NEWS: 10/30/98
I'm telling you, those anime discs are just taunting me now, wishing I had
time to watch them. Sunday morning and late afternoon will be a day of
anime DVD, to be followed by reviews that night. I do have to take time
out to go see the new John Carpenters Vampires though.
If you're interested in providing a review of your DVD player, what with
the large number of models out there, and it's reaction to anime titles,
do not hesitate to send a review! This section will also be debuting on
sometime Sunday, to help the anime fan get a feel for what other anime
fans are watching their DVD's on.
NEWS: 10/28/98
Be sure to check out the latest column from Marc Yu!
A big "hello!" and thanks to the great guys over at Gaming Age who sent me
a couple of emails verifying that the information on Pokemon is accurate,
right from Pioneer's mouth. I'm still curious as to what's been cut for
the domestic release that would make a minimal impact on doing a Japanese
language track, but we shall see!
Of speculative interest in the forum today, there was a post over at Anime
Village saying that Bandai Visual of Japan is intending to scale back or
altogether eliminate laserdisc production at some point next year. Check
it out in the forum here.
NEWS: 10/27/98
Pokemon to be dual
language? Accord to
Gaming Age,
the disc will contain both languages as well as subtitles. I'm still not
100% sure on this though, as TV episodes are generally cut up enough that
placing a Japanese language track on them not actually contain the entire
episode. I'm leaving this one in the "wait and see" category unless some
reliable sources step forward.
Just an FYI to the daily readers here, but updates will be sparse through
the rest of the week. An long work schedule is demanding too much of my
time through this Saturday, but Sunday night should result in reviews for
Babel II and Art of Fighting.
Oh, and yes, Art of Fighting does have yellow subtitles... now we
just need a border!
NEWS: 10/24/98
Well, color me corrected. Apparently the OVA's for Battle Athletes run
longer than normal, which means the
On Your Mark is the same
as the VHS version, comprising 2 episodes. But, get this -
Battle Athletes Ready is
due out 2 weeks after the first one. The 3rd tape is due out later that
month, which means we may see the 3rd DVD by the end of January. Now
that's a release schedule! Let's see if Pioneer keeps that up.
NEWS: 10/23/98
You can tell it's a Friday if the forum here is any indication. Monty
Python and the Empire Strikes Back quotes popping up in the debates,
questions on what's actually shipping next week, and just plain silliness
on the part of many.
It's still too early to tell exactly what's shipping, but don't expect
Bubblegum Crisis. Several people got the email from Animeigo today that
the delay is due to packaging now, and wanting to get it done right. While
I wish it was here, it does fall under the "quality before rushing" motto.
Word is that Animenation now has Legend of Lemnear and Venus Wars in
stock, a week early again. Both of these are CPM produced discs, so their
track record is good so far.
According to the latest Diamond Previews (hardly a source of accuracy in
my book), they list Wind Named Amnesia and Takegami: Guardian of Darkness
as due out in January. Looks as if it's a compilation disc, containing the
3 tapes running at 130 minutes. I'll be updating the listing page for that
on Sunday, as I just got home with my copies of Xenogears and Metal Gear
Solid for the Playstation and will be, well, occupied. :)
NEWS: 10/22/98
A slower day today in the news department, but quite active in the forum.
As the sub vs. dub debate rages on (cordially, I'm pleased to say), Roman
Martel has had a fit of inspiration and provided us with
this months article
about it. Be sure to check it out.
We're also on watch for up to 3 titles due out next week. Project A-Ko,
Lupin III and Bubblegum Crisis. I'm gambling that BGC will be delayed, but
the other two seem quite likely. Let's see how the dice roll on that one.
NEWS: 10/21/98
To start things off today, we have a new article from Marc Yu about anime
and your home theater setup. There should be a series of general home
theater columns coming over the next several months, so those of you just
now getting into the whole HT world can get some different views on it.
A couple of serious anime fans have made up a petition signup
encouragement sheet produced here in MS Word. The
first one being the
one to cut up for people to take home with them, and the
second one to be taped
down to a counter to attract attention. If you use these, be sure to let
me know!
Probably one of the more humorous things I've read in the past week or
two, but Roman Martel has finished his
Biography interview
with Divi-Chan. Be sure to check it out.
Big thanks to Greg over at DVD
Nightmare who made this peachy keen
Anime on DVD active desktop.
I've updated the poll below (and also cleared the results, so vote again)
about the CPM sub issue, since I may not have been as clear as could be.
For the record, these numbers will be forwarded to CPM so they can use
them to evaluate certain sub-only titles.
NEWS: 10/20/98
In response to some follow-ups I'd sent to Mr. O'Donnell, his responses
have been added into the
20 Questions with him, with a different font.
Be sure to check it out. Worth noting is the fact that they have releases
scheduled through the end of next year. Talk about keeping me happy!
