworked' doesn't exactly fill me with optimism.

[mcarocks2003]

Whats wrong with Voyager's release of the movies?

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
Rhodes said:
Also looking at the booklet that was in the voyager box set, it mentioned that Leiji was looking to do a remake of Yamato... did that project die or is it still in planning stages or was it released


[/ QUOTE ]

Well the whole contiuation/remake of Yamato by Matsumoto does have quite a confusing "history" up to now, and if you´re interested the following is some "clearing up" on what actually exists in terms of contuation/remakes.

Several years ago, Animage magazine caused quite an excitement among Matsumoto fans as a project titled Great Yamato has been announced in one of the issues. This was supposed to be an adaption of Leiji Matsumoto´s Shin Uchû Senkan Great Yamato manga (which features a new crew supposed to be ancestors of the original crew as it were hinted). The excitement was supported by the Animage article also containing screenshots of the actual anime (these shots are floating around the net). These were based on Cels (featuring character designs by Nobuteru Yûki) which seem to be made for this project, however probably due to the by-then ongoing lawsuit between Matsumoto and Nishizaki the whole project has been cancelled untill Venture Soft did pick up the idea. What came afterwards was even more confusing. First of all Venture Soft announced a project titled Dai Ginga. Due to many request by fans VS announced in a newly established FAQ laterwards that the project is supposed to be a 52 episode long TV anime series with the work title being Dai Ginga Series ~ Dai Yamato-hen - 7vs.7 (Great Galaxy Series - Great Yamato Arc). After that came the Official site that didn´t contain anything for several years (despite a shop were you could buy T-shirts of the project /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ) but then in 2004 (IIRC) Venture Soft renewed the site with announcing that the first DVD (episode) of an OVA titled Dai Yamato Zero-gô being available exclusively through their website (and up to now this is the only shop where you can buy the jp DVDs of the OVA *in new condition* ). Up to now they released 3 DVDs (containing the 3 episodes for the project available up until now). And as Panon said, the 4th Volume has been delayed for over a year now with VS doing some re-work on the whole project (probably because the fans were disappointed with the OVA as well as the DVD sale may not been that good *which is kind of natural with the webiste exclusive sale* ).

[ QUOTE ]
Panon said:
Matsumoto's remake is "Dai Yamato Zero Go", an OAV.
It's bit of an odd case - nobody seems to know anything about it, despite three episodes already being released.


[/ QUOTE ]

I´ve seen the first two episodes (of three in total) of the Dai Yamato Zero-gô and after the first two episodes my motivation in continue watching the series is rather low.
The OVA itself is done by Venture Soft, the studio that brought us such horrible low-budget adaptions of Matsumoto works such as Cosmowarrior Zero and while I really was thinking that they might have done a better job with the OVA (because silly me was thinking OVA means higher budget for animations or at least a consistant level of animation) I was prooven wrong. In fact it suffered the same "syndrom" as CWZ as it did start out pretty good. The story itself of Dai Yamato Zero-gô is NOT based on Matsumoto´s Shin Uchû Senkan Great Yamato manga (which ran in Shôgakukan´s GOTTA mangabon and 2 Tankôbon have been collected so far) which is IMO the biggest mistake that the staff did for the OVA overall. The OVA features the same characters as the manga (i.e. Apolonia voiced by infamous Romie Paku and the Captain which features Isao Sasaki finally back to do some voice acting ^_^) however it´s pretty different and IMO not very good (episode 1 is basically an introduction to the huge crew of the Yamato as well as the battle against the Metanoid Dragon (which is a giant entirely CG done mechanical dragon). Also there´s a lot of CG animation as well, which is a mixed bag IMO. Some of it looked pretty good for an OVA (i.e. when the Metanoid Dragon assembled) but there are a lot of scenes that just looked like they´re badly done cut sequences from a Playstation game.
Starting from the second episode there´s no sign of the high animation level of the first episode and the story got even less interesting (I´d say quite borring).
Oh and the music...well let´s just say that it is not my cup of coffee. There´s one actual song (as far as you can call it) that is titled "Time Out" and believe it or not that´s basically the whole lyrics of the song (a pretty annoying 1min+ techno song with lyrics consisting of Tsugutoshi Gotô yelling "Time out, time out,gimme a break ..come on, time out, time out, gimme a break") and the other BGM is also rather IMO unfitting techno beats (with only one epic piece of BGM played during the start of the Yamato IIRC).

[ QUOTE ]
Panon said:
On top of that, the rather ominous sign that it's been on what seems like an indefinate hold for over a year now to be 'reworked' doesn't exactly fill me with optimism.

[/ QUOTE ]

That´s true, the Official site didn´t have updates for months (after the last April 05 update the latest August update just was a notice that there´ll be slow delivery during the summer time). According to the Official site Venture Soft is currently re-working the whole concept of the OVA series to make it more fitting for Leiji Matsumoto´s universe. Furthermore the short report on the status of Volume 4 that has been updated at the site in April states that the Mahoroba might appear (from Leiji Matsumoto´s Ultimate Time Sweeper Mahoroba manga and note that the Mahoroba appeared in the Great Yamato manga as well) and furthermore Venture Soft said that the delay of Volume 4 is due to them also re-working the CG animation (in particular the Metanoid Dragon) to hopefully make it look better.

Furthermore there is a theatrical anime feature for the Yamato franchise scheduled for 2006. This one however (despite some confussions and rumors that came up back when the project has been announced) does not feature any involvement of Leiji Matsumoto as it is a Yamato project by Yoshinobu Nishizaki.

Hope that helps.

so far
yours
littleharlock

[Rhodes]

vhs quality video is the main problem.

encode could use some work... several bumps in the display when it was running in my player... possible layer change issue.

subs could be re-worked... i prefer subs that sub what is said and not switch it around. every damn time yuki says kodai-kun... its subbed susumu. if voyager wants to dub this and have yuki say susumu in english thats fine, but please just sub what is said based on the audio. goes to the problem i have with subs that change titles/family names to people's 1st names.

[slerch666]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I had remembered seeing this and had a similar Yamato question.

Other than the R2 DVDs of the original series, is there any set on any other Region DVD (NOT Star Blazers)? I want the series, but don't want to fork over ~$300 for each box. I know there are the usual... non-legit... DVDs out there, but I definitley don't want those.

Any info is appreciated, even if it is that they don't exist.

Also, what are the other Matsumoto series (in the Yamato "universe") that have not yet been released on R1 DVD? If they are on R2 DVD I will eventually pick them up.

Thanks!

[Njr Scrawl]

Are Harlock/Emereldas/GE999 in a different universe to Yamato?

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
Wrath of the Njr said:
Are Harlock/Emereldas/GE999 in a different universe to Yamato?

[/ QUOTE ]
By "universe" I didn't really mean "space" but the "world" (and by world I don't mean "earth" or whatever) that Matsumoto created. As far as I can tell all his stuff involves the Yamato "universe." /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[mrgazpacho]

I still think Njr's question is valid - in the entire "Leijiverse", how much crossover (does Yamato have with the other worlds? Particularly story crossover, as characters tend to pop up here and there /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Also, what are the other Matsumoto series (in the Yamato "universe") that have not yet been released on R1 DVD? If they are on R2 DVD I will eventually pick them up.


[/ QUOTE ]

Other series by Leiji Matsumoto and therefore set in the "Leijiverse":

Ginga Tetsudô 999 has been released as (IMO beautiful) boxsets (with the 6th and final one out of print) as well as individual DVDs later on. The release infos:
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Eien e no Tabidachi Vol.1 DVD Box (CN: AVBA-14470 | Price (excl. tax): 19,800 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Shinku no Onna Kaizoku Vol. 2 DVD Box (CN: AVBA-14521 | Price (excl. tax): 24,800 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Walkure no Majo Vol. 3 DVD Box (CN: AVBA-14544 | Price (excl. tax): 24,800 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ 999 no Hanran Vol. 4 DVD Box (CN: | Price (excl. tax): 24,800 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Jikanjô no Kaizoku Vol. 5 DVD Box (CN: AVBA-14711 | Price (excl. tax): 24,800 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsduô 999 ~ Mugen e no Tabidachi Vol. 6 DVD Box (CN: AVBA-1471 | Price (excl. tax): 24,800 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Toki no Wa no Tabibito TV Specials DVD Box (CN: AVBA-14776 | Price (excl. tax): 14,800 Yen)
Contains the 3 TV Specials "Kimi wa Senshi no Yô ni Ikirareru ka!!", "Eien no Tabibito Emeraldas" and "Kimi wa Haha no Yô ni Aiseru ka!!". The fourth TV special "Shônen no Tabidachi to Wakare" is included as one of the bonus content of the extra disc that came with the 6th TV series DVD Box.

The boxset release contains nice booklets (incl. interviews with the seiyuu Masako Nozawa (CV of Tetsurô Hoshino, interview spreads over Booklet for Box 1 & 2), Kaneta Kimotsuki (CV of Saishô-san, interview spreads over Booklet for Box 3 & 4) and last but definitely not least an interview with her loveliness Masako Ikeda (the unforgetable voice of Maetel, interview spreads over Booklet for Box 5 & 6). The boxsets also come with goodies such as Tetsurô´s pendant (the one his mother gave to him), Dr. Ban´s pendant, the pin of Saishô-san´s hat and the final box comes with a nice Bonus DVD with some exclusive footage (i.e. Glass no Claire 3D CG special trailer).
I´ve got Box 1-5, unfortunately the 6th Box became out of print some weeks after its release and therefore I was too late to order it. The whole series has been re-released as seperate DVDs as well by Avex Mode which should be all available...however missing the aforementioned goodies (and since I started collecting the boxes I won´t go for these just to complete the series...have the last box watchlisted ^_^").

The movies are available seperately as well as (out of print) DVD Box (that also contains the Glass no Claire TV Special):
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 Movie DVD Box
(CN: DSTD-02032 | Price (excl. tax): 20,000 Yen)
• Gekijôban Ginga Tetsudô 999
(CN: DSTD-02050 | Price (excl. tax): 4,500 Yen)
• Sayonara Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Andromeda Shûchakueki
(CN: DSTD-02051 | Price (excl. tax): 4,500 Yen)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Eternal Fantasy
(CN: DSTD-02052 | Price (excl. tax) 4,500 Yen)

There also exists an Internet animation version of the first few episodes of GT999 that have been released on DVD (which isn´t recommended...it´s flash animation -.-)

Still uncollected in terms of 999 are:
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Glass no Claire 3D-ban (a 16 minutes long fully 3D CG animated movie version of the TV special of the same title featuring Yûko Minaguchi as Claire).
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Kieta Taiyôkei
aka GT999 in Planetarium,a special anime (25 min.) that has been shown in jp Planetarium back in 2001 (featuring Emi Shinohara as Eternal /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif ).
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Niji no Michishirube
15min. long movie that exclusively has been theatrically released in the northern Kyûshû area in summer 2001 (featuring Mitsuko Horie as Mirai)
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 for Planetarium
Another Planetarium exclusive anime (that can bee seen once again in December 2006 in Kitakyûshû) that also spanned the Internet Radio Drama Yuma no Monogatari ~ Symphony No. V (http://showmans.tv/zero/index.html).

In terms of Captain Herlock there exists:

• Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock DVD Box
(CN: DSTD-2333 | Price (excl. tax): 45,000 Yen)
Such a wonderfull boxset release of the original 42 episode TV series plus extras such as the first movie Arcadia-gô no Nazo (34 min.).
• Waga Seishûn no Arcadia ~ Mugen Kidô SSX DVD Box
(CN: DSTD-2357 | Price (excl. tax): 22,000 Yen)
Contains All 22 episodes plus the awesome 4 min. pilot Kaizoku Kikan Arcadia (which features the first animated scene of Gun Frontier ^_^)
• Waga Seishun no Arcadia
(CN: DSTD-2327 | Price (excl. tax): 4,500 Yen)
Awesome release of the 2nd Movie featuring a decent slip case cover art by famous Kazuo Komatsubara

As much as I love the already listed, Sennen Joô IMO takes the crown:

• Shin Taketori Monogatari Sennen Joô TV DVD Box
(CN: DSTD-2435 | Price (excl. tax): 45,000 Yen)
Contains all 42 episodes (also including the 3rd TV special which aired as episode 20 of the series "Semarikuru Chikyû no Kiki!!" plus a TV series/Movie Soundtrack CD)
• Gekijôban Sennen Joô Movie DVD
(CN: DSTD-2305 | Price (excl. tax): 4,500 Yen)
HIGHLY recommended if you want to see a great Matsumoto theatrical project that is better IMO than the GT999 movies
In case you´re interested to see what the Box and Movie DVD looks like I´ve taken some pics of my set:
TV Series DVD Box + Movie DVD (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/Img_07.jpg)
Content of the TV Series DVD Box (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/Img_06.jpg)

Not released Sennen Joô on DVD (nor LD):
• Shin Taketori Monogatari Sennen Joô ~ Matsumoto Leiji no Sekai (1st TV Special, 15 min.)
• Natsuyasumi Ninki Anime Matsuri ~ Sennen Joô no Shôtai wa!? (2nd TV Special that features a funny "crossover" between Sennen Joô and Akira Toriyama´s Dr. Slump)

Other Matsumoto works released on DVD:
• The Cockpit Complete Collection
(CN: PIBA-3017 | Price (excl. tax): 7,800 Yen)
Out of print at almost every jp online shop. I´ve had the incredible luck to order the DVD from CDJapan about a month before it went out of print and honestly this is Matsumoto at its best. My single most precious DVD that I keep rewatching and loving to bits /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif Contains all 3 OVA episodes as well as tons of interviews with the directors (i.e. Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who also did the chara designs for the first episode)
• Kasei Ryodan DNA Sights 999.9 OVA DVD
(CN: HODV-00028 | Price (excl. tax): 5,700 Yen)
Great OVA (wouldn´t call it adaption since the manga is very different from the OVA) featuring such great seiyuu as Megumi Hayashibara (CV of Mî-kun ^_^), Megumi Ogata (CV of Tetsurô Daiba, Ogata also sung the ED theme "RA-SE-N"), Yuko Mingauchi (CV of Mellow), directed by Masayuki Kojima (MONSTER, Master Keaton, etc.)
The DVD itself contains tons of extras such as a track for blind people narrated by Masako "Maetel" Ikeda and making-off video (I wrote a more extensive review of the DVD for my site to be updated pretty soon in case you´re interested).

