UK Blu-ray anime releases with “Japanese quality” - Blu-ray Forum

Naiera · 02-20-2018, 01:40 PM

Japanese and Aniplex of America releases are very expensive, so it’s very nice when a UK release comes out that matches them in video quality. Those that we know of are:

Durarara (season 1 only)
Baccano
Blue Exorcist (perhaps not a clone, but seems to be “Japanese quality” nonetheless)
Outlaw Star

Maybe:

Erased

I actually made this thread for a very selfish reason, and that is to obtain help in figuring out if the last two titles from Manga UK, who did the original Blue Exorcist release, would happen to also be of “Japanese quality”

The first volume, containing six episodes of Kyoto Saga, is listed as having two discs on Amazon UK. I know the release is a month off, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared

This thread should, of course, also serve as a reference point when people ask if any English-friendly region B releases are as good as AoA or the Japanese release. This means no Dynit talk, I’m afraid, as these are obviously not English-friendly. It doesn’t really matter where the release is from; as long as it is English-friendly and significantly less expensive than JP or AoA.

Disclaimer: (please read and adhere to these “rules”, or I will likely report your post myself)

This thread is not for discussing whether or not this difference in video quality matters. It does to many of us. If it doesn’t matter to you, then there are dozens of other cool threads on this sub-forum to participate in. This thread is not for “opinions”; we will use correctly grabbed screenshots and disc stats (always the latter) to determine whether these releases are in fact on par with Japanese or AoA quality. Or maybe, as was the case with Outlaw Star, word from the publisher. Furthermore, there shall be no discussion on the issue of Japanese or AoA Blu-ray prices; only so far as to compare them to the cheaper region usually B releases this thread is about.

Yuripa · 02-20-2018, 07:44 PM

Speaking of Aniplex I can provide the MediaInfo for some Aniplex titles from @anime Ltd.
I don't know if they where published elsewhere, sorry if they did.

Anthem of the Heart :

[Show spoiler]

Kill la Kill :

[Show spoiler]

Your Lie in April :

[Show spoiler]

Expelled from Paradise :

[Show spoiler]

No need to post the Baccano! MediaInfo I think.
Erased soon ~
If someone have the Aniplex (jp or AoA) mediainfo's to compare, I don't.

Mangaranga · 02-21-2018, 07:54 PM

Pretty sure Erased Part 1 and Your Lie in April Part 1 are just Aniplex's video masters on two discs without the spanish subs. BDinfo's both looked pretty healthy (I own Erased, but I saw YLiA's posted somewhere way back) and both were authored by Madman. The gamma/encoding isn't screwed for the former either, whereas it would've been if Madman had encoded it. It's an extremely easy way to tell whether an encoding job is theirs or not.

The following titles DON'T use Aniplex's masters, but I'll list for anyone interested who handled them:

Aldnoah.Zero (Hanabee)
Charlotte (Justin)
Durarara x2 Sho (Justin), Ten/Ketsu (Siren Visual)
Expelled From Paradise (@Anime)
Gurren Lagann (UK Company)
Kill La Kill (UK Company)
Persona 3 Movies (Justin)
Samurai Flamenco (@Anime)
Sword Art Online II (Madman)

Naiera · 02-21-2018, 08:42 PM

It’s the first I’ve heard of YLIA being a clone, but I’m open to seeing the evidence

El3mental · 02-22-2018, 07:56 PM

Would Wolf's Rain count since Anime Limited and the Japanese (so I've heard) release use the same master version created by Funimation?

Yuripa · 02-22-2018, 08:18 PM

No, cause Japan don't have any HD master to begin with.
The upscaling was done by Funimation, there's no Blu-Ray edition/HD Master in Japan right now.
Maybe later, Like death Note, Viz upscaled the serie, then Later Japan did the same, but with Q-tec in charge of the upscale if i'm not mistaken.

El3mental · 02-23-2018, 06:30 PM

Ok. But it still meets the thread's title/qualifications: the quality of the UK and JP releases would theoretically be identical

Naiera · 02-23-2018, 06:38 PM

No, it does not.

Yuripa · 02-23-2018, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El3mental

Ok. But it still meets the thread's title/qualifications: the quality of the UK and JP releases would theoretically be identical

No because since Japan did not re-mastered or upscaled this serie comparaisons are not possible.

If they decide to do that it could end in :
1 - Better Video/audio quality than Funimation HD edtion.
2 - Worse video/audio quality than funimation (Q-tec studio is know for often doing shit upscale)

Also remember that one of the worst upscaling in history was done by Funimation via Spice & Wold s1.
The HD Master in Japan is waaaaaaaay better than the poor US upscaling.

Anyway I don't think Wolf's Rain will ever get properly upscaled/re-mastered in HD in Japan.

El3mental · 02-24-2018, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naiera

No, it does not.

