Ghost in the Shell (Brazil)

    July 16, 2004



What They Say
This is the Brazllian release.

The Review!
Published by Flashstar, this disc left me with mixed feelings. While the menu is widescreen, the disc itself is full screen. Now for the most bizarre DVD release this year, it's a full screen disc, but it's not pan&scan. They simply got the same anamorphic master from Manga Entertainment and "forgot" that it was anamorphic, so the image fill the whole TV screen. If you're playing on a DVD Rom or using a Widescreen TV you can fix it, otherwise, you're left with a great video presentation where everyone looks "taller" than they really are.

Besides that, this DVD is top notch and should be a reference for other Brazilian DVD releases. The audio tracks includes the original Japanese audio track, the US dub and Portuguese dub. Having watched this disc several times on Japanese and some on English to enjoy the DD5.1 sound, I decided to give the Portuguese dub a try. While not bad at all on acting, the dub performs very poor on audio quality, you can hear a high noise level and some occasional hiss.

The subtitles, on the other hand, are properly done, the fonts and colors are right. Translation could be better if not based on the US dubbed version. The menus are good, animated and on Portuguese and Spanish. Extras on the disc are the same as available on the US release, solid ones. Every extra has been properly translated, which makes this disc special for fans that are hungry after information.

This is the first anime released by Flashstar on DVD, who still owns the rights for most SNK anime on Brazil. they can do it right, if they want to. At least this leaves us with the hope that any new release will be also coming on DVD.

Features
English (DD5.1),Japanese (DD2.0),Portuguese (DD2.0),Subtitles: English Portuguese Spanish,
Extras: production report staff interview disc credits animated menus The World on 2029, character bios and synopsis (all of them translated/subtitled)

Review Equipment
Philco 29" TV (Component input), Pioneer DV-414 codefree player, Sharp DD5.1 receiver