Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets) Collection Oct 29

[reason108]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Oh, no! This is bad news. How do studios make stupid decisions/mistakes like this? What were they thinking? This should be a recall if this is the case. Sure, I can alter my tv aspect ratio, but what a pain. And even worse if it ends up switching aspect ratios back and forth for some of the extras. I would have to keep changing my aspect ratio back and forth. And what if it's some weird stretching so that setting your set to 4:3 wouldn't correct it properly? Then you're stuck with it distorted no matter what. Ugh, they had to do something to screw this up, didn't they? It might just be the extras but still, there are a heap of extras, and I don't want them stretched.

By the way, I can't remember if I asked previously, or if it was mentioned, but are all the extras SD? There are a lot of galleries that would be nice in HD.

EDIT: here's a comment on Amazon that addresses the extras:

1) Not all of the extras from the original DVD releases are included. Where is the translated Manga they had? Gone, that's where.

2) 1080p. S T R E T C H E D from SD sources. Yes, they cropped this into a 16x9 format. Graphics look ugly, people look fat. Why did they do that here, in the extras, but left the original video intact? I'm not sure, maybe they assume no one cares about the extras like they would the series proper?

There may be other extras missing and I'll update my review as I find them, but the interviews and so on ARE included.

So some extras were dropped after all? I wonder what else is missing besides the translated Manga? And he mentions it was "Cropped" to 16:9. Does that mean it's actually cropped, or just stretched? It sounds like it's just stretched to fill 16:9. Really bad idea.

Just checked my extras blu ray disc and yes it is a little stretched. Don`t know if all the extras are there or not. Haven`t made it all the way through yet. But, sucks if they are not. Some things have been moved around so it might take forever to see where something was on the dvd compared to the blu ray.

[reason108]

I just went over the extras disc and I do not see the translated Manga listed on the covers or menus. Unless they lumped into one of the other features, then I don`t think that it is there. Not sure why it would not be included unless some kind of rights issue. Well, I guess that I will just hold on to my dvd collection then.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

Yeah..ill take the natural analog hand drawn style over the plastic and robotic scan of the original film elements.

and ill keep all the extras and original backgrounds TOO!!!

They didn't change any backgrounds. It's already been said in here that those shots were two different shots that just use the same character animation, like lots of animation did back then. They didn't change any backgrounds for the blu-ray.

[Batmon77]

Originally Posted by mar3o

They didn't change any backgrounds. It's already been said in here that those shots were two different shots that just use the same character animation, like lots of animation did back then. They didn't change any backgrounds for the blu-ray.

and the extras?

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

and the extras?

We've been discussing that. Obviously the manga scans have been dropped, and that's unfortunate. Hopefully nothing else was lost. And they're stretched, which is inexcusable. I'm just saying that as far as the backgrounds go, no, they weren't changed.

[reason108]

I am thinking about sitting down and just going through the extras to compare the original box set with the new blu. I hope someone beats me to it. haha. I`m getting lazy.

Yeah, this blu ray set should have had everything that the previous dvd set had. Blu ray disc #13 contains the OVA`s. Disc #14 contains the main extras. Not sure why all the extras could not be fit onto that disc. If there was too much information then just print another disc. Yeah, the OVA`s are nice, but not at the expense of the original extras.



2 other complaints that I have:

1) The box for the blu ray set is not sturdy at all. Too bad they could not have made a sturdier box like the previous dvd set had.

2) A lot of Alex Ross`s artwork is not included. There are elements of it but not all of the artwork has been brought over. It would have been nice to just have a little booklet that would include all of the original art that he did for the dvd release. Or, an artwork gallery on one of the discs.



Yeah, it might seem that I am nitpicking. I bought the set. But, now I am stuck with both a dvd and blu ray set. I was hoping to downsize as I am running out of room and could have used the extra cash that the dvd set would have brought. Instead, I am stuck with 2 sets. I am beginning to prefer the improved pq of the blu but I think it pretty much fails at everything else. If I would have known before I bought it that it was not going to include everything from the dvd set then I probably would not have bought it. (unless the info is there but hidden somewhere. but just looking at the extras listed on the blu`s package, they are not listed.)

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by reason108

I am thinking about sitting down and just going through the extras to compare the original box set with the new blu. I hope someone beats me to it. haha. I`m getting lazy.

Yeah, this blu ray set should have had everything that the previous dvd set had. Blu ray disc #13 contains the OVA`s. Disc #14 contains the main extras. Not sure why all the extras could not be fit onto that disc. If there was too much information then just print another disc. Yeah, the OVA`s are nice, but not at the expense of the original extras.



2 other complaints that I have:

1) The box for the blu ray set is not sturdy at all. Too bad they could not have made a sturdier box like the previous dvd set had.

2) A lot of Alex Ross`s artwork is not included. There are elements of it but not all of the artwork has been brought over. It would have been nice to just have a little booklet that would include all of the original art that he did for the dvd release. Or, an artwork gallery on one of the discs.



