[JP] Karas

[muhootsaver]

http://www.tatsunoko.co.jp/Karas/top.html

9900yen. 1~6 ep. oct.28/2009. dolby digital audio...?

[PhilipReuben]

Saw this one coming. It explains why Manga's UK release got delayed until October.

(It's apparently still coming out before the JP release though...)

[Terence]

「鴉　KARAS　フルエピソード・エディション　Blu-ray」
音　声 ： ①　ドルビーデジタル・日本語（オリジナル）EX（6.1ch）
　　　 　 ②　ドルビーデジタル・日本語（オリジナル）ステレオ

Oh, no! Only Japanese DD6.1-EX + DD2.0? No lossless audio? Hope it is printing error only.

[Mazinkaizer]

No English sub makes this less priority to me since i still didn't get the chance to watch the Manga DVDs yet.

[hikaru004]

Saw this one coming. It explains why Manga's UK release got delayed until October.

(It's apparently still coming out before the JP release though...)

Is Manga's release the compilation version or are they releasing the real series this time?

They should put English subs on the JP version for this one.

[PhilipReuben]

Is Manga's release the compilation version or are they releasing the real series this time?

Probably the compilation version, but we can hope...

[hissatsu]

Watched the first episode of this. Definitely not an upscale, but don't expect it to be tack sharp. Pretty comparable in detail to the GitS:SAC blu-rays; probably a "soft" 720p. The bloom effect used in a lot of scenes makes it hard to tell sometimes, but anything without that effect, grain, details looks quite a bit sharper. I don't think there should be any artifacting throughout, whenever I looked the bitrate was around 30Mbps with peaks into the low 40s. I think the audio sounds better as well, but I lack a particularly good sound system to really compare. I'm satisfied. It's a lot cheaper than the R2 DVDs and at this rate Manga's blu-ray isn't happening anytime soon.

[hikaru004]

I'm only looking forward to Manga's release if they give us the series this time. Every time I see the R1 version I feel like the US is being given the worse product of the 2.

[DXMTheMachine]

Having only ever seen the compilated versions, I was wondering if anyone knew of any significant difference between this version and the episodic one?
Thanks :)

[hikaru004]

Missing OP and ED. Full ED playing after ep. 1 instead of being cut. It doesn't look like someone walked out of a stall filling with sand.

The JP release is the original release of Karas and the one that we should have gotten in the first place. Caving in to reverse importation fears should never had happened imo. JP never got the compilation version (cut version) and we never got the original version (uncut). This (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SHBR-1) is how it's listed on cdjapan.

[Terence]

Watched the first episode of this. Definitely not an upscale, but don't expect it to be tack sharp. Pretty comparable in detail to the GitS:SAC blu-rays; probably a "soft" 720p. The bloom effect used in a lot of scenes makes it hard to tell sometimes, but anything without that effect, grain, details looks quite a bit sharper. I don't think there should be any artifacting throughout, whenever I looked the bitrate was around 30Mbps with peaks into the low 40s. I think the audio sounds better as well, but I lack a particularly good sound system to really compare. I'm satisfied. It's a lot cheaper than the R2 DVDs and at this rate Manga's blu-ray isn't happening anytime soon.
Is there any lossless audio on this Blu-ray?

[hissatsu]

Is there any lossless audio on this Blu-ray?

Yes.

[DXMTheMachine]

Hmmm, a full presentation of the uncut series with lossless sound would be greatly welcome in English speaking markets!! Now if we could just get the blasted Karas action figures....lol
And was I the only one who found the switch in voice actress for Yurine in the English dub ever so jarring? Could just be me I guess :P

[hissatsu]

I only recently got a blu-ray drive for my PC, so I haven't been able to take blu-ray screencaps until now. Here are some png comparison shots of the Karas R1 DVD and the JP Blu-ray. DVD screenshots are bicubic resized to 1920x1080. The blu-ray screenshots show a slightly greenish tinge compared to the DVD, though during playback there is no greenish tinge. Don't know what's up with that. (EDIT: Recapped the blu-ray shots with different software, no more greenish tinge)

I think think the blu-ray is a pretty decent improvement. Maybe in a few years Manga will get around to their blu-ray release, though I imagine it'll still be the compilation cut.

R1 DVD screenshot 1 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_01.png)
JP BD screenshot 1 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_01.png)

R1 DVD screenshot 2 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_02.png)
JP BD screenshot 2 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_02.png)

R1 DVD screenshot 3 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_03.png)
JP BD screenshot 3 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_03.png)

R1 DVD screenshot 4 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_04.png)
JP BD screenshot 4 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_04.png)

R1 DVD screenshot 5 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_05.png)
JP BD screenshot 5 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_05.png)

R1 DVD screenshot 6 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_06.png)
JP BD screenshot 6 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_06.png)

R1 DVD screenshot 7 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/r1_dvd_07.png)
JP BD screenshot 7 (http://www.acacallis.com/Karas/jp_bd_07.png)

[Skywise]

The greenish tinge is probably because the software you're using is using the wrong standard (SD instead of HD) for conversion from component to RGB.

http://www.equasys.de/colorconversion.html

[hissatsu]

Hmm, I'd heard of that issue with some HDTV displays, but didn't realize it was an issue with playback software as well. Anyway, used different software and no more greenish tinge. Thanks for the tip.

[Shiroi Hane]

Saw this one coming. It explains why Manga's UK release got delayed until October.

(It's apparently still coming out before the JP release though...)
I'm still holding out for the UK release - it has been holding at October (2010) for a while now.

[hikaru004]

But isn't the UK release the compilation movies?

[Shiroi Hane]

No idea yet.

[hikaru004]

No idea yet.

Could you let us know when you find out? Amazon uk said it was both halves (prophecy and revelation).

[Shiroi Hane]

It hasn't gone through the BBFC since the original DVDs so if releasing it in the original format would require recertification, then we're getting the compilations.

Of course, when I first got excited about the UK blu-ray release there was no news of a Japanese release, but it's been delayed a few times since..