Perhaps you should make a more specific list of qualifications then

Naiera · 02-24-2018, 10:30 PM

We’re obviously talking Blu-ray-only and there obviously has to be an AoA or Japanese original to compare to.

Yuripa · 03-02-2018, 02:56 PM

Got my Erased vol 1 from @anime Ltd today.
Here some screenshots, and the Mediainfo.
In short : A very strong UK release, basicaly a clone of Aniplex (AoA) even if it was authored by someone else.
And of course waaay cheaper than AoA, ~ 50$ UK / ~ 90$ AoA.

Screenshots UK (I have taken the same screens as Sensuifu from Fandompost) : https://imgur.com/a/AITW2
Screenshots US (Sensuifu) : https://imgur.com/a/0OXfL

Comparo : http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/133413

Mediainfo :

[Show spoiler]

Naiera · 03-02-2018, 03:06 PM

BASICALLY a clone? Hmm. If both volumes were £20 I'd buy. I guess it comes down to whether it has proper brightness and such.

professorwho · 03-02-2018, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naiera

If both volumes were £20 I'd buy.

JB HI FI in Australia has a 20% off sale on everything, and Erased Vol. 1 is about $20USD. Not sure if they’re the same disc, but it might be worth the shot.

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/movies-tv-...lume-1/456588/

Naiera · 04-12-2018, 11:37 AM

We can definitively strike Occultic;Nine from the hopeful list as it's just under 13GB on the first BD25. I guess two BD25's are that much cheaper than one BD50 that this makes sense financially?

As for Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, results are conflicting, as referred to in this post. Watching the episodes on my Oppo, the bitrate seems to hover just over 30, with occasional spikes in both directions. Not the typical 40-ish for a Japanese/Aniplex of America disc. But it does look nice enough.

Because money, I think I'll just stick with these UK releases for both upcoming volumes

They're seriously less than half price, compared to AoA.

Blazing-star · 04-12-2018, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naiera

We can definitively strike Occultic;Nine from the hopeful list as it's just under 13GB on the first BD25. I guess two BD25's are that much cheaper than one BD50 that this makes sense financially?

As for Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, results are conflicting, as referred to in this post. Watching the episodes on my Oppo, the bitrate seems to hover just over 30, with occasional spikes in both directions. Not the typical 40-ish for a Japanese/Aniplex of America disc. But it does look nice enough.

Because money, I think I'll just stick with these UK releases for both upcoming volumes

They're seriously less than half price, compared to AoA.

Shame about Occultic;Nine but it's hard to resist the price, I paid £16.24 for vol 1.

Gouki · 04-12-2018, 06:19 PM

Is the Toradora UK release any good?

Naiera · 04-12-2018, 06:34 PM

It’s the same mess that was released in the US. But much cheaper.

This doesn’t belong in this thread though

ccunning1 · 04-16-2018, 09:23 PM

Was the old school Berserk released in Japan? I know France and the UK have a blu ray.

Nostalgic Twilight · 04-16-2018, 09:52 PM

Yeah, it was.

02-20-2018, 01:40 PM	#1
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	UK Blu-ray anime releases with “Japanese quality” Japanese and Aniplex of America releases are very expensive, so it’s very nice when a UK release comes out that matches them in video quality. Those that we know of are: Durarara (season 1 only) Baccano Blue Exorcist (perhaps not a clone, but seems to be “Japanese quality” nonetheless) Outlaw Star Maybe: Erased I actually made this thread for a very selfish reason, and that is to obtain help in figuring out if the last two titles from Manga UK, who did the original Blue Exorcist release, would happen to also be of “Japanese quality” The first volume, containing six episodes of Kyoto Saga, is listed as having two discs on Amazon UK. I know the release is a month off, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared This thread should, of course, also serve as a reference point when people ask if any English-friendly region B releases are as good as AoA or the Japanese release. This means no Dynit talk, I’m afraid, as these are obviously not English-friendly. It doesn’t really matter where the release is from; as long as it is English-friendly and significantly less expensive than JP or AoA. Disclaimer: (please read and adhere to these “rules”, or I will likely report your post myself) This thread is not for discussing whether or not this difference in video quality matters. It does to many of us. If it doesn’t matter to you, then there are dozens of other cool threads on this sub-forum to participate in. This thread is not for “opinions”; we will use correctly grabbed screenshots and disc stats (always the latter) to determine whether these releases are in fact on par with Japanese or AoA quality. Or maybe, as was the case with Outlaw Star, word from the publisher. Furthermore, there shall be no discussion on the issue of Japanese or AoA Blu-ray prices; only so far as to compare them to the cheaper region usually B releases this thread is about. Last edited by Naiera; 04-12-2018 at 11:44 AM.

