Macross Plus in BD!!! OVA w/ English Dub & Movie w/En

[antibiotictab]

Yeah, I think it was mentioned in the talk show event that it was Anno who animated the iconic scene where the YF-21 takes off for the first time. I didn't know that!

Anno-san's one of the other great contribution for Macross was the scenes in the ep.27 of SDFM. He let the Monsters move. They said it was "legendary" as you know.

That story is so famous, so everybody here has already known it, but I wanted to say it once again. Because I want to say, "thank you, Anno-san."

And Higuchi-san... I really loved the Gamera movies he took charge of.

I heard a certain person's opinion; Gundam is Godzilla, Macross is Gamera. Words of wisdom. What a proper expression! I loved it.

Edited May 21, 2013 by antibiotictab

[kazuo]

Thanks for the news!

I dunno how anyone can pass this up now.

Pretty easily, actually.

1) Japan is known in general for lazy/bad transfers.

2) 1080i for the OVAs? lol

3) No subs for the OVAs - this one is more of a nitpick than anything else, but it's another knock against it for non-Japanese speakers

I'm willing to bet the OVAs and the Movie are just an upscale from the DVD masters based on past history. Macross Plus isn't DYRL, they're not going to spend tons of money remastering this (yet).

I'd hold off and wait for reviews unless you just really don't care about the quality. I can't justify spending $200 on upscaled Blurays and Bandai is lazy as frakk.

I'm reserving judgement until I know the origin and accuracy of these subs. If memory serves, the Manga subs replaced some Macross terminology with stuff from Robotech.

The subs for the Movie will be from the Manga Video version. They're not going to re-translate, and, as memory serves, the only possible "stuff from Robotech" they used was maybe "Reflex" instead of "Reaction" (and I'm not even sure that actually happened, my memory is bad and I haven't watched the Manga version in a long time)... "Zentraedi" is a non-issue IMO since that was even up for debate among fans at the time until Bandai "officially" said it's spelled "Zentradi".

[Tochiro]

I'm willing to bet the OVAs and the Movie are just an upscale from the DVD masters based on past history. Macross Plus isn't DYRL, they're not going to spend tons of money remastering this (yet).

Actually, no, it isnt an upscale, as was obvious to those of us who have already seen the movie edition and discussed it. I think an upscale would be fairly easy to pick on a cinema screen.

http://www.macrossworld.com/4976/macross-speakerpodcast-ep-9-part-2/

I'd hold off and wait for reviews unless you just really don't care about the quality. I can't justify spending $200 on upscaled Blurays and Bandai is lazy as frakk.

But if you had preordered you wouldn't have needed to spend anywhere near that much. Also, given the superb quality of the M7 blurays and the huge amount of effort that went into the DYRL bluray (it wasnt perfect but they did what they could with the materials that were left), I'm curious to know what you are basing the statement about Bandai on when it comes to Macross releases.

This is very likely going to be the final physical version of the show released. If you dont want to buy it thats cool, more power to you, but at least base the decision on facts (which are readily available) and not hearsay.

[Keith]

It's also not like there will br a release of Plus anywhere else in the world. Madman Ent might be able to swing it, but that's very unlikely

[kazuo]

As I said, basing it on past history of Bandai being lazy, the OVAs being listed as 1080i and the Movie being listed as 1080p on the flyer, and Japanese fan reactions expressing similar lack of optimism on 2ch, Amazon.jp comments, etc.

Sorry that I can't take your word for it on this one. You may be right in that the Movie isn't an upscale, but I'm not so optimistic about the OVAs themselves. At this point, since the Blurays aren't actually out, there are no "facts" other than what is on the flyers, and I'm not holding my breath.

Going to wait until the discs actually come out so they can be properly evaluated for the quality of the transfer.

Actually, no, it isnt an upscale, as was obvious to those of us who have already seen the movie edition and discussed it. I think an upscale would be fairly easy to pick on a cinema screen.
http://www.macrossworld.com/4976/macross-speakerpodcast-ep-9-part-2/But if you had preordered you wouldn't have needed to spend anywhere near that much. Also, given the superb quality of the M7 blurays and the huge amount of effort that went into the DYRL bluray (it wasnt perfect but they did what they could with the materials that were left), I'm curious to know what you are basing the statement about Bandai on when it comes to Macross releases.

