A Date with 5 Centimeter Per Second - Part 1
So I got this Blu-Ray Disc from the cheapest importer (of the item) I know a while ago. I think I should write about that, right.
Unfortunately, I have not had the time and couldn’t plop the equally sexy BRD rip of the film on the PS3, so that will have to wait. Which is why there will be a part 2 eventually.
Not to mention I’m not sure if I want to end this journey just yet.
I’m probably going to tread a little into videophile land–that’s mostly unfamiliar territory for me, so please forgive me if I rear my ignorance a little more than usual. That said, the TV is a first-batch Sony KDS-60A2000; I listened to the film via the TV speakers (5.1 will have to wait till I get unlazy and swap my SPDIF cable over to the PS3… but it’s not really necessary for this film.)
Having already blogged all I wanted to blog about the film itself, its story, and its series of related themes and characters, I’m just going to say the one thing that stands out from watching it off BRD–the freedom to watch it however you want.
For example, my displayed is tuned more for the video look. As with most Americans, I get my HD feed mostly from cable or satellite, so the typical setting is optimized with that in mind. Looking at 5cm that way, the color vibrancy in the first handful of scenes of Okashou was almost too much. It makes good contrast with the dreary darkness in the train scenes.
However, unlike watching it on film, Cosmonaut’s subtle shades of blacks didn’t come across as well as I would have hoped. The twinkling stars as seen in the 35mm version was not absent, but the scattering sunset made it seem more 5pm than 7pm, you know? It is the scene where Kanae finds Takaki’s moped and climbs up the grassy knoll… I realize I can probably tweak my TV so it gets better black levels but I just haven’t had the time to go back and rewatch it on a more film-like setting. On the flip side, watching Cosmonaut in a brightly lit room makes some of the darker moments of the segment less brooding.
The BRD release comes with very little bonus stuff. It has the main feature and the One More Time, One More Chance music video (also in Hi-Def). The packaging is your straight-up BRD case, but besides a couple inserts there’s not much else.
When it comes to anime on high-definition, something that has come up in my discussion of the topic with others is just how does anime take advantage of the improved resolution? Anime in general is low-budget stuff, after all.
In 5cm’s case, let’s just say that this is as close as it gets to seeing Makoto Shinkai’s handiwork in your own home. In the ADV release of the DVD, one of the bonus features gave us a glimpse as to how 5cm was produced on Shinkai’s Apple Cinema Displays. At Hi-Def, you can see the same character cut out as Akari and Takaki chase each other down through their childhood neighborhood, complete with the less-than-perfect character cut-out and line inking, sort of as you would if you were looking at Shinkai’s monitors. Granted, it’s not a great thing to be able to see the imperfections on your TV, but it’s there, and it does add to the viewing experience. And that’s not to mention being able to really see the gorgeous detailed backgrounds that speaks so much, so loudly, throughout the film.
Sigh. Writing about it makes me want to go back and watch it again.
Miyuki Sawashiro’s Desirable Pigeonhole
Just looking up some basic information on Sawashiro surprised me. For starters, she was born in 1985, so she’s just 23 this year.
And already she is so prolific…albeit mostly in otaku-ish productions. Typecasted in the Oujo-sama type roles, she is definitely one of the go-to girl when you hear one of these characters.
What made me took note, however, is her Library Wars performance. That was definitely, by far, her best oujo-sama voice ever. And I mean, wow, that was her? Hawt.
I think my first extensive experience with her acting was back in her Broccoli days with Galaxy Angel and Di Gi Charat. Back then she did seem pretty much just like yet-another-high-strung-typecasted person. Today Sawashiro is in a bunch of different kind of roles, and surprisingly she’s doing fine even in a challenging role like Shinkuro from Kurenai. But I think her oujo-sama voice has definitely grown to differentiate itself too.
I guess you are forced to improve yourself when the subtlety of a Reika Houjo voice is merely the same nasal pitch laid a bit thickly to signify a hint of selfish immaturity? Versus a much lighter voice of Mint Blancmanche to reflect her age and attitude? Or a deeper voice to signify a touch of wisdom behind Shinku? I can only guess. I have no idea what Hagino Senkouji was doing–she was the younger pair acting for the older character? Weirdness.
Does it strike you interesting that Claire from Red Garden was by the same voice? I have to say she sounded more manly than Shinkuro >_> Or Kotarou from Pita-Ten. I think that was her best boy-role ever.
She needs to do more voices like this, I think, just to break things loose a bit more.
