[JP] Hellsing OVA vol.1~5 Blu-ray Box

[muhootsaver]

http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20090428_163882.html

No details avail. yet.

[DeadlyMessiah]

If these include the English dubs, I'm all over this.

[Rhodes]

it'll be interesting... since vol 5 has no dub that we know of...

maybe best we can hope for is dub for 1 to 4...

[hikaru004]

I'd be happy for English subtitles.

[duckroll]

More info here: http://www.geneon-ent.co.jp/rondorobe/anime/hellsing/VI_info.html

The official site claims that there will be an unprecedented number of retakes (animation touch ups) for an amazing "bargain of a price". It also goes on to say that the box will be out "before the end of the year", before correcting themselves and saying it'll be out by "Spring next year", before finally declaring that it will "definitely be out before Summer next year". Obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke referring to their crappy schedule and delays, but it's still pretty funny.

It remains to be seen what sort of "improvements" the animation will have, and what sort of "bargain" the price of the box set will be. Since the OVA is at Madhouse now, will this mean that Madhouse would be responsible for doing touch ups on work previously produced by Satelight? Has anything like this ever happened in anime productions in the past?

[hikaru004]

So we could be looking at a Madhouse redux ep. 1-4? Is there any mention of the seiyuu doing new work for this release? This series just gets more interesting.

That could also mean no English dub for this one.

[Mazinkaizer]

While i would love en English sub for this one, i don't see it hapenning unless Madhouse/Geneon wants to adapt BV's modern model.

[duckroll]

So we could be looking at a Madhouse redux ep. 1-4? Is there any mention of the seiyuu doing new work for this release? This series just gets more interesting.

That could also mean no English dub for this one.

There's no mention of any re-recording at all, but I would doubt so personally. It sounds like they're just going to touch it up and improve the art/animation. Kinda like how many TV to DVD/BD releases these days get improvements along the way. Since it doesn't have a date or price yet, it's probably a little too early to speculate.

[Hayate Kurogane]

Since the OVA is at Madhouse now, will this mean that Madhouse would be responsible for doing touch ups on work previously produced by Satelight? Has anything like this ever happened in anime productions in the past?

The new scenes added to the Kiddy Grade compilation movies, as well as the editing of the movies (IIRC), were handled by asread instead of Gonzo. This isn't quite the same as, say, asread modifying any of Gonzo's existing animation directly, but that's the closest outright example I could think of.

While we all know shows are produced by certain studios, it's also no secret that so much is outsourced to a wide range of studios responsible for a wide range of animation-related work on any given title; just look at how many different individuals and studios are listed in any given credits list (well, Japanese lists anyway, or any actually complete English lists). Given the number of touch-ups done to shows between broadcast and purchasable media release, as well as the facility with which digital files can be transferred between locations, quite a bit of work is likely done by other specific individuals or studios, especially if it's a crapper of an episode or scene that is in desperate need of reworking due to having been sent to a completely incompetent group of people. (See: Yashigani). Also, again due to the facility with which animation can be modified these days, it's likely far easier to do something such as taking the head studio's keyframing work, select another team of animators, and have them essentially re-animate from scratch to fix a particularly lacking cut or two.

Heck, due to the nature of animation outsourcing, Madhouse and Satelight have sent work to the same studios before. They may actually re-use the same studios here, in essence not having anybody step on anybody's toes. :sweat: Though one would also assume that if, say, some of Xebec's animators were in-betweening for cuts 104-122 in episode 4, and the production companies (Geneon Japan, etc.) and/or the staff were dissatisfied with that work, it's unlikely they'd actually send it back to the same team that did it wrong to begin with, even if they were given more time and money.

[duckroll]

The new scenes added to the Kiddy Grade compilation movies, as well as the editing of the movies (IIRC), were handled by asread instead of Gonzo. This isn't quite the same as, say, asread modifying any of Gonzo's existing animation directly, but that's the closest outright example I could think of.

Ah, cool. I didn't think think of that, thanks.