This is very likely going to be the final physical version of the show released. If you dont want to buy it thats cool, more power to you, but at least base the decision on facts (which are readily available) and not hearsay.

[Keith]

can't help but think you're confusing Bandai with Toei, but at the end of the day, it's your loss.

[Tochiro]

Which is all fine and good and, as I said, your prerogative.

I was just wondering what exactly you were basing your opinions on. As in, which of the Macross Bluray sets to date was it that caused this skepticism towards Bandai's Macross releases? Which one was it that you bought and then turned out so disappointing?
I ask because honestly I have been pretty amazed by the quality of all of them so far (who would have thought that M7 could look so good!) and my only complaint would be about SDFM TV - and even then my problems were with the packaging and relative lack of extras and not the way the show itself looked.

As far as facts go, well its a fact that the movie edition isnt an upscale, at least. Its also a fact that Kawamori himself oversaw the 'remaster' although the pictures Ive seen of him doing so in the studio dont specify which version it was. then theres the fairly reasonable conjecture that Keith made - that this will most likely be the only BD release so there wont be any other options anyways and heck, I dont think Ive seen an anime BD yet that looks as bad as a manga entertainment DVD encode.

Then again, if this is all based the kind of people who post 'reviews' on Amazon before a product is released (and not that the number of fake positive reviews has jumped since the theatrical screening to the point that they already outweigh the fake negative reviews by 2 to 1) well then.... good luck with that I suppose.

But, to each their own.
Given how Macross Plus lacked anywhere near the popularity in Japan that it had in the West I suppose I'm just happy that we are getting a release at all, let alone something that is relatively import friendly. And with a preorder discount it costs less than buying a valk :-)

Edited June 5, 2013 by Tochiro

[treatment]

fwiw...

I have my own issues with BV, most especially with their DYRL-BD shenanigans.

However, this upcoming MP-BD set is gonna cost me US$145, including shipping. I paid a very reluctant and regrettable US$175 for my DYRL-BDLE that cdj won't let me cancel coz of the "special purchase" shenanigans.

Both Renato and Tochiro have had positive feedback on the MP theatrical-showing they watched, in contrast to their negative feedback regarding the DYRL theatrical-showing they watched.

I just think this will be a much better buy than the DYRL-BDLE ordering-shenanigans most of us went thru.

obtw, the only definite negative I can think of right now is that stupid busy box-art for this MP-BD still definitely sucks.

Edited June 5, 2013 by treatment

[Renato]

Sorry that I can't take your word for it on this one. You may be right in that the Movie isn't an upscale, but I'm not so optimistic about the OVAs themselves. At this point, since the Blurays aren't actually out, there are no "facts" other than what is on the flyers, and I'm not holding my breath.

Apart from the 5.1 mix on the movie, this seems to be the full HD release of the "HD Remaster" editions that they released first on DVD between 2007 and 2009. In other words, you can compare the video on the first pressings of the early 2000s DVDs with the more recent HD-Rm versions and that should provide a hint. That is exactly what happened with Macross 7 -- the HD-Rm DVDs from 2007 looked amazing, and when they came out on BD you got the full, true experience. Gubaba described it best as "it's as if you were watching the actual cels being projected on your TV" and I couldn't agree more. The other really fantastic remaster I can name is the Yamato BD set, which is incredible, crystal clear to the extent that you can make out all the dust particles and scratches on the surface of the cels, even the shadows of the painted sections on the matte backgrounds. I don't think you need to worry about picture quality here in the slightest.

[Keith]

I thought I waid the thing about watching the cel's projected on screen, in reference to the SDFM set. Regardless I have many BV Japanese releases, and all have been stellar.

[Gubaba]

I thought I waid the thing about watching the cel's projected on screen, in reference to the SDFM set. Regardless I have many BV Japanese releases, and all have been stellar.

Maybe you did... I also said it while watching Ep. 27 at Save's place.

[Keith]

Maybe you did... I also said it while watching Ep. 27 at Save's place.

