Tokyo Godfathers:

Sony owns the rights to this masterpiece of anime. They recently released Paprika, I was wondering if there were any plans to release Tokyo Godfathers. This is one of my all time favorite movies.


Also I remember not too long ago Akira was remastered for HD- is there any word on it having a solid release date in the U.S.?



Also is there a comprehensive list of anime released on bluray in NA? I've managed to purchase two, Paprika and Tekkon Kinkreet- and happened to steer clear of the anime priced at 79.98 (Jin Roh I'm looking at you - why oh why are you 79.99). Anyways it would be nice to see some titles on bluray that are priced modestly with a decent selection. All that said, any chance in the future of seeing these titles?

I don't know about Tokyo Godfathers, but I believe Akira was one of the announced titles [for Japan] that was supposed to be out this summer.

Unfortunately, it was to be priced the same as Jin Roh (between $80 and $100) and be a DVD/Blu Ray release. I don't think it was ever released - they did release other titles like Ghost in the Shell though (at the same prices).

Their entire lineup was to include Steamboy, Patlabor 1 & 2, Akira, Wings of Honneamise and Ghost in the Shell, but I don't think many of them ever released. Even at that high price, I would've spent the $80-100 for a remastered Akira blu ray :(

Even at that high price, I would've spent the $80-100 for a remastered Akira blu ray :(

Minus the edge enhancement, and plus the new Japanese 5.1 track, so would I.

Patlabor 1 and 2 came out in Japan in both HD DVD + DVD, and Blu-Ray + DVD editions. There's been talk of a US release, but so far Bandai Visual USA hasn't announced anything solid. Patlabor WXIII is available on Blu-Ray + DVD with English subtitles as well, with no word on a US release.

The Wings of Honneamise had similar HD/BD + DVD releases in both Japan and the US. Jin-Roh was sold with a DVD in Japan, and a storyboard book in the US.

Ghost in the Shell was released in a Blu-Ray + DVD package, but isn't available in the US, likely because Manga Entertainment has exclusive rights in North America to the title.

Akira has been delayed in Japan, but with Geneon no longer distributing the title we'll likely see it in the US (at a high price) when it's ready. I know the "old" HD remaster was done at 1080i, so I'm assuming the delay is in Bandai Visual creating a new 1080p master.

Spriggan, Metropolis, Memories, Cowboy Bebop, and several other Bandai Visual titles that already have US distributors don't have English dialog or subtitles on the Japanese BD releases. It seems BD/HD titles that don't have distributors already are likely to get subtitles or a dub (if one already exists), as BV is trying to sell titles directly without the need to involve a third party US distributor.

Bandai Visual is insane if they believe they are going to make a dent in the marketplace for HD anime with their ridiculous pricing stucture.


Sony is leading the way with its anime titles.

Sony is leading the way with its anime titles.

I enjoy how many language and subtitle tracks they give us. It gives my culturally diverse circle of friends all something to watch. :-)

What I'm wondering is, will older anime that was made for television broadcast benefit from HD? Or are those discs going to contain multiple episodes.

Bandai Visual is pricing their titles for the Japanese market, where $80 for a single film on DVD is commonplace. They're essentially dumping Japanese BDs with English subtitles in the US because there are a few dozen (maybe a few hundred) hardcore fans who'd import the Japanese release anyway. This saves them the trouble. :)

Anime TV shows up until about 2000 were shot on 16mm film. Several titles - Evangelion, Nadesico, Cardcaptor Sakura, Gundam 0079, Fist of the North Star, Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Macross (Robotech), Go Lioncar (Voltron) and several others - have already had HD remasters that were in turn released on standard DVDs, often which looked far better than earlier releases. Of course, 16mm is a worse format than 35mm (grainy, less detailed, etc.) in the scheme of things, and as such they will always be on the soft and grainy side. Still, 16mm film has more information than NTSC/PAL, and as such can and will benefit from HDM.