Yeah, it might seem that I am nitpicking. I bought the set. But, now I am stuck with both a dvd and blu ray set. I was hoping to downsize as I am running out of room and could have used the extra cash that the dvd set would have brought. Instead, I am stuck with 2 sets. I am beginning to prefer the improved pq of the blu but I think it pretty much fails at everything else. If I would have known before I bought it that it was not going to include everything from the dvd set then I probably would not have bought it. (unless the info is there but hidden somewhere. but just looking at the extras listed on the blu`s package, they are not listed.)

I was worried about the artwork. One thing that strcuk me about the DVD box sets were how how high the quality was. The boxset were very sturdy and the artwork was excellent - each box had different artwork, and each separate DVD case had individual artwork as well, meaning if you had the whole set you had a very nice collection of artwork. Sounds like that same level hasn't been carried over here in terms of presentation. I figured since we won't have so many individual cases like the DVD set, we would lose much of the nice artwork, but I figured we might get a nice booklet with all the artwork inside, or maybe some nice HD galleries of the art. I guess not. This combined with the stretched extras and the missing extras make this a disappointing first impression. I can't open mine until Christmas so I have to just wait and see how it turns out for others in here. I'm hoping the quality of the episodes makes up for the lack of care with the extras, but the stretching really has me upset. There is no excuse for that.

[gpn]

Originally Posted by mar3o

but the stretching really has me upset. There is no excuse for that.

You must not have many blu-rays with SD extras. I have several like this and it just takes a couple button presses to adjust the aspect on either your TV or disc player.

[Thomas Guycott]

Originally Posted by gpn

You must not have many blu-rays with SD extras. I have several like this and it just takes a couple button presses to adjust the aspect on either your TV or disc player.

Is the SD material upscaled to 1080 and stretched on-disc, or is it 4:3 480i SD being stretched to 16:9 by user equipment?

When I started using my receiver it would stretch 4:3 SD material on BD to 16:9 until I fixed a particular menu setting. Now it runs everything SD and HD in the proper ratios.

[Monroville]

I agree that I wish the blu-ray box was as sturdy as the dvd boxes (ala the ALIEN and INDIANA JONES box sets), but overall... to get the entire series for $90? Plus most of the extras and the OVAs in HD? I think that's a steal.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by gpn

You must not have many blu-rays with SD extras. I have several like this and it just takes a couple button presses to adjust the aspect on either your TV or disc player.

I have many, many blu-rays, and I can't recall seeing any with stretched SD extras. The extras are always in the proper 4:3 aspect ratio if they are SD extras. If they're not, somebody did something wrong.

I know I can fix it with a few button presses, but that's not the point. It still shouldn't be like that on the discs in the first place. What if they screwed up the episodes like that too? You could still fix it the same way with a few button presses, but that wouldn't mean it's okay.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Monroville

I agree that I wish the blu-ray box was as sturdy as the dvd boxes (ala the ALIEN and INDIANA JONES box sets), but overall... to get the entire series for $90? Plus most of the extras and the OVAs in HD? I think that's a steal.

I do agree here with this. It just always frustrates me to see a stupid mistake made like the stretching, if it is a mistake (I can't imagine why you would do that on purpose), or extras dropped for seemingly no reason. It's still a great deal at $90. At $130, like it is now from rightstuf, it's not quite as great a deal.

[Zartan]

Originally Posted by mar3o

I was worried about the artwork. One thing that strcuk me about the DVD box sets were how how high the quality was. The boxset were very sturdy and the artwork was excellent - each box had different artwork, and each separate DVD case had individual artwork as well, meaning if you had the whole set you had a very nice collection of artwork. Sounds like that same level hasn't been carried over here in terms of presentation. I figured since we won't have so many individual cases like the DVD set, we would lose much of the nice artwork, but I figured we might get a nice booklet with all the artwork inside, or maybe some nice HD galleries of the art. I guess not. This combined with the stretched extras and the missing extras make this a disappointing first impression. I can't open mine until Christmas so I have to just wait and see how it turns out for others in here. I'm hoping the quality of the episodes makes up for the lack of care with the extras, but the stretching really has me upset. There is no excuse for that.

I went ahead and bought the Alex Ross Battle of the Planets Artbook through Amazon that has all his art from the DVD boxsets.
but,yeah it would have been nice if a mini book or an art gallery of his art was on the disc.

[Batmon77]

will yall watch this in its original Japanese, w/ english subtitles or dubbed?

[reason108]

MISSING FROM BLU RAY SET:

Gatchaman Manga vol 1 Chapter 1 - The Freezing Iron Beast: Ice Creamer
Gatchaman Manga Chapter 2 - The Super-Transforming Machine: Mechanika
Gatchaman Manga Chapter 2 - The Firebird vs The Fire-Breathing Dragon

Gatchaman Manga: The Secret of the Monster Mecha Factory
Gatchaman Manga: Science Ninja Team, Number G-6
Gatchaman Manga: Mortal Blow! Gatchaman Fire
Gatchaman Manga: The Bracelets Exposed
Gatchaman Manga: Come Back! Boomerang
Gatchaman Manga: The Stolen Gatchaman Information
Gatchaman Karaoke - various episodes >>> (a feature where the voice soundtrack is missing but with subtitles so that you and your friends can gather round and do the voice overs for the characters)
Gatchaman Japanese Voice Actor Profiles

Gatchaman Science Ninja Techniques - altered from dvd version. dvd version features text explaining the techniques then shows a clip of said technique. The blu ray only shows the techniques, no text explaining what episodes its first used in, etc.

