The Thread About All Things Macross

[PissedOffPeoN]

Mine shipped as well.. coming Monday.

[PGW]

Yep! Just got the shipping email, although mine won't arrive until the 12th (I don't mind, as long as it's on the way).

[NLScavenger]

Originally Posted by russ869

Screenshot comparison here:
https://slow.pics/c/PXQKAXiA

I've no idea why people are sharing the old comparison I did with publicity screenshots. I've set the comparison to automatically delete itself after the 30th.

Originally Posted by Toad King

Also for some reason the 2016 audio mix track has two extra seek chapters in it: one after the Toho logo and one right before the credits. The 1984 audio one doesn't have these for some reason.

For the different intro and credits of the 2016 Perfect Edition I guess.

[DeathLazer]

I bought mine from CDJapan and got it on Tuesday (Jan 28). A day early!

I think they went way overboard with the DNR/AI. It does not have a film-like look. If that doesn't bother you, then you will like this 4K release. It bothers me. I've seen comparisons with other versions, and I think the 2016 blu-ray looks better to be honest.

The English subtitles are nice and clear. HOWEVER, they also felt the need to subtitle all of Minmay's songs too. The song subtitles appear at the top of the screen and its very annoying. They even subtitle the songs when there is important dialogue and lots of action is happening. Its distracting. They also subtitle the few times with there is English being spoken--with English subtitles. Ha ha. Fortunately, the subtitles can be turned off completely at any time. So once you have seen it a few times, and get the gist of what they are saying, you can just turn them off. But it really is annoying...to me anyway.

In my opinion, its not a perfect release. The price was eye-watering especially for me living in Canada. Factor in the Canadian exchange rate, shipping, and duty charges, and it adds up quickly. But I doubt they are going to revisit this title again, and I never thought this would get released with English subtitles. I've owned this movie 5 or 6 times in various formats (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD), and now 4K UHD. I guess I can stop collecting it now. Oh wait, if they redo the subtitles without the songs...I might actually buy it one more time. Ha ha

[Zen_Amako]

The lyrics to the title song factor into the plot, and should definitely be subtitled. And since every fansub of this movie over the years has included song subtitles, it didn't bother me. Actually, I would have been annoyed if they didn't subtitle the songs since they're a big part of this film. I wasn't that crazy about all the songs being subtitled on Macross Plus, however (as some of those songs aren't even in Japanese).

Yeah, I do think they went overboard with the DNR/AI, but it still looks pretty good with the exception of the blurry/out-of-focus shots, which I guess even the AI couldn't fix. It's so nice to have an official release with excellent English subs finally.

I'm glad they decided to include the two Angel's Paints videos (upconverted) as a bonus. My Flashback 2012 Blu-ray from the Hybrid Pack won't play in any of my current players for some reason.

[PondaBaba]

Is there any chance the included blu ray doesn’t look as smeary as the UHD? I’ve no idea why it might but I’d love confirmation before pulling the trigger (which I never got round to doing the other day) - anyone with able to report would be much appreciated!

[isamu]

Originally Posted by nogreatloss

Just finished watching my copy. The colors are beautiful with HDR but it's a smeary mess throughout the film to the point that its distracting. The screenshots posted above from the older blu rays look much better, think I need to pick up the blu and look into adding external subs.

That is worrying.

But just to clarify, does the limited deluxe edition or whatever it's called come with a copy of the 2016 Bluray? If not which version of the bluray is included? And just to confirm, flashback 2012 is included in this set as well?

[peppapigstan]

Originally Posted by PondaBaba

Is there any chance the included blu ray doesn’t look as smeary as the UHD? I’ve no idea why it might but I’d love confirmation before pulling the trigger (which I never got round to doing the other day) - anyone with able to report would be much appreciated!

the UHD has aggressive filtering applied to make it look less grainy

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by isamu

That is worrying.

But just to clarify, does the limited deluxe edition or whatever it's called come with a copy of the 2016 Bluray? If not which version of the bluray is included? And just to confirm, flashback 2012 is included in this set as well?

I haven't checked out the Blu-ray yet, but the 4K just has the two Angel's Paints videos from Flash Back 2012 (not the complete OVA). In other words, it only comes with the bits from Flash Back that had new animation.

[DeathLazer]

I can kind of see your point of view regarding the subtitles on the final song, but even then, its just too many subtitles in my opinion. They even subtitled the Minmay doll when it started singing. LoL. Really? Did we need that? I wish there were two English subtitle options--dialogue with songs, and dialogue only. But this release was primarily made for the Japanese market, so I guess I should be grateful they included English subtitles at all. And at least I have the freedom to turn them off.