In terms of Emeraldas, there exists the initial DVD (jewel case) release:
• Queen Emeraldas ~ Mugen e no Tabidachi/Fumetsu no Monshô
(CN: BBBA-1024 | Price (excl. tax) 5,800 Yen)
First two episodes of the OVA
• Queen Emeraldas ~ Shukumei no Akashi
(CN: BBBA-1025 | Price (excl. tax): 5,800 Yen)
Third Volume of the OVA (also contains episode 1 of the short anime Torajima no Mî-me as extra)
• Queen Emeraldas ~ Siren no Megami
(CN: BBBA-1184 | Price (excl. tax): 5,800 Yen)
Fourth and concluding Volume of the OVA (also contains episode 2 of the short anime Torajima no Mî-me as extra)

As well as a (out of print) DVD Box:
• Queen Emeraldas Perfect Collection DVD Box
(CN: BBBA-9016 | Price (excl. tax): 12,096 Yen)

Also worth noting, the recent TV anime Uchû Kôkyôshi Maetel ~ Ginga Tetsudô 999 Gaiden, which is a prequel to what happens in Ginga Tetsudô 999 (as well as the final chapter to Sennen Joô). Not the best out there but still ways better than Maetel Legend, yet IMO still worth watching:
• Uchû Kôkyôshi Maetel ~ Ginga Tetsudô 999 Gaiden Symphony.1 + 2 Limited Edition
(CN: AVBA-22171 | Price (excl. tax): 8,952 Yen)
Contains Episode 1 & 2 (Smyphony.1)
Contains Episode 3 & 4 (Symphony.2)
Comes with a box to house all Volumes as well as special cards featuring a Maetel illustration by Shin Takahashi (Saishû Heiki Kanojo) and series chara designer Keisuke Masunaga
• Uchû Kôkyôshi Maetel ~ Ginga Tetsudô 999 Gaiden Symphony.3
(CN: AVBA-22173 | Price (excl. tax): 4,700 Yen)
Contains Episode 5 & 6
First press came with illustrated card (Herlock was the theme of this one) by Kôta Hirano (HELLSING) and Keisuke Masunaga
• Uchû Kôkyôshi Maetel ~ Ginga Tetsudô 999 Gaiden Symphony. 4
(CN: AVBA-22174 | Price (excl. tax): 4,700 Yen)
Contains Episode 7 & 8
Firspress came with illustrated card (Emeraldas is the theme) by Akitarô Yamada (Read or Die manga) and Keisuke Masunaga
•Uchû Kôkyôshi Maetel ~ Ginga Tetsudô 999 Gaiden Symphony.5
(CN: AVBA-22175 | Price (excl. tax) 4,700 Yen)
Contains Episode 9 & 10
First Press came with illustrated card (Promethium is the theme this time) by Haruhiko Mikimoto and Keisuke Masunaga
• Uchû Kôkyôshi Maetel ~ Ginga Tetsudô 999 Gaiden Symphony.6 (Final)
(CN: AVBA-22176 | Price (excl. tax): 5,700 Yen)
Contains Episode 11 - 13 (final)
First Press comes with special binder

Oh and back in May SPO released what was planned to be a theatrical feature for Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari on DVD as Sôshûhen. However it´s said (I still haven bought the DVD /images/graemlins/shy00000.gif ) that it doesn´t contain new scenes at all:
• Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari ~ Ginga Tetsudô wa Harukanari Sôshûhen DVD
(CN: OPSD-A014 | Price (excl. tax): 4,980 Yen)

For completion´s sake another pic I took (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/Img_02.jpg) of the Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari (aka Galaxy Railways) manga and one of the jp first press box for the series

Also there exists the 3 episode long Dai Yamato Zero-gô OVA on DVD, which are each priced 6,800 Yen and only available via the Official Site´s Shop (https://www.daiyamato-zerogo.com/) (see my previous reply in this thread for details).

I´m sure I forgot some, but this should help you to have a small overview on what has been released in recent years. There´s also a lot of Matsumoto anime that hasn´t been released on LD nor DVD yet like Saint-Elmo ~ Hikari no Raihôsha (bought the jp VHS for it which is worth it...features Matsumoto himself in a hilarious scene ^_^), Arei no Kagami ~ Way to the Virgin Space (only available on jp VHS as well), Mirai Snow Angel ~ Mizu to Inochi no Wakusei (wonderfull 11 min. fully 3D CG short special) or Marine Snow no Densetsu.

Hope that helps. In case you have any further questions, don´t hesitate to ask ^_^

Edit: Forgot to mention Wakusei Robo Danguard A(ce).
Haven´t bought that one as I´m no big fan of Giant Robot animation (despite this being Matsumoto):

• Wakusei Robo Danguard A(ce) Complete DVD Box guard.1
(CN: AVBA-14854~9 | Price: 29,800 Yen excl. tax)
Episodes 1-28
• Wakusei Robo Danguard A(ce) Complete DVD Box guard.2
(CN: AVBA-14860~5 | Price: 29,800 Yen excl. tax)
Episode 29-56

so far
yours
littleharlock

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
mrgazpacho said:
I still think Njr's question is valid - in the entire "Leijiverse", how much crossover (does Yamato have with the other worlds? Particularly story crossover, as characters tend to pop up here and there /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Characters from the original anime/manga appearing in other Matsumoto works? I´ve yet to see such a crossover and I doubt it will happen due to the lawsuit about this series which ended that Matsumoto has the rights for the manga and character designs, but copy rights for thecharacters themself and story have gone to Yoshinobu Nishizaki IIRC.
The Yamato itself however appears fairly often in the (still-ongoing) Eternal arc of the Ginga Tetsudô 999 (aka Galaxy Express 999) manga (spoilers for the manga <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>especially with the ongoing battle/thread of Dark Queen</span>). Matsumoto however created a new crew (ancestors of the original one) for the Shin Uchû Senkan Great Yamato manga.
Same goes for the anime projects. No characters from the original crew appearing, yet the Yamato itself appeared. Heck the Kasei Ryodan DNA Sights 999.9 OVA even has been advertised as "featuring an appearance of Herlock and the Arcadia as well as the Yamato" back when it has been released in Japan and IIRC the Yamato also appeared (briefly) in the Eternal Fantasy movie (alongside the Arcadia and Queen Emeraldas).
Matsumoto´s Dai Yamato Zero-gô OVA doesn´t feature any crossovers so far (3 episodes released), however if the production report about Vol. 4 can be trusted (if they actually are going to release this one at all) Venture Soft reworked the OVA series to make it "fit the Leijiverse" more and they also mentioned the Mahoroba (time travelling ship from Matsumoto´s Ultimate Time Sweeper Mahoroba manga) appearing (which also was one of the major crossovers from the Great Yamato manga).

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

Well, first, HOLY CRAP that's a fat lot of stuff that we haven't, and probably won't see here in R1 land. Bastards.

Second, does anyone know if there are cheaper sets available, say an R3 or something (not boots)? I kinda doubt it, but it's worth a try.

Third, if you had to start somewhere, where would it be? Galaxy Railways is seeing release here (and if it's being released on R1, I'd rather go that route), so I'm getting that this way instead of R2s. I'm partial for trying to find the Harlock TV series or Galaxy Express 999...

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Third, if you had to start somewhere, where would it be? Galaxy Railways is seeing release here (and if it's being released on R1, I'd rather go that route), so I'm getting that this way instead of R2s. I'm partial for trying to find the Harlock TV series or Galaxy Express 999...

[/ QUOTE ]

If you´ve seen some of Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari (Galaxy Railways) and you did not mind the (at first) episodic structure of the series, enjoyed the atmosphere (music, storytelling, etc.) then you´ll like Ginga Tetsudô 999. The TV series is a straight adaption of the Andromeda Arc of the manga (spreading over 113 TV episodes, I think only 3 or so of these episodes where originally created by the TV series staff, the other episodes are all adaptions of the manga chapters) and while there is a major plot (the journey to Dai Andromeda and what will be revealed once 999 reached its Destination), the series is pretty episodic overall. However this isn´t bad at all if you don´t mind episodic story telling with a slow moving (or better said unveiling) story arc in the back of it all. There are so many gorgeous moments and episodes, like "Kaizokusen Queen Emeraldas", the Walkure two-part episode "Walküre no Kûkan", the two-parter "Tômeikai no Artemis" or the series´ only three part episode "Jikanjô no Kaizoku" (which includes a guest appearance by a certain famous pirate). If you don´t mind old-school animations (which I think you don´t mind, IIRC you´re a big fan of Cutie Honey and Gô Nagai releases in general?) this series is definitely worth checking out.

Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock. Well despite the price for the box I´d say go for it if you somehow have the money. It´s really Rintaro at his best. Lots of decent character development (Rintaro managed to give each of the characters, like the Arcadia´s crew members a backstory which leads to why these men are loyal to their Captain...once you´ve seen the story of Kei Yûki you´ll love the series trust me) and with 42 episodes to go for, the main story (war against the Mazones, which Herlock and his crew has to fight pretty much on their own) never gets lost. Really, the series is IMO pure anime gold, featuring good animation from the late 70´s (the dirrent camera angles used in the series stuned me the first time I watched it), great designs by Kazuo Komatsubara (despite being no Cel collector, I´d give a kidney for a decent Cel of Kei).
The 2nd TV series, Mugen Kidô SSX is IMO not as good as the original TV series and at times it really gives the feeling that this one has been made as "money maker". I´m not trying to say it´s bad, but just not as good as the original series. The strength of MKSSX are that it features a younger Herlock (who´s not as dark and cold-hearted in his appearance as you might know him from the TV series and Endless Odyssey OVA), includes Tochirô as crewmember and has some very brilliant moments included as well (what happens to Tochirô for example). Still recommended, but owning the original TV series should be higher priority IMO.

Overall some recommendations for great Matsumoto anime works which aren´t too expensive:
• Gekijôban Sennen Joô
Amazon.jp Link (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0008JF66Q/qid=1132492515/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/250-5338612-7355454) | CD Japan link (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/(mint)/detailview.html?KEY=DSTD-2305)
It´s quite different from the TV series and to be honest with you, some fans say it lacks the charm of the TV series (i.e. changing the run-down Tokyo from the late 90´s setting to a Megalopolis future Tokyo or that the charming parents of Yayoi didn´t appear in the movie) however it´s one of the best anime movie adaptions I´ve ever seen. Featuring decent music by Kitarô (everyone who doesn´t shed a tear in the final scene when "Hoshizora no Angel Queen" starts playing has IMO a Mechanoid´s heart /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ), wonderful character designs (they´re very close to Matsumoto´s original designs, which wasn´t always the case for the TV series) and compared to the TV series, the movie sticks more faithful to the manga in certain scenes (both don´t follow the manga close enough, which probably is due to Matsumoto still having worked on the manga while the TV series has been produced and the movie had a too limited length to cover everything from the manga *LOTS of decent story sadly unadapted yet* ). But really, if you want to see a IMO great theatrical project by Matsumoto, go for the movie. Disc extras themself are pretty limited (sorry Toei, but an "Artgallery" is not necessarily just 8 various screenshots from the movie) however there´s one little rare advertising clip included (the first in the promotion/trailer collection) that has apparently never been released on any format before (announcing this theatrical project). I could also give some info on the story if you´re interested (but I´m just typing this while being busy so excuse me for not including that in the first place ^_^).
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Eternal Fantasy
Amazon.jp Link (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006BSN2/qid%3D1132492709/250-5338612-7355454) | CD Japan Link (http://cdjapan.jp/detailview.html?KEY=DSTD-2052)
It´s short. Really for a theatrical feature the running time of 55 min. is pretty short, but that doesn´t mean it´s any less decent (however a lot of fans don´t like it due to it being really short and may feel rushed at first). Top-notch animations by Toei, decent BGM (with the wonderfull theme "Brave Love" by The Alfee) and adapting some of the highlight from the Eternal arc of the manga (featuring her loveliness Hellmazaria (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/nava.gif)).

Maybe you also want to go for the other two movies. Personally, as much as I´m a Rintaro fan, I didn´t like the first movie much. I mean, they sure did a good job in adapting the most popular story arcs from the manga/TV series´ Andromeda arc into the movie, but certain stuff that has been changed just IMO dragged on forever (i.e. the Kikai Hakushaku issue...I really loved the way Tetsurô settled this issue right in the first episode of the TV series /images/graemlins/devil.gif ).
Also I don´t know why, but I somehow didn´t enjoy Komatsubara´s Character Designs as much as I should have and I think the major reason behind this is, because I want Tetsurô to look like the chubby looking "potatoe-head" wearing a cloak and a hat rather than as the slim young boy he appeared in the movie.

Also if you can find it (Yahoo! Auctions Japan for instance) The Cockpit is highly recommended. The three chapters adapted may not be directly connected to the Leijiverse (however the other chapters of the manga are at times...there´s even a chapter that expands the story of Waga Seishun no Arcadia a bit and one that features a Herlock and Tochirô look-alike in a "Spies like us" themed story *hilarious*) these are wonderfull.

Anything else you want to know? In case you´re interested I could take pics of the Herlock or GT999 Boxes.

so far
yours
littleharlock

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slerch666 said:
Second, does anyone know if there are cheaper sets available, say an R3 or something (not boots)? I kinda doubt it, but it's worth a try.

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Proware has released all three Yamato series on Taiwanese R3 DVD. They're available as individual releases (5 discs for each series) at JSDVD or as a huge set at YesAsia (http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1004006860/code-c/section-videos/) for not-so-terribly-much. Dunno about quality but they were released around 2003-2004 so I think they would at least be acceptable.

[slerch666]

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littleharlock said:
If you´ve seen some of Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari (Galaxy Railways) and you did not mind the (at first) episodic structure of the series, enjoyed the atmosphere (music, storytelling, etc.) then you´ll like Ginga Tetsudô 999.

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I'm actually really enjoying Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari, a hell of a lot more than I thought I would. I seriously debated buying the R2s of it to get it faster, but considering the cost difference, I'd rather save that extra $$$ for other R2s we won't see over here, like other stuff in the Leijiverse. /images/graemlins/wink.gif
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If you don´t mind old-school animations (which I think you don´t mind, IIRC you´re a big fan of Cutie Honey and Gô Nagai releases in general?) this series is definitely worth checking out.

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I don't mind old school animation, in fact I prefer some of it over the flash over content of some of the shows today (or endless harem shows). And yes, I am guilty of being a Go Nagai fan, especially the super robot stuff...

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Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock. Well despite the price for the box I´d say go for it if you somehow have the money.

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I did some searching on YJA for Ginga Tetsudô 999 and Herlock TV (original series). After finding a couple of Ginga Tetsudô 999 auctions that caught my eye (there's one I am SSSOOOO tempted to bid on, but don't want to spend that much money at the moment), I decided to search out Herlock as well. After seeing the price of the Herlock TV series, and the overall cost of Ginga Tetsudo 999, I decided I'd... bid on Herlock. There's something about the Herlock character I enjoy. Being able to get it all in one shot, rather than having to get a set or 3 of 999 now, and waiting likely a while for another piece, pretty much clinched it for me. If you want to see the auction pics, since I can't link to the auction, here's what I won:

Pic 1 (http://img209.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/8/2/7/seichangoose-img401x600-1130827975haroku1.jpg)
Pic 2 (http://img209.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/8/2/7/seichangoose-img463x600-1130827984haroku2.jpg)
Pic 3 (http://img209.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/8/2/7/seichangoose-img460x600-1130827994haroku3.jpg)

Scored one with the cell phone strap... not that I really need it or anything.


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featuring good animation from the late 70´s (the dirrent camera angles used in the series stuned me the first time I watched it),

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One of the things I remember being surprised at was some of the interesting stuff they did with Cutie Honey TV. There was a scene with Honey collecting bombs around the campus and they'd have one portion of the screen Honey reaching into the spot, then another portion a close up of her grabbing the bomb. I didn't expect something so stylized in 1972, and it was cool. Sure, the series isn't for everyone, but it's a damn fine watch.

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The 2nd TV series, Mugen Kidô SSX is IMO not as good as the original TV series and at times it really gives the feeling that this one has been made as "money maker".

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The same person I won Herlock from had this one as well. I was tempted, but after seeing the price, and your opinion on it, I'm going to wait. I'll pick it up eventually, but not anytime soon.

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Overall some recommendations for great Matsumoto anime works which aren´t too expensive:
• Gekijôban Sennen Joô
Amazon.jp Link (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0008JF66Q/qid=1132492515/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/250-5338612-7355454) | CD Japan link (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/(mint)/detailview.html?KEY=DSTD-2305)

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Added to my wish list. /images/graemlins/wink.gif I'll probably pick it up in Jan/Feb when I'm planning on no longer collecting any "new" R2 series (that is, series that just finished their TV run, which wouldn't include most all of Matsumoto's work) and waiting for a domestic release, or cheaper YJA collections later on down the road. "New" R2s are killing me.

[ QUOTE ]
Ginga Tetsudô 999 ~ Eternal Fantasy
Amazon.jp Link (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00006BSN2/qid%3D1132492709/250-5338612-7355454) | CD Japan Link (http://cdjapan.jp/detailview.html?KEY=DSTD-2052)

[/ QUOTE ] Also added. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Maybe you also want to go for the other two movies. Personally, as much as I´m a Rintaro fan, I didn´t like the first movie much. I mean, they sure did a good job in adapting the most popular story arcs from the manga/TV series´ Andromeda arc into the movie, but certain stuff that has been changed just IMO dragged on forever (i.e. the Kikai Hakushaku issue...I really loved the way Tetsurô settled this issue right in the first episode of the TV series /images/graemlins/devil.gif ).

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They're all "on my list" but given your opinion of them, I'll probably make these much lower on the priority list.

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Also if you can find it (Yahoo! Auctions Japan for instance) The Cockpit is highly recommended.

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I'll add this to my list of things to keep an eye out for. Ginga Tetsudô 999 comes first. Now that I've got Herlock coming, it'll be Ginga Tetsudô 999 (I'd like the boxes, and getting some in the boxes and some not isn't an option), Ginga Tetsudô 999 movie box (assuming I can find it) and the Queen Emeraldas box (again, assuming I can find it). I guess the other assumption is that I'll actually enjoy the 999 TV series enough to bother with the movies, but I can't imagine NOT enjoying it.

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Anything else you want to know? In case you´re interested I could take pics of the Herlock or GT999 Boxes.

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The Queen Emeraldas box, I assume this is all of the Emeraldas stuff (I mean all 4 eps in the individual sets)? Was there anything in the box that wasn't in the separate releases? If not, I may just go for the separate releases if I can find them cheap enough.

I'm bookmarking your posts so I don't lose them. I also copied and pasted them and mailed them to my gmail account so if they get archived or I lose the bookmarks, I still have the info.

Which series/movies/ovas do you have, or do you have them all (other than 999's box 6)? That would make a hell of a picture...

Thanks for all the help, and huge amount of info, so far. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[slerch666]

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Pyocola said:
Proware has released all three Yamato series on Taiwanese R3 DVD. They're available as individual releases (5 discs for each series) at JSDVD or as a huge set at YesAsia (http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1004006860/code-c/section-videos/) for not-so-terribly-much. Dunno about quality but they were released around 2003-2004 so I think they would at least be acceptable.

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Oh... that's so SWEET! I'm putting this in que as well. This way I don't have to spend a lot for the R2s (and it looks like it's got LPCM audio... SCORE!) and I'm not tempted by the boots. $230... I can probably do that in Jan/Feb as well...

Thanks!

[Njr Scrawl]

Where can I buy the R3 GE999 movie box set with English subtitles from?

Just in browsing, I came across a R1 release of Maetel Legend (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/968.php).

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I'm actually really enjoying Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari, a hell of a lot more than I thought I would. I seriously debated buying the R2s of it to get it faster, but considering the cost difference, I'd rather save that extra $$$ for other R2s we won't see over here, like other stuff in the Leijiverse. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I see. So you may be interested to hear (in case you haven´t) that a sequel is on its way Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari ~ Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei (http://www.gintetsu.com/).
Also (which really pissed me off after having finished buying all 13 DVDs of the jp initial DVD release) a DVD Box for the first series is going to be released in December (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BD3DSM/qid=1132505529/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/250-5338612-7355454).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I don't mind old school animation, in fact I prefer some of it over the flash over content of some of the shows today (or endless harem shows). And yes, I am guilty of being a Go Nagai fan, especially the super robot stuff...


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah compared to some new stuff, it´s always nice to see that older TV shows obviously had more budget. It always amazes me to see almost no still scenes in older anime used rather than the amount of stills you´re going to see in these days anime TV series (with exceptions of course).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
There's something about the Herlock character I enjoy. Being able to get it all in one shot, rather than having to get a set or 3 of 999 now, and waiting likely a while for another piece, pretty much clinched it for me. If you want to see the auction pics, since I can't link to the auction, here's what I won:

Pic 1 (http://img209.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/8/2/7/seichangoose-img401x600-1130827975haroku1.jpg)
Pic 2 (http://img209.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/8/2/7/seichangoose-img463x600-1130827984haroku2.jpg)
Pic 3 (http://img209.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/0/8/2/7/seichangoose-img460x600-1130827994haroku3.jpg)

Scored one with the cell phone strap... not that I really need it or anything.


[/ QUOTE ]

So you´ve won a firstpress. The celphone straps...each DVD box by Toei came with one and I personally like the Sennen Joô Gondola that came with the TV DVD box the best (although I´d hoped to see the Futasuboshi as little strap ^_^). Anyway I hope you´ll enjoy Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock...it would sound to bigheaded if I´d say I´m sure you´ll love it /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
In case you want to tease yourself with some screenshots Toei´s Official site for the DVD release (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/herlock/).


[ QUOTE ]
slerch666
One of the things I remember being surprised at was some of the interesting stuff they did with Cutie Honey TV. There was a scene with Honey collecting bombs around the campus and they'd have one portion of the screen Honey reaching into the spot, then another portion a close up of her grabbing the bomb. I didn't expect something so stylized in 1972, and it was cool. Sure, the series isn't for everyone, but it's a damn fine watch.


[/ QUOTE ]

Cutie Honey...I don´t know why but I´m so tempted by the Re: Cutie Honey DVD Box /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
The same person I won Herlock from had this one as well. I was tempted, but after seeing the price, and your opinion on it, I'm going to wait. I'll pick it up eventually, but not anytime soon.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah that one isn´t high priority IMO. The IMO best part of the set is, that they included the pilot. I was totally shocked when I saw it, because it was anything from what I expected a pilot to be (adapting various short scenes of various Matsumoto manga involving Herlock i.e. Gun Frontier rather than using actual footage from the MKSSX TV series). That alone is worth the price for the box, but the series itself dragged on in the first half IMO (the second hald is pretty good...though nowhere near as decent as the ending for the original TV series).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I'll add this to my list of things to keep an eye out for. Ginga Tetsudô 999 comes first. Now that I've got Herlock coming, it'll be Ginga Tetsudô 999 (I'd like the boxes, and getting some in the boxes and some not isn't an option), Ginga Tetsudô 999 movie box (assuming I can find it) and the Queen Emeraldas box (again, assuming I can find it). I guess the other assumption is that I'll actually enjoy the 999 TV series enough to bother with the movies, but I can't imagine NOT enjoying it.

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The first two movies aren´t bad at all, but I just didn´t like some parts of it, which I found the TV series to be superior in. Pretty much all boxsets should be available at Amazon.jp, but as said the final one is pretty rare these days (aside from the Y!AJ). Ironical the third and final LD box for the series also was sold out pretty fast after its initial release in Japan (which isn´t that surprising considering the nice plot twist at the end /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif ). The TV series is really great stuff (and made me turn into a Masako Ikeda-holic...heck that women could read the phonebook and I´d be amazed by her voice /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif )

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slerch666 said:
The Queen Emeraldas box, I assume this is all of the Emeraldas stuff (I mean all 4 eps in the individual sets)? Was there anything in the box that wasn't in the separate releases? If not, I may just go for the separate releases if I can find them cheap enough.


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Not to my knowledge. The DVD Box came with postcards (cover art of the DVDs) and has "normal sized" DVD cases while the initial DVD release for the OVA came in jewel cases. The firstpress of the seperate released Vol. 1 (jewel case) DVD also came with a small box (to house the jewel cases) featuring art by Matsumoto. Personally I prefer the jewel case box art than the art used for the Perfect Collection Box, but that´s just my taste (the Perfect Collection Box art is the same art used for the firstpress LD box of the series).

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slerch666 said:
Which series/movies/ovas do you have, or do you have them all (other than 999's box 6)? That would make a hell of a picture...


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Almost all. The ones still missing are the 6th GT999 box, the TV Special Box (I always forget to order that one...really don´t know why /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ) and the Emeraldas Box (plus I didn´t bother for Danguard and the Submarine Super 99 series *low budget*), but that´s it. And being the stupid fanboy I am I think about double dipping on some of the series on LD (I want the first Sennen Joô TV LD box...just for the beautifull Matsumoto cover art /images/graemlins/knowital.gif ).

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I see. So you may be interested to hear (in case you haven´t) that a sequel is on its way Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari ~ Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei (http://www.gintetsu.com/).

[/ QUOTE ]
Others may not think much of the series, I'm not really sure since I haven't really followed other's opinions on it, but I really enjoy Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari and hearing there is a sequel series coming, really gets me excited. If they keep with the same format of the original series when they make the sequel, I am on it. I'll probably pick the R2s of it up, even though I'm guessing FUNi will probably license them as well, if they weren't already included in their license.

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littleharlock said:
Also (which really pissed me off after having finished buying all 13 DVDs of the jp initial DVD release) a DVD Box for the first series is going to be released in December (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BD3DSM/qid=1132505529/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/250-5338612-7355454).

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I saw that this morning as I was browsing around CD Japan. For ~$160 (Amazon's price), that's seriously tempting, though again, I'd rather save that money for the other series we'll never see here. Not getting the classics, when they hold so much more appeal for me personally, really pisses me off about the R1 market today. Oh well, that's the way it goes I suppose. I'm glad we have a market at all really. Though spending $160 "now" and getting the last 12 eps several months before FUNi's last disc is released, is highly tempting.

In your pic of the Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari box, the artwork looks similar to what FUNi used (if not exactly). Do you have the R1 box to compare? I like the box, even if isn't standard fare.

Do you have this DVD? (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001LNOOM/qid%3D1132511382/249-0056274-8800364) Kokyoshi Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari, and going by CD Japan's site, it sounds like it's just music from the TV series with animation from the series. Seems kinda odd, but intriguing. I wonder if this was included in FUNi's license? If not, I may have to pick that one up.

So what's your personal opinion on Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari?

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littleharlock said:
Yeah compared to some new stuff, it´s always nice to see that older TV shows obviously had more budget. It always amazes me to see almost no still scenes in older anime used rather than the amount of stills you´re going to see in these days anime TV series (with exceptions of course).

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I was also surprised by how little "recycling" they did, even on series like Mazinger Z. After 92 eps you'd have thought they'd recycle more than the Pilder animation and the Skurander, but they didn't. CH TV and Great Mazinger were the same way, as was Koutetsu Jeeg.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
So you´ve won a firstpress. The celphone straps...each DVD box by Toei came with one and I personally like the Sennen Joô Gondola that came with the TV DVD box the best (although I´d hoped to see the Futasuboshi as little strap ^_^). Anyway I hope you´ll enjoy Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock...it would sound to bigheaded if I´d say I´m sure you´ll love it /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
In case you want to tease yourself with some screenshots Toei´s Official site for the DVD release (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/herlock/).

[/ QUOTE ]
If it's anything like Matsumoto's other work, I doubt I'll be disappointed.

BTW, browsing around your teaser site (which makes the waiting I'll have to do worse, thanks! LOL), I saw this:

This picture (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/herlock/image/info2.gif)

Any clue what that is? Sounds like it's a Herlock TiVo style device, with the Herlock logo on it. THAT is f***ing SWEET. The thing that has me curious is the box that's pictured with it.


[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Cutie Honey...I don´t know why but I´m so tempted by the Re: Cutie Honey DVD Box /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
'Cause the series is good? It's a fun watch, and definitely worth the complete collection price, IMO. It deviates from the TV series, obviously, and is "connected" to the movie (not really, but that's what the Re: is supposed to be if I'm not mistaken), but stands well enough on it's own. Being a Gainax series I'm surprised no one has announced it for R1 land, though MB was interested in the live action film. My guess is that it falls in with the rest of Gainax's recent stuff and is too costly to license and will generate a smaller than expected return. Konomini was OK, but I've seen better Gainax many times. Complete collections of it on YJA, with cheap prices compared to the MSRP, is rather telling.

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littleharlock said:
The first two movies aren´t bad at all, but I just didn´t like some parts of it, which I found the TV series to be superior in. Pretty much all boxsets should be available at Amazon.jp, but as said the final one is pretty rare these days (aside from the Y!AJ).

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I'll probably go the YJA route for all of the 999 TV boxes. One auction I saw looked like the boxes were pristine, and ended up costing like 9300 yen (before fees) a box for the first 3. That's quite a savings I'd say.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The firstpress of the seperate released Vol. 1 (jewel case) DVD also came with a small box (to house the jewel cases) featuring art by Matsumoto. Personally I prefer the jewel case box art than the art used for the Perfect Collection Box, but that´s just my taste (the Perfect Collection Box art is the same art used for the firstpress LD box of the series).

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So do you have any pics of these? I see you don't have the Emeraldas box, but do you have any of Emeraldas (sounds like you have the jewel case releases)?

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littleharlock said:
Almost all. The ones still missing are the 6th GT999 box, the TV Special Box (I always forget to order that one...really don´t know why /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ) and the Emeraldas Box (plus I didn´t bother for Danguard and the Submarine Super 99 series *low budget*), but that´s it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wow... that's really impressive. The Matsumoto stuff on DVD is all stuff I'd have probably bought on R2 as it was released, if I had realized what I had been missing. It kinda pisses me off to think I missed it, but at least I have something to strive for. I don't know that I'll ever own it all, but there are certain series that I'm definitely going for.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:And being the stupid fanboy I am I think about double dipping on some of the series on LD (I want the first Sennen Joô TV LD box...just for the beautifull Matsumoto cover art /images/graemlins/knowital.gif ).

[/ QUOTE ]
If there was something on the LDs that wasn't on the DVDs, I'd probably do the same for some series. As it stands though, generally everything released on DVD contains the same extras as the LDs. Though sometimes the LD artwork is a lot better. My LD buying has been limited to stuff I wanted to see that's not on R2/R3/R1 DVD, like Guardress and Shugogetten.

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
Wrath of the Njr said:
Where can I buy the R3 GE999 movie box set with English subtitles from?

Just in browsing, I came across a R1 release of Maetel Legend (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/968.php).

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't know, does an R3 w/ English subs exist for the 999 movies? It's not somethig I've followed (unfortunately for me).

As far as Maetel goes, it's decent. It's definitely not a masterpiece (I reserve that for the Herlock Outter Story and Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari) but it was OK to watch. You can usually find it pretty damn cheap.

What amazes me is how many companies the Leijiverse has touched here in R1 land. Geneon, Animeigo, ADV, FUNi, CPM, and MB. And still no R1 release of Yamato, Ginga Tetsudô 999 or the original Herlock. WTF are R1 companies thinking? They're probably thinking "that old **** will never sell." Probably doesn't help that Toei probably doesn't want to get up off the licenses of some of that stuff either.

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I see. So you may be interested to hear (in case you haven´t) that a sequel is on its way Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari ~ Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei (http://www.gintetsu.com/).

[/ QUOTE ]
Others may not think much of the series, I'm not really sure since I haven't really followed other's opinions on it, but I really enjoy Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari and hearing there is a sequel series coming, really gets me excited. If they keep with the same format of the original series when they make the sequel, I am on it. I'll probably pick the R2s of it up, even though I'm guessing FUNi will probably license them as well, if they weren't already included in their license.

