The Student Room Group

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Unknown?
Malaysian... a lot of anime series available... recent ones like shiki... cheap... region free.


All signs of bootleg pirate anime box sets. :sadnod: So you'd be right to be wary.

On the other hand, they do 'translate' (with varying degrees of success) some shows that aren't licensed in the west; I've been indirectly benefiting from that by downloading DVD rips for some obscure series that western licencors and fansub groups haven't even touched. :o: Pirating the pirates, you could say. :pirate:
Reply 1541
Original post by Unknown?
Are they bootleggers. The box tin I bought from them even has a shiny holographic sticker on it? :s-smilie:

Also amazon etc are crap! :frown:


I have a few Malaysian rips myself that I bought before I wised up - they're not properly licensed material if they're region free, and they have no legal right to sell english subbed versions in countries where the shows haven't been licensed or have been picked up by another company.

The UK anime industry is miniscule, so we have rubbish choice anyway - the selection on Amazon is the best you'll get for legal licensed anime.
Original post by caraniel
I have a few Malaysian rips myself that I bought before I wised up - they're not properly licensed material if they're region free, and they have no legal right to sell english subbed versions in countries where the shows haven't been licensed or have been picked up by another company.

The UK anime industry is miniscule, so we have rubbish choice anyway - the selection on Amazon is the best you'll get for legal licensed anime.


Damn it all...
The dvd quality is actually pretty good it's just that the subs were too big for my liking so I'm wary of buying from them again. But where the hell else am I meant to get series like shiki etc? :frown:

Also how the hell if they are illegal get away with using crap like paypal?
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Unknown?
Damn it all...
The dvd quality is actually pretty good it's just that the subs were too big for my liking so I'm wary of buying from them again. But where the hell else am I meant to get series like shiki etc? :frown:


Shiki is only coming out in the USA in the spring next year... could be another year after that before it reaches the UK, and then only if it sells well in America. That's just how the UK market is. :s: So for the moment at least fansubs are definitely the way to go for series such as Shiki. :yes:
Reply 1544
Original post by Unknown?
Damn it all...
The dvd quality is actually pretty good it's just that the subs were too big for my liking so I'm wary of buying from them again. But where the hell else am I meant to get series like shiki etc? :frown:


I am desperate for a Shiki release......but its not going to be high on any UK licenser's wish list given how poorly sales went in Japan. Which is utterly disgraceful - Shiki is easily my favourite show in ages!

Also for an indication of the typical UK anime fan's wishlist, MangaUK recently did a quick poll on Twitter asking their followers to nominate the shows they want licensed - answers were Deadman Wonderland, Angel Beats and OreImo. I wept considering I asked for Shiki, Arakawa and Utena.
Original post by AngryJellyfish
Shiki is only coming out in the USA in the spring next year... could be another year after that before it reaches the UK, and then only if it sells well in America. That's just how the UK market is. :s: So for the moment at least fansubs are definitely the way to go for series such as Shiki. :yes:


Tragic. It's not just shiki, i also can't find things like sora no otoshimono and so forth unless its lf. Has anyone else though had experience of lf anime rips with too big subtitles?
Original post by Unknown?
Tragic. It's not just shiki, i also can't find things like sora no otoshimono and so forth unless its lf. Has anyone else though had experience of lf anime rips with too big subtitles?


It's been a while since I last bought a bootleg (as with you and Cara, I didn't know better at the time, and where else would I be able to get Galaxy Angel and Negima (unlicensed at the time) on DVD?). I don't remember what the supplier's name was either, but I assume they're mostly the same. :dontknow:

The size of the subtitles wasn't a problem in mine, and depending on whether its hardsubbed or not you might be able to resize them using the settings on MPC or whatever media player you use.

