Dan

I ordered the Japanese 3 DVDs + 1 HD DVD version from yesasia. When I get it, my plan is to make a backup of the HD DVD onto my HTPC and add the English subtitles (already downloaded from some random subtitle site).

It'll be a decent amount of work, but I can't wait for the end result!

Engel07

buckee1,

Does the HK SD contains a slipcase cover?

thanks in advance,

buckee1

Yes it does. And not that it really matters but, the case itself seems rather flimsy to me. The plastic covering the artwork tears very easily and has started to turn down at the top.

buckee1

Are ALL HD DVD's code free?

Dan

Every single one.

buckee1

Cool. I'll have to order the vexille HD since I've seen it now and know the story. My only drawback was the lack of English subs on the disc bt, that doesn't seem to really matter anymore.

Engel07

Thanks Buckee1, so how do you like this movie in comparison with Appleseed? Lots of action?

buckee1

It's been a while since I've seen Appleseed so i don't think my comparisons would be fair. I liked both of them equally should my memory serve.

Dan

buckee1,

I have to warn you... it's expensive...
$67.99
$97.75

edit: at least they ship for free...

toddly6666

good, cuz I love Appleseed....

It's already given that the story is going to more or less suck. Anyone who regularly watches Japanese animated movies should already know that storylines get left behind, unless it's a Ghibli film or Mind Game....

buckee1

Thanks for the headsup. I routinely buy from CDJapan and AmazonUK so, I'm a little used to having to sell a kidney to get what i really want!

Brian T

Not the biggest anime fan here, but I saw this at the TIFF last fall and was seriously impressed. I thought it was quite well written considering the flack often leveled at many anime movies for weak plotting/writing. Obviously, the animation's the thing on a piece like this, and VEXILLE more than delivers on that technical level, especially towards the final act, where it's almost overwhelming (and a bit over the top during the climactic "platform" sequence ).

I'm still keen on waiting for a U.S. release on this one (perhaps even Blu-ray, which could be phenomenal) rather than using the HK edition as a stopgap. Does anyone know if any U.S. distributors picked this up during it's festival tour in North America? Surely it's only a matter of time before it gets released in R1.

RichC2

Apparently it opened this past weekend in 97 theaters in the US and bombed harder than I think I've seen any movie bomb before:

$3,259 from Friday - Monday, in 97 theaters that averages out to about $33 per theater or about 1 person per theater per day. It was released by The Bigger Picture in the US.

Dan

Maybe it WON'T get a domestic release anytime soon...

WTK

The US release (DVD) will be coming out on 5/20/08. It will be released by FUNimation. Retail price is $29.98.

Brian T

That theatrical release certainly wasn't heralded too loudly, was it? The "bomb" tag might be more relevant if we knew what kind of expectations were behind the release in the first place. This seems like the kind of cheapo screen dump that simply allows the DVD marketers to put "Direct from 2008 Theatrical Release" on the trade ads and brochures they send out to retailers in the hopes of boosting orders. I doubt the film would have been a big ticket seller anyways. It's hardly populist fare, despite all the action and sci-fi trappings. Might still have legs as a rep theatre or specialized fest item, I suppose.

RichC2

Dumping is putting it on 1 screen in a small rundown theater somewhere. 97 is more of a "we're testing the waters" and they failed miserably. Wonder what kind of advertising they did.

Trigger

Just watched it...

Right off the bat - I think it should've been in multiple languages. If characters are from around the world, have them speak their native tongue - unless in the future everyone speaks Japanese.

The 'graphics' are beautiful... looks fantastic, although the cel-shading sometimes makes it look kinda bland/flat. The premise is tired old boring sci-fi robotic future. The politics, science, biology, physics, and story are absurd to the point of inducing headaches trying to ignore it. The action is tight and pretty fun to watch, but honestly I'd much much rather watch this as FMV scenes in a video game I'm playing (provided the gameplay is good).

I guess I like my sci-fi plausable. If you allow yourself to get distracted by all the pretty lights, there's some good stuff here. It's at least entertaining and like a lot of sci-fi anime out there, if you just relax and accept the world they are creating you may like it... you kinda have to get past the first 20-30 minutes in order to get into it.

I'm not a fan, but I thought it was okay. 6/10

Engel07

good news...Korea is releasing a 2 DVD set next week. Yeah! I'll take this edition over the Hong Kong one.

Trigger

The US version is coming 5.20.08... no specs yet. No specs on this Korean version either.

Engel07

Not a complete spec for the 2 Discs Korean set taken from dvdfromkorea

Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85.1
Audio Track: Japanese DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitle: English, Korean, Japanese

visitor Q

Tough call. Can I wait 2.5 more months for a US release which will most probably not include DTS or pay out the extra $15 for the Korean release? Ughh.

Can't wait to see this.

Engel07

Also, US version might not include the Japanese audio and include an English dub

Or you're right, wait 2.5 months until a final specs come along. I have already ordered the Korean set.

Trigger

I don't know - US treatment of anime tends to be pretty decent... if anything, it'll include an original audio and an english audio. Personally, I think an english audio would make more sense because:



And besides - half the characters in this thing are supposed to be from the USA. I think anime - like older chinese films - was intended to be seen in different countries with different languages and they intend from the get-go to have different language tracks recorded. I can understand why someone wouldn't want to watch a dubbed live-action film, but half the time, an English version of an anime is perfectly acceptable if not better. It's just my opinion - I don't mean to spark a debate about it, but the fact that this film has Americans speaking Japanese bugs me and I would rather everyone spoke their own language... we didn't get that though because they always intended it to be dubbed and localized wherever it went.

visitor Q

Didn't even consider that. I've been impressed with Funimation's treatment of Samurai 7 and Afro Samurai but I don't know what their overall track record is. I'd be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but considering the reports on the HK DD track I definitely need to have the DTS option. For that I won't risk losing out on the Korean release going out of print before May .. which is more probable than a US DTS release. Got my answer ...