[US DVD] Irresponsible Captain Tylor TV Series Remastered

[Mark T.]

Review

Mania Grade: A-
Audio Rating: B+
Video Rating: A-
Packaging Rating: B
Menus Rating: B
Extras Rating: B+
Age Rating: 13 and Up
Region: 1 - North America
Released By: Nozomi Entertainment
MSRP: 49.99
Running time: 650
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Disc Resolution: 480i/p
Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
Series: Irresponsible Captain Tylor

In Summary:
The Irresponsible Captain Tylor is an old series, but one that still works well today. It has some good action and drama, but the comedy surrounding Tylor is what really drives it forward. I am glad to see it given new life with this boxset; anybody who likes their comedy dosed with a little humanity would do well to check this one out. Recommended.

[Damius]

This was a really great title thanks to these remastered version I was able to watch it.

[UncleBen]

More than three weeks gone by and only one comment?

Dear me, this won't do.

Glad to see you liked this series as it's a favourite of mine. I know, nobody could have guessed that, but it's true. I'm thrilled it's coming back in this nice remastered set. Tylor is a series that really shines in the technical categories (and indeed in all others) so it's good to see the materials getting the old scrub job. You mentioned the audio mix in the review; I'd go so far as to say this show has one of the very best mixes for a TV series of its age - in anime, at any rate. I haven't heard anything from early '90s TV that matches it. The "innerspace" episode in particular does some truly awesome things on my setup, but the whole show is excellent. I'd love a 5.1 remix too, of course - but all things considered, what we've got is fantastic.

It surprised me that you didn't like Tylor as a character at first. For me Tylor was one of those characters you can see is a brilliant creation from the word go. And one of the most astounding things about watching the show through for the first time was looking back at the beginning and realizing, as much as I'd liked the character in those early episodes, I didn't know the half of it. This, incidentally, makes the show one that demands at least a second viewing. Knowing where the story, and Tylor himself are headed, makes so many moments and incidents along the way that much more enjoyable.

I absolutely agree with what you say about the show having more under the hood than you'd expect. It has a cleverness in the writing and characterization that I've rarely seen. It has a way of knowing exactly what the audience is going to anticipate and then exploiting it - either by turning things in a different direction at the last moment or, even better, building a complicated comic situation with nothing but the expectation to support it. One of the best shots in the show occurs in episode four (at least I think that's the episode). There's actually nothing special about the shot itself. Tylor is just standing there with a package. But notice how many hoops your mind jumps through when you see it. The show knows you're going to make those jumps. The whole scene is built around you doing just that. That's writing good enough to be in The Court Jester. One of the things I like about the Patlabor series is that it reminds me of Tylor in that respect: it brings a real practical intelligence to its stories and characters, and at the same time a light touch. (Technically that should be the other way around, I guess - Tylor reminds me of Patlabor - but I saw Tylor first.)

Anyway, I'm glad you liked the show and finally got a chance to see it after all this time. You did a good job in the review of explaining what makes the show so much fun the first time through. Do watch it again at some point, though: so much more opens up that way.

[WTK]

Originally Posted by UncleBen

More than three weeks gone by and only one comment?

I watched via the Ultra boxset years ago. I may decide on double dipping on this and the OVA later this year. It's definitely a series I would like to re-watch in the (near) future.

[Mark T.]

Originally Posted by UncleBen

It surprised me that you didn't like Tylor as a character at first. For me Tylor was one of those characters you can see is a brilliant creation from the word go. And one of the most astounding things about watching the show through for the first time was looking back at the beginning and realizing, as much as I'd liked the character in those early episodes, I didn't know the half of it. This, incidentally, makes the show one that demands at least a second viewing. Knowing where the story, and Tylor himself are headed, makes so many moments and incidents along the way that much more enjoyable.

...

Do watch it again at some point, though: so much more opens up that way.

You know, I was wondering the same thing, especially considering it did take me a while to warm up to Tylor (the man, not the series). I've wondered if I liked him from the get-go as much as I like him now, how much more would I get out of those early episodes? This bears further examination, I think...

[Suwako Moriya]

I don't have access to the remastered version of this, but I have tried to watch some of it through an earlier released set. I watched about 12 episodes or so. Those episodes were spread out a bit and I haven't made any progress in several weeks.

That right there should be quite telling. Yeah, to be honest, I'm finding myself not caring much for the series in general and thus don't have much motivation to watch anymore. I think the reason why has to with the cast.

I find myself having trouble caring about the cast in general with maybe a few possible exceptions and those exceptions probably boil down to "She's cute". Which probably isn't saying much.

I think for me the major problem might be with Tylor himself, who is supposed to be the source of most of the comedy. It's not that I dislike him as a person or anything like that.

It's that once I watched far enough it became clear to me that most of the comedy with him was a classic case of "Just because...." which at first might be slightly amusing, but it gets boring after awhile. By after awhile, I mean after a few episodes.

[brycec1701]

I've always been curious about this series. So, I picked it up along with the OVA via Right Stuff this week.

I can't wait to check them out.