The main problem I had was with the translation. While I truthfully can't fault the Galaxy Angel boxset, here's some screencaps from Negima, which should show you how much of a gamble these DVDs are. Grammar issues aside (and there were bigger mistakes than those, trust me, I just couldn't be bothered searching the whole disc for them), check out the horrific video quality. :yucky: Not that the animation for Negima is decent anyway, but it still looks more like a webrip than a DVD quality release. :sadnod:
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by AngryJellyfish
It's been a while since I last bought a bootleg (as with you and Cara, I didn't know better at the time, and where else would I be able to get Galaxy Angel and Negima (unlicensed at the time) on DVD?). I don't remember what the supplier's name was either, but I assume they're mostly the same. :dontknow:

The size of the subtitles wasn't a problem in mine, and depending on whether its hardsubbed or not you might be able to resize them using the settings on MPC or whatever media player you use.

The main problem I had was with the translation. While I truthfully can't fault the Galaxy Angel boxset, here's some screencaps from Negima, which should show you how much of a gamble these DVDs are. Grammar issues aside (and there were bigger mistakes than those, trust me, I just couldn't be bothered searching the whole disc for them), check out the horrific video quality. :yucky: Not that the animation for Negima is decent anyway, but it still looks more like a webrip than a DVD quality release. :sadnod:


Fair enough, I'm rather put off buying them again too though I think the translation on mine was pretty good, at least it was the same from what I recall when I watched the fansubbing online.
Reply 1548
Original post by AngryJellyfish
I've been indirectly benefiting from that by downloading DVD rips [...] Pirating the pirates, you could say.
The Hong Kong bootleg rip subtitles for Mazinger Z have a certain charm of their very own ('Only with this crabstick, I can control the enormous Mechanical Beasts Army').
Original post by QHF
The Hong Kong bootleg rip subtitles for Mazinger Z have a certain charm of their very own ('Only with this crabstick, I can control the enormous Mechanical Beasts Army').


I'm familiar with them... in fact, the episode with that memorable line was shown at my university's anime society during our 'History of Mechs' screening. Nobody bothered to check the quality of the subs beforehand, but it definitely worked out for the better. :p:

My favorite 'quote' from one of the movies:

Just read the Shiki manga, have a few thoughts about it.

Overall, I was very surprised by how faithful the anime was to the manga - almost everything was identical. Whilst I usually believe manga versions to be superior, though, in this case I think I actually prefer the anime, which is very rare for me. I believe manga, in most cases, to have better pacing and be more mature, but to be honest I thought the manga went a little quick in places whereas the anime had perfect pacing, enhancing the creepy and unsettling aspect of Shiki but still allowing good character progression and frustrating many cliffhangers.

Not only that did the anime stay faithful but it also added a few scenes in here and there which I actually think enhance the story-telling - one problem I found with the manga was that it lacked showing the human side of Shiki's compared to the anime due to less time focusing on them as a whole. There is only two chapters as well that haven't been made into an anime so I suspect they will release them as OVAs or DVD extras as it is literally 1-2 episodes max.

There is so little difference I don't think it matters whether you read the manga or watch the anime, but if you watched the anime then read the last 2-3 chapters to get closure on the story.

Overall:
anime - 4.5/5
manga - 4/5
Reply 1551
Original post by ChunkymunkyDJC
Just read the Shiki manga, have a few thoughts about it.

Overall, I was very surprised by how faithful the anime was to the manga - almost everything was identical. Whilst I usually believe manga versions to be superior, though, in this case I think I actually prefer the anime, which is very rare for me. I believe manga, in most cases, to have better pacing and be more mature, but to be honest I thought the manga went a little quick in places whereas the anime had perfect pacing, enhancing the creepy and unsettling aspect of Shiki but still allowing good character progression and frustrating many cliffhangers.

Not only that did the anime stay faithful but it also added a few scenes in here and there which I actually think enhance the story-telling - one problem I found with the manga was that it lacked showing the human side of Shiki's compared to the anime due to less time focusing on them as a whole. There is only two chapters as well that haven't been made into an anime so I suspect they will release them as OVAs or DVD extras as it is literally 1-2 episodes max.

There is so little difference I don't think it matters whether you read the manga or watch the anime, but if you watched the anime then read the last 2-3 chapters to get closure on the story.

