The Studio Ghibli (JP) Discussion Thread

[yizhan123]

Originally Posted by Bubblegum2032

Those screenshots are compressed somewhat (1024x566 instead of 1920x1080), so the grain wasn’t captured very accurately, and like you said it’s harder to capture as opposed to full motion.
Owning VAP’s Blu-ray I can attest to it’s abundance of deep grain synonymous with 16mm film (as well as its copious amounts of noise, scratches and dust), so it almost seems certain noise reduction has been applied to this new master to a certain extent. Whether this was detrimental or not to pencil lines and brush strokes will have to wait for a full-on comparison of the new and older masters.
Your impressions do ease my mind on the transfers quality somewhat though.

Hmm now that you mentioned about 16mm, yeah the video does look too good for a 16mm. In that case, then noise reduction should be applied on the transfer. But the weird thing is, the video doesn't show the most obvious symptom of DNR ~ Like all the DNR-ed video looked like there was a layer or oil over the picture which destroyed detail right? Cagliostro didn't have that, coz the pencil lines and all that are really sharp and detailed. But it is also possible that I may have neglected certain factors because I have never seen a truly DNR-ed 2D animated film, so I may not know how it'd look like if Cagliostro was DNR-ed unless I have seen a pristine example (perhaps the VAP release?). But based on my knowledge of what DNR would do to a picture generally, Cagliostro just doesn't look like it at all.

Yeah, I'd like a full-on comparison too. I really want to know what I'm watching. But nonetheless, the Japanese BD transfer really amazes ~ If the transfer is really DNR-ed, it could be classified under the 'DNR done right' category haha ~

[yizhan123]

Originally Posted by joelgutheil

Such a shame. I hope that one or our friends here will soon be able to post screenshot comparisons of the pq for all of the box set titles when compared to the Japanese standalone releases.

Yeah, I'd like that too! I really wanna see what a higher bitrate and master grade video coding could do to a picture ~

[Porco Azzurro]

So excited for Spirited Away on BD… not long now, pre-ordered with Amazon Japan.

Still kind of want the big Miyazaki Box Set… I think it's pretty nice. Gah.

[yizhan123]

Originally Posted by bensunt

I received yesterday the boxset and couldn't help watching immediately Spirited Away

AMAZING is the only word coming to mind as soon as the movie starts. The celluloids come to life with gorgeous colors, the bluray is almost a whole new way to experience what is, for me, the very best movie of Hayao Miyazaki.

And I'm really really happy with the boxset, all the digipacks are very sturdy, shiny and very beautifully designed.

If the whole collection looks the same as Spirited Away, it's really like watching these masterpieces again for the first time

Yeah, I started with Spirited Away too! But apart from its godly quality, there's something else I noticed too. On the U.S. DVD release of Spirited Away, I noticed that apart from the 2.00:1 aspect ratio, the picture was still as rock. Like all traditionally hand-drawn animation, the picture should be shaking a bit even when the camera is not moving, like a film running. But because Spirited Away was done on 100% digital process, I just thought that that was the result of digitally joining the animation together. Even the background art for the end credits were perfectly still. However, on the Japanese BD from the boxset, the picture was shaking like a normal traditionally animated film should. It also has all the factors of a film transfer, like subtle fluctuating brightness and shakiness. Do you know which one reflects what Spirited Away was originally supposed to be??

[joelgutheil]

Originally Posted by Porco Azzurro

So excited for Spirited Away on BD… not long now, pre-ordered with Amazon Japan.



Still kind of want the big Miyazaki Box Set… I think it's pretty nice. Gah.

Same here .... Although it's not one of my faves, it'll be nice to be close to completing the back catalogue (almost anyway) - here's hoping to a Kaguya and Ocean Waves announcement in August for a November release

[yizhan123]

Originally Posted by UseY0ur1llusi0n

Thank you SO much for your write up! It looks like our worst fears from that youtube trailer have disappeared and the new print they chose to restore truly was a gift from the heavens. I am so happy to hear Cagliostro hasn't looked better! This is exactly what I had been hoping and wishing for the longest time, and now it seems to have finally gotten the restoration it deserves! Cheers!

Haha if you've read my conversation with Bubblegum2032 about Cagliostro concerning DNR, there may be a factor of the new transfer that you may not like, especially if you dislike DNR to the core

[EddieLarkin]

Originally Posted by yizhan123

I have just watched Nausicaa on the Japanese BD from the boxset and yes, the red tint is there. I don't have the initial standalone Japanese BD release of the movie, so I can't tell you if they are the same or not. But I do, however, have the movie on the Disney BD release and apart from the colour scheme being different, there is also a difference in quality. The Japanese BD is sharper and more detailed than the Disney release, and has also more balance in colour. After watching it on the Japanese BD, I didn't believe what I was seeing because there were some scenes that were so sharp that I didn't recall them being so. So after the movie ended, I popped in the Disney BD and compared the scenes. Here's my conclusion - The Disney BD is brighter at some scenes, with certain scenes slightly too bright. I didn't notice it before, but now I certainly do.