Color me slightly brain dead after last nights late update, but it slipped
my mind completely that the upcoming
Battle Athletes is the
first of the non-LD/VHS only releases, which has caused at least one well
known anime fan to get "off the fence" as others have called it.
Hopefully, this will bring us some titles in January, such as El-Hazard 2
and Bastard!!, which will definitely make me even more happy.
As a follow-up to the 20 Questions with Central Park Media, I've got an
inquiry with Pioneer now to do the same. This just leaves Animeigo and AD
Vision, neither of whom have anything out just yet. Once we have something
out from them, I'll see if they're more receptive to a question session by
the fans.
NEWS: 10/19/98
Battle Athletes to contain
3 episodes? With an announced running time of 75 minutes, that makes the
usual OVA time of 25 minutes seem about right. This means, in difference
to the tape releases, that it'll be two DVD's as opposed to 3 tapes (or 6
if you wanted both languages). Apparently there'll be stickers included as
well.
Just a touch of housecleaning today. Those who enter via the index page
may notice something a little different today. With so many new visitors
in the past week, I finally forced myself to sit down and play with Paint
Shop Pro during it's last 3 test trial days.
Awareness issue! If you run a webpage, be sure to place one or two of the
banners we have here at AoD to direct them towards the petitions. They're
important! If you want to link to the petitions here, use the Lum banner
at the top of this page, or use the DVD NOW button created by Edwin of the
ADSC to bring attention there. The DVD NOW button has made an impression
in lots of places, especially the Anime Pitstop. Lets see if we can keep
spreading the word all over!
I'm also trying to get in touch with some of the companies to do a
question session similar to CPM. So far, I've only managed to make a
little headway with Pioneer. Anyone know anyone? :)
NEWS: 10/18/98
Late update on this segment:
Pioneer has announced
Battle Athletes for DVD,
due out on 12/29. Curious title choice, what with all the shows they have.
Still, it's better than nothing coming out.
Also, per some requests, I've modified the reviews listing page. Hopefully
this will make a few people happier. :)
I'm not sure what kind of "market share" they have, but Anime Radio was
talking DVD this morning, giving it a thumbs up. Exposure everywhere!
Be sure to check out the new polls that will be making their way to the
poll page over the next few days. Suggestion for one? Send it in!
NEWS: 10/16/98
With great speed, John O'Donnell from
CPM has responded to the
burning questions of
anime DVD fans. Be sure to read it and use the email provided in it.
More on that over the weekend.
And here's something worth reading,
a press release
from Multimedia 2000 about their upcoming BGC release and it's rave
reviews at this past weekends AWA convention. If you were there and saw
it, share your thoughts about it on the forum. Eager fans want to know!
Interested in price comparing?
Check out this link!
Also worth noting, Babel 2 from Image/Streamline is due out next
Wednesday. Dub only though...
Look for some work being done over the weekend, mostly in response to some
things brought up in the twenty questions. New polls regarding issue with
CPM discs will start showing up so we can help them gauge reader response.
NEWS: 10/14/98
Be sure to keep signing those petitions that can be found in the columns &
info section. Fan support is crucial in this venture!
Marc Yu has a new column
up now. Check it out, especially if you're looking into region 2 discs.
I've heard from a few people now who were at the AWA con this past
weekend, that they saw part of the BGC DVD. The bad part? Apparently
they're working on fixing a coding error with... you guessed it,
subtitles. Supposedly they did not look good at all. I'm all in favor of a
delay for good subtitles.
NEWS: 10/13/98
My review for the newly released
Big Wars is up. Be
sure to check that out. Also be sure to check the 10/12 news, as there was
some late breaking info around 11 PM or so that night.
NEWS: 10/12/98
Curse you Pioneer!
I've managed to avoid learning anything about
Pokemon, figuring it
wouldn't make it onto DVD. NOW you go and release some of it! :)
My review for Grave of the
Fireflies is now up for your reading pleasure. Comments are most
welcome on this title, especially in the forum.
Care to play Twenty Questions with John O'Donnell from
Central Park Media? I've
arranged a deal with him regarding anime and DVD. If you've got a question
you want to know about the two from one of the leading pioneers in
bringing anime to this format, now's your time to get an answer! Once I've
gotten twenty excellent questions, I'll be sending them off to him and
will post the response when I get it. This, to me, is just great! Be sure
to send your questions to
me at this address by this Thursday, 10/15. I'll pull the most
common/best questions together and send them off. Remember, be courteous!
No "where the %^#&#&#^%&" is Lodoss!