Overall:
anime - 4.5/5
manga - 4/5


The manga is actually an adaptation of the novels (although there are a few major changes made for the manga adaptation, particularly in the latter half). The anime drew heavily on the manga as the plot was more compact than Ono's original books and therefore easier to transition to anime. As you say there is very little difference between the manga and anime aside from a handful of extended scenes.......its my understanding that the anime and manga were developed pretty much in tandem.

Shiki has two extra episodes included in the DVD releases - the 1st is already available and deals exclusively with the downfall of Sotoba through the eyes of minor characters......the 2nd should be coming out soon, but not sure what it will focus on.
Nearly done with the first season of School Rumble, what I want to ask is - is the third season actually worth watching or should I read the manga to complete the series because it seems they are just the last 2 episodes of the series.
Reply 1553
Really shot through Gankutsuou :coma: only 3 eps to go.:sad: The animation of the mechs in the duel was an interesting contrast to the rest of the series.:tongue: Very shiny, they sounded like big mechanical objects which they were.
Akazukin Chacha is still entertaining, but as I feared it's become a bit too episodic and repetitive for marathoning. I think I'll take it a little slower, and turn my attention back to Fantastic Children, which I've had stalled on 5 episodes for what feels like ages now... It got off to an intriguing start, but slow, and once I reached the Kyoto arc of Kenshin I more or less forgot all about it. :o:
(edited 12 years ago)
is Summer Wars worth downloading on my xbox? havent seen it yet but I remember hearing good things about it a while back
Original post by SciFiBoy
is Summer Wars worth downloading on my xbox? havent seen it yet but I remember hearing good things about it a while back


Summer Wars is awesome. :yes:

---

Just read this on ANN:

New Anime Media Platform in UK - GONG will launch on online film service, blinkbox


The anime network GONG has announced that it will launch on blinkbox, a film service in the UK.

According to the press release, "GONG will be offering some of its premium Anime including original Japanese subtitled in English. Manga fans will be able to follow some of their favourite shows such as Queen's Blade, Babel II, Demon Lord Dante or Izumo." :mmm:

To watch GONG on blinkbox, go here. At present, the following anime are on offer on the page: Babel II - Beyond Infinity (13 episodes), Demon Lord Dante (13 episodes) and Izumo: Dazzling Battles of Raging Swords! (Izumo: Takeki Tsurugi no Senki) (12 episodes).

GONG is already available in the US and Europe. Recently acquired by Tesco, blinkbox is currently available on PC, Mac, PS3 and internet connected TVs.


Now that is actually pretty cool - a streaming site that hosts complete (and pretty obscure - whose favorite shows are they meant to be again? :p:) series, as opposed to just newer or popular anime. :biggrin:

[EDIT] Added link so you don't have to search yourselves.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by AngryJellyfish
Summer Wars is awesome. :yes:

---

Just read this on ANN:



Now that is actually pretty cool - a streaming site that hosts complete (and pretty obscure - whose favorite shows are they meant to be again? :p:) series, as opposed to new or popular anime. :biggrin:

[EDIT] Added link so you don't have to search yourselves.


cool, I shall probably download it tonight, and also the site you linked to sounds cool :smile: havent watched much anime while at Uni, home for the summer so seems a good time to watch lots :biggrin:
Reply 1558
Finished Gankutsuou, loved it. :smile: Although the ending seemed oddly happy given the tone of the series.:hmmmm: Havnt read the book but do want to now.:smile:
I somehow managed to skip an episode of Toriko. :hmmmm2: Probably forgotten under all the shiny new series I had waiting to download after my birthday celebrations. :giggle: I didn't notice until I went to update A-P and the numbers didn't match, however - I'm guessing not a lot happened in episode 15 apart from a side character defeating a mid-boss. Needless to say I'm downloading it now and will watch it ASAP so that I'm back on track, but it could have been much worse. I wouldn't have wanted to have skipped ep 16, that's for sure. :no:

While on the subject, I hear there's no Toriko next week... they probably need the time to come up with more food puns. :giggle: