Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex

[zenpai]

Originally Posted by Gouki

I'm more bothered from (yes, again) the figure buying perspective. In the wild west of ebay, sellers will list a figure as "Brand New" (New, unused, sealed, blah, blah), and in the description "only used/opened for display", or "displayed in a hermetically sealed display case for exactly ten minutes then placed back in the box", etc. A figure's use is to look nice, and opening the box makes them used.

For games/movies it's even weirder to me to have someone open them and what, look at it? I'm not being super critical since they listed it as "like new". But tell me you opened both boxsets and didn't play them, and I'll show you a half Mexican/Japanese guy that likes eating ribeyes.

Yeah, figures are only brand new if they have never been out of the box and are still sealed. I’m extremelly skeptical of figures that are not well described on eBay.

But in regards to games and anime/movies, I used to (and still sometimes do due to habit) take shrink wrap off all my anime sets and movies because I wanted to see the disc and any inserts that may have been inside. Yet 90% of the time I never watched or played any of them, even to date. So technically they are new, I was just dumb to take the wrapping off. Nowadays I try to keep anime in shrink wrap until I am ready to watch it, and as for movies I only buy them for digital copies which requires removing the shrink wrap to get to the code. So I guess you better show me that half Mexican/Japanese guy that likes eating ribeyes. Just don’t let him eat that in front of me, I’m a vegetarian and can only handle so much of messy meats before I start to gag.

[Gorgon]

^^ You had me nodding furiously....right up until I saw the word 'vegetarian'
Just kidding buddy....

[One-Eye]

Originally Posted by professorwho

-Dub has Japanese audio bleed into the surround mix
-No actual subtitles (as in a translation of the Japanese dialogue)- just the dub script presented in English SDH ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS
-Video is 1080p instead of interlaced (because the sequences that were done at 30fps have been slowed down, thus there are dropped frames)

And there’s some more, but even with you being a dub guy, I’d still say do not support it. It’s inexcusable for a Blu-ray to come out with as many issues as it has, and ones so major to the appeal of anime. Don’t let Starz/Anchor Bay know you will accept a less than stellar job.

Its also missing Chapter Breaks and IIRC extras. Even their (Anchor bay) release of the original 1995 movie had issues, so its not like its even a one-off. As PW suggested we shouldn't support a company that makes such a weak effort at their releases, doesn't fix them and mishandles such an iconic franchise. Otherwise, they will feel there is no consequence to putting out bad releases.

[Girls With Guns]

Originally Posted by zenpai

Just don’t let him eat that in front of me, I’m a vegetarian and can only handle so much of messy meats before I start to gag.

God, my diet consists of almost nothing but meat - I just had a nice, juicy, 1" thick extra-rare steak swimming in a pool of blood on my plate for supper tonight... Waved it over the gas grill flames a few times on each side and called it a night. Had to rubber-band it to my plate so it wouldn't jump off. Mmm!

[DTG75]

can anybody whats best quality version in terms of video?

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by DTG75

can anybody whats best quality version in terms of video?

Japanese release (which only has the dub- no subtitles), or Korean release (same files as JP release but has subtitles as well), or Italian release (no English subtitles nor dub).

[kevers7290]

Man people just do not want to read the content of this thread.

[professorwho]

For those who won’t read the thread and want to know the best versions of each GitS property:

‘95 Movie: BEST PQ/AQ- Japanese 2017 re-release/Korean 2018 release (has English subs and dub); Best US/UK: Anchor Bay/Manga UK BD

Innocence: BEST PQ: Japanese 1080p Absolute Edition (has English subtitles) or Italian Dynit release (no English subs or dub); ’BEST AQ: Japanese UHD (has subs); Best US/UK: 2017 FUNimation and Manga UK BDs

Stand Alone Complex: BEST PQ/AQ: Japanese box sets (has dub in lossy audio, no subtitles) or Korean box sets (has dub in lossy audio, has English subs with some typos) or Italian Dynit release (no English subs or dub- all are proper 1080i); Best US/UK release: Manga UK BD (has proper subtitles, but is forced 1080p and is REGION B LOCKED. USA release is sh*t, don’t buy it)

Solid State Society: BEST PQ/AQ: Japanese Bandai release (has subs and dub) or Anchor Bay USA/Manga UK BD

Arise: BEST PQ/AQ: Japanese singles (has subtitles); Best US/UK: FUNimation or Manga UK BDs

The New Movie: BEST PQ/AQ: Japanese Bandai release (has English subs, no dub); Best US/UK: FUNimation or Manga UK BD

If I have made any errors, please correct me.