While we all know shows are produced by certain studios, it's also no secret that so much is outsourced to a wide range of studios responsible for a wide range of animation-related work on any given title; just look at how many different individuals and studios are listed in any given credits list (well, Japanese lists anyway, or any actually complete English lists). Given the number of touch-ups done to shows between broadcast and purchasable media release, as well as the facility with which digital files can be transferred between locations, quite a bit of work is likely done by other specific individuals or studios, especially if it's a crapper of an episode or scene that is in desperate need of reworking due to having been sent to a completely incompetent group of people. (See: Yashigani). Also, again due to the facility with which animation can be modified these days, it's likely far easier to do something such as taking the head studio's keyframing work, select another team of animators, and have them essentially re-animate from scratch to fix a particularly lacking cut or two.

Heck, due to the nature of animation outsourcing, Madhouse and Satelight have sent work to the same studios before. They may actually re-use the same studios here, in essence not having anybody step on anybody's toes. :sweat: Though one would also assume that if, say, some of Xebec's animators were in-betweening for cuts 104-122 in episode 4, and the production companies (Geneon Japan, etc.) and/or the staff were dissatisfied with that work, it's unlikely they'd actually send it back to the same team that did it wrong to begin with, even if they were given more time and money.

Yeah, I know what you mean. But what I was getting at is that now Madhouse is in-charge of the overall production as opposed to Satelight, so as far as which cuts are corrected and redone in what way would be more or less determined by the current director and key animators as opposed to the staff that originally worked on the material. Although in this case, the animation character designer/lead animation director has been retained between transitions so he'll probably be the one making most of the calls.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see how they handle this. As someone who has bought all 5 DVD LEs up to now, I'm definitely going to have to make the decision of whether to purchase the BD Box based on how much of the material is improved in terms of value to me, as well as how much the actual box will cost. I'll be picking up Vol6+ on BD of course, but it'll be nice if they actually bothered to think of the people who have purchased the previous DVD editions simply because there was no HD release. :)

[hikaru004]

Either way, it'll be interesting to see how they handle this. As someone who has bought all 5 DVD LEs up to now, I'm definitely going to have to make the decision of whether to purchase the BD Box based on how much of the material is improved in terms of value to me, as well as how much the actual box will cost. I'll be picking up Vol6+ on BD of course, but it'll be nice if they actually bothered to think of the people who have purchased the previous DVD editions simply because there was no HD release. :)

They did. That's why there's the Madhouse video redux incentive on top of any audio incentive being a BD release. No one before was complaining about the video in vol. 1-4.

[DeadlyMessiah]

Meh without a dub I have no reason to be excited over this. No disrespect to Jouji, but no one can do Arucard better than Crispin, and the same goes for the rest of the voice cast.

[Buster Darkwings]

Out of all the people who are going to be buying this in Japan, I somehow doubt very many of them give a crap about Crispin Freeman.

This is a Japanese release for the Japanese market. Complaining about the lack of an English dub is like shouting at the sun for rising.

[Ingraman]

Meh without a dub I have no reason to be excited over this. No disrespect to Jouji, but no one can do Arucard better than Crispin, and the same goes for the rest of the voice cast.

If the set had subs, I'd probably buy it. If it didn't, but had the dub, I wouldn't. I've never listened to the dub, since Sakakibara Yoshiko has a role on the Japanese side.

[hikaru004]

Meh without a dub I have no reason to be excited over this. No disrespect to Jouji, but no one can do Arucard better than Crispin, and the same goes for the rest of the voice cast.

If the set had subs, I'd probably buy it. If it didn't, but had the dub, I wouldn't. I've never listened to the dub, since Sakakibara Yoshiko has a role on the Japanese side.

I rarely listened to the dub too. Sub not being there would be a deal breaker if I could afford it.

[muhootsaver]

http://forest.kinokuniya.co.jp/ItemIntro/635529

8/27 26,250yen

[Jarmel]

http://forest.kinokuniya.co.jp/ItemIntro/635529

8/27 26,250yen

Finally. Thank god. Now where can I place a preorder for this?

*Rushes to check Amazon JP

[Mazinkaizer]

Meh without a dub I have no reason to be excited over this. No disrespect to Jouji, but no one can do Arucard better than Crispin, and the same goes for the rest of the voice cast.

No disrespect to you but you need to clarify if you're stating a fact that everyone must believe or be stoned to death, or your personal opinion/taste ? If it's the latter then it's cool i have no issue (and most likely everyone) with anyone stating his/her personal taste or opinion (but not shoving it into them).

Now back to the release, I have faith that Funi will release it down the line. It remains to be seen though how they handle the quality department.

[russ869]

I was beginning to doubt this would ever really exist. Didn't they say it would be re-animated (touched up)? I wonder how exactly...