And just to clear up any confusion, this release contains 2 discs. 4K UHD version, and a blu-ray HD version, which is just a downscaled version of the 4K version.

The recent Macross Plus blu-ray really bothered me. They subtitled the songs again, and one of the biggest goof ups on that release was that there was no option to turn them off. I couldn't believe they did that. Oh well, the art book was nice.

[Zen_Amako]

I would expect the Minmay doll's singing to be subtitled. It’s singing in Japanese. I also appreciate that they subtitled the English lines - “Good luck to the recruits” may be spoken in English, but it’s not that easy to make out (I've actually seen that line subtitled incorrectly before). I think there would be more complaints if they failed to subtitle the songs, given that this is standard practice for anime. Just be glad they didn’t include both English and romaji subs for the songs so you can sing along.

The translation did seem a little too cute at times with all the Decultures. (For example, there's one line that might be translated as “Ridiculous” that is subtitled as “Deculture!”).

I agree about the forced subs on Macross Plus, especially at that price point. Most NA fans don’t seem to care about or notice forced English subs, though. It’s why I’ve held on to the first Blu-ray release of Ninja Scroll.

[DeathLazer]

I agree with you about Macross Plus. Animation is a visual medium. Sometimes you want to turn off the subtitles and just watch it and look at all the amazing detail.

Yeah, sucks about Ninja Scroll. I have the forced subbed version by Sentai Filmworks. Which version do you have?

Another forced subtitle release that is frustrating is Cyber City Oedo 808. They translate a lot of the text on screen, specifically when the characters are introduced. I appreciate the attention to detail, but I'd like to be able to see it without the text too. Even though I can't read it, I think looks better than the player generated text overlays.

My 4K blu-ray player has a cool feature that allows me to move the subtitles up or down. I can even move them off the screen. it helps on some discs.

[Herry Dunston]

Amazon Japan can be really funny. They put the item in a long box, inside a larger box filled with construction paper wrapping, and they didn't even pad inside the long box to keep the UHD set from rattling. Fortunately, the set is in one piece.

Side note, as soon as I finished the paragraph above, I rushed to the recycle bin to get the long box out, because I realized the store-exclusive poster is hidden underneath the cardboard where the UHD set rested. Thankfully also in one piece.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

Side note, as soon as I finished the paragraph above, I rushed to the recycle bin to get the long box out, because I realized the store-exclusive poster is hidden underneath the cardboard where the UHD set rested. Thankfully also in one piece.

Good tip, mine's out for delivery, I'll need to NOT forget that there's a poster in there somewhere!

[Cplhicks]

Mine says arriving Feb 3 - 12th and isn't shipping yet, dang. Come on, Amazon! The site shows the version with poster I ordered no longer available to my address and price has gone up (assuming 3rd party seller?). They better still have my copy. I preordered it ages ago.

[rikimaru33]

Originally Posted by russ869

Screenshot comparison here:
https://slow.pics/c/PXQKAXiA

The link no longer works.
Do you have backup ?

[NLScavenger]

I spotted an animation correction in the 4K remaster
https://bsky.app/profile/nlscavenger.../3lh2rwtmhlk2e

Originally Posted by rikimaru33

The link no longer works.
Do you have backup ?

_

Originally Posted by NLScavenger

I've no idea why people are sharing the old comparison I did with publicity screenshots. I've set the comparison to automatically delete itself after the 30th.

[rikimaru33]

Thx

[vonmalvarius]

I just received my copy! 4 days in advance!

I'm beyond satisfied. I'm watching it in UHD 4K with HDR with 5.1 surround sound system and WOW!

It's true that they went a little heavy on the DNR, but there's still a fine layer of grain.
It affects the filmic feels of the movie, but I do not feel like fine details were lost.
The effect with the new colors goes very well together. It may not be a purist film experience, but I really like how it looks overall.

Watching it on the big screen, I'm getting chills! I never thought a day would come where I would be watching a superb release with official localization.

I'm also happy with the inclusion of the Flashback 2012 sequences as a bonus!

[JackALink]

Originally Posted by vonmalvarius

It's true that they went a little heavy on the DNR, but there's still a fine layer of grain.

If there is it's probably just a layer of fake grain. There's no way much of any of the actual film grain survived through the heavy-handed DNR.

Originally Posted by vonmalvarius

It affects the filmic feels of the movie, but I do not feel like fine details were lost.

There's fine detail lost everywhere. Most of the line art and a lot of the backgrounds have been turned into a smeary mush...