[svenge]

You forgot Pyrophoric Cult, which is a bridge between Arise and The New Movie.

Sadly there is no US/UK release to be had, and the JP release has English subs but no dub. The French & German releases aren't English-friendly at all either.

[cooperb21]

Who ever has the rights to Ghost in the shell movies and series needs to lose them fast then, so we can get a proper quality release in NA. Classics like these deserve better, both among best tv series/movies of all time.

[Gorgon]

^^ Be careful what you wish for....

[One-Eye]

Originally Posted by professorwho

For those who won’t read the thread and want to know the best versions of each GitS property:

‘95 Movie: Best US/UK: Anchor Bay/Manga UK BD

Wasn't the US and UK releases clones which contained the same errors and bad subs?

Originally Posted by cooperb21

Who ever has the rights to Ghost in the shell movies and series needs to lose them fast then, so we can get a proper quality release in NA. Classics like these deserve better, both among best tv series/movies of all time.

Manga was on the production committee of the movie and they were acquired by Starz/Anchor Bay who in turn was acquired by Lionsgate. Long story short they basically own a little piece of it and wont be losing it unless for some reason Lionsgate decides to sell the rights off. Its basically been an evergreen franchise, so itd be surprising if they did sell it off unless they continue to mangle releases into the future and all customers just flat out refuse to buy it.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by One-Eye

Wasn't the US and UK releases clones which contained the same errors and bad subs?

Yes, but it is at present the best release in the US and UK. That’s why it’s last place.

[One-Eye]

↑
Ah ok gotcha. Though I'm not sure I'd use the term best with the US/UK releases. People might actually think they are good or something.

[cooperb21]

I'd buy a Korean set, but they seem to be gone. Seemed like a good as both seasons were only about 100 USD each. Where Japan sets are going for 500 per season. Not spending that kinda money for even for a fav.

[klasma]

Originally Posted by professorwho

Stand Alone Complex: BEST PQ/AQ: Japanese box sets (has dub in lossy audio, no subtitles) or Korean box sets (has dub in lossy audio, has English subs with some typos)

The English subs on the Korean sets consistently use quotation marks around text that would normally be in italics (to indicate emphasis, for the most part). So you get lines like

He is my "friend".

I would "never" do this.

instead of

He is my friend.

I would never do this.

Personally I found that annoying, as it gives the wrong semantics and you have to mentally backtrack to get the actual meaning. The first few times I didn't even realize what was going on and just thought the dialog was weird.

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by klasma

The English subs on the Korean sets consistently use quotation marks around text that would normally be in italics (to indicate emphasis, for the most part) ...

Plus, there are lower-case Ls that were mis-scanned during the OCR process so they appear as upper-case Is.

Still, is there a better release with English subtitles you'd suggest people buy?

[klasma]

Originally Posted by Naiera

Still, is there a better release with English subtitles you'd suggest people buy?

I don't know how the UK release compares (PW writes that it has proper subtitles), but people should know about the problems they incur with the Korean set.

[professorwho]

Originally Posted by klasma

I don't know how the UK release compares (PW writes that it has proper subtitles), but people should know about the problems they incur with the Korean set.

The UK set has the best subs by far- with a revised translation and quotation marks, but it is a forced 1080p- which means dropped frames in certain scenes. If that isn’t a big issue for you (or anyone in general), it is worth getting over the Korean version. If you notice things like that, then the KR set is the way to go.

Still, the UK one is without a doubt the best for what it goes for. 2nd place is the Italian Dynit release, but it lacks English subs.

[callahan09]

Originally Posted by Girls With Guns

God, my diet consists of almost nothing but meat - I just had a nice, juicy, 1" thick extra-rare steak swimming in a pool of blood on my plate for supper tonight... Waved it over the gas grill flames a few times on each side and called it a night. Had to rubber-band it to my plate so it wouldn't jump off. Mmm!

FYI, the "blood" in your meat isn't actually blood!

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-...b0e655eab6eb36