DVD Review: Rocket Girls Complete Collection

[Chris Beveridge]

http://cdn-www.mania.com/content_pics/43074_large.jpg

Review by Chris Beveridge (http://www.mania.com/rocket-girls-complete-collection_article_86912.html)


Mania Grade: A-
Audio Rating: B
Video Rating: B+
Packaging Rating: B
Menus Rating: B
Extras Rating: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Region: 1 - North America
Released By: Bandai Entertainment
MSRP: 49.98
Running time: 300
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Disc Resolution: 480i/p (Mixed/Unknown)
Disc Encoding: MPEG-2

In Summary:
Rocket Girls isn’t a show that’s going to hit big by any stretch, but it’s a solidly enjoyable show that’s very appealing to a certain segment of fans. It’s very easy to recommend this both to fans of Stratos 4 as well as Planetes. It’s sort of a bridge between the two and because of its light novel origins, it doesn’t have the usual plot setup and progression that we see from a manga adaptation. The characters are all enjoyable, they have simple but well done personalities and the show is filled with a lot of very good animation. The release is solid overall with no real technical issues and it simply lacks a dub. But getting all these episodes in one set is a real plus. My only hope is that Bandai tries the approach later of splitting the disc out into singles and trying to plug them for ten bucks a pop to catch people who want to sample first. If all the sunk costs are handled through a set like this, it certainly couldn’t hurt. Either way, this is a show that appeals to some of my core loves of storytelling and anime and it gets an enthusiastic recommendation.

[chloes_fork]

I bought this as a blind buy, and quite enjoyed it. It was at times an uneasy mix between genuine moments of Apollo 13-style astronautic tension and silly things like splashdown in the school swimming pool, but I definitely had a good time watching. As for the poll's question about "waiting to find out if the discs are faulty," that's sadly a legitimate concern with any Bandai release these days, but my discs played perfectly.

[Steve_the_Talking_Pie]

Wasn't expecting such a high review for the show, but that's great for it. Looking foward to seeing it.

[Draneor]

Uh, do I have to say why? The show just didn't look interesting to me, and none of the character designs really grab me. So I'll be passing.

[WTK]

I bought the show blindly from DVD Planet's current sale. It's currently backordered. I have no real expectation for this series. It will be fine if it's anywhere close to Stratos 4.

[TheGreenMan]

Great, now I have to buy it.

[something]

None of your poll options describe me.

"I bought it as a blind buy" - No, I saw half of it before it was licensed.
"I'm waiting on reviews of the material" - No, I don't read reviews.
"I'm waiting to find out if the discs are faulty" - No, I already preordered it.
"I'm passing on the series for the reasons I'm writing below" - No, I already preordered it.

Unless "blind buy" here simply means I'm not factoring in the opinions and reports of others (be it reviews or forum posts about glitches).

I saw ~5-6 eps of Rocket Girls and thought it was mediocre and stopped. But for this price, I figured I'd give it another shot. Certainly there's almost no risk when it's this cheap!

[ArcticMech]

Pass. I've only read the description of the show and seen the trailer, but have seen enough to know it's not for me.

[Chris Beveridge]

None of your poll options describe me.

That's because you're unique. It'd be a disservice to everyone else if I put in an option just for something every time. ;)

[Otakufan]

Might seriously have considered this if it had had a dub.

But no dub equals no sale, it's as simple as that!

J. A.

[something]

That's because you're unique. It'd be a disservice to everyone else if I put in an option just for something every time. ;)
Uh huh =P Anyways, I was mostly wondering why the old wording of "I bought this release" or "I already bought this release" or whatever was changed to a more specific term like "blind buy". But again, I assume it's just more along the lines of "Bandai has failed a lot at pressing discs lately and I'm risking it anyway without waiting to hear if there was a problem." I guess that's just not a definition of "blind buy" I've ever used.

[Suwako Moriya]

I tried out a couple of episodes of this, but then lost interest. I've thought off and on about giving it another chance. However both in terms of informed buys and blind buys, there are things I have a much stronger desire for. Thus likely this will be one of those series I end up passing on eternally for the sake of other things. So I guess I could just vote for the "Pass" option and if later I do buy it accept the idea of feeling silly. Or alternative I could just refrain from voting for now...

[TAS]

That's because you're unique. It'd be a disservice to everyone else if I put in an option just for something every time. ;)
While it's true that something is unique,:devil:
you can add me as having bought this but not as a blind buy so no option for me to pick.

[ooga]

Lack of a dub and the fact that i did not care much for Stratos 4 will force me to pass on this show. At least for the time being.

[stfram]

It's awfully expensive for a sub-only release, but on the positive end, at least they put it on three discs.