[Batmon77]

Originally Posted by reason108

MISSING FROM BLU RAY SET:

Gatchaman Manga vol 1 Chapter 1 - The Freezing Iron Beast: Ice Creamer
Gatchaman Manga Chapter 2 - The Super-Transforming Machine: Mechanika
Gatchaman Manga Chapter 2 - The Firebird vs The Fire-Breathing Dragon

Gatchaman Manga: The Secret of the Monster Mecha Factory
Gatchaman Manga: Science Ninja Team, Number G-6
Gatchaman Manga: Mortal Blow! Gatchaman Fire
Gatchaman Manga: The Bracelets Exposed
Gatchaman Manga: Come Back! Boomerang
Gatchaman Manga: The Stolen Gatchaman Information
Gatchaman Karaoke - various episodes >>> (a feature where the voice soundtrack is missing but with subtitles so that you and your friends can gather round and do the voice overs for the characters)
Gatchaman Japanese Voice Actor Profiles

Gatchaman Science Ninja Techniques - altered from dvd version. dvd version features text explaining the techniques then shows a clip of said technique. The blu ray only shows the techniques, no text explaining what episodes its first used in, etc.

I could care less about the kareoke, but are the listed manga missing episodes?

[reason108]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

I could care less about the kareoke, but are the listed manga missing episodes?

Here is an example of one of the dvd manga extras that is not included on the blu ray:

Manga 1.jpg

Manga 2.jpg

Manga 3.jpg

Manga 4.jpg

Manga 5.jpg

[Thomas Guycott]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

I could care less about the kareoke, but are the listed manga missing episodes?

Manga are comics, so no there aren't any missing episodes.

And that presentation method looks awful.

[horroru]

Originally Posted by reason108

MISSING FROM BLU RAY SET:

Gatchaman Manga vol 1 Chapter 1 - The Freezing Iron Beast: Ice Creamer
Gatchaman Manga Chapter 2 - The Super-Transforming Machine: Mechanika
Gatchaman Manga Chapter 2 - The Firebird vs The Fire-Breathing Dragon

Gatchaman Manga: The Secret of the Monster Mecha Factory
Gatchaman Manga: Science Ninja Team, Number G-6
Gatchaman Manga: Mortal Blow! Gatchaman Fire
Gatchaman Manga: The Bracelets Exposed
Gatchaman Manga: Come Back! Boomerang
Gatchaman Manga: The Stolen Gatchaman Information
Gatchaman Karaoke - various episodes >>> (a feature where the voice soundtrack is missing but with subtitles so that you and your friends can gather round and do the voice overs for the characters)
Gatchaman Japanese Voice Actor Profiles

Gatchaman Science Ninja Techniques - altered from dvd version. dvd version features text explaining the techniques then shows a clip of said technique. The blu ray only shows the techniques, no text explaining what episodes its first used in, etc.

Completely my opinion: I couldn't care less about the manga, as Thomas Guycott pointed out it's a terrible presentation and I don't think it adds to the experience.
Am I mad about the stretched extras -- sure as mar3o said I'm frustrated by stupid mistakes like this -- but again these extras are just ok, they aren't the equivalent of "The Hamster Factor" on 12 Monkeys, the docs on the ALIEN set, or the 2 JAWS documentaries. I'm a person who loves great extras, but let's put this in perspective, these aren't amazing extras that you'll rewatch again and again (like I have the aforementioned documentaries).

The substantial extras are still on there, the sketches, cast interviews, origin of Tatsunoko production, art galleries, Alex Ross interview, music, audition footage, etc.

So what it boils down to, for me, is the presentation of the actual show. The blu rays look great from what I can see online (my set hasn't shipped yet), the DVDs certainly had the color cranked up a bit.
I sold my DVD sets (all 9) for $12 over/above what it will cost me for the blu set, so I was pretty happy -- yes it was hard to give up the Alex Ross boxes but I didn't take them out and stare at them all day either, and I can buy the art book. The big plus for me is that 27 DVDs will be replaced by a few blu rays and again a much better picture.

I'm not saying I'm right or my opinion is better than anyone else's here, for me the blus are the way to go for an upgraded picture, about 1/10th the physical space and all the extras that actually matter. (I certainly won't be shedding a tear for "The Freezing Iron Beast: Ice Creamer")
And I do normally get ticked off when extras are dropped, but in this case they just weren't that good in the first place, certainly not trumping the presentation of the actual show which is why I'm buying these in the first place.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

will yall watch this in its original Japanese, w/ english subtitles or dubbed?

I'll probably try it with the English audio dubbing first. I'm actually unfamiliar with that new dub and it seems they put some work into it, so it may not be a bad option. But if the background audio sound fx or music suffers due to the dub I'll likely go with the original audio. Depends how well made the dub is. A lot of times I find the dubbed version of any release suffers in quality compared to the original audio.