[/ QUOTE ]

There´s also supposed to be a "Big Project" aside from the sequel series in the works. At least the Official site stated this and the producer said that he´d announce it by the end of October (but you know...it´s November and still no word on this "Big Project").
Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei features (from what has been announced so far) pretty much the same team that worked on the original series, so chances are high it´ll be created in the same fashion (it´s set half a year after what happened at the end of the original series...I wrote a bit about it on my site but these first bits of story announced so far contain heavy spoilers for the first series).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I saw that this morning as I was browsing around CD Japan. For ~$160 (Amazon's price), that's seriously tempting, though again, I'd rather save that money for the other series we'll never see here.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes very tempting indeed. I was just totally pissed that the month I bought the 13th and final DVD (I started buying the series a bit later than the DVDs got released due to my low budget during the compulsory social service year I had to attend) the DVD box has been announced. It´ll also come with a bonus DVD that is supposed to have extras not released yet on the seperate DVD release /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
In your pic of the Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari box, the artwork looks similar to what FUNi used (if not exactly). Do you have the R1 box to compare? I like the box, even if isn't standard fare.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don´t have the R1 box as I stick to jp R2. The box on the pic features Yuki Sexaroid/Bruce on one site and Layla Destiny on the other side and is (from a quick look at the R1 box art) not the same. The jp seperate release of the series had 3 DVD boxes, the 1st came with the Limited Edition of Volume 1, the 2nd came with the firstpress of Volume 6 and the 3rd (which I sadly did not manage to get...trusted too much on my luck with Amazon.jp, since I got the firstpress box for Volume 6 also despite having ordered it months after the release date and the guys at Amotokyo having said this box is the hardest one to track down back then....heck I even got the firstpress for Kasei Ryodan DNA Sights 999.9 with the 35mm film clip) came with the firstpress of Station.10 .
I don´t have my camera near my DVDs so just a shot from the Y!AJ of the DVD release:
All 3 DVD boxes for the series (http://img217.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/1/4/3/0/wadamathi2-img600x565-1132223781cimg1439.jpg). Also each volume came with a booklet containing informations on various characters that appeared in the episodes of the DVD, events, etc. which could be stored in the SDF binder the limited Edition Vol. 1 came with.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Do you have this DVD? Kokyoshi Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari, and going by CD Japan's site, it sounds like it's just music from the TV series with animation from the series. Seems kinda odd, but intriguing. I wonder if this was included in FUNi's license? If not, I may have to pick that one up.


[/ QUOTE ]

No I haven´t bought that one (don´t like the cover art) as it´s the exact same as the Soundtrack CD release with the difference that this one contains various sences of the anime "combined" with the music (music videos you could say).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
So what's your personal opinion on Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari?

[/ QUOTE ]

I adore the series. Having watched Ginga Tetsudô 999 in advance made me fall in love with Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari right from the very first episode. Both series share the IMO exact same atmosphere. The music is pretty similar (with the same composer involved and Isao Sasaki sang the OP/ED for both projects as well), the storytelling and pace is also similar (though GTM comes much sooner to the actual story due to the limited length) and the big cast of characters got enough decent character development througout the series. The series definitely owes the title of being Matsumoto´s 50th Anniversary (as manga-ka) work as it´s refreshing (featuring characters that haven´t appeared yet in the Leijiverse) and yet doesn´t forget to include hints and cameos that sold the oldtime fans on the series (i.e. the family tree of certain characters among many other little connections ^_^).
Now that Matsumoto started a manga for the series as well (it´s not a retelling of the TV series, it´s more focused on Layla Destiny and Manabu <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>the rest of the Sirius Platoon didn´t appear at all so far</span>) and connected the series with Ginga Tetsudô 999 (<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Maetel &amp; Tetsurô meeting Layla Destiny</span>) I honestly can´t wait to see more of it in anime and manga format ^_^

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
BTW, browsing around your teaser site (which makes the waiting I'll have to do worse, thanks! LOL), I saw this:

This picture

Any clue what that is? Sounds like it's a Herlock TiVo style device, with the Herlock logo on it. THAT is f***ing SWEET. The thing that has me curious is the box that's pictured with it.


[/ QUOTE ]

That´s the Herlock DVD Player. Before the TV series DVD boxset of Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock has been released by Toei (the one you won), Toei started a Herlock Project where a few fans (it was highly limited) were able to order the TV DVD Box (looks different from the commercially available DVD Box, the black box on the right side of the image) plus Herlock DVD player for a astronomous amount of money.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
'Cause the series is good? It's a fun watch, and definitely worth the complete collection price, IMO. It deviates from the TV series, obviously, and is "connected" to the movie (not really, but that's what the Re: is supposed to be if I'm not mistaken), but stands well enough on it's own. Being a Gainax series I'm surprised no one has announced it for R1 land, though MB was interested in the live action film. My guess is that it falls in with the rest of Gainax's recent stuff and is too costly to license and will generate a smaller than expected return. Konomini was OK, but I've seen better Gainax many times. Complete collections of it on YJA, with cheap prices compared to the MSRP, is rather telling.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the info. If my credit card arrives before Amazon.jp stops the -20% on the box I guess there´s no way around that release for me /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I'll probably go the YJA route for all of the 999 TV boxes. One auction I saw looked like the boxes were pristine, and ended up costing like 9300 yen (before fees) a box for the first 3. That's quite a savings I'd say.


[/ QUOTE ]

True. I use the Y!AJ mainly for getting rare Matsumoto manga (one advice, if you like your wallet, never ever start collecting Matsumoto manga...it´s financial doom to track down the rare stuff), Doujinshi and other rare manga, CD releases, however I´ve yet to buy a DVD via these. I´m always a bit afraid of how expensive it will turn out with the fee, shipping, etc. included so I hesitate ^_^"

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
So do you have any pics of these? I see you don't have the Emeraldas box, but do you have any of Emeraldas (sounds like you have the jewel case releases)?


[/ QUOTE ]

Nope. Haven´t bought Queen Emeraldas yet, as I was always torn between either getting the jewel case release or the box and budget didn´t allow to justify the money the Perfect Collection box turned out after the auction neared its end. The Vol. 1 jewel case with firstpress box turns up on the Y!AJ from time to time for a good price (around 3,000 Yen), however (another advice) Matsumoto fans can be really hard enemies when it comes to bidding for auctions on rare Matsumoto stuff.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Wow... that's really impressive. The Matsumoto stuff on DVD is all stuff I'd have probably bought on R2 as it was released, if I had realized what I had been missing. It kinda pisses me off to think I missed it, but at least I have something to strive for. I don't know that I'll ever own it all, but there are certain series that I'm definitely going for.


[/ QUOTE ]

Hopefully you´ll keep in touch and share your impression of Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock TV series with us (there´s so little Matsumoto talk here and it seems that pretty much all the fans that once were on this board have dropped the planet -.- )

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
If there was something on the LDs that wasn't on the DVDs, I'd probably do the same for some series. As it stands though, generally everything released on DVD contains the same extras as the LDs. Though sometimes the LD artwork is a lot better. My LD buying has been limited to stuff I wanted to see that's not on R2/R3/R1 DVD, like Guardress and Shugogetten.


[/ QUOTE ]

Normally I go for LDs for rare stuff (i.e. my ever-growing Madhouse &amp; Rintaro collections) but having seen the cover art for the Sennen Joô LD box I need to have at least the first one ^_^

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
There´s also supposed to be a "Big Project" aside from the sequel series in the works. At least the Official site stated this and the producer said that he´d announce it by the end of October (but you know...it´s November and still no word on this "Big Project").

[/ QUOTE ] Hmmm... if it's another Matsumoto work, I'm hoping for more Herlock...

[ QUOTE ]
Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei features (from what has been announced so far) pretty much the same team that worked on the original series, so chances are high it´ll be created in the same fashion (it´s set half a year after what happened at the end of the original series...I wrote a bit about it on my site but these first bits of story announced so far contain heavy spoilers for the first series).

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh this should be damn good then. Even if they made "more of the same" I'd be happy.

Do you have a link to your site? It's probably somewhere in all these posts, I'm just too lazy at the moment to go back and look... I'll have to avoid your spoilers though.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
It´ll also come with a bonus DVD that is supposed to have extras not released yet on the seperate DVD release /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Any rumors on what the extras are? It may be worth checking out after all, since it's doubtful FUNi licensed these, considering how far into the game they are being released. No chance of them doing a separate release for people like you who have bought all the singles at the higher price? Seems like a shitty tactic to me.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
No I haven´t bought that one (don´t like the cover art) as it´s the exact same as the Soundtrack CD release with the difference that this one contains various sences of the anime "combined" with the music (music videos you could say).

[/ QUOTE ]
If I pick up the box from Amazon, I may pick up this one at the same time and I'll let you know what it's like (that is, I'll let you know if it's worth the 2800 Yen). I kinda like the artwork, does that make me a bad person? /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I adore the series. Having watched Ginga Tetsudô 999 in advance made me fall in love with Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari right from the very first episode.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm... that makes me want 999 even more now. I wish money grew on trees. Sure, there's X-Mas, but no one in my family would be willing to buy something like this for me. That and my parents are pretty much finished buying all my presents. Herlock will have to tide me over for a while.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Thanks for the info. If my credit card arrives before Amazon.jp stops the -20% on the box I guess there´s no way around that release for me /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Hope you enjoy it. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
True. I use the Y!AJ mainly for getting rare Matsumoto manga (one advice, if you like your wallet, never ever start collecting Matsumoto manga...it´s financial doom to track down the rare stuff), Doujinshi and other rare manga, CD releases, however I´ve yet to buy a DVD via these. I´m always a bit afraid of how expensive it will turn out with the fee, shipping, etc. included so I hesitate ^_^"

[/ QUOTE ]
No Manga for me. I started into it for other things besides Matsumoto stuff, and found I was spending a lot more money on it than I should have been. Shipping from Japan on books is a beast.

Personally I'd rather focus on DVDs and have Manga my second in a way. Written Japanese isn't my forte', but I'm at least decent in understanding spoken Japanese (for anything other than technically oriented shows with lots of techno babble) I'd rather pick up a cheap domestic release of a Manga than pick up a cheap Japanese release and pay shipping, which makes it... not so cheap any longer.

Shopping Mall Japan has been really good for me. Their fees aren't too high (if the auction is more than 10,000 yen and 49,999 or less, you pay $1 for every 1000 yen, so the most you pay is $50, then anything over 50,000 yen is $.50 for every 1000 yen) and if you live in the US, the bulk shipping saves an assload on shipping costs. You pay internal shipping, which generally hovers in the 300 yen to 2000 yen range, depending on what you're picking up. You then pay shared shipping from Japan, which is always cheaper than direct shipping via EMS or DHL. The shipping from their US location to you isn't bad either (assuming you don't cram too much stuff in a box). Most I've paid for domestic shipping was ~$23 insured for several DVD box sets I picked up on the cheap.

With 999, I'm sure to come out cheaper, even with fees, going the used route on YJA. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Hopefully you´ll keep in touch and share your impression of Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock TV series with us (there´s so little Matsumoto talk here and it seems that pretty much all the fans that once were on this board have dropped the planet -.- )

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm a relative noob (sure, I've seen plenty of his animated works, but not enough to say I was a true fan or anything) when it comes to Matsumoto's stuff, and had always assumed there was less of it in Anime form than there is. I'm just glad you're willing to take the time to school a noob on it, as there are plenty of times where I've seen people ask these types of questions (for other series) and basically get laughed at for not knowing.

If you don't mind the format of my other reviews, viewable here (http://www.animeboredom.co.uk/author-profile/42/), then I'll take the time to write up a full review for the entire series. I'll create a new thread for that, since I've all but hijacked this one... (sorry Rhodes!)

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:but having seen the cover art for the Sennen Joô LD box I need to have at least the first one ^_^

[/ QUOTE ]
The artwork isn't available in any other (cheaper) format? Like an artbook or something? Though I'd imagine if the artbook were OOP you'd probably be looking in to the jaws of other Matsumoto fanatics if you found one on YJA.

Thanks again for all the info. I should have Herlock, judging by past SMJ transactions, in about 12 days or so, as you can bet your donkey I'm going to have it shipped out to me ASAP once they've got it in the US. That's the one difference between buying from Amazon JP or CD JP, I'd have those in 2-4 days, though price difference justified it for me in the end.

Though seeing that Herlock box that came with the DVD player, I wish they would have made that the mass market box release.

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Hmmm... if it's another Matsumoto work, I'm hoping for more Herlock...

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably a Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari related project since they hinted the project on the old site for Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei. With Matsumoto trying to connect his GT999 with GTM I´m really interested to hear what it´s going to be. Also, while I probably shouldn´t expect too much I´m still waiting for the continuation of Ginga Tetsudô 999 (titled Uchû no Chûshin e) that has been announced with Eternal Fantasy to be released in 1999 but never made.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Do you have a link to your site? It's probably somewhere in all these posts, I'm just too lazy at the moment to go back and look... I'll have to avoid your spoilers though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have the link in my signature.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Any rumors on what the extras are? It may be worth checking out after all, since it's doubtful FUNi licensed these, considering how far into the game they are being released. No chance of them doing a separate release for people like you who have bought all the singles at the higher price? Seems like a shitty tactic to me.


[/ QUOTE ]

One of the extras that has been announced in the Radio Programm on the Official site is a so-called "Sirius Shôtai Zadankai" (Sirius Platoon Round-table talk) though no further details on what this is supposed to be have been hinted yet.
I´m tempted to double-dip on the series as I adore the cover art for the box...but I guess I won´t be able to afford it in December with the final MONSTER DVD Box to be released as well (and that one is high priority...need to send in my cards to get the Premium DVD ASAP).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
If I pick up the box from Amazon, I may pick up this one at the same time and I'll let you know what it's like (that is, I'll let you know if it's worth the 2800 Yen). I kinda like the artwork, does that make me a bad person?

[/ QUOTE ]

Different people different tastes. I just don´t like the cover composition of Layla in the background (such a big nose IMO) and I´m really picky when it comes to her loveliness Layla Destiny Shura /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
I´ll go for the series CD releases pretty soon though...haven´t bought them (since I´m kind of hesitating on buying CDs recently) yet but will do so soon (first I need to finally receive my Soundtrack CD for the Planetarium movie (http://p999main.sub.jp/sound.htm)).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Hmm... that makes me want 999 even more now. I wish money grew on trees. Sure, there's X-Mas, but no one in my family would be willing to buy something like this for me. That and my parents are pretty much finished buying all my presents. Herlock will have to tide me over for a while.

[/ QUOTE ]

The only major difference between GTM and GT999 however is that there is less of "battle action" in GT999 (Tetsurô and Maetel are "just" passangers instead of trained members of a defense team ^_^)...but that´s really not that much of a difference in the atmosphere both series share (after all Tetsurô gets Maetel and him in quite dangerous situations as well /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ).
Btw. in case you watched the first 2 episodes of Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari already <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>did you notice Maetel &amp; Tetsurô´s silhouette when Manabu´s brother boarded 999? ^_^</span>.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Shopping Mall Japan has been really good for me. Their fees aren't too high (if the auction is more than 10,000 yen and 49,999 or less, you pay $1 for every 1000 yen, so the most you pay is $50, then anything over 50,000 yen is $.50 for every 1000 yen) and if you live in the US, the bulk shipping saves an assload on shipping costs. You pay internal shipping, which generally hovers in the 300 yen to 2000 yen range, depending on what you're picking up. You then pay shared shipping from Japan, which is always cheaper than direct shipping via EMS or DHL. The shipping from their US location to you isn't bad either (assuming you don't cram too much stuff in a box). Most I've paid for domestic shipping was ~$23 insured for several DVD box sets I picked up on the cheap.


[/ QUOTE ]

I see. Thanks for the tip, I´ve usually used Akibado for auctions and made good and not-so-good deals with them. I´ve used Shopping Mall Japan once though.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I'm a relative noob (sure, I've seen plenty of his animated works, but not enough to say I was a true fan or anything) when it comes to Matsumoto's stuff, and had always assumed there was less of it in Anime form than there is. I'm just glad you're willing to take the time to school a noob on it, as there are plenty of times where I've seen people ask these types of questions (for other series) and basically get laughed at for not knowing.