TV shows and OVAs produced after 2000, however, may have been animated to NTSC specifications, and can only be upconverted to HD resolutions. This has already happened with Air and Yukikaze, and I expect to see it for several other titles in the future.

The only anime I have in my HD collection (tons of it on standard DVD) at this point is Tekkonkinkreet. Not only was it priced reasonably, it's one of the standouts in my collection. What I want to know is... where's the Miyazaki, Disney?! Hand it over!

I will kill people for Howl's Moving Castle (Disney), Spirited Away (Disney) and Princess Mononoke (MGM) on Blu-ray Disc with high quality transfers.

Was Bebop really 16mm? Every DVD I've ever seen has the horrible dot crawl on the OP and rampant rainbowing throughout the episodes which suggests some sort of analogue shelf life at least. There's also those digital shots they did of the hyperspace/ships etc (which I imagine would be 480i at best) which made me skeptical of ever seeing the series in HD.

I'm not sure if that's still the case with the R2J's of Bebop, but the recent R1 "Remix" releases were anything but with regards to the video.

The only anime I have in my HD collection (tons of it on standard DVD) at this point is Tekkonkinkreet. Not only was it priced reasonably, it's one of the standouts in my collection. What I want to know is... where's the Miyazaki, Disney?! Hand it over!

I will kill people for Howl's Moving Castle (Disney), Spirited Away (Disney) and Princess Mononoke (MGM) on Blu-ray Disc with high quality transfers.

Seconding this. Miyazaki needs to be on Blu ray asap. Though if there is one Studio Ghibli movie I can pick to be on blu ray it would be Grave of the Fireflies. Hands down one of the best movies (animated or not) ever made. If you guys havent seen it yet make it your next movie.

Though if there is one Studio Ghibli movie I can pick to be on blu ray it would be Grave of the Fireflies. Hands down one of the best movies (animated or not) ever made. If you guys havent seen it yet make it your next movie.Agreed, but make sure to have lots of kleenex handy...

Any word on ADV's high definition plans? I'd love a high definition release of Byousoku 5 Centimeter and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, two absolutely gorgeous films! A 720P teaser trailer for Byousoku 5 Centimeter can be viewed here:
http://www.vuze.com/details/NSWZZR5W2UWDGQDVIH4OQU2OL3XNYH24.html?a=SALL&cat=X&ch=l101&cs=X&ct=X&page=Scontent%2FBucketBrowse&pb=X&pg=1&pr=X&s=S&st=SAZHOT&t=X&vt=1

For now I'm loving my Paprika Blu-Ray.

Bebop was definately shot on film - there is grain and film damage in the 2D animation if you're looking for it - and I'm assuming it was 16mm since virtually no TV shows were shot on 35mm in Japan. Nowadays there is no film at all, but that's another issue.

Bandai Visual has the HD restoration finished, and will likely release a DVD box set this year with a Blu-Ray sometime after that. Many people (myself included) were septical of how the CG was integrated into the film material, but there was nothing stopping BV from animating it at whatever resolution they wanted to and then printing it to the film master, the way that Hollywood features integrated CG in the days before Digital Intermediates. That they didn't create a component digital master in 1998 would have been a simple oversight, and some shows made after 2000 still have dot crawl and other composite artifacts, like Girl's Bravo and Fullmetal Panic! The Second Raid.

The 'Remix' in Cowboy Bebop was mainly in reference to the 5.1 audio, just like X, though the video was re-encoded, so it could theoretically have fewer compression artifacts, be progressive rather than interlaced, etc. - I don't own either release so I don't honestly know. The HD restoration is the first component master for the series to have been created, and as they've succesfully released the show on DVD multiple times in Japan already without anyone caring about the dot crawl, why would they bother with the expense until they were ready to release an HDM version?

Seconding this. Miyazaki needs to be on Blu ray asap. Though if there is one Studio Ghibli movie I can pick to be on blu ray it would be Grave of the Fireflies. Hands down one of the best movies (animated or not) ever made. If you guys havent seen it yet make it your next movie.

