omniherc Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 Well, first off I'd just like to say hello to everyone. I did see the Macross newbie Q&A topic, but I got the impression that was more for questions about things in the show. Same with the buying and selling forum, I assume this is the better place for questions like this. Until very recently I had never heard of Macross or Robotech for that matter. The Space Channel is currently running the Robotech episodes and this was the first time I saw them. I really enjoyed them (Macross Saga) and as with everything I like, I went online to research as much about it as possible. This quickly led me to Macross. Always being a fan of the originals and older stuff in general, Macross caught my eye. So I looked around for some boxed sets and found them on the Robotech site. Set A http://www.robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=93 Restored, Japanese with Eng Subtitles. Set B http://www.robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=242 Restored, English Dub & Japanese with Eng Subtitles. Now I have a few questions about these two sets. About the animation: They are both restored, does one look better than the other or are they both the same? Are they both the original (as in all the same scenes only touched up animation)? About the subtitles: I have run into some truly horrible subtitles before and I, having no knowledge of the Japanese language, have no way to tell if they are faithful to what is going on or if liberties are taken. Is either one less true to the story with Japanese audio + Eng Subs? If they are both the same, does one look better than the other? About the Dub: I am under the impression that Set B can be watched in Japanese with subs or an English Dub. I have nothing wrong with watching in Japanese with subs, hell I usually prefer that, but if the subs are the same as Set A, then I might as well go with the added option of English audio. There are times when I just throw on a movie and I am just too plain tired after work to bother looking at subtitles. That's about all the questions I have, thanks a ton for bothering to read them and hopefully answer them. After reading the differences between Robotech and Macross I am looking forward to the Macross story as I seem to like it's ideas a little more. Even though I only watched and learned about Robotech a couple weeks ago, I hope I like the voices in Macross even if they are the original, my first impression was the english Robotech ones and first impressions do stick. It will probly only take a bit of getting used to, same thing with the names. Again, Thanks and take it easy.
Strife Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 (edited) Set A http://www.robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=93 Restored, Japanese with Eng Subtitles. Set B http://www.robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=242 Restored, English Dub & Japanese with Eng Subtitles. FYI: Set A release is commonly known as "Animeigo" while Set B is known as "ADV". I believe the consensus here is that, unless you really prefer dubs (no matter how badly done) over reading subs, then Animeigo is the way to go. Animeigo's sound quality is superior to ADV's and the whole DVD set is cheaper to boot! To answer your questions: About the animation (or video quality): Both use the same restored video, but Animeigo has the edge as it is progressive scan whereas ADV is interlaced About the subtitles: I believe both versions use basically the same subtitles with some minor corrections in ADV. They are official subs anyway so they are as good as they get. About the dub: I think one member of this board described ADV's dub as "beyond suck" and many others have voiced similar opinions but this is a subjective matter. Personally, I agree with those comments, after previewing some episodes I felt some characters were overacted, some accents were way too "American" for my taste (nothing personal, mind you), Hikaru's voice was childish/unbearable, etc. Also worth mentioning is the fact that ADV's English track has had some (all?) sound effects replaced by different versions. For more information you should check this nice review written by Hurin and also some past threads here and there (there's some confusion in the first 30 posts of this one, though) The only complain about Animeigo's release was regarding the discs' cracking tendency (something to do with the material). Not sure if this problem has been addressed already. Edited February 4, 2008 by Strife
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