DVD Box Set questions

[tiaraisbored]

The dvd set I have was given to me, not sure where it's from, but it's 3 discs with only Chinese and English subs (with some errors), Japanese text on the back, and no extras. I don't mind it not having dubs, since I'd rather watch it subtitled anyway, but I was still thinking about purchasing the normal/official 5-disc box set

Comments

[kurainoyume]

The extras really aren't anything special. The music videos are edited together clips of that character with their character song and subtitles to the song. This would actually be really cool if it were in fact the full song, but they cut it down to only about a minute and a half. The editing of the clips do not go with the beat either and come across more like a short and badly done AMV. So in that regard it is more worth while to look up the translations for some of the character songs in the comm here and find the OST than get the DVDs for the sol purpose.

Now personally I don't trust chinese subtitled anime, they tend to do some really awkward translations when it comes to English subtitles and usually translate Japanese - Chinese - English. As far as the official English translation goes it's okay, they do the whole changing out youkai onikui and tengu thing which annoys me but other than that there's nothing particularly bad about them.

For me it was worth the $20 I spent on the boxset new, and I don't really particularly like the anime for tactics. So in the end it's all up to you and how cheap you can find them.

[tiaraisbored]

Thanks, this is helpful!

I suspected the "music videos" might just be slideshows or something, but not even using the full song is pretty disappointing. I agree, I'd rather have the OST in that case.

Yeah, there are a few places in the subtitles that look like they were translated by someone who'd never watched it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was based on the Chinese version. But at least it was good enough that it got me interested, I probably wouldn't have come across the series otherwise.

The cheapest price on Amazon is around $28 with shipping, and I would probably go for it if I didn't already have a copy. But it sounds like I'm not missing much, so I think I may wait for now. Or look for the soundtrack instead.

[randomdiversion]

There are also interviews with the voice actors, which are kind of vapid but reveal that the actors seem to view the series as aimed at grade-school kids (which in the US might not fly due to some of the innuendo).

I like the subtitles. The dub acting is meh--Kantarou's a bit whiny for my taste. But if you intend to share the series with pre-reading kids the dub is essential.

There is also the consideration that if you buy an authorized copy, the people who actually made the anime and authors Kinoshita and Higashiyama will get some small fraction as a residual.

Amazon and Borders (which is shutting down but may have some in a warehouse somewhere) sometimes have coupons, so you might be able to use a coupon to get a lower price.

ffshrine.net has the soundtrack.