I've also gotten word from a rep at Multimedia 2000 regarding Bubblegum
Crisis today. Basically, an early November street date is expected, which
confirms what I've heard over the weekend. Dates ranging from 11/12 to
11/27 are all over, but we'll just have to wait and see. I have to admit,
just about everyone there is quite enthusiastic about this title, and have
heard a lot from fans about it in email, so they know they have to deliver
a top rate title. I think they'll manage it quite nicely.
NEWS: 10/10/98
Bubblegum Crisis due out on 11/19 from M2K and a week later from Animeigo?
According to a couple of emails I received today, that's what it looks
like. One potential reason for the delay may include pressing demands on
the plant that's being used (Pioneer is what I keep hearing is where it's
being done). So, don't be surprised to see another delay date. Thanks to
everyone who sent me mail on this.
The Right Stuf to do DVD?
Word from the recent con as well as their own web page state that since
they've got a dub of Tylor coming out, they're not precluding the
possibility of a DVD release of it sometime thereafter. Considering how
many people must be ordering DVD's from them, they must see some numbers
in the orders that indicate it's worthwhile to do... be sure to drop by
their site and offer some encouragement!
NEWS: 10/09/98
Congrats to Chris Miller for being the first to find Divi-Chan! She was
checking out Big Wars, which is confirmed for a Wednesday release!
Can you find Divi-Chan?
She's out there
somewhere.... between 7 PM and 10 PM EST!
A new alternate angle review of
Armitage is now up,
courtesy of Roman Martel. Be sure to give it a read. If you're interested
in submitting an alternate angle review of your own for any of the titles
listed, or something for a region 2 title,
don't hesitate to email me on it!
NEWS: 10/07/98
Extra special kudos to DVD Express. When I received my large shipment
yesterday, I was dismayed to find that they had put in the first Ranma 1/2
movie instead of the new one. After a quick call (and being told to keep
the first one), they did an overnight FEDEX of Nihao to me. Now that's
customer service! I also got in 4 of the 14 discs I ordered from Reel.com
today, so the deal, when it was in place, is being honored.
Be sure to check out the
contest section for info on our latest contest.
My review of 8 Man After:
Perfect Collection is also up, so be sure to check that out.
Want more? All righty then, be sure to check out the review for
Ranma 1/2: Nihao My
Concubine!
NEWS: 10/06/98
Image had their latest round of announcements yesterday. I'm almost glad
that there are no new anime announcements from them. Hopefully it will
give them a chance to get caught up and get out the product that's been
listed since April. However, it's worth noting that the live action
Zeram movie is listed coming from them. The woman who plays Iria is such a
babe...
Due to a glitch with my recent DVD Express order, I'm pleased to announce
that Thursday will see our latest contest. I have an extra copy of Ranma
1/2: Big Trouble in Nekoron China up for grabs. Check in tomorrow night
for all the details!
NEWS: 10/05/98
Marc Yu has brought us
another column - be sure to check it out!
Slightly large update today. As a side note, could all
staff writers please email me?
Since I ended up reformatting my PC before I went on vacation, I lost all
my address books....
Be sure to check out the Anime
DVD Support Campaign for info from the recent Neko-con!
AD Vision has finally announced their first title for the end of
January, Tekken. Of interest in the announcement is that, for now, the DVD
is the only way to get a subtitled version of this 60 minute flick. Of
course, when you add in that this is a game-to-anime show, it's not too
terribly surprising. The downside? It looks like 29.95$ price point for a
60 minute title. This should be a 24.95 title if they want to compete in
the market. Ah well.
Of interesting note that came to my attention in regards to the
Pioneer/Viz team up for DVD - Pioneer, not Viz, seems to be the one in
charge of picking the titles. While this, for the moment, doesn't bode
well for TV series such as Maison Ikkoku or Ranma 1/2, it probably means
we'll see more of the smaller series. I've heard that Key is under serious
consideration, and that a personal fave of mine, Please Save My Earth is
another likely candidate. PSME would also be the first subtitled/Japanese
language release here stateside... let's keep out fingers crossed!
Be sure to check out the email from Manga Entertainment about their
replacement copy of Ninja
Scroll for audio/video sync/jump problems. Kudos to Manga for their
customer service, even if it was a tad slow. I'd guess they were waiting
to get a new pressing completed before talking about it.
NEWS: 10/02/98
I'm baaaack. :)
Tenchi on DTS, Divx breaks ground, Manga offers replacement copy of Ninja
Scroll, several new anime releases make their way out, and I'm probably
missing several things from the myriad emails I've received during my
hiatus.
I'll be bringing everything up to date sometime on Sunday, as I just
walked in from my vacation about 20 minutes ago. My sojourn took me form
Massachusetts to North Carolina where, yes, DVD is selling quite well. Of
course, I also managed to get my first hands on look at Divx (We've sold
23 players in 2 days! We've sold 2 DVD players in the past week.) Yeah,
right. Anyways, expect everything to start picking up again in the next
few days. |
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