[/ QUOTE ]

No problem. In case you want to see a somewhat full list of Matsumoto anime projects may I direct you to Leijivers (http://www.leijiverse.com)? Nice (though not complete) list of the various animated projects.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
If you don't mind the format of my other reviews, viewable here, then I'll take the time to write up a full review for the entire series. I'll create a new thread for that, since I've all but hijacked this one... (sorry Rhodes!)


[/ QUOTE ]

Great reviews (need to take the time and read through the Cutie Honey review ^_^).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
The artwork isn't available in any other (cheaper) format? Like an artbook or something? Though I'd imagine if the artbook were OOP you'd probably be looking in to the jaws of other Matsumoto fanatics if you found one on YJA.


[/ QUOTE ]

Leiji Matsumoto may have been one of the few manga-ka that are in the business for over 50 years now, but only released one "true" (the other 2 where more of Special issues to Mangabon containing art he made for magazines such as Manga Goraku *which my avatar originates from* )artbook (Hoshi no Umi, Bi no Idenshi (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4750001856/qid=1132557427/sr=1-49/ref=sr_1_2_49/250-0605411-5095457) which is such a wonderfull book)
But I´ve seen the Sennen Joô LD Boxes seperately sold at about 4,000 Yen on the Y!AJ so I don´t think it´s going to be THAT expensive for the art (but I want some nice art of my lovely IQ and Mirai)...this reminds me I still need to track down the Roman Album for the Sennen Joô movie one of these days /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Though seeing that Herlock box that came with the DVD player, I wish they would have made that the mass market box release.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well the box itself isn´t that beautiful (believe me, the later released Herlock TV box beats the initial release by far *judging by pictures of the initial box* )...the player I guess it would be nice to have that but the price would probably kill me /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Probably a Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari related project since they hinted the project on the old site for Wasurareta Toki no Wakusei.

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe a Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari movie? They seem to have made films for the majority of the other properties, why not this one? I’d pay to see it. Well, if I lived in Japan anyway.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I have the link in my signature.

[/ QUOTE ]
Got the link, thanks! It will give me something to do at work tomorrow while I sit around waiting for things to break. Thanksgiving week is historically low key for me, and this one is shaping up to be no different. Not that I mind, but not having anything substantial to do for the 8-9 hours I’m there, other than the stuff I’ve been putting off for the last couple months is pretty boring.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
One of the extras that has been announced in the Radio Programm on the Official site is a so-called "Sirius Shôtai Zadankai" (Sirius Platoon Round-table talk) though no further details on what this is supposed to be have been hinted yet.

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe it’s just a round table discussion between the various voice actors? That could turn out to be interesting. I guess I’d like to know if the extras are substantial or superficial. I don’t want to spend $160 on it just to find out that the extras are only so-so.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
(and that one is high priority...need to send in my cards to get the Premium DVD ASAP).

[/ QUOTE ]
How do you go about sending your cards in? I’m looking at using Masato for the Tsukuyomi cards. I bought AIR through Hoteiya Las Vegas and had them collect the cards for me, so that’s how I’m getting that send away.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The only major difference between GTM and GT999 however is that there is less of "battle action" in GT999 (Tetsurô and Maetel are "just" passangers instead of trained members of a defense team ^_^)...but that´s really not that much of a difference in the atmosphere both series share (after all Tetsurô gets Maetel and him in quite dangerous situations as well /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ).

[/ QUOTE ]
I can’t really say it’s as though it’s the “battle action� that attracts me. It’s the entire package, as platitudinous as that sounds, that keeps me interested. After all these posts yesterday I was really close to throwing in the FUNimation release to try and keep myself from spending way too much money on the Ginga Tetsudô 999 NOW. It’s so tempting, but I really can’t spend the money at the moment.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Btw. in case you watched the first 2 episodes of Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari already <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>did you notice Maetel &amp; Tetsurô´s silhouette when Manabu´s brother boarded 999? ^_^</span>.

[/ QUOTE ]
I saw that! I remember seeing the shadow and thinking “hey! WTF is that!� Very cool nod to the past series (I knew who they were, given past experience, though I don’t know all that much).

I actually started reading up on the 999 Manga, which was a mistake. Damn. If only I could win the lottery.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
No problem. In case you want to see a somewhat full list of Matsumoto anime projects may I direct you to Leijivers (http://www.leijiverse.com)? Nice (though not complete) list of the various animated projects.

[/ QUOTE ]
I still marvel at how many animated projects there are. I noticed they even include the the various games in the list (though the PS2 Yamato games are absent).

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Great reviews (need to take the time and read through the Cutie Honey review ^_^).

[/ QUOTE ]
Just remember I didn’t review Re: for the site. I had planned on writing one, but well, I got damned lazy. I actually was writing them, posting them on another message board and JHuxley who sorta runs Anime Boredom asked if he could harvest them for his site, so I let him. I’d post reviews on here if Chris accepted reader reviews still.

I’ll definitely post a series review for it on here once I have it and have finished watching it. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
But I´ve seen the Sennen Joô LD Boxes seperately sold at about 4,000 Yen on the Y!AJ so I don´t think it´s going to be THAT expensive for the art (but I want some nice art of my lovely IQ and Mirai)

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that’s not a bad price at all. I guess when the DVDs are released of a show, unless they totally screw up on the transfer, people want to offload the LDs.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Well the box itself isn´t that beautiful (believe me, the later released Herlock TV box beats the initial release by far *judging by pictures of the initial box* )...the player I guess it would be nice to have that but the price would probably kill me

[/ QUOTE ]
You’re not a true fan! LOL

I’ve seen the prices things like that can fetch, when you can even find them, so I’d be scared to even ask what they go for on Yahoo Japan. I’m guessing a fat lot of cash if/when they turn up.

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Maybe a Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari movie? They seem to have made films for the majority of the other properties, why not this one? I’d pay to see it. Well, if I lived in Japan anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well we had that project already and you know where it ended. Back in April 2004 they announced a theatrical project for Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari, a summary movie supposed to feature lots of new scenes added to the story of the original series, however months after the project has been announced they said that they (Planets the production company) had to cancel the whole project due to the cinema it was scheduled to be screened (the Akihabara Oriental Comic Theater) having closed down... /images/graemlins/icon_rolleyes.gif yeah as if that cinema is the only one in whole Japan.
They laterwards released "what has been produced" for the movie as the Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari Sôshûhen ~ Ginga Tetsudô wa Harukanari DVD (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007MTBLU/qid=1132641707/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_10_2/250-5338612-7355454). However according to some fans it doesn´t really contain any new footage (just a new cut of the story of the series). I´ll have to buy it to see for myself wether this is true though.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Got the link, thanks! It will give me something to do at work tomorrow while I sit around waiting for things to break. Thanksgiving week is historically low key for me, and this one is shaping up to be no different. Not that I mind, but not having anything substantial to do for the 8-9 hours I’m there, other than the stuff I’ve been putting off for the last couple months is pretty boring.


[/ QUOTE ]

The site is nothing special. Just bunch of news with irregular updates. I just wanted to start a site that features English translated news for Matsumoto mainly, because there are some really great Japanese fansites out there that keep posting news on an almost daily base.

Btw. I´m somewhat glad we don´t have Thanksgiving in Austria. No reason to spend even more time with my relatives (spending almost a whole day with them the day after Christmas is really enough for my taste /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif )

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Maybe it’s just a round table discussion between the various voice actors? That could turn out to be interesting. I guess I’d like to know if the extras are substantial or superficial. I don’t want to spend $160 on it just to find out that the extras are only so-so.


[/ QUOTE ]

That could be possible. I doubt it´ll be any new animation and this Discussion thing really sounds like Seiyuu talk. Reminds me that I never really watched the Seiyuu interviews on the seperate DVDs which mainly is due Asami Sanada (CV of Louis)...her voice kreeps me out /images/graemlins/depresse.gif
Neowing lists as extras for the box (aside from the round talk) an interview with Leiji Matsumoto, Seiyuu interview collection (maybe the same as with the original release), postrecording footage, Production Announcement press conference report (assumable more footage of what was available as trailer back at the Official site for the first GTM series).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
How do you go about sending your cards in? I’m looking at using Masato for the Tsukuyomi cards. I bought AIR through Hoteiya Las Vegas and had them collect the cards for me, so that’s how I’m getting that send away.


[/ QUOTE ]

Well friends of mine did that with the same "special shops" that bid for them on Auctions (i.e. Akibado), but having read the recent thread on this forum I´ll probably contact Masato (which you pointed out IIRC) to apply for the MONSTER Premium DVD (it´s definitely not something I´m going to miss out in the end though the application deadline of February 2006 is pretty short).
Up to now I´ve always missed sending such cards in. For example I could have send in the tickets for the Space Pirate Captain Herlock ~ Endless Odyssey - Outside Legend Soundtrack and the first DVD to apply for the Herlock Skull necklace and since I bought all 13 DVDs of the OVA I also were able to apply for the diver watch (http://img137.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/8/2/7/4/hamasakihamasaki-img600x450-112924720210140007.jpg)...but I didn´t know whom to contact about it back then and was way to late for the application deadline. Well, at least I´ve got the Arcadia mousepad with the 7th DVD.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I can’t really say it’s as though it’s the “battle action� that attracts me. It’s the entire package, as platitudinous as that sounds, that keeps me interested. After all these posts yesterday I was really close to throwing in the FUNimation release to try and keep myself from spending way too much money on the Ginga Tetsudô 999 NOW. It’s so tempting, but I really can’t spend the money at the moment.

[/ QUOTE ]

It probably won´t help if I say that 999 is IMO even better than GTM /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif (I know I´m evil).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I saw that! I remember seeing the shadow and thinking “hey! WTF is that!� Very cool nod to the past series (I knew who they were, given past experience, though I don’t know all that much).


[/ QUOTE ]

If you enjoyed that one, let´s just say there´s more such subtle referances to the Leijiverse to come /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I actually started reading up on the 999 Manga, which was a mistake. Damn. If only I could win the lottery.

[/ QUOTE ]

It´s one of Matsumoto´s best manga IMO. The Andromeda arc is the best (featuring some of Matsumoto´s best art) and as much as I love the Eternal arc as well, I somehow miss the detailed background drawings of the original series (he uses a lot of "computer help" these days for backgrounds or does leave them just plain). My alltime favorite manga by Matsumoto however still is The Cockpit series, which he still is "revisiting" with a new chapter every once in a while these days (gotta love the recent chapter he released due to the 60th Anniversary of the WWII end in which he told his childhood *interesting to read how he has been inspired to create the character Maetel*).
Btw. I know you said you don´t buy manga...but if you´re going to buy the GTM box, a small recommendation if you may allow, would be to go and get the latest Tankôbon of the GT999 manga as well. I assume you can guess why it´s recommended if you take a look at who´s (not only) featured on the cover (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4091881815/qid=1132643554/sr=8-6/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl15/250-5338612-7355454).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch 666 said:
I still marvel at how many animated projects there are. I noticed they even include the the various games in the list (though the PS2 Yamato games are absent).

[/ QUOTE ]

The site hasn´t been updated that regularly in recent times, but Edomondo does provide a great overview (with lots of decent trailer goodness) for the various projects.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Just remember I didn’t review Re: for the site. I had planned on writing one, but well, I got damned lazy. I actually was writing them, posting them on another message board and JHuxley who sorta runs Anime Boredom asked if he could harvest them for his site, so I let him. I’d post reviews on here if Chris accepted reader reviews still.

I’ll definitely post a series review for it on here once I have it and have finished watching it.

[/ QUOTE ]

That would be decent. As much as you´re now tempted to go for Matsumoto works, I´m now really tempted to spend the money on the Re: Cutie Honey Complete set /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Having watched the trailer for the 3rd Volume at the Official site got me really curious to check out the series.
Speaking of Go Nagai makes me realize that I still haven´t bought the Devilman OVA DVD I had planned to go for with one of my Amazon.jp orders for oh so long. It features chara designs by Kazuo Komatsubara and I adore his works.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Yeah, that’s not a bad price at all. I guess when the DVDs are released of a show, unless they totally screw up on the transfer, people want to offload the LDs.


[/ QUOTE ]

Judging by the Y!AJ I thought that a lot of jp. people want to get rid of their LDs as soon as a new media (DVD) is established. That´s not bad at all...I mean I got some LDs that way for prices like 500 Yen (my still sealed GUNNM (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/Img_05.jpg) LD) or 1,000 Yen (i.e. the rare Bronze ~ Kôji Nanjo (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/new_02.jpg) LD).
Spending 4,000 Yen on double-dipping for a series I already have on DVD isn´t what I´d normally do...but these covers (http://www.leiji.de/sennen-joo-fremdgalerie.html) are IMO too beatifull to pass on.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
You’re not a true fan! LOL

I’ve seen the prices things like that can fetch, when you can even find them, so I’d be scared to even ask what they go for on Yahoo Japan. I’m guessing a fat lot of cash if/when they turn up.

[/ QUOTE ]

The DVD player? I´ve yet to see an auction for the player and DVD box set. I mean if I´d own that baby I wouldn´t want to give it away either /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif The only auctions I´ve seen for part of the uber-limited set was the DVD box itself which some people sold (probably because the laterwards released DVD box looks way better and is more "solid".

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Well we had that project already and you know where it ended. Back in April 2004 they announced a theatrical project for Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari, a summary movie supposed to feature lots of new scenes added to the story of the original series

[/ QUOTE ]
Summary movie? No thanks. Summary movie with new footage I may have bought into, though from past experience with things like the Vandread OVAs, extra footage isn’t always as good as it sounds.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
They laterwards released "what has been produced" for the movie as the Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari Sôshûhen ~ Ginga Tetsudô wa Harukanari DVD (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007MTBLU/qid=1132641707/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_10_2/250-5338612-7355454). However according to some fans it doesn´t really contain any new footage (just a new cut of the story of the series). I´ll have to buy it to see for myself wether this is true though.

[/ QUOTE ]
If there is one thing I can’t stand it’s when they take a 13-26 eps series and remix it into a single 90-100 minute “movie.� Again, both Vandread OVAs are examples of an AWESOME series where they totally bombed on the summary show theory. It didn’t totally mess with the story line, but it did leave it with plenty of holes. And juggling animation around, especially the scene with the asteroid field and the ice, reminded me of the piss poor edits that used to be made for old Anime for US TV. Perfect example is the edits done to Uchu Senkan Yamato for Star Blazers. “Remote control tanks� that stop when you fire 2 shots into the escape hatch? In a remote tank where there were clearly 2 people sitting in it just one scene before? Yeah…

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The site is nothing special. Just bunch of news with irregular updates. I just wanted to start a site that features English translated news for Matsumoto mainly, because there are some really great Japanese fansites out there that keep posting news on an almost daily base.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, even if there isn’t much content, it’s better for me than sitting around waiting for the day to be over.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Btw. I´m somewhat glad we don´t have Thanksgiving in Austria. No reason to spend even more time with my relatives (spending almost a whole day with them the day after Christmas is really enough for my taste /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif )

[/ QUOTE ]
I still live with the parents, and the only family I’ll see on Thanksgiving will be limited to my parents, my 2 brothers and one of their girlfriends. I’ll spend more time in my room, bathing in Anime, than I will hanging out with them. I really don’t have that much in common with them any longer, so I rarely have much to speak with them about.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
That could be possible. I doubt it´ll be any new animation and this Discussion thing really sounds like Seiyuu talk. Reminds me that I never really watched the Seiyuu interviews on the seperate DVDs which mainly is due Asami Sanada (CV of Louis)...her voice kreeps me out /images/graemlins/depresse.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Creeps you out? That’s too funny. DOesn’t bother me at all.