Regardless, beautiful remaster, and the perfect way to describe it. Can't wait to see how Plus came out, and I hope II get's the same treatment.

[Jefferson]

Some samples of genga included in the Box :

http://animesama.cocolog-nifty.com/animestyle/2013/06/complete-blu-ra.html

[Tochiro]

Some samples of genga included in the Box :

http://animesama.cocolog-nifty.com/animestyle/2013/06/complete-blu-ra.html

Nice find!

[Germán]

Some samples of genga included in the Box :

http://animesama.cocolog-nifty.com/animestyle/2013/06/complete-blu-ra.html

Thank you very much!

[Tochiro]

Sample from the boxset booklet and genga:

[Chronocidal]

Whoa.. they've got stuff in there about Edwards AFB. That's kind of amazing, I can't wait to see what the translations for those bits are.

[Skull 0ne]

Are there two releases, a regular and a limited?

Limited

http://www.yesasia.com/us/macross-plus-complete-blu-ray-box-blu-ray-limited-pressing-japan-version/1032216023-0-0-0-en/info.html

And a regular edition?

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Macross-Plus-CompleteParts-1-4-Blu-ray/63609/

[Tochiro]

No, there's only one version for now. That site is referring to the first pressing, not a different limited edition. Note that both listings start at almost the same price.

[Skull 0ne]

I see that now, thanks.

[antibiotictab]

Commercial films.

http://youtu.be/CHT0tnG3YUU
http://youtu.be/5_kF_oJjLNo
I wonder what is the proper translation of 「伝説の5秒」 in English. "The legendary 5 seconds?" Is the expression well-known outside of Japan, too?

[Marzan]

^

I'm I the only one getting a "the uploader has not made this video available in your country" when I click on vids antibiotictab posted?

[VF-15 Banshee]

No Marzan, no joy for me either.

[antibiotictab]

^

I'm I the only one getting a "the uploader has not made this video available in your country" when I click on vids antibiotictab posted?

Oh, BandaiChannel, as usual...

[treatment]

ten more days till release.

then add at least another 2-7 days of express-shipping to US....

[Tochiro]

^

I'm I the only one getting a "the uploader has not made this video available in your country" when I click on vids antibiotictab posted?

Try this.

http://www.macrossworld.com/5031/macross-plus-bd-boxset-cm/

[UN Spacy]

Looks like the same trailer that's been on Amazon Japan the last few weeks.

BTW. Does anyone know if they've replaced the scene with the CGI SDF-1 hovering over Lake Global?

I still don't know why they used it in the first place....it's and eyesore and probably my ONLY complaint with the CGI used in Macross Plus.

[Tochiro]

BTW. Does anyone know if they've replaced the scene with the CGI SDF-1 hovering over Lake Global?

Sounds like something beyond the scope of the boxset. Its only a remaster, not a directors cut.

[Renato]

Looks like the same trailer that's been on Amazon Japan the last few weeks.

BTW. Does anyone know if they've replaced the scene with the CGI SDF-1 hovering over Lake Global?

I still don't know why they used it in the first place....it's and eyesore and probably my ONLY complaint with the CGI used in Macross Plus.

No, it is still in there (we saw it at the cinema last month).

I had no problem with that shot back in the day, but yeah, seeing it in HD on the big screen made it very hard to swallow. Not just that, but the scenes with Sharon riding that white bird thing were pretty lame, too... But there is much more goodness in there to make up for it, so I don't feel the need to have it removed. In fact, I would hate to have anything changed, even the bad parts.

[antibiotictab]

Kenji Utsumi (Col Millard Johnson) passed away.

RIP

[UN Spacy]

I just paid Ami for my copy. Fingers crossed it arrives by Saturday.

[treatment]

heh!

my amj-order is scheduled to be shipped on friday and the expected delivery is next week.

[Chronocidal]

Woo, got my payment notification from AmiAmi, should be on it's way soon.

[Marzan]

Counting on Amazon Japan to ship friday as promised. And I'm hoping customs messes up and doesn't charge like they did with the first Macross Frontier film!

[locidm]

How much does customs charge? I assume you are in the states too?

Is there a upper limit above which we get charged duty?