Certain scenes from the Japanese BD are also more detailed than the Disney BD, as though it had been given a new 4K remaster or something. This fact alone is already a plus point of the boxset. About whether the red tint is its original colour scheme or not, I don't think anyone can really say. But here's how it looked to me - If you've seen Spirited Away on its U.S. DVD, you'll notice the red tint right away, and even till the end of the movie, the red tint will still seem obvious and weird. However, for this Nausicaa Japanese BD, the red tint will only be obvious in the beginning because you are probably used to the other releases where the video had a different colour scheme. Then after that, the red tint seemed to be natural already. It's like the colour just blends and takes form, unlike Spirited Away where no matter how you look at it, it still looks like a red filter being popped in front of the frame.

The red tint on the JP Box Set disc was suspected to have been removed. It is present on the original JP BD. Could you maybe compare this cap to your disc:

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...ess=#vergleich

(mouse over is the inferior UK disc)

It may be the case the JP discs are identical and the Disney disc is inferior as well (like Totoro is).

[nusilver]

Well, I waffled on it for awhile, but I went ahead and just ordered the box set since I just got a huge raise and it's all a tax write off anyway. I'll watch The Cagliostro Blu-ray synced to the Manga dub until the discotek version appears, since that's how I prefer that movie. As far as the others, I'm very curious to see the differences in Nausicaa discs. My box will be here Tuesday, I suspect.

Oh - and I emailed Geoff Wexler per someone's sleuthing above. He didn't say either way whether he was actually the one running the Twitter account, but he did thank me for being a fan and said he'd see if something could be done about getting me unblocked.

... and, unblocked. Thanks again to whoever did the original sleuthing above

[yizhan123]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

The red tint on the JP Box Set disc was suspected to have been removed. It is present on the original JP BD. Could you maybe compare this cap to your disc:

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...ess=#vergleich

(mouse over is the inferior UK disc)

It may be the case the JP discs are identical and the Disney disc is inferior as well (like Totoro is).

Yeah it looked somewhat like that.

The red tint is there, no mistake. But whether the quality of the BD from the boxset and the standalone JP BD are the same or not, I can't tell from that. I don't have Totoro on the Disney BD so I can't say too haha ~

[Fabiosugitani]

I do like the full poster cover image of the Box Set but I like the matte finish on the stand alone much better.
I read some Japanese reviews of Marnie and they are all awful. Like most 1/5 ratings.

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by yizhan123

Yeah, I started with Spirited Away too! But apart from its godly quality, there's something else I noticed too. On the U.S. DVD release of Spirited Away, I noticed that apart from the 2.00:1 aspect ratio, the picture was still as rock. Like all traditionally hand-drawn animation, the picture should be shaking a bit even when the camera is not moving, like a film running. But because Spirited Away was done on 100% digital process, I just thought that that was the result of digitally joining the animation together. Even the background art for the end credits were perfectly still. However, on the Japanese BD from the boxset, the picture was shaking like a normal traditionally animated film should. It also has all the factors of a film transfer, like subtle fluctuating brightness and shakiness. Do you know which one reflects what Spirited Away was originally supposed to be??

Fluctuating brightness and shakiness is not regarded as a good thing. It can happen sometimes when transferring from film. As you say it is subtle, hopefully it doesn't have much of an impact on the presentation.

Your thoughts on Cagliostro sound very promising, but I do hope it turns out no DNR was applied. I know the restoration was done a bit differently than the other Ghibli films but your initial impressions seem pretty good to me.

I am surprised you say that the red tint is there on Nausicaa as someone on Amazon JP seemed to say in their review it was much improved over the previous Blu-ray. Maybe it has been corrected somewhat but is not an entirely different color timing fix?

The appearance of it seeming like it was from a new 4K restoration is likely because it was. The Ghibli films have received 4K scans and with the high bit-rates and MGVC on these discs it is probably a lot more pronounced than on the Disney ones (the U.S. Disney release of Nausicaa had half the bit-rate of the first Japanese release - which was also the highest of all the Ghibli releases - and presumably this edition has an even higher bit-rate encode).

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by Fabiosugitani

I do like the full poster cover image of the Box Set but I like the matte finish on the stand alone much better.
I read some Japanese reviews of Marnie and they are all awful. Like most 1/5 ratings.

I hope this turns out to be good. I really loved The Borrower Arrietty. It wasn't one of my absolute favorite Ghibli films, but I still thought it was an excellent work and great cinema.

The trailer for Marnie made no sense and I thought it seemed like it was trying to have international appeal by not using any dialogue... but the animation looks to be excellent and I still am hopeful it will be good.

[disneywildcat]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

It may be the case the JP discs are identical and the Disney disc is inferior as well (like Totoro is).

Looking at the Comparison thread, the US release for My Neighbor Totoro (AVC @ 34.96 Mbps) seems to have a comparable bit rate to the JP release (AVC @ 34629 kbps), granted video bit rates alone don't tell the whole story of a transfer. If anything, the UK release of Totoro has a much lower bit rate (AVC @ 25668 kbps).