02-20-2018, 07:44 PM	#2
Yuripa Senior Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2016 Location:EU (Belgium) Blu-ray collection:229 DVD collection:1 Trading Score:2	Speaking of Aniplex I can provide the MediaInfo for some Aniplex titles from @anime Ltd. I don't know if they where published elsewhere, sorry if they did. Anthem of the Heart : [Show spoiler] Kill la Kill : [Show spoiler] Your Lie in April : [Show spoiler] Expelled from Paradise : [Show spoiler] No need to post the Baccano! MediaInfo I think. Erased soon ~ If someone have the Aniplex (jp or AoA) mediainfo's to compare, I don't.

02-21-2018, 07:54 PM	#3
Mangaranga Senior Member Member since:Oct 2014	Pretty sure Erased Part 1 and Your Lie in April Part 1 are just Aniplex's video masters on two discs without the spanish subs. BDinfo's both looked pretty healthy (I own Erased, but I saw YLiA's posted somewhere way back) and both were authored by Madman. The gamma/encoding isn't screwed for the former either, whereas it would've been if Madman had encoded it. It's an extremely easy way to tell whether an encoding job is theirs or not. The following titles DON'T use Aniplex's masters, but I'll list for anyone interested who handled them: Aldnoah.Zero (Hanabee) Charlotte (Justin) Durarara x2 Sho (Justin), Ten/Ketsu (Siren Visual) Expelled From Paradise (@Anime) Gurren Lagann (UK Company) Kill La Kill (UK Company) Persona 3 Movies (Justin) Samurai Flamenco (@Anime) Sword Art Online II (Madman)

02-21-2018, 08:42 PM	#4
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	It’s the first I’ve heard of YLIA being a clone, but I’m open to seeing the evidence

02-22-2018, 07:56 PM	#5
El3mental Active Member Member since:Jun 2017 Blu-ray collection:292 DVD collection:244 Trading Score:3	Would Wolf's Rain count since Anime Limited and the Japanese (so I've heard) release use the same master version created by Funimation?

02-22-2018, 08:18 PM	#6
Yuripa Senior Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2016 Location:EU (Belgium) Blu-ray collection:229 DVD collection:1 Trading Score:2	No, cause Japan don't have any HD master to begin with. The upscaling was done by Funimation, there's no Blu-Ray edition/HD Master in Japan right now. Maybe later, Like death Note, Viz upscaled the serie, then Later Japan did the same, but with Q-tec in charge of the upscale if i'm not mistaken.

02-23-2018, 06:30 PM	#7
El3mental Active Member Member since:Jun 2017 Blu-ray collection:292 DVD collection:244 Trading Score:3	Ok. But it still meets the thread's title/qualifications: the quality of the UK and JP releases would theoretically be identical

02-23-2018, 06:38 PM	#8
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	No, it does not.

02-24-2018, 10:30 PM	#11
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	We’re obviously talking Blu-ray-only and there obviously has to be an AoA or Japanese original to compare to.

03-02-2018, 02:56 PM	#12
Yuripa Senior Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2016 Location:EU (Belgium) Blu-ray collection:229 DVD collection:1 Trading Score:2	Got my Erased vol 1 from @anime Ltd today. Here some screenshots, and the Mediainfo. In short : A very strong UK release, basicaly a clone of Aniplex (AoA) even if it was authored by someone else. And of course waaay cheaper than AoA, ~ 50$ UK / ~ 90$ AoA. Screenshots UK (I have taken the same screens as Sensuifu from Fandompost) : https://imgur.com/a/AITW2 Screenshots US (Sensuifu) : https://imgur.com/a/0OXfL Comparo : http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/133413 Mediainfo : [Show spoiler]

03-02-2018, 03:06 PM	#13
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	BASICALLY a clone? Hmm. If both volumes were £20 I'd buy. I guess it comes down to whether it has proper brightness and such.

04-12-2018, 11:37 AM	#15
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	We can definitively strike Occultic;Nine from the hopeful list as it's just under 13GB on the first BD25. I guess two BD25's are that much cheaper than one BD50 that this makes sense financially? As for Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, results are conflicting, as referred to in this post. Watching the episodes on my Oppo, the bitrate seems to hover just over 30, with occasional spikes in both directions. Not the typical 40-ish for a Japanese/Aniplex of America disc. But it does look nice enough. Because money, I think I'll just stick with these UK releases for both upcoming volumes They're seriously less than half price, compared to AoA.

04-12-2018, 06:19 PM	#17
Gouki Special Member Member since:Apr 2010 Trading Score:5	Is the Toradora UK release any good?

04-12-2018, 06:34 PM	#18
Naiera Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Denmark Home Theater Gallery:2 Trading Score:25	It’s the same mess that was released in the US. But much cheaper. This doesn’t belong in this thread though

04-16-2018, 09:23 PM	#19
ccunning1 Active Member Member since:Oct 2014	Was the old school Berserk released in Japan? I know France and the UK have a blu ray.

04-16-2018, 09:52 PM	#20
Nostalgic Twilight Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jan 2015 Location:USA Blu-ray collection:436 DVD collection:390 Trading Score:20	Yeah, it was.

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