If it were $39.99, it would be far more tempting. As it is, I passed since there were other higher-priority preorders from both Bandai and Nozomi (of which I have absolutely no problem paying the same MSRP for a sub-only set from them).

[Chris Beveridge]

It's awfully expensive for a sub-only release, but on the positive end, at least they put it on three discs.

If it were $39.99, it would be far more tempting. As it is, I passed since there were other higher-priority preorders from both Bandai and Nozomi (of which I have absolutely no problem paying the same MSRP for a sub-only set from them).


It's the same price as other sub only releases like Emma and Maria Watches Over Us and Aria.

[stfram]

It's the same price as other sub only releases like Emma and Maria Watches Over Us and Aria.

Not even on the same level, considering what comes with them (chipboard box, individual thinpack cases with art, thick booklets for Aria & Emma).

Like I said, I do give props for Bandai for at least putting it on three discs, and it also has some nice on-disc extras. That's just not enough to make me go order it now.

[LordGeo]

It's the same price as other sub only releases like Emma and Maria Watches Over Us and Aria.

Not even on the same level, considering what comes with them (chipboard box, individual thinpack cases with art, thick booklets for Aria & Emma).

Like I said, I do give props for Bandai for at least putting it on three discs, and it also has some nice on-disc extras. That's just not enough to make me go order it now.

Nozomi only does those extras because they don't license much in general, let alone near the amount Bandai does. Therefore, Nozomi can spend extra money doing those little extras for just about all their shows. Bandai has plenty of others shows to do, so they obviously are not going to do that kind of extra stuff for Rocket Girls.

Trust me, if Nozomi licensed more shows and had more on their plate, I doubt we'd be seeing extras like that for Emma and Aria.

[stfram]

Bandai has plenty of others shows to do, so they obviously are not going to do that kind of extra stuff for Rocket Girls.


Bandai is charging the same price as Nozomi, yet putting a fraction of the effort into the release. That's the specific problem I have with it.

If the MSRP was $10 less, it would be winging it's way to me from DD right now. :)

I'm still going to buy it...eventually. As it is, I'm already preordered the stuff that Bandai is actually putting effort into, like Geass, Gurren, GITS Innocence, and TGWLTT.


Trust me, if Nozomi licensed more shows and had more on their plate, I doubt we'd be seeing extras like that for Emma and Aria.

I would like to think that Nozomi will put as much effort into every show they license as they are for their current shows, regardless of what workload they may be dealing with.

[LordGeo]

Bandai has plenty of others shows to do, so they obviously are not going to do that kind of extra stuff for Rocket Girls.


Bandai is charging the same price as Nozomi, yet putting a fraction of the effort into the release. That's the specific problem I have with it.

If the MSRP was $10 less, it would be winging it's way to me from DD right now. :)

I'm still going to buy it...eventually. As it is, I'm already preordered the stuff that Bandai is actually putting effort into, like Geass, Gurren, GITS Innocence, and TGWLTT.


Trust me, if Nozomi licensed more shows and had more on their plate, I doubt we'd be seeing extras like that for Emma and Aria.

I would like to think that Nozomi will put as much effort into every show they license as they are for their current shows, regardless of what workload they may be dealing with.

I'm not denying that you're not going to buy it, but you're not considering the worload problem. I think Shawne Kleckner himself said, for example, that the Emma Gazette was a huge workload for that show alone, due to the sheer amount of translation needed for it. Since I have Season 1 I can say that I appreciate the work they did for that, as it looks really nice, but it's silly to think that if Nozomi had Bandai's amount of licenses to work with they would still take the time, potentially delay other releases, and still do that Gazette.

Again, Nozomi can do that kind of stuff because they have less shows to work on, and therefore they can devote more time to each title. Nozomi isn't special or anything like that... They just have the time to do this kind of stuff. Remember that they're not doing anything really special, at least from what we're told, for their release of the Toward the Terra movie.

In fact, that's a good comparison to use: Emma and Aria are Nozomi's equivalent to Bandai's Gurren Lagann and Code Geass releases, which get all kinds of neat extras and extra time used on it, while the Toward the Terra movie is Nozomi's equivalent to Bandai 's Rocket Girls and even the Toward the Terra TV series, which get sub-only releases which require less work and are given to us faster. Granted, it's not exactly the best comparison, but it does illustrate the fact nicely that you're comparing one company's "big" titles to another company's "small" title.

[TAS]

It's awfully expensive for a sub-only release, but on the positive end, at least they put it on three discs.

If it were $39.99, it would be far more tempting. As it is, I passed since there were other higher-priority preorders from both Bandai and Nozomi (of which I have absolutely no problem paying the same MSRP for a sub-only set from them).It's only expensive if you compare it to a MB bargain box release after a single release.

[Damius]

I'm still not sure about this one...would be really interesting to see an episode or two before...