[Porco Azzurro]

Originally Posted by GenPion

The Ghibli films have received 4K scans and with the high bit-rates and MGVC on these discs

Has anyone here actually watched one of the MGVC discs on a MGVC capable player (and 36-bit capable display, natch)? Otherwise that part of it makes no difference at all, right?

[EddieLarkin]

Originally Posted by disneywildcat

Looking at the Comparison thread, the US release for My Neighbor Totoro (AVC @ 34.96 Mbps) seems to have a comparable bit rate to the JP release (AVC @ 34629 kbps), granted video bit rates alone don't tell the whole story of a transfer. If anything, the UK release of Totoro has a much lower bit rate (AVC @ 25668 kbps).

Bit-rate is not a barometer of image quality, and is particularly useless in determining a release's superiority over another. Both the US and UK Totoro discs have a touch of noise reduction.

[yizhan123]

Originally Posted by GenPion

Fluctuating brightness and shakiness is not regarded as a good thing. It can happen sometimes when transferring from film. As you say it is subtle, hopefully it doesn't have much of an impact on the presentation.

Your thoughts on Cagliostro sound very promising, but I do hope it turns out no DNR was applied. I know the restoration was done a bit differently than the other Ghibli films but your initial impressions seem pretty good to me.

I am surprised you say that the red tint is there on Nausicaa as someone on Amazon JP seemed to say in their review it was much improved over the previous Blu-ray. Maybe it has been corrected somewhat but is not an entirely different color timing fix?

The appearance of it seeming like it was from a new 4K restoration is likely because it was. The Ghibli films have received 4K scans and with the high bit-rates and MGVC on these discs it is probably a lot more pronounced than on the Disney ones (the U.S. Disney release of Nausicaa had half the bit-rate of the first Japanese release - which was also the highest of all the Ghibli releases - and presumably this edition has an even higher bit-rate encode).

The shaking will not impact on the presentation. It's just like every other movie that were transferred from film, there is never a 100% still image, but the movement is so subtle you'd only notice it if you want to. Same goes for the fluctuating brightness, it is hardly noticeable because Spirited Away on the boxset's BD is consistent throughout. I only managed to spot a faint drop in brightness on one frame and that's it. But because Spirited Away on the U.S. DVD was still throughout, I was wondering if that's how Spirited Away originally was or did Disney use certain stabilizers or some of that sort.

Yeah, I hope what I saw for Cagliostro was not a hardcore DNR-ed product...I can still accept it if a little was applied because the picture looked very impressive ~

I can't tell if the colours for Nausicaa were fixed or not, because I have not seen it on the standalone Japanese BD release yet. But because I have always been watching Nausicaa on the Disney BD before, I noticed the red tint immediately. But yeah as I have explained, Nausicaa's red tint seem to be part of the picture naturally, not sure if it's supposed to be but it's still acceptable and likeable to some extent. It is unlike Spirited Away's U.S. DVD release and Princess Mononoke's Miramax DVD release where the red tint literally looked like a red filter placed in front of the picture throughout the whole movie.

Hmm I didn't know about the 4K scans. I only knew that Princess Mononoke's standalone Japanese BD was a 4k scan. If all the movies in the boxset received a new 4K transfer and are more detailed than their prior releases, then I am more than happy to have spent that much on it haha ~

[Sinthetic]

English subs are done for Marnie already haha. Let's have a preview then guys.

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

Bit-rate is not a barometer of image quality, and is particularly useless in determining a release's superiority over another. Both the US and UK Totoro discs have a touch of noise reduction.

Bit-rate is not the only indicator of image quality but it is a good indicator that usually plays a big role. (I've seen some point out a particularly good example as to why it isn't always the number one factor: I forget the film, but Criterion released a film with a new 2K restoration with a smaller bit-rate but it was a big improvement over a non 2K-restored edition put out in another country with a bigger bit-rate allotment). In other words, factors like restorations and quality scans play a big part too. The source quality always plays a role in the overall quality.

However, the encoding bit-rates ARE involved in determining picture quality and the higher the less room there is for errors in compression and the picture quality is more likely to shine at it's best. So with these Ghibli releases it's an appreciated and worthwhile element to consider (as it should be an aspect worth considering on any film's release).

[EddieLarkin]

Skill of the encoder and the software used to encode play a much bigger part. A competent encoder can do more with 20mbps than a dope with 40mbps can.

Saying one release has an average 34.96mbps and another has 34.63mpbs and determining that they must be generally equal in image quality is complete nonsense.

[Aardvark_DK]

Caps from Castle of Cagliostro. Don't ask me how I got them, but they're from the new blu-ray alright. It's a bit soft but at least there's none of the edge enhancement or digital noise that plagued all the previous blu-rays.








Here's an exact match for one of Caps-a-holic's (the colour scheme is pretty different):