As far as the Matsumoto interview, was there an interview on the series DVDs? I ask because if I’m remembering correctly there was an interview on the first FUNi R1 DVD.

Did the R2 release have eps 12 in the sound room? That was a pretty cool extra, seeing all the seiyuu in the same room, watching the animation and speaking their lines. Interesting indeed.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Neowing lists as extras for the box (aside from the round talk) an interview with Leiji Matsumoto, Seiyuu interview collection (maybe the same as with the original release), postrecording footage, Production Announcement press conference report (assumable more footage of what was available as trailer back at the Official site for the first GTM series).

[/ QUOTE ]
The more of those extras I’m seeing you post, the more I’m inclined to believe they are being included on the R1 releases already. The postrecording footage sounds like it may be the eps 12 I spoke of above? I seem to remember the press conference thing as well. I’ll check it out tonight when I get home. I’ll be tempted to watch more of the first disc, but I need to check that so I can watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos at 9:00 on The Science Channel instead.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
but having read the recent thread on this forum I´ll probably contact Masato (which you pointed out IIRC) to apply for the MONSTER Premium DVD

[/ QUOTE ]
Masato will charge you the standard fee for things 1-9999 Yen, which is 1500 Yen, then shipping from them to you. It would probably come out to no more than 3000 Yen for the entire thing I assume. This will be my first time doing the send away thing (for Tsukuyomi) and it’s not one I’m willing to miss out on. Masato also asks that you send anything to them using registered mail of some sort so it has some accountability attached to it.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Herlock Skull necklace

[/ QUOTE ]
Any pics of that somewhere that you know of? Skull and cross bones like the flag? That would be SWEET!

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
It probably won´t help if I say that 999 is IMO even better than GTM /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif (I know I´m evil).

[/ QUOTE ]
Bastard!

There’s a development on the 999 DVD front for me, BTW. I should know something tomorrow after 9:00 AM Eastern US time. /images/graemlins/wink.gif If it goes through… I’ll be a happy, but poorer bastard for it. I wouldn’t have them until the end of Dec though /images/graemlins/sad.gif, but the price could be VERY nice.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
If you enjoyed that one, let´s just say there´s more such subtle referances to the Leijiverse to come /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
With Thanksgiving here, and my having Thu-Sun off, I may rewatch what I have already. I’m guessing there have been more that I missed already. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Btw. I know you said you don´t buy manga...but if you´re going to buy the GTM box, a small recommendation if you may allow, would be to go and get the latest Tankôbon of the GT999 manga as well. I assume you can guess why it´s recommended if you take a look at who´s (not only) featured on the cover (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4091881815/qid=1132643554/sr=8-6/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl15/250-5338612-7355454).

[/ QUOTE ]
Come on man, stop spending my money already! LOL

How easy is the Manga in terms of reading? When I say my Japanese reading ability is low, we’re talking pretty damn low. I know probably 50-100 Kanji and the Kanas of course. I’ve managed through Manga before with the help of a dictionary, but it was slow going. If it’s got Furigana (which it doesn’t appear to from the scans I’ve seen) I’d be a lot more inclined to buy as it would make looking up the words I don’t know easier. It would also make it so I could “hear� the spoken dialog in my head, which would also make it easier for me to understand.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
That would be decent. As much as you´re now tempted to go for Matsumoto works, I´m now really tempted to spend the money on the Re: Cutie Honey Complete set /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
The money I’m tempted to spend is one a whole different caliber than the Re: CH set. /images/graemlins/wink.gif Definitely a worthy purchase. If I didn’t already own all 3 of the discs w/ first press items, I’d be all over that new set. The bonus material would be an excellent buy. I can’t justify the money though, what with Herlock and now the possibility of 999, along with the other series I’m collecting on R2. *sigh*

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The DVD player? I´ve yet to see an auction for the player and DVD box set. I mean if I´d own that baby I wouldn´t want to give it away either /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Give it away? I doubt you’d be giving it away. I mean, can you imagine what a crazy fan would pay for something like that? If idiots are stupid enough to buy X-Box 360s on eBay, which will eventually be easy to find unlike the Herlock DVD player, for $2000+, I’m sure someone would be willing to pay that or more for a Herlock exclusive DVD player.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The only auctions I´ve seen for part of the uber-limited set was the DVD box itself which some people sold (probably because the laterwards released DVD box looks way better and is more "solid".

[/ QUOTE ]
I’d like to see a closer pic of the set. Do you happen to know if there is a pic floating around the Internet off the top of your head?

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Summary movie? No thanks. Summary movie with new footage I may have bought into, though from past experience with things like the Vandread OVAs, extra footage isn’t always as good as it sounds.


[/ QUOTE ]

As said I haven´t bought the DVD yet (have it on order everytime I do an Amazon.jp order but in the end it never gets to be part of the order ^_~). Still there was the saying among fans that it may include new scenes with Layla Destiny added (which would be great since that´s one of the characters that definitely deserves more screentime IMO) however some fans said once they bought the DVD that they couldn´t notice any new scenes...so I have to get the DVD myself to see what it´s like /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
If there is one thing I can’t stand it’s when they take a 13-26 eps series and remix it into a single 90-100 minute “movie.� Again, both Vandread OVAs are examples of an AWESOME series where they totally bombed on the summary show theory. It didn’t totally mess with the story line, but it did leave it with plenty of holes. And juggling animation around, especially the scene with the asteroid field and the ice, reminded me of the piss poor edits that used to be made for old Anime for US TV. Perfect example is the edits done to Uchu Senkan Yamato for Star Blazers. “Remote control tanks� that stop when you fire 2 shots into the escape hatch? In a remote tank where there were clearly 2 people sitting in it just one scene before? Yeah…


[/ QUOTE ]

Part of the reason why I didn´t enjoy the first Ginga Tetsudô 999 movie as much as I should. I mean it has great (theatrical quality) animations, great Seiyuu performances and is basically an adaption of the most popular plots from the original manga/TV series, but there´s just something missing IMO (and I´m saying this even though being a big brainless Rintaro fanboy /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ).
You know as episodic the TV series may appear at first, througout the many episodes you really get quite attached to the characters and it´s just so bittersweet when you know what´s going to happen in the end, that you just can´t help and feel for Maetel and Tetsurô. With the movie being a few hours of running time, they IMO didn´t manage to get you that attached to the characters which is probably the reason I consider the TV series to be superior to the movie (in case of Sennen Joô I found it very good that they took a totally different approach in terms of story and characters). And as I also said already I didn´t like the character designs for the movie either.
Speaking of chara designs, it´s amazing to see how that one developes (in a positive way) througout the 999 TV series. Just look at Tetsurô in the early episodes of the TV series and then jump 10+ episodes forward. That´s what I call improvement /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif (will make two screenshots to compare later on if you like).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Creeps you out? That’s too funny. DOesn’t bother me at all.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn´t mind Louis at all...but the voice. I guess her constant yelling "Yûki-kun" just reminded me too much of Masako Nozawa´s "Meeee-t-eee-r-uuu" yelling in early Ginga Tetsudô 999 /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
As far as the Matsumoto interview, was there an interview on the series DVDs? I ask because if I’m remembering correctly there was an interview on the first FUNi R1 DVD.

Did the R2 release have eps 12 in the sound room? That was a pretty cool extra, seeing all the seiyuu in the same room, watching the animation and speaking their lines. Interesting indeed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Each disc had a seiyuu interview (the first DVD contains the Matsumoto interview) titled "Sanada Asami no SDF Report". I´ve yet to actually watch these interviews. Believe me, I tried to watch them but when I heard Sanada´s voice right at the beginning I turned of and thought "yes I´ll watch them, but not today" /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
The more of those extras I’m seeing you post, the more I’m inclined to believe they are being included on the R1 releases already. The postrecording footage sounds like it may be the eps 12 I spoke of above? I seem to remember the press conference thing as well. I’ll check it out tonight when I get home. I’ll be tempted to watch more of the first disc, but I need to check that so I can watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos at 9:00 on The Science Channel instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well the box will contain the interviews and extras from the sepearate DVD release for sure, but they are making some secret about the exclusive content aside from the Sirius Platoon Round-table talk.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Masato will charge you the standard fee for things 1-9999 Yen, which is 1500 Yen, then shipping from them to you. It would probably come out to no more than 3000 Yen for the entire thing I assume. This will be my first time doing the send away thing (for Tsukuyomi) and it’s not one I’m willing to miss out on. Masato also asks that you send anything to them using registered mail of some sort so it has some accountability attached to it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the information. 3,000 Yen doesn´t sound bad at all, especially if you get the firstpress goodies for sure ^_^ I just hope that it´ll all work out within the deadline (in case of MONSTER the final DVD box comes out by the end of December, counting in the usual delays due to the X-mas trouble I won´t get the box within 2005 and the application deadline for the Premium DVD is already in February -.-)

[ QUOTE ]
How easy is the Manga in terms of reading? When I say my Japanese reading ability is low, we’re talking pretty damn low. I know probably 50-100 Kanji and the Kanas of course. I’ve managed through Manga before with the help of a dictionary, but it was slow going. If it’s got Furigana (which it doesn’t appear to from the scans I’ve seen) I’d be a lot more inclined to buy as it would make looking up the words I don’t know easier. It would also make it so I could “hear� the spoken dialog in my head, which would also make it easier for me to understand.


[/ QUOTE ]

The manga has been serialized (since the Eternal arc) in Big Comic mangabon which is Seinen...so yes your assumption of it not being the "easiest to read" is true. With dictionaries at hand it shouldn´t be the biggest problem though and it´s well worth it...for some Matsumoto drawn Layla goodness <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>the other characters from GTM except Manabu sadly did not appear so far</span>.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Any pics of that somewhere that you know of? Skull and cross bones like the flag? That would be SWEET!


[/ QUOTE ]

The Official site (http://www.vap.co.jp/herlock/goods_c.html#item) for Endless Odyssey by VAP contains a small picture of the goods under the "Special items" section. The first pic is the diver watch (which you could apply for when you send in the tickets for Vol. 1 - 12), the next image is the necklace (which you could apply for when you send in the tickets attached to the 1st DVD and the Soundtrack) and the final image on the page is the nice Arcadia mousepad that came as firstpress for Vol. 7.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
There’s a development on the 999 DVD front for me, BTW. I should know something tomorrow after 9:00 AM Eastern US time. If it goes through… I’ll be a happy, but poorer bastard for it. I wouldn’t have them until the end of Dec though , but the price could be VERY nice.


[/ QUOTE ]

Someone´s selling his completed set? ^_^
All this talk made me starting to rewatch Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock the other day. I just planned to watch the first episode and after a while I found myself watching the whole first disc because the series is so damn addictive /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif The visual effects of the show can still amaze me at times (i.e. a certain scene in episode 3 where the screen "splits up" and you´ll see the scene in multiple perspectives..simply descent).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
The money I’m tempted to spend is one a whole different caliber than the Re: CH set. Definitely a worthy purchase. If I didn’t already own all 3 of the discs w/ first press items, I’d be all over that new set. The bonus material would be an excellent buy. I can’t justify the money though, what with Herlock and now the possibility of 999, along with the other series I’m collecting on R2. *sigh*


[/ QUOTE ]

As said as long as the -20% is still valid at Amazon.jp untill my damn credit card arrives I´ll be all over the set /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif With the delay of the HELLSING OVA Vol. 1 DVD I guess this one is now even more likely in my Amazon.jp shopping basket ^_^"

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Give it away? I doubt you’d be giving it away. I mean, can you imagine what a crazy fan would pay for something like that? If idiots are stupid enough to buy X-Box 360s on eBay, which will eventually be easy to find unlike the Herlock DVD player, for $2000+, I’m sure someone would be willing to pay that or more for a Herlock exclusive DVD player.


[/ QUOTE ]

What I mean is that if you had enough money to be the DVD Box + DVD player set (it was really limited only available to pre-order at Toei directly and was uber-expensive) you probably would be a fool to sell (at least) the DVD player itself. I can understand (and I think some of the people that bought the set) selling the initial DVD box and getting the regularly released one laterwards, but the player?

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I’d like to see a closer pic of the set. Do you happen to know if there is a pic floating around the Internet off the top of your head?

[/ QUOTE ]

The Official site has a (IMO flattering) picture of the box up here (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/herlock/image/sof01.jpg). For more pictures "you´ve got mail"

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Part of the reason why I didn´t enjoy the first Ginga Tetsudô 999 movie as much as I should. I mean it has great (theatrical quality) animations, great Seiyuu performances and is basically an adaption of the most popular plots from the original manga/TV series, but there´s just something missing IMO (and I´m saying this even though being a big brainless Rintaro fanboy /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif ).

[/ QUOTE ]
Having the feature reanimated is one thing. With Vandread they recycled animation from the TV series, added all of about 3 minutes of footage (combined for both OVAs) and sold it. I have them for the sake of completion (and the books that came with the LE sets are priceless IMO).


[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:You know as episodic the TV series may appear at first, througout the many episodes you really get quite attached to the characters and it´s just so bittersweet when you know what´s going to happen in the end, that you just can´t help and feel for Maetel and Tetsurô.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hey, come on now, don't make me regret getting 999! One thing I don't like is going through a series, getting really attached to characters and then be handed really depressing/sad endings. Does the ending fit well with the series, or is it one of those crappy jarring endings? Don't spoil it for me, just give me a yes or no. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:With the movie being a few hours of running time, they IMO didn´t manage to get you that attached to the characters which is probably the reason I consider the TV series to be superior to the movie

[/ QUOTE ]
Something I appreciated about the Ah! Megami-sama movie was that they assumed we were already acquainted with the characters and didn't try explaining all the little details. They did, however, explain enough and create enough interest in the characters to make the movie stand rather well on it's own. Those are the best kind of movies created from characters we know/knew from a TV series (or a Manga/OVA in the AMS case, since the TV series wasn't around then) IMO.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:Speaking of chara designs, it´s amazing to see how that one developes (in a positive way) througout the 999 TV series. Just look at Tetsurô in the early episodes of the TV series and then jump 10+ episodes forward. That´s what I call improvement /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif (will make two screenshots to compare later on if you like).

[/ QUOTE ]
I'll keep an eye on this when my sets show up.

If you don't mind making a comparison, I'd like to see it sooner than later. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Each disc had a seiyuu interview (the first DVD contains the Matsumoto interview) titled "Sanada Asami no SDF Report". I´ve yet to actually watch these interviews. Believe me, I tried to watch them but when I heard Sanada´s voice right at the beginning I turned of and thought "yes I´ll watch them, but not today" /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
I watched the first disc last night (even though I said I wouldn't, and still caught Cosmos!). It has the Matsumoto interview (if you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. Learning about HIS background is rather interesting... I'm just glad it's subbed as I was having a difficult time understanding his Japanese), the press conference, recording session for eps 2, character profiles and clean op/ed.

Seeing your description of the extras, it looks like we may not get all of them. That kinda sucks. I'll probably pick up the R2 complete box at some point, but after my insanity this morning with 999, it's gotta wait.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Well the box will contain the interviews and extras from the sepearate DVD release for sure, but they are making some secret about the exclusive content aside from the Sirius Platoon Round-table talk.