[uwf]

I have faith that Funi will release it down the line.

I am still not convinced they even have the license, i have read rumors saying that have it but they are from 3 years ago.
The question remains is why has not Funi done ANYTHING in region 1 with Hellsing Ultimate for so long if they have it? :(

Also, i wish more Japanese companies would put English subtitles on their releases, their sales would increase significantly and so would their profits, its short sighted of them not to. The cost of doing subtitles is minimal compared to the extra profits from overseas sales they would generate.

[Mazinkaizer]

I have faith that Funi will release it down the line.

Also, i wish more Japanese companies would put English subtitles on their releases, their sales would increase significantly and so would their profits, its short sighted of them not to. The cost of doing subtitles is minimal compared to the extra profits from overseas sales they would generate.

I also wish for more Japanese releases with English sub, this way i don't have to wait for a US release or so. But the problem is that some JP companies are used to releasing their titles without them since the VHS days, and would resist the change since it's a change from the sacred method their past generations have used. Of course, that didn't stop them from complaining about piracy and low sales at the same time :depressed:

Kudos to BV & Ghibili, i hope they release more shows with English sub. Then perhaps some of the other companies will follow their track when the extra sales figures attract them.....or maybe not :sd:

[hissatsu]

Also, i wish more Japanese companies would put English subtitles on their releases, their sales would increase significantly and so would their profits, its short sighted of them not to. The cost of doing subtitles is minimal compared to the extra profits from overseas sales they would generate.

"Increase significantly"? I think not. I'd love to see it, but I doubt it would raise sales much. If an official translation already exists (Crunchyroll or previous R1 DVD release) I imagine the small increase in sales would probably be enough to cover costs for adding the subs, but not much more than that. You have a hard time getting "fans" in the US to pay domestic prices (anime is too expensive is still a common complaint). You seriously think you'll convince more than a handful of them to pay 3-6 times that price? English subs are mostly a benefit for people who already import and are used to those prices. Being in that group, I'm all for more subs on Japanese releases, but I doubt it has much effect on sales.

[JmfSilentHill89]

I wish Funimation would hurry up and license the rest of these OVAs. They better keep the same cast for the english dub though :bigsmile:. I wouldn't mind getting this, but I can't see Funimation just letting the Hellsing Ultimate license stay in Japan.

[Shiroi Hane]

I have faith that Funi will release it down the line.

I am still not convinced they even have the license, i have read rumors saying that have it but they are from 3 years ago.
The question remains is why has not Funi done ANYTHING in region 1 with Hellsing Ultimate for so long if they have it? :(
FUNi never had it to begin with - they did distro for Geneon after they shut down.

[hikaru004]

Also, i wish more Japanese companies would put English subtitles on their releases, their sales would increase significantly and so would their profits, its short sighted of them not to. The cost of doing subtitles is minimal compared to the extra profits from overseas sales they would generate.

"Increase significantly"? I think not. I'd love to see it, but I doubt it would raise sales much. If an official translation already exists (Crunchyroll or previous R1 DVD release) I imagine the small increase in sales would probably be enough to cover costs for adding the subs, but not much more than that. You have a hard time getting "fans" in the US to pay domestic prices (anime is too expensive is still a common complaint). You seriously think you'll convince more than a handful of them to pay 3-6 times that price? English subs are mostly a benefit for people who already import and are used to those prices. Being in that group, I'm all for more subs on Japanese releases, but I doubt it has much effect on sales.

In a bizarre way. I rationalized that a sub release in Japan means that it's prob not coming here so I tend to buy those titles if I can afford it unless it's a Disney title.

[Jarmel]

SURPRISE! Delayed until September 30th.

[muhootsaver]

SURPRISE! Delayed until September 30th.

^^;; I had a feeling that this would be the case.

[Jarmel]

Screenshots from the set.

Episode 1:http://img42.imageshack.us/g/hellsingm2tssnapshot434.jpg/
Episode 2:http://img89.imageshack.us/g/hellsing2m2tssnapshot03.jpg/
Episode 3:http://img529.imageshack.us/g/hellsing3m2tssnapshot42.jpg/
Episode 4:http://img716.imageshack.us/g/hellsing4m2tssnapshot45.jpg/
Episode 5:http://img229.imageshack.us/g/hellsing5m2tssnapshot39.jpg/