ZenAmako

I got into cel collecting 20 years ago, but I eventually got out and sold all of my cels. I'm kicking myself now because I had some awesome Macross cels that I probably wouldn't be able to afford now. I had a key end close-up portrait of Minmay from FB2012 and a really nice profile of her as well from the first few minutes of FB2012. The close-up was around $800 and the profile cost me $350 back in the day. Now I see "okay" Macross cels going for over $1K. There's a profile of Minmay singing from DYRL on YJ now that I'd love to have, but I'm expecting the price to skyrocket before all is said and done. Since I got back into collecting, I've had to settle for cels from Iczer-1, Vampire Princess Miyu, Shamanic Princess, Bubblegum Crisis, Leda, and You're Under Arrest. I've acquired all of the cels I have now from retired collectors, and they are all very nice. However, the nice cels from Macross (and Gunbuster) seem a bit out of reach now. When they do pop up, either the starting price is very high or a bidding war ensues. There was a cel of Noriko from Gunbuster ep. 5 on YJ recently that really wasn't a great shot of her, and it ended up going for close to $1K. eBay seems to have the same junk cels being relisted over and over again at inflated prices. I think it's better to get to know other collectors in the cels community than to try to deal with YJ/eBay these days. You can usually get a better deal from a private collector who is looking to downsize than you would get from a dealer or (especially) YJ/eBay. However, it seems like Macross and Gunbuster collectors by and large are holding on to their cels!

The defect with the Orguss DVDs was that one volume was missing the USR English dub, even though it was supposed to be on there. Other than that, my discs played fine.

Judging by the screencaps, the BD stomps all over the AnimEigo DVD set. However, that quality does come with a price, and you lose the English subs. I have the 15th Anniversary LD-BOX and the AnimEigo DVDs, so I think I'm good as far as Macross TV goes. The LD set was north of $500 back in the day, so it wasn't cheap either.

I think it's funny that someone asked what the "don't copy" message was on a download of the BD...

FB2012 should be pillarboxed, and we knew it wouldn't be remastered like DYRL. There's only so much you can do when the film source doesn't exist anymore. At any rate, I'm still convinced the edits had to do with the game and its 12+ CERO rating. I tried the game, and it is terrible. I really wish the decision hadn't been made to bundle the movie with a game in an attempt to increase sales. Does anyone think they will sell more copies with the game than they would have without the game and without the edits? I think it was a bad move since many of the people who were interested in this release are older fans who mainly wanted a definitive version of a film they grew up with and who couldn't care less about a PS3 game. Also, is it me, or did they add color to the lights on the Macross as it appears from the fold just before the movie's title appears?

Well... DYRL was planned to be seen in movie theaters, and 35mm film has a much higher resolution than Blu-ray. For the HD remaster, the film was probably scanned at at least 2K resolution and then downconverted to 1080p for the Blu-ray. By the 40th anniversary, there might be a 2K or 4K version, but you would need a huge screen to see the difference. If you were viewing a film print in a theater, any flaws like scratches or dust would be even more noticeable. I think we've just gotten used to blurry VHS tapes, laserdiscs and DVDs that do a better job of hiding the flaws. We're a bit taken aback when we see a version that more closely resembles how the film actually looks. That said, I'm not sure how close the DYRL Blu-ray gets. The remaster is uneven, like they left the grain in for some shots and filtered it out for others. I'm still pretty happy with this release. 2 seconds of missing gore isn't a deal breaker for me, and the original stereo audio is included if you don't like the new 5.1 mix.

I'm glad they didn't remove the grain with DNR or artificially sharpen scenes. You remove fine detail when you remove grain. DYRL shouldn't look clean and sharp like a recent HD show. Disney can afford to restore their animated features frame by frame for Blu-ray and remove the grain without compromising detail, but Bandai isn't Disney.

FB2012 is pretty much the same as it was on DVD/LD. It is presented in its original 4:3 aspect ratio (4:3 letterboxed for the concert scenes), so I don't see a problem. At the very end of the farewell concert, the frame expands to the full 4:3. Did you want them to crop the 4:3 parts to make them widescreen? I'm glad they just left it alone.

The violence in Megazone 23 Part II was censored if you got the version included with the limited edition of the MZ23 PS3 game. But back to Macross, I wouldn't call this a "take the money and run" job. My set came in today, and for the most part I'm pleased. Edits and revisionism aside, it was awesome to finally see this movie in HD. I can't imagine ever going back to the old DVD just to see two seconds of gore. The new 5.1 mix is also a major upgrade. I confirmed that Minmay's "smile voice" isn't there on the 5.1 track when she smiles at Misa (after singing the song) at the end. I wonder why they took that out. But whatever - you can switch to the original audio if you choose. My film strip if from the scene where Minmay is telling Hikaru she has decided to sing the song (in front of the big window with the battle going on outside).