[/ QUOTE ]
When you find out what it is, let me know. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Thanks for the information. 3,000 Yen doesn´t sound bad at all, especially if you get the firstpress goodies for sure ^_^ I just hope that it´ll all work out within the deadline

[/ QUOTE ]
Registered airmail from the US to Japan takes about 4-7 days. I'd assume it wouldn't be much different from Austria. As long as you pack all the stuff up the day after you receive the last set (and assuming you aren't waiting a month or so to buy the last box) you should be golden and assured to get the send away items.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The manga has been serialized (since the Eternal arc) in Big Comic mangabon which is Seinen...so yes your assumption of it not being the "easiest to read" is true. With dictionaries at hand it shouldn´t be the biggest problem though and it´s well worth it...for some Matsumoto drawn Layla goodness

[/ QUOTE ]
I'll add this to my list. I'll probably drop a book or 2 onto an Amazon order, as shipping on just books is total Hell. I was quoted shipping once that was more than 1/2 the cost of my items. I decided to get on YAJ instead for them using SMJ.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:the next image is the necklace

[/ QUOTE ]
That looks kinda cool. I'll have to see if I can find one on YAJ sometime... and beat out the other crazy fans for it.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Someone´s selling his completed set? ^_^

[/ QUOTE ]
Said it in the PM I sent you, but yeah, someone was selling it and the starting price was 65,000 Yen. I was high bidder until I started my drive into work. I bid it up to 78,000 yen, the remaining part of my SMJ "deposit" but got beaten by 1,000 yen. So after I knew I lost, I started browsing again, and found another set with a buy out price of 78,000 Yen. As soon as SMJ reset my allowable bid from the auction I lost, I went and won a complete set of the 6. The auction SOUNDS like it has the first press items included, though it's not entirely clear from the description if this really is the case. I hope it is, but as long as I have the series, and those kick as spanning boxes, I'll be decently happy, especially at the much lower than MSRP I paid. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
All this talk made me starting to rewatch Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock the other day.

[/ QUOTE ]
I started rewatching what I have of Ginga Tetsudo Monogatari /images/graemlins/shy00000.gif

BTW, the eps that you see the silhouette was eps 1. Mamoru boards and you see "them" ridee by. The funny thing is that the first time I watched it, I didn't even realize he HAD boarded 999! D'oh! DUH!

Any others I should keep my eye out for? I don't think I've noticed any others, and I've seen the first 13 eps.

So what would you say the next best TV series to look for would be? It WILL be a while off for me to pick up another TV series on R2, given the cost of Herlock and 999, but that doesn't mean I can't start looking to the future now. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Cyporiean 2.0]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Someone´s selling his completed set? ^_^
so far
yours
littleharlock

[/ QUOTE ]

I've seen alot of complete sets for the 7 Boxsets..

The hard part was trying to just get Box 6.. Which I did ^.^ so now I've got all 8 boxsets of 999 lined up, they look so pretty~ all first pressing goodies too.

Somewhat tempted to now get the GTM R2s even though I've got the Funi releases.. but I think Yamato, Arcadia and Cockpit(Thats on R2, right?) come first..

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
Cyporiean 2.0 said:
The hard part was trying to just get Box 6.. Which I did ^.^ so now I've got all 8 boxsets of 999 lined up, they look so pretty~ all first pressing goodies too.


[/ QUOTE ]

True. Finding complete sets on Y!AJ isn´t that hard, since they appear quite often. However getting the 6th Box takes some patience (though they get sold with "buy now" prices from time to time as well).
I´m really glad that I´m about to finish collecting some major (financial heavy) releases *cough* MONSTER *cough* so that I will finally have the budget to go for the final DVD box ^_^

[ QUOTE ]
Cyporiean 2.0 said:
Cockpit(Thats on R2, right?) come first..

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes The Cockpit has been released on DVD in Japan by Pioneer as The Cockpit OVA Complete Collection. Catalog Number is PIBA-3017 and it was priced 8,190 Yen (incl. tax) back when it was released (in December 2000).
The DVD is however hard to find these days. No jp online shop (at least those that ship overseas) have it still available and in general good connected to this OVA are pretty rare and a lot of fans are willing to pay a lot of money on them (I tried to win the Soundtrack over at the Y!AJ three times now and always got beaten at the 4,000 Yen mark -.-). Mangaoh however still lists the OVA as available (and they ship overseas) however as I´ve learned their catalog list is not very updated so I would recommend to contact them before placing an order (I tried to order some rare Matsumoto manga a few months ago, which they still listed as available and in the end they told me that they forgot to update these as the manga were unavailable and I couldn´t cancel my order *ended up with an order of 2 manga with rather high shipping costs -.-* ). You´re best bet are the Y!AJ, especially in recent times I´ve seen that the DVD gets offered there rather often.

Despite the video quality of The Cockpit not being the best, I´d highly recommend to get it. So many nice extras (if you´d like I can check my DVD and write a bit about the extras laterwards)...and did I mention that the cover art by Matsumoto is simply worth drooling (http://www.discstation.co.jp/VSSHOP/cgi/DS_image.aspx?img=http://img.discstation.co.jp/image3/p/piba-3017_L.JPG)?

so far
yours
littleharlock

[Cyporiean 2.0]

Excellent.

I'm not going to try YJA just yet, I'll be in Tokyo in Feb, and i had fairly good luck searching for OOP material the last few times... Got the 999 Movies box for about Y10,000 ^.^

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
ey, come on now, don't make me regret getting 999! One thing I don't like is going through a series, getting really attached to characters and then be handed really depressing/sad endings. Does the ending fit well with the series, or is it one of those crappy jarring endings? Don't spoil it for me, just give me a yes or no.

[/ QUOTE ]

Judging by the manga (as said I haven´t bought the 6th DVD Box yet and therefore haven´t seen the TV series ending either ^_~) the ending is IMO pretty fitting despite being dramatic. IMO it worked really well.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I'll keep an eye on this when my sets show up.

If you don't mind making a comparison, I'd like to see it sooner than later.

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, so it took me a little while to reply because I´m a lazy bastard and needed some to time to do the comparison shots...but here we go:
Maetel &amp; Tetsurô from Episode 1 "Tabidachi no Ballad" (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/999_0.jpg)
and
Maetel &amp; Tetsurô from Episode 28 "Kagerôboshi no Bungô" (http://www.children-of-no-return.net/community/usrpages/lhnl/pub/999_1.jpg)
I have to admit that these may not be the best quality shots and probably not from scenes where it´s most notible, but especially Tetsurô´s designs improve a lot early on as well as Maetel´s designs (i.e. especially the black dress of Maetel seems to have made some trouble to animate at the beginning of the series).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I watched the first disc last night (even though I said I wouldn't, and still caught Cosmos!). It has the Matsumoto interview (if you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. Learning about HIS background is rather interesting... I'm just glad it's subbed as I was having a difficult time understanding his Japanese), the press conference, recording session for eps 2, character profiles and clean op/ed.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think I´ve watched that one...wasn´t it the interview he also hinted the "family tree" of Manabu Yûki? I need to rewatch Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari from the beginning though as it has been quite a while since I did watch the early discs (the final episodes are the ones I re-watched quite often though ^_^)

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Registered airmail from the US to Japan takes about 4-7 days. I'd assume it wouldn't be much different from Austria. As long as you pack all the stuff up the day after you receive the last set (and assuming you aren't waiting a month or so to buy the last box) you should be golden and assured to get the send away items.


[/ QUOTE ]

Well the final box comes out on 21st December and since it´s not the only item I´ve ordered the order won´t ship untill 29th December. Add the usual holiday troubles and (the biggest reason for me to worry) DHL sucks big times herre in Austria (not to long ago I had the DHL guy phoning me and the guy asked if I couldn´t jump into a car and meet him at an agreed meeting point so that he doesn´t need to check his map to find the village I live in *no kidding*).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I'll add this to my list. I'll probably drop a book or 2 onto an Amazon order, as shipping on just books is total Hell.

[/ QUOTE ]

In that case...the aforementioned Matsumoto artbook is also highly recommended if you like his art /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Contains some nice art for his works (new one for 999 *including Layla Destiny in color art goodness*) as well as for a lot of his other projects (i.e. some cover art goodness he made for Goraku mangabon *which are in the style of my avatar*, his original designs for the Crescent Dolls of Interstellar 5555, etc.).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
The auction SOUNDS like it has the first press items included, though it's not entirely clear from the description if this really is the case.

[/ QUOTE ]

There´s no real firstpress goodie included for the boxes. The goods such as Tetsurô´s pendant or Dr. Ban´s pendant are all "regular" items included in the boxes (meaning if you get boxes where these are not included someone took them out before as they are not limited to firstpressing only).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
BTW, the eps that you see the silhouette was eps 1. Mamoru boards and you see "them" ridee by. The funny thing is that the first time I watched it, I didn't even realize he HAD boarded 999! D'oh! DUH!


[/ QUOTE ]

While I´m normally pretty bad at spotting such things I spotted it during my initial viewing of the episode. For other such little hints added it took some double watching though /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Any others I should keep my eye out for? I don't think I've noticed any others, and I've seen the first 13 eps.

[/ QUOTE ]

There are more though not all are as subtle as the one with Maetel &amp; Tetsurô, so the ones I spotted in the series:
Connections/Hints within the main cast of characters:
• Regarding Yuki Sexaroid <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>she´s an "descendant" model of the original Sexaroid (the original Sexaroid btw. was named Yuki No. 7 ^_^) from Matsumoto´s manga Sexaroid (and the rare 3 chapters long Shin Sexaroid).</span>
• Regarding Manabu &amp; family <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>it´s been hinted by Matsumoto himself and in the 999 manga that Manabu Yûki and better said his "family" is related to the Arcadia´s crew member Kei Yûki...which would be yet another different family story of Kei (incl. this one we have been introduced to 3 different parents, or better said fathers of her) but that´s Matsumoto</span>
In episode 9 "Kioku no Kairô"
• <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>David (IIRC it was David ^_^) held a coin in his hand featuring the Sennen Joô (aka Queen Millennia)</span>
In episode 16 "Sexaroid"
• <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>An Ooyama appearing as unsucessfull (aka failed) businessman</span>
In episode 19 "Seihitsu no Koku"
• <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> During the card play at the beginning of the episode, one of the characters (was it Manabu? Can´t remember) held a Joker card that featured Herlock *how ironical*</span>
• <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Mî-kun appearing. This little (tiger) cat fellow appears in a LOT of Matsumoto´s works, though in different "variations" (i.e. in 999 Mî-kun appeared as human female)</span>
Regarding the later episodes of the series (first seen in episode 13 IIRC):
• <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>You may have noticed that when one of the invading aliens get shot by Manabu in that episode, the blue/green-ish flames surround the alien and you´ll hear a high scream. That´s the almost exact same way as the Mazone soldiers die in Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock TV</span>

And you know, including such referances to the Leijiverse is what I consider pure genius work. It doesn´t alienate people that watch Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari without knowledge of other Matsumoto works yet these hints makes the longtime fanboys happy /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

While definitely not as subtle as in GTM Endless Odyssey had that included as well (which is part of why I love the OVA).

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
So what would you say the next best TV series to look for would be? It WILL be a while off for me to pick up another TV series on R2, given the cost of Herlock and 999, but that doesn't mean I can't start looking to the future now

[/ QUOTE ]

If you enjoyed Ginga Tetsudô 999 and Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock than I´d say there absolutely no way around Sennen Joô. The series may appear more "down to Earth" (literally speaking) and may not be a 1:1 adaption of the manga (because the manga was still in the early stages once the TV series was in production) BUT it´s a very very charming bittersweet tale which is highly recommended (as well as the movie). The characters really will grow on you (it´s been the first time I found a male lead that sympathic right from the start). Interested in a short story summary? (meaning I´m to lazy right now, but if you like I can write about it a bit in my next reply /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif )

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Judging by the manga (as said I haven´t bought the 6th DVD Box yet and therefore haven´t seen the TV series ending either ^_~) the ending is IMO pretty fitting despite being dramatic. IMO it worked really well.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, that’s good. Of course, it’ll be a while before I get a chance to even see the first episode, let alone the last, so I’ll be sure to let you know what I think once I’ve seen it… without adding spoilers. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I think I´ve watched that one...wasn´t it the interview he also hinted the "family tree" of Manabu Yûki?

[/ QUOTE ]
That’s the one.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I need to rewatch Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari from the beginning though as it has been quite a while since I did watch the early discs

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, if you’re buying the completed box from Amazon, you can rewatch it then. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
DHL sucks big times herre in Austria (not to long ago I had the DHL guy phoning me and the guy asked if I couldn´t jump into a car and meet him at an agreed meeting point so that he doesn´t need to check his map to find the village I live in *no kidding*).

[/ QUOTE ]
I’ve rarely had a pleasing transaction with DHL, which is why, even though CD Japan’s prices are higher, I used CD Japan over Amazon JP. I hate DHL. I’ve had them try to deliver my stuff to the wrong house on several occasions, and on one occasion they called my father and told him “we’re right outside. Can you sign for this package?� My dad looked out the window and said “you sure as hell aren’t in MY driveway. All that’s out there is my truck and no delivery service.� They finally found it though. Part of the problem here in the US with them is they are all contracted deliverers. They don’t have any “DHL� drivers that make deliveries in my area, so most don’t care.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
In that case...the aforementioned Matsumoto artbook is also highly recommended if you like his art /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Do you have a link to it? /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Interstellar 5555, etc.).

[/ QUOTE ]
So how is Interstellar 5555? Worth checking out? I can get the US version for ~$15.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
There´s no real firstpress goodie included for the boxes. The goods such as Tetsurô´s pendant or Dr. Ban´s pendant are all "regular" items included in the boxes (meaning if you get boxes where these are not included someone took them out before as they are not limited to firstpressing only).

[/ QUOTE ]
Those are the items I meant. I’ve seen auctions where people are selling the extras on their own. It looks like they are included with this set, which is a good thing.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
And you know, including such referances to the Leijiverse is what I consider pure genius work. It doesn´t alienate people that watch Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari without knowledge of other Matsumoto works yet these hints makes the longtime fanboys happy /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
I’ll keep my eye out for the ones in the episodes I currently own, and after I watch the later eps (anything past 13) I’ll have to come back and read your spoilers.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
If you enjoyed Ginga Tetsudô 999 and Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock than I´d say there absolutely no way around Sennen Joô.

[/ QUOTE ]
Sennen Joo it is then. Well, assuming I like Herlock and 999 that is. If I don’t like them (which I doubt), I’ll probably hop off of the Matsumoto train. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
Interested in a short story summary? (meaning I´m to lazy right now, but if you like I can write about it a bit in my next

[/ QUOTE ]
Sure, why not? May help get some others into the series if they aren’t already.

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Well, that’s good. Of course, it’ll be a while before I get a chance to even see the first episode, let alone the last, so I’ll be sure to let you know what I think once I’ve seen it… without adding spoilers.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess there isn´t much to spoil as I assume they stick close to the manga in regards of the ending.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Well, if you’re buying the completed box from Amazon, you can rewatch it then.

[/ QUOTE ]

The thing is, even if I would break in and want to buy it, December is already a (sort of) killer month in terms of releases...several Soundtrack coming out, a bunch of DVDs (i.e MONSTER final DVD Box, Paradise Kiss and I´m really planning to go for the GUNSLINGER GIRL DVD Box at last).
Throwing in some additional extras just don´t temp me enough to double-dip on the series.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I’ve rarely had a pleasing transaction with DHL, which is why, even though CD Japan’s prices are higher, I used CD Japan over Amazon JP. I hate DHL. I’ve had them try to deliver my stuff to the wrong house on several occasions, and on one occasion they called my father and told him “we’re right outside. Can you sign for this package?� My dad looked out the window and said “you sure as hell aren’t in MY driveway. All that’s out there is my truck and no delivery service.� They finally found it though. Part of the problem here in the US with them is they are all contracted deliverers. They don’t have any “DHL� drivers that make deliveries in my area, so most don’t care.

