Viz Licenses Original Sailor Moon Anime Franchise

[BigOnAnime]

VIVA has been using thinner plastics on their cases for years now, so that's further contributing to the problem. Compare older releases using the same case design to now and you can very easily feel the difference. Like my Guin Saga 4-disc VIVA Elite case feels a heck of a lot sturdier for example.

[goofystitch]

Originally Posted by Cplhicks

I figure it's easier to just get a replacement case from a different brand than try dealing with Amazon or whoever and hope it comes in a better case.

Do you (or anyone) have a recommended 6-disc case and a place to purchase?

[GeoffOliver]

Sailor Moon R: The Movie now down to $9.99.

I'm still collecting the movies on Blu-ray because they look very good to my eyes, but would you say the later TV seasons are also worth getting on Blu-ray? I know Viz started using another upscale with S, and I've heard some positive things about Sailor Stars' HD presentation. I've considered just getting them on DVD since (aside from being cheaper) they actually look slightly BETTER than the Blu-rays for classic and R because the SD presentation hides some of the upscale flaws.

[flash.over]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Sailor Moon R: The Movie now down to $9.99.

I'm still collecting the movies on Blu-ray because they look very good to my eyes, but would you say the later TV seasons are also worth getting on Blu-ray? I know Viz started using another upscale with S, and I've heard some positive things about Sailor Stars' HD presentation. I've considered just getting them on DVD since (aside from being cheaper) they actually look slightly BETTER than the Blu-rays for classic and R because the SD presentation hides some of the upscale flaws.

SuperS looks pretty good. Stars looks phenomenal for an upscale, especially compared to the other seasons (also the only one that has accurate color timing)

[Andy2992]

You guys always seem to know, any idea when Sailor Stars Part 2 is coming out in Australia? Not seeing any information from Madman anywhere. I recall reading some kind of dispute with Viz and Naoko Takeuchi so hoping this hasn’t halted its release in Australia.

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by Andy2992

You guys always seem to know, any idea when Sailor Stars Part 2 is coming out in Australia? Not seeing any information from Madman anywhere. I recall reading some kind of dispute with Viz and Naoko Takeuchi so hoping this hasn’t halted its release in Australia.

It’s coming in March. Go to the madboard forums and there’s usually threads for each month.

[Kirben]

Originally Posted by Andy2992

You guys always seem to know, any idea when Sailor Stars Part 2 is coming out in Australia? Not seeing any information from Madman anywhere. I recall reading some kind of dispute with Viz and Naoko Takeuchi so hoping this hasn’t halted its release in Australia.

Try the Madman B2B web site, if you want the latest details on their upcoming releases.

[InuYashaCrusade]

Originally Posted by Andy2992

I recall reading some kind of dispute with Viz and Naoko Takeuchi so hoping this hasn’t halted its release in Australia.

I wonder if we'll ever get any sort of clarification or statement on this rumor

[AlexTenshi]

Originally Posted by Andy2992

You guys always seem to know, any idea when Sailor Stars Part 2 is coming out in Australia? Not seeing any information from Madman anywhere. I recall reading some kind of dispute with Viz and Naoko Takeuchi so hoping this hasn’t halted its release in Australia.

It got delayed. It was originally scheduled for 4 March 2020, but disappeared from B2B a while ago.

[nagpo]

Now that I have the complete series I'm going through the entire series Still on season one which I have seen already. Can't wait till I get to S2! The visuals issues don't make it unwatchable.

[Traveller]

Just got a question about the Madman release for the R movie. I was going to replace the DVD I bought back on its release with the Blu Ray, so I'll have the series on DVD and the movies on Blu.

But then I thought maybe the original DVD release of R used a different master because it pre-dated the announcement of the Toei master change over. In that case I may just hang onto that one.

Thanks.

EDIT: Yeah I forgot that the movies were scanned in HD, so there probably isn’t a difference, or at the least the Blu Ray would be better.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by Traveller

It’s coming in March. Go to the madboard forums and there’s usually threads for each month.

So, the R4 version of Sailor Stars is the best one out there? That's something I've been wondering.

Madman releases tend to be fantastic, imo.

[Traveller]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

So, the R4 version of Sailor Stars is the best one out there? That's something I've been wondering.

Madman releases tend to be fantastic, imo.

I’d assume the masters are the same as the US now, both I think use Toei’s upscales.

[SillyG]

Originally Posted by Traveller

Just got a question about the Madman release for the R movie. I was going to replace the DVD I bought back on its release with the Blu Ray, so I'll have the series on DVD and the movies on Blu.

But then I thought maybe the original DVD release of R used a different master because it pre-dated the announcement of the Toei master change over. In that case I may just hang onto that one.

Thanks.

The short answer is that the master should be identical, and I see no reason why it would be otherwise.