I received my shipping notice from CD Japan on Wednesday, but apparently my copy is still in Japan, waiting to be dispatched. Glad I paid 4300 yen for shipping! I noticed that the movie has a CERO rating of "B" (12 and up) while the game is rated "A" (all ages). I'm thinking it's likely the edits were done to bring the movie in line with the "B" rating. A higher rating might have hurt sales of the game. Someone mentioned Resident Evil; those games have a "D" rating (17 and up). Rabidweezil, I think there is supposed to be a code to download the PS1 game.

It has always seemed a little suspicious that they wanted this classified as a game first and a movie second. I haven't watched the second Frontier movie, but the scene in DYRL where the head gets crushed IS pretty gory (albeit brief). Again, I am reminded of when I bought the Megazone 23 PS3 game for the pack-in DVD with the English version of the OVA, only to find the OVA severely edited.

I received a shipping notice from CD Japan, but the EMS tracking number is not yet active. Note that I didn't order the "special request" version. A reviewer on Amazon has found a few other minor edits. He says that after the battle, when Minmay and Misa exchange looks, the voice is gone when they smile. I think he also says 5 frames are missing when Bodolza's head collapses. At least we have the choice of listening to the original audio.

I'm still wondering if it has to do with the game, and the CERO rating. It it's because of the game being on the same disc, you couldn't leave either version unaltered.

So, essentially, the people who download this will make out the best (English subs, possible fan edit that restores the censored scenes and fixes any other issues). And the studios wonder why sales of packaged media are on the decline. Personally, I hate it when they go all out on the swag and fail to pay attention to the quality of the actual movie. An unmolested version of the film in HD, with lossless sound. Is that so much to ask for? The extras are nice (although I couldn't care less about the game), but they are EXTRA.

There is a Valkyrie called a Super Ostrich. That's almost the same thing, right? Had to splash out for the Limited Edition since I've waited so long for this. Minmay is 17 in the movie. Old enough for Hikaru to suggest going to a love motel... What I'm most curious about now is this new opening. If they insert any animation that's newer than the Flash Back footage, I think the difference in style might be jarring.

That's great! Almost as good as the cel I saw one time of Hikaru slapping Minmay...

I don't care about the game. To me, that's like saying we edited your Blu-ray of Lawrence of Arabia, but here's a video game where you can ride a camel. I actually wish it didn't come with the game. All the game did for me was make this more expensive to import. I think it's a bit ridiculous to pay a couple hundred dollars for a movie on Blu-ray only to pop in a 13-year-old DVD to see it unedited. Maybe that's just me. I didn't buy the HD remaster DVD because I had already moved to the HD formats by then. It seemed pointless to buy an HD remaster in standard definition. I've been waiting for this movie to arrive on Blu-ray since I adopted the format in late 2006. I had a hunch it might happen in 2012. That's a lot of waiting! My guess is that it was Kawamori's decision to edit the film. In more recent years, it seems like he has become very "responsible" about the messages he wants his work to convey (note that I haven't seen the second Frontier movie, which apparently includes a massacre). Perhaps he thought the gore in DYRL detracted from the message of the movie. I'm still buying it because I can't wait to own this movie in HD. I just hope the changes aren't too distracting. Also: Minmay wasn't 15 in DYRL. They made her a few years older for the movie.

I'm waiting for Macross Plus to be announced. I think it might still happen before the end of 2012. I passed on the HD remaster DVDs since I knew the BDs would be coming eventually. I've love to upgrade my Manga DVD of the M+ Movie Edition; it looks terrible and it has burnt-in subs. Hopefully, they are just taking the time to do M+ right. However, I'm holding on to my signed M+ Movie Edition laserdisc for sentimental reasons.

My point was that they never attempted to hide the gore until now, even though it was a very quick shot. Instead, they highlighted it. There was really no need to show that split second in the book. Which is why it's odd that the scene would be toned down now...

It's funny. I just pulled out my copy of the Gold Book and the shot of Miriya squishing the Zentran's head is in there. Also, for the scene where the BGM was missing, it shows there is music. I really hope the release version doesn't have these edits since it won't be the original film anymore. Regarding the missing BGM, if there is there another audio track available on the disc with the original audio (even if it isn't in 5.1), I'm okay with it. It reminds me of when the new 5.1 track was created for The Terminator and people didn't like how the original gun sounds were replaced. Really, as long as the original track is there in some form, there would be fewer complaints. As for the game... I'm not really sure what the rating is. It seems like it might actually be rated B now.

Even the COTB edit included the decapitated head.

I wonder if the movie was edited because the game has an all-ages ("A") rating. When the Megazone 23 PS3 game came out, it included a version of the anime on DVD that was edited to comply with the game's rating. Personally, I don't care about the game. It would be a shame if the movie had to be edited because of it.

I ordered a copy of the LE from CD Japan yesterday and e-mailed YesAsia to cancel my order with them at the higher price. However, I had forgotten that this is classified as a game, and preorders for games can't be cancelled at YesAsia. They did make a one time exception for me, but it's something to be aware of. The fast sell outs at places like CD Japan is likely due in part to foreigners being unable to get this from Amazon JP.