[/ QUOTE ]

What annoys me the most in regards of DHL is, that you can´t really complain. Believe me I tried to on several ocassions, because I wasn´t willing to understand why their unnecessary shipping within Austria. The package, that managed to arrive within a few days from Japan to Austria (including stops in other countries!) needed almost one and a half week to arrive despite within Austria and you know that this is definitely not the biggest country ^_~
When you try to complain no one seems to understand why this has happened and you get to her the stupid "I can´t help you, this went wrong this time, but we´ll asure you it won´t happen in future" excuse or "normally this shouldn´t happen" (yes I know that this should not happen that´s why I phoned to complain /images/graemlins/anger200.gif )

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Do you have a link to it?

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean link to order it? Amazon.jp still has it (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4750001856/qid=1132993236/sr=1-15/br_lfbnb_b_15/250-8414750-1623463)
The book itself has been released due to Leiji Matsumoto´s 50th Anniversary as manga-ka and as can be guessed by the title is focused on the various Beauties he created (meaning the only men included in illustrations are Tetsurô in the ones for 999 and in the ones for Kasei Hotel).
Hoshi no Umi, Bi no Idenshi is an all color artbook and features new as well as already known art by Matsumoto. It´s divided up in the following sections:
• Ginga Tetsudô 999 contains about 12 pages of Illustrations (mostly full page ones) also including new art like the cover art of the book or the one with Maetel and Tetsurô in kimono that Matsumoto drew for an event in summer.
• Queen Emeraldas about 4 pages containing only already known art (manga covers, the art also used for the jewel case DVD box)
• Uchû Senkan Yamato 4 illustrations (including one for Great Yamato)
• Sexaroid - about 3 illustrations
• Cover art for Manga Goraku mangabon - about 6 pages (all full page size) featuring quite sexy Matsumoto ladies ^_^
• Sennen Joô - about 5 pages including new art like the cover art for the Wide Ban re-release
• Nibelung no Yubiwa - about 4 illustrations (of course featuring the Walküre)
• Hyôryû Kansen 000 - 1 illustration
• Kasei Hotel / Cosmo Road Alpha / Chiisana Maki - about 4 pages
• Jijo Eiyûden - 1 illustration
• Submarine Super 99 - 1 (2 pages) illustration
• Kasei Ryodan DNA Sights 999.9 - 1 illustration
• Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari - 4 illustrations all featuring Layla Destiny (full pages goodness ^_^)
• DAZED &amp; CONFUSED JAPAN - about 2 illustrations including the cover art
• Interstellar 5555 - 3 illustrations of Stella (lovely Matsumoto´s original designs)
• Matsumoto Leiji no Sekai - 1 double sided illustration
• Leiji Matsumoto special interview

As sad it´s a highly recommended artbook (especially for the price you get an all color hardcover artbook). I got mine via the Y!AJ (since Amazon.jp didn´t get the book for quite a while after its release) and wouldn´t want to miss it. Still I´d love to see an artbook release collecting all the cover art he did for Manga Goraku ^_^

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
So how is Interstellar 5555? Worth checking out? I can get the US version for ~$15.


[/ QUOTE ]

I got the regular edition of the jp DVD and love it (though I´d have wished for a different cover art). It´s really what the package promises "an animated house musical" and IMO it just made me even more sad that Toei doesn´t adapt Matsumoto works these days as the animation are simply beautiful.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Sennen Joo it is then. Well, assuming I like Herlock and 999 that is. If I don’t like them (which I doubt), I’ll probably hop off of the Matsumoto train.

[/ QUOTE ]

You like Endless Odyssey? Then you´ll love Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock
You like Ginga Tetsudô Monogatari? Then you´ll love Ginga Tetsudô 999.
It´s as simple as that /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Speaking of Herlock, I´m so glad I started rewatching the series as I noticed some stuff that I didn´t during my initial viewing. While watching the second DVD the other day I just realized that one of my favorite Seiyuu Mami Koyama (Eva Heinemann in MONSTER, Queen of Ruins in Endless Odyssey, many others) had a role in the series as Rora ^_^ Made me even more happier while watching this wonderfull series.

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
Sure, why not? May help get some others into the series if they aren’t already.

[/ QUOTE ]

Keep in mind however that I´m bad when it comes to story summaries ^_~
Set in the year 1999 the series is focused on a young boy named Hajime Amamori who happens to live at his uncles observatory (due to circumstances...which I won´t mention due to spoiling the early episodes of the series). At this observatory a young and beautiful girl named Yayoi Yukino works as well. Professor Amamori and his team discover a mysterious planet that is approaching Earth with high speed. At the current speed the planet is going to arrive at the Earth on 9th September 1999 (09:09:09) and will destroy it at its course. However there´s more to it <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>as we get to learn that Yayoi-kun is not the person she actually seems to be. She´s the Sennen Joô (Queen of the 1,000 Years aka Queen Millenia) who has been sent from the planet Rametal on Earth to prepare the upcoming events. However Yayoi is torn between her duty as Queen and therefore her fellow people on Rametal who are going to die due to the heavy "ice-age" on Rametal and the fellow people on Earth she became attached to</span>.
It´s one, if not the, most dramatic series as well as IMO one of the most emotional powerfull stories Matsumoto created and even if you think you´ll know what will happen in the end there are always surprises the series has prepaired ^_~
Also worth mentioning is that the Sennen Joô project (both the TV series and the movie) IMO has the best music used in a Matsumoto anime by Toei ever (the DVD box comes with the first ever CD release of the TV music and Movie music *aside from the uber-expensive Matsumoto CD Encyclopedia*).

so far
yours
littleharlock

[slerch666]

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
The thing is, even if I would break in and want to buy it.
Throwing in some additional extras just don´t temp me enough to double-dip on the series.

[/ QUOTE ]
I actually... went and ordered it. I know I shouldn't have, but damn it, the audio on the R1s of this one seems kinda stilted. LPCM on the R2s sounds (no pun intended) good to me. I ordered that, Hoshi no Umi, Bi no Idenshi and several Sakura Taisen V artbooks. Shipping was a beast when I was ordering a crapload of books, so I had to take some of the Sakura Taisen books out of my cart. /images/graemlins/sad.gif I don't order from Amazon JP too frequently, and when I do I try and pick up some of the books on my wish list.

I also ordered the R3 Yamato set. Since it's from Proware, and judging by the work I've seen them do previously, it should be a rip of the R2 JPN release, only with optional Chinese subs. LPCM audio and all. All 15 DVDs in 3 box sets for the price of ONE R2 JPN box. Definitely can't beat that.

January IS going to be a light month, whilst I recover from this insanity, along with my regular R2 order...

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
What annoys me the most in regards of DHL is, that you can´t really complain.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's funny, the commercials I see for DHL make me laugh. Here's a direct quote:

"Whatever happened to customer service? At DHL, it's alive and well."

I get a chuckle and a smile every time. I went with SAL this time for this package. Here's to hoping it arrives safely. If not, I'm glad Amazon JP has a great returns policy.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
I got the regular edition of the jp DVD and love it (though I´d have wished for a different cover art). It´s really what the package promises "an animated house musical" and IMO it just made me even more sad that Toei doesn´t adapt Matsumoto works these days as the animation are simply beautiful.

[/ QUOTE ]
I ordered the $15 US version. I can't imagine the R2 having anything the R1 didn't have that I would have a burning desire to own.

[ QUOTE ]
littleharlock said:
You like Endless Odyssey? Then you´ll love Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock

[/ QUOTE ]
SMJ shipped my box from Japan on Thursday. I've been checking literally every day, a couple times a day, to see if it's shown up in the US facility. So far, no luck, which is disappointing.

Well, that's about all I've got right now. I figure I want to try and keep this thread around for when I finally get my Herlock box!

[littleharlock]

[ QUOTE ]
slerch666 said:
I actually... went and ordered it. I know I shouldn't have, but damn it, the audio on the R1s of this one seems kinda stilted. LPCM on the R2s sounds (no pun intended) good to me. I ordered that, Hoshi no Umi, Bi no Idenshi and several Sakura Taisen V artbooks. Shipping was a beast when I was ordering a crapload of books, so I had to take some of the Sakura Taisen books out of my cart. I don't order from Amazon JP too frequently, and when I do I try and pick up some of the books on my wish list.


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Let me know how the box turned out /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Good to hear you bought the artbook. If you like Matsumoto´s space beauties the book is well worth the costs (especially considering how much you have to pay to get some of his older "artbooks" that have less content these days it´s a realy good deal).

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slerch666 said:
January IS going to be a light month, whilst I recover from this insanity, along with my regular R2 order...

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I wish I could say the same. After the insanity that December turns out to be I won´t have the "chance" to recover a bit from the MONSTER Box goodness. I´ve finally catched up on my "artbooks-to-buy" stuff but there´s more to come ^_~

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slerch666 said:
I get a chuckle and a smile every time. I went with SAL this time for this package. Here's to hoping it arrives safely. If not, I'm glad Amazon JP has a great returns policy.

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You know the thing is, I need to go for DHL because if I go for other options like Economical Shipping the Amazon.jp packages turn up here like they´ve snuggled against a moose. I mean everything arrived in good state and the worst that happened was an Obi from a manga damaged, but I don´t want to pay several hundred Euro for an order and then it arrives in bad condition. That´s too risky for my taste...so I prefer dealing with the stupidness of certain DHL drivers /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

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slerch666 said:
I can't imagine the R2 having anything the R1 didn't have that I would have a burning desire to own.


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Don´t know about the R1, but the R2 release had a few extras...the one that IMO is most memorable are the sketches by Matsumoto shown (meaning his original designs for the Crescent Dolls). However they where shown "flashing by" (you know, one sketch shown for several seconds --&gt; next one)
Just for the rough designs by Matsumoto for Stella alone the Hoshi no Umi, Bi no Idenshi artbook is worth it all /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif (sadly it doesn´t contain his rough designs for the other *male* members of the Crescent Dolls though).

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slerch666 said:
SMJ shipped my box from Japan on Thursday. I've been checking literally every day, a couple times a day, to see if it's shown up in the US facility. So far, no luck, which is disappointing.


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Can relate with you somehow...I´m desperately waiting for my Amazon.jp order to finally ship as well /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

However as mentioned in a previous reply to this thread, all the talk of Herlock got me starting to rewatch Uchû Kaizoku Captain Herlock several days ago. I´m up to episode 30 now and it keeps amazing me how much passion this series has.
What I didn´t really notice during my inital viewing was that a LOT of the flashbacks at the beginning of the episodes (you know the "what happened last episode" flashbacks at the beginning) were not just scenes taken from the previous episode but often (especially at the first half of the series) total new animated scenes that show the events of the past episode.
I´ll probably also rewatch Mugen Kidô SSX when I´m finished with Herlock...just because I haven´t done so since I watched it back when I bought the DVD Box. It (of course) has better animations given the time it´s been made, but somehow I didn´t enjoy the character designs by Kazuo Komatsubara as much as I did with the original TV series. Kei looks mature (though she shouldn´t given the MKSSX is acutally set before the original series), no Mîme (but La Mîme...a character that I certainly found more interesting in the movie) and Rebi did IMO never even touch the greatness that is Mayu-chan. Still it has its strength and it´s really sad we´re never going to see how Matsumoto originally intended the series to be. Mugen Kidô SSX had to be finished rather quick due to the bad ratings on TV though Matsumoto had a bigger plot in mind (according to one of the Roman Album books there was more scheduled like <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Maetel inlcuded into the story arc, Promethium and Faust appearing and it´s even said that Matsumoto had something up his sleeve with a big finish that connects his Leijiverse proberly with Mugen Kidô SSX</span>.

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slerch666 said:
Well, that's about all I've got right now. I figure I want to try and keep this thread around for when I finally get my Herlock box!

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I´m looking forward to read your impression of the series (maybe starting a new thread then?) when you get to watch it.

so far
yours
littleharlock

[mistressh]

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How easy is the Manga in terms of reading? When I say my Japanese reading ability is low, we’re talking pretty damn low. I know probably 50-100 Kanji and the Kanas of course. I’ve managed through Manga before with the help of a dictionary, but it was slow going. If it’s got Furigana (which it doesn’t appear to from the scans I’ve seen) I’d be a lot more inclined to buy as it would make looking up the words I don’t know easier. It would also make it so I could “hear� the spoken dialog in my head, which would also make it easier for me to understand.

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littleharlock said:
The manga has been serialized (since the Eternal arc) in Big Comic mangabon which is Seinen...so yes your assumption of it not being the "easiest to read" is true. With dictionaries at hand it shouldn´t be the biggest problem though and it´s well worth it...

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I know it might be a little late to jump into this thread, although I've only just joined this forum (following a comment made by littleharlock elsewhere)!! &lt;waves&gt; But there's another edition of GE999 (Andromeda arc) by Shonen Gahosha Bunko that IS furigana'd, and if the original poster is still around and wants the ISBN's, I can look them up?? This one's 12 volumes, as opposed to the 14 volumes of Big Comics Gold... It's a smaller page size though, so the furigana are VERY small! &lt;g&gt; But with furigana and a good dictionary (thankfully, my wordtank handles most of the tricky stuff with ease) it's not too hard to follow.

Best

H

[slerch666]

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Helen Fayle said:
I know it might be a little late to jump into this thread, although I've only just joined this forum (following a comment made by littleharlock elsewhere)!! &lt;waves&gt; But there's another edition of GE999 (Andromeda arc) by Shonen Gahosha Bunko that IS furigana'd, and if the original poster is still around and wants the ISBN's, I can look them up?? This one's 12 volumes, as opposed to the 14 volumes of Big Comics Gold... It's a smaller page size though, so the furigana are VERY small! &lt;g&gt; But with furigana and a good dictionary (thankfully, my wordtank handles most of the tricky stuff with ease) it's not too hard to follow.

Best

H

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Welcome to the forum! /images/graemlins/wink.gif

And if you have the ISBNs, I'd be interested. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Thanks!

[littleharlock]

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Helen Fayle said:
I know it might be a little late to jump into this thread, although I've only just joined this forum (following a comment made by littleharlock elsewhere)!! &lt;waves&gt;

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*takes another sip of coffee* is that really you Helen *waiiii* /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

so far
yours
littleharlock

[mistressh]

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littleharlock said:
*takes another sip of coffee* is that really you Helen *waiiii*

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&lt;grins&gt; In the flesh! Nice to see a couple of active Matsumoto threads with people talking sense for once on the net! Thanks for the tip... ;-)

For the other guy: As requested!

GE999:
1 4-7859-4661-X
2 4-7859-4662-8
3 4-7859-4663-6 (Contains the Emeraldas meeting)
4 4-7859-4664-4
5 4-7859-4665-2
6 4-7859-4666-0
7 4-7859-4667-9
8 4-7859-4668-7
9 4-7859-4669-5 (starts with "Jikan Jô no Kaizoku"!)
10 4-7859-4670-9
11 4-7859-4671-7
12 4-7859-4672-5

A little off-topic perhaps in this thread, but since it's following on... A lot of the manga have different editions and some are furigana'd, some aren't... I've picked up by accident a couple of volumes that turned out to be Cockpit stories (from about 1982-ish I think...) - and whereas the new edition of the Cockpit is not superscripted, these are - and rather handily, they seem to be collecting a lot of the stories featuring Harlock look-alikes... ;-) Which is nice, since whilst I can just about start to make my way through 'Gun Frontier' without furigana now, which I couldn't a few months ago, I do still struggle with unfamiliar kanji! (It was a fantastic moment when I finally laid my hands on a copy of "Diver 0" - the first book-length Harlock-as-space-pirate manga, sans furigana, and got several pages in before I realised I'd actually *understood* what was going on - I'd been reading it without even thinking about it! Great feeling!!)