I love Grave of the Fireflies but it isn't anywhere near the top of my list for the HD treatment. That movie needs a full restoration and I'm still not sure how much they'd be able to get out of it - though I'd be more than willing to give it a chance.

Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are visual spectacles that would really benefit from HD.

I would want Princess Mononoke first from the Miyazaki camp. After that, Spirited Away was fun, but I would really like to see restored versions of some early titles like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Kiki's Delivery Service.

There are a few Japanese anime TV shows which were made in 720p and would benefit from the BD treatment since an entire season could fit on a single BD-50 with perfect quality, these include Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex seasons 1 and 2, Ergo Proxy, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan.

Miyazaki on bluray! PLEEEEEEEEEASE. If you guys are serious, I'll start a petition and we can do a letter bomb, whose with me?!

Otomo on bluray please!

Sadly, the trend with Japanese BD anime releases recently has been to exclude non-Japanese subtitles. :(

Akira's release date has been bumped back numerous times in Japan, and I have a feeling there won't be any English subs anyway if it ever does get a release there.

I have COMCAST cable and about a month or so ago they had AKIRA in HD and it was in the FREE On-Demand movie area.

I watched it on my Hitachi 51" 16x9 CRT Rear Projection HDTV (1080i) using component video (from the cable box to the HDTV) and it looked damn impressive.

I felt like I did in 1989/1990 when I saw it in a movie theatre.

For the record I have the Criterion LD and that first Pioneer "deluxe" USA NTSC DVD release (that came in a metal tin).

Plus I saw the movie twice in theatres back around 1989 or 1990

I would definitely buy a Blu-Ray disc of AKIRA :)

Hahaha. I have the metal tin version of Akira as well. I got it for only $20 or so on release week at Best Buy and by the next week it was $35 with a cardboard box.

I have COMCAST cable and about a month or so ago they had AKIRA in HD and it was in the FREE On-Demand movie area.

I watched it on my Hitachi 51" 16x9 CRT Rear Projection HDTV (1080i) using component video (from the cable box to the HDTV) and it looked damn impressive.

I watched it as well, and while it looked a bit better than the "capsule version" going through my DVDO, it really had an over processed look to it. I couldn't tell if this was a poor HD transfer or a great upscale transfer that they used, but it didn't look as good as the BR Paprika, or Tekkon Kinkreet. I think it looked almost as good as the BVUSA releases.

I believe Lupin Gundam Wing and Yamato also had recent HD remasters. I'm trying my best to not buy the Macross movie and wait for a HDM release, but it is hard. I'm also looking forward to the Utawarerumono box set which will have optional English audio and subs.

Lupin in HD? Seems kinda silly considering how most of that isn't exactly in the best of condition.

Bandai Visual is insane if they believe they are going to make a dent in the marketplace for HD anime with their ridiculous pricing stucture.


Sony is leading the way with its anime titles.

We're lucky that Bandai are releasing ANY new and classic anime on BR or HD-DVD at all.Anime on HD is an enthusiast product and they don't sell enough to sell them much cheaper than what they do and turn enough of a profit for making the effort.I've spent $25 each on Freedom 1-3(HD-DVD)and am glad damn i did considering it's one of the best animated and remarkable anime made in the past few years and contains alot of extra that are ahead of it's time.I plan on buying WoH on one of the formats very soon also.

The only anime I have in my HD collection (tons of it on standard DVD) at this point is Tekkonkinkreet. Not only was it priced reasonably, it's one of the standouts in my collection. What I want to know is... where's the Miyazaki, Disney?! Hand it over!

I will kill people for Howl's Moving Castle (Disney), Spirited Away (Disney) and Princess Mononoke (MGM) on Blu-ray Disc with high quality transfers.

Any word on any of these being released on Bluray? I love Spirited Away, and so does my wife that I'm tempted to pick up the DVD, but I rather have the Bluray version .

Please continue in the BD wishlist and "when is this movie coming" sticky at top. Thanks.

larry