[EyeOfPain]

Sounds interesting. I may have to give it a try now.

[stfram]

It's only expensive if you compare it to a MB bargain box release after a single release.


Which is precisely why I rarely buy MB singles. Tweeny Witches was the notable exception here, and so far I've managed to get each single for ~$12 (that cost includes the extra paid for the book box).

[stfram]

Granted, it's not exactly the best comparison, but it does illustrate the fact nicely that you're comparing one company's "big" titles to another company's "small" title.


I get it, but my point is that even with all the work that Nozomi put into Emma & Aria, we're still only paying $49.95 MSRP.

With Bandai, we're paying the same price, but getting less for our money, which means for me that RG goes to the back of the line in priority.

[Classical]

This show was under some consideration from me but after reading the review maybe I will check it out. Granted there are other anime out there right now that are a higher priority than this one so it may be awhile before I get it.

[Chris Beveridge]

Granted, it's not exactly the best comparison, but it does illustrate the fact nicely that you're comparing one company's "big" titles to another company's "small" title.


I get it, but my point is that even with all the work that Nozomi put into Emma & Aria, we're still only paying $49.95 MSRP.

With Bandai, we're paying the same price, but getting less for our money, which means for me that RG goes to the back of the line in priority.

It depends on what you're buying it for. As much as I liked the booklets and postcards with the Nozomi stuff, in the end I'm buying it for the show. And we have to remember that these things do cost money to license, do cost money to translate and bring over. Nozomi goes through the extra effort with what they do because those titles HAVE to carry them. Bandai isn't being carried by Rocket Girls, so if it loses some money or breaks even then it's not a huge deal.

Like I've said before, I buy the releases for what's on the discs themselves. Rocket Girls, Emma and Aria and Maria are all pretty similar in terms of what they offer; twelve/thirteen episodes of a subtitled series. Rocket Girls sorta wins out in an important way for me because it's in a single keepcase and takes up a lot less space. :D

[stfram]

Rocket Girls sorta wins out in an important way for me because it's in a single keepcase and takes up a lot less space. :D

Given the size of your collection...yeah, that would be important. :)

[halo]

I'd also like to point out that, unless it's just not listed anywhere, the Japanese DVD release did not include the pilot episode as an extra. To me if they mange to wrest extras from Japan that they didn't even include on their release that means they're putting in the effort.

[ooga]

Rocket Girls sorta wins out in an important way for me because it's in a single keepcase and takes up a lot less space. :D

And that's precisely why it loses out for me. Even though you get essentially the same amount of content in any of these releases, bulkier packaging makes most buyers feel better about their purchase. As if they got more for their money.
When I get those new Geneon thinpaks in the mail my wife's comment is usually: "Is that all you got for $XX?". She doesn't say that when it's a bigget boxset with standard sized keepcases. ;)

[ThomasBellman]

I finished watching the show the day before yesterday. Loved it! The last three episodes or so was a bit too melodramatic, though; too many disasters cropping up.

I especially liked the small touches about technology, like the large gaps between the heat resistant tiles. Or the calculator: "give me five minutes, and after that you won't be able to use an ordinary calculator".

[Rev. Doc]

I just watched the 3 1/2 minute pilot in the extras on the last disc which was recorded in 2001. I must say, while I enjoyed this I'm very disappointed in what could have been.

[james_039]

I highly recommend this set. It's a surprisingly fun show. :beatingheart:

[Vicserr]

Watched this last weekend, it was an entertaining fish out of water story for the 1st half with some really "out there" situations" like Her father going native in the Solomon Island, her mother taking that and her daughter becoming an astronaut in stride, the definately crazy attitude of the top brass of the SSA, the splashdown at her school pool among other things, the more "serious" tone of the 2nd half was a nice touch. a very fun ride although I would have preferred that it was animated using the character designs from the pilot instead of the younger looking designs used in the series.

[Daichi]

Planetes was a better show.

Ill pass.

[wagr]

I'm waiting for it to rise to the top of my Netflix queue.

[Fencedude]

Planetes was a better show.


This is one of the more severe understatements of the last month or so.

[Njr Scrawl]

Planetes was a better show.


This is one of the more severe understatements of the last month or so.

The two shows are mainly incomparable IMO. Compare Moonlight Mile (series 1) with Planetes, yes, Planetes is better. Compare Rocket Girls, different sub-sub-genre.

[Senku]

I really liked this show, and it came off to me as Planetes-lite. There are real, dramatic moments to get caught up in, but then funny moments as to not take the show too seriously. My fiancee died laughing when they landed in the middle of the school's pool. I don't see a reason why I need to choose between the two shows.

Depending on tastes and the level of anime involvement of a person, I might recommend Rocket Girls over Planetes.

[Damius]

Well, now this series is on my Must buy list!