Prior to Madman releasing Sailor Moon R: The Movie on DVD, they had given it a brief/limited theatrical run, so it stands to reason that they have already had a 2K master (if not 4K) on hand, but for some reason, the Blu-ray edition was not released until some time after they had started releasing the initial seasons on Blu-ray (which they started releasing after season 3 was released on DVD). It is likely that Toei was unwilling to license the Blu-ray internationally until it had been available in Japan for some time (at their trademark bargain prices :P) in order to disincentivise Japanese fans from importing substantially cheaper Western copies.

The master changeover would likely affect only the television series and not the movies, as there would no need to upscale/restore the movies as they already had high-quality theatrical prints available (by virtue of them being theatrical films). If anything, the Blu-ray editions of the movies will yield far better results and more noticeable increase in detail than the TV series due to the source being higher quality than the television series by default (as well as having a higher budget). If you had to choose between upgrading your DVDs to Blu-ray while exercising frugality, choose the movies. The Blu-ray releases of the television series are comprised of mere SD upscales while the films would be natively 2K at the bare minimum.

Basically, Madman already had a film master of Sailor Moon R: The Movie prior to the release of the DVD, which I can only assume was the same version used for both formats, and being a theatrical print, I see no reason why there would have been a different master used.

The Blu-ray also has the added benefit of lossless audio and being presented in its native frame rate of 23.976 (progressive) as opposed to being converted to 29.976 (interlaced) for DVD. That's another two reasons to upgrade.

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

So, the R4 version of Sailor Stars is the best one out there? That's something I've been wondering.

Madman releases tend to be fantastic, imo.

Breakdown of Madman's Sailor Moon releases:
Seasons 1-3 DVD: Italian masters
Seasons 4-5 DVD: Japanese HD masters
Seasons 1-5 Blu-ray: Japanese HD masters

I have not known Madman to ever revise prior releases, so even if they could, in theory, reissue a series with fewer discs, they will merely reuse prior discs for any compilation/complete releases later on. For example, K-On! season 1 was originally released as four standalone volumes, presumably on BD-25s, but when the complete season was released some time after, they simply repackaged those BD-25s instead of releasing the series on two BD-50s, which is a little surprising.

The Blu-ray versions of the series do appear to have been DNRed (grain is virtually imperceptible, sadly), but not to such an absurd degree as Viz's releases. These are about as good as they are going to look for the foreseeable future, though I would overwhelmingly have preferred a proper re-scan from the original elements, with the original grain field intact.

Madman refused to use Viz's "masters" and instead held out for Toei to issue their own, which is the basis for our releases. It is likely that Viz procured dated masters and performed their own upscale, hence why they look as awful as they do.

In short, the Japanese masters look good, but there is certainly room for improvement. Unfortunately that can't be helped short of Toei going back to the original elements (if they are still available), but that won't happen any time soon. Nevertheless, I'm grateful to finally (almost) have the complete television series, which I have been waiting over 2 decades to finally see in its uncut glory, and on Blu-ray no less. I also have the complete series of Sailor Moon Crystal, and while I have already watched seasons 1-2, I intend to start from scratch once watching the rest of the original series first.

Season 5 Part 2 has been delayed until further notice. In the meantime, Madman will be releasing Season 4 (complete) on 15 April, 2020 on both DVD and Blu-ray (they follow their half-season releases with a cheaper complete season set some months later).

[Raye]

Not sure if anyone else ran into this issue but my Stars LE from the RS Xmas sale finally came in today and the front has a huge wrinkle.



I'm hoping I'm able to complete an exchange. It's been YEARS since I've had to send something back to RS. Over the past 18 years I've been ordering from them, I think I've only returned 2 things. (For comparison's sake, I've returned at least 3 things to Amazon in the past 6 months...)

[prkchopexpress]

is there any reason why these are still so expensive? the movies have been pretty cheap recently, but i don’t see the seasons ever lowering in price.

[nagpo]

eh, maybe they'll be oos soon

[InuYashaCrusade]

They probably don't drop in price because they still sell well. Look at Boruto, been out for a few months and already seen one or two $14.99 drops.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by prkchopexpress

is there any reason why these are still so expensive? the movies have been pretty cheap recently, but i don’t see the seasons ever lowering in price.

I got 1 of the LEs at Wal-Mart for $30 and it wasn’t even on sale from what I can tell. Though I haven’t seen any of the Blu-rays there since. Only DVD. Sometimes I see older Seasons for $20-$25 Online or at Best Buy(not as much anymore).

[dragonpiece]

Originally Posted by prkchopexpress

is there any reason why these are still so expensive? the movies have been pretty cheap recently, but i don’t see the seasons ever lowering in price.

Just wait for another sale, I got the first 2 LE's for just 30 at rightstuf during their holiday sale.