GKIDS Licenses Hideaki ANNO's NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER

[v_i]

Originally Posted by gloomranger

True, but that’s not completely accurate. I mean, ADV put out one last release in 2008 (US/UK). So it hasn’t really been OOP for twenty years.

I think my point still stands. Evangelion, in general, is one of the most popular anime franchises of all-time. You’d be hard pressed to find somebody who hasn’t at least heard of the series. I’d also argue Shin Godzilla and the upcoming Shin Ultraman (he’s writing and producing, not directing) only add to name recognition. That’s not to mention Gunbuster and Kare Kano which are both well known titles many attribute to Anno and not just Gainax. GKIDS are even advertising it as Hideaki Anno’s Nadia.

Kare Kano is a weird one, mainly due to how... understated its releases have been? Incomplete? Not sure what the right word is. Right Stuf sublicensed the series from Enoki Films USA, released the broadcast (not home video version, and there are many differences) on DVD in 2003, and that's about it. RS has re-released the same 5 discs a few times, and it's still in print, but it's still essentially the same DVDs from 2003. Anno's name is mentioned on the back as "The Director of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gunbuster", but it's not particularly big. The sublicense from Enoki likely made things more complicated, release wise, but they went belly-up in like 2011. It almost seems Right Stuf just kinda forgets they have the rights, and puts the minimum amount of effort in to keep it in print. Compare that to the eleventy zillion Evangelion releases, the super fancy Gunbuster releases that always seem to go OOP too fast, and now Nadia, Kare Kano seems almost... quaint? No extend period of being out of print, no cut scenes or music due to copyright issues, no redub... The series just kinda lives in the background. Which is weird, especially considering how the series ends, the fact that it got a fancy Japanese Blu-ray in 2019, and that Right Stuf/Nozomi seems to love their fancy special editions these days.

[v_i]

When Naida goes back into print, and Discotek finally releases their Gunbuster BD, it will be the first time since 2007 (when Bandai/Image's Gunbuster set went OOP) that 4 Anno/Gainax series will have been in print at once (Gunbuster, Nadia, Evangelion, KareKano). Now all we need is Re:Cutey Honey and we'll have all 5. (I'm ignoring Gunbuster vs. Diebuster)

[Water Panda]

I have the Sentai release. I'm willing to double dip if it's a new encode. The old one was somewhat rough in a few areas.

I'm hoping they include the movie and omake episodes for completeness sake. The movie especially has been put of print for a long time. The last few ADV releases and the Sentai one didn't have it.

[v_i]

Originally Posted by Water Panda

I have the Sentai release. I'm willing to double dip if it's a new encode. The old one was somewhat rough in a few areas.

I'm hoping they include the movie and omake episodes for completeness sake. The movie especially has been put of print for a long time. The last few ADV releases and the Sentai one didn't have it.

Random speculation time:
I wonder if the movie just flat out isn't available to license, or if the master is lost. Essentially everyone involved has disowned it (not that Gainax has any say in Nadia licensing). It never even made it to DVD in Japan, much less BD, as far as I'm aware. The ADV DVD already doesn't look too hot, trying to upscale an old Japanese LD to 1080p for a film no one actually likes is probably a fools errand. Would I still love it, even as a 480p extra? Totally.

[Lionel Horsepackage]

Funny thing, just recently rewatched the Sentai BD-set, but will probably end up buying this one too if there's a noticeable uptick in picture quality.

[BigOnAnime]

Originally Posted by Water Panda

I have the Sentai release. I'm willing to double dip if it's a new encode. The old one was somewhat rough in a few areas.

I'm hoping they include the movie and omake episodes for completeness sake. The movie especially has been put of print for a long time. The last few ADV releases and the Sentai one didn't have it.

The last release of Nadia from ADV Films had the movie. Was from 2008 when ADV was doing nothing but re-releases after the Sojitz deal implosion.

[jedidarrick]

Coming August 2.
https://twitter.com/WTK/status/15312...oLENSsOp7DbTqA

[gwfb5]

What do they mean by "Prologue", is it a prequel short or something?

Regardless, I really regret blind-buying the Sentai release a few years ago, which I still haven't watched.

[Show spoiler]

[gloomranger]

Originally Posted by gwfb5

I really regret blind-buying the Sentai release a few years ago, which I still haven't watched.

And why exactly are you so upset about this?

[jala12]

I wonder when we'll get some new images of this 4K restoration?

[GeoffOliver]

If they include the godawful island episodes, they should include the movie too. Let’s just have the whole series, warts and all.

[gwfb5]

Originally Posted by gloomranger

And why exactly are you so upset about this?

Because this new release has a new transfer/extras, and will probably be a lot cheaper than what I paid for the Sentai release.
(which I only bought because I was told it was going OOP)

Just because I haven't gotten around to watching the series yet, since I tend to prioritize watching stuff on Netflix/Prime because it won't always be there, doesn't mean I can't be annoyed about about this.

Maybe the angry face was a bit much.

Maybe I'll try to watch my Sentai BD soon, but every time I think of watching a series I own on BD, I see another anime on Netflix that's about to be taken down.
Honestly though, I like having some stuff in my collection that I've never seen. If the internet's out, or if we get to the point where we have to give up Netflix & Prime, I'll still have something new to watch.

[gloomranger]

That’s fair. I get it can be frustrating, but anime licensing is so weird. It’s hard to predict if and when a title will come back. I’d say your best bet is to sell your Sentai discs for the same price you bought them at before the GKIDS set is released into the wild.

Personally, I think the Sentai Blu-ray is fine. Aside from a visual upgrade, GKIDS new release doesn’t seem to be offering anything new. So I think I’ll wait on double-dipping to see if Anime Limited end up licensing Nadia down the road, because I know they’ll likely release the series on 4K UHD.

[Bobo1313]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

If they include the godawful island episodes, they should include the movie too. Let’s just have the whole series, warts and all.

Agreed. They have Complete Series on the cover, would make sense to include the complete series.

[Suikoman444]

So no Omakes or the movie. The prologue I think is basically just a trailer.

[kk1]

I remember I bought the Japanese DVD set (the one with the figure) like 20 years ago for the omake, they've never been on a US release? (I also think I never bought the movie when it came out because people said it sucked)

[SpaceDandy]

The omakes are apparently in licensing hell. As to the movie, Anno does not recognise it and it has not been remastered either. So you can forget about both.

[The Collector FX]

Originally Posted by gwfb5

[Show spoiler]

Good lord GKids, I wouldn't call Nadia a "landmark" series but whatever lol.

[gloomranger]

Originally Posted by gloomranger

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: Complete Series Blu-ray

Release date: August 2, 2022

[Show spoiler]

Now available for preorder from TRSI:

https://www.rightstufanime.com/Nadia...-Water-Blu-ray

[FarSided102]

Originally Posted by gwfb5

What do they mean by "Prologue", is it a prequel short or something?

Regardless, I really regret blind-buying the Sentai release a few years ago, which I still haven't watched.

[Show spoiler]

They couldn’t have even included the omoke shorts, let alone the movie? Yeah, neither aren’t anything great (the movie in particular), but at least it’d be something I’d actually see people wanting to be included (honestly who gives a shit about some stupid booklet?).
I’ll likely preorder it, but this just reaffirms my opinion that Gkids should stick with the newer anime stuff.