But if she can land more roles where she can sound like Asako Shibasaki, that is desirable IMO. Talk about a sexy librarian type!
Thinking of Buying You
I’m thinking about the new Nozomi Entertainment licenses–Aria, Marimite, Emma.
How many people will buy these titles from them? They are priced attractively, albeit available only through Rightstuf’s own site, some select specialty stores and online stores. If you are reading this blog, odds are the retail availability hurdle is not a major problem (save, of course, international readers). In fact given Rightstuf’s track record we might be seeing some big sales on their titles as they have done with The THIRD and Piano. It’s not expensive. Waiting is not a bad option.
But is it a good option? The attractive bundles are 12, 13 episodes a pop, and you can get them below $40 USD as a pre-order already. It doesn’t beat out the prices of some really, really cheap, low profile ADV bundles, but considering that these are new licenses, it definitely means Rightstuf is skipping straight to just one kind of buyer–those of you who are looking for a reasonably priced DVD set (much like how a lot of American TV shows are bundled), and can live without a translated dub.
The lack of a dub is done as a business decision, it seems–dubbing costs a truck load of money and when you aim so precisely as Nozomi’s licenses are, you just can’t afford to hike up your production costs. Likewise, dubbing also take a truck load of time, and I think while some people are willing to wait for a nice release, just the way they want, no one would rather want something later if they can have the same thing now. Especially if you are investing into this product (aka. Nozomi themselves). A long production cycle means you could lose out on the hype and promotion that fansubs generate. It can mean the delay will eat into the shelf life of your release. More importantly however, you just won’t see any return on your investment until later. And that really bites.
To elaborate a bit on what I mean by aiming precisely, it seems that they are pushing for a very simple paradigm, that a relatively low-priced, reasonably speedy release of the entire series aimed at a select group of people who are already fans of the show. Hey, I dig that.
Having the right price is rather important. A millionaire can be a casual manga reader just like a struggling salaryman. In the same way, as anime aim mostly at people in their late teens and 20-something, you have some people who are already making steady money and also a lot of people who are living on low-end retail income while struggling in college. And everyone in between. The low price casts a wide web, and obviously that affects Nozomi’s bottom line in a very direct way as we all know.
Wait, I did say precise, right–so who the hell would buy Aria or Marimite if they don’t already know what it is? Recall Mamiko Noto’s visit to America last summer. The three Marimite cosplayers are fans of the show. And I think it’s exactly these people Nozomi is aiming for. Is it worthy to note that on that Otakon, I made a few rounds in the dealers room, only finding very few Marimite merchandise, period?
These anecdotes are there to let you know how I feel about this issue. Aria, Emma and Marimite are very much definitive niche titles. Especially Marimite. There is not a terribly lot of fanfare surrounding these titles (although Aria has a lot of fans overseas, I suppose), and especially in the US. It shows, with Nozomi’s fairly cheap but targeted approach in marketing.
Because “niche” is really another term for “it’s not going to sell many units.”
I would imagine as much as having a translated dub of Marimite would be lulz, or a properly-acted dub of Emma would be epic, but Rightstuf is selling these DVDs to people that largely have seen some of the fansubs. And if you can tolerate fansubs, you probably can live without dubs.
It might be worth noting that both Emma and Aria have a presence in the US as manga. In fact you can pick these up at your local big-box bookstores. I wonder how that change things… considering that buying 7 (or 9, I guess) volumes of Emma manga would cost nearly as much as buying the 2 DVD box sets…
WTB Marimite novels!
Or I guess, what I’m trying to say is, please buy Marimite when it comes out. It actually needs your support. Rightstuf could have charged a higher price on these babies as the market can support it, and then lower the price over time as per custom, but somehow they aren’t. Coupled with their “lol get your name in the credits” nonsense, maybe they’re trying to do something. I’m just slightly worried that they won’t get the numbers they are looking for.
Evil Sales Is Evil
So CD Japan is putting up a sale, realizing no one is going to spend the huge bucks on … remastered DVDs. O RLY? Referral-supported links incoming.
And oh, by the way, these are limited quantity items on sale, so get them while they’re still there. Some items are much more limited than others.
Cowboy Bebop remastered collector’s box (notably, it contains session #0!)
Macross Plus complete remastered box (Has the 4 episodes AND the movie version, and other crap)
(Just a brief note on the CDJ affiliate program–well first I appreciate those of you who actually patronized my links, and it’s working out so far even with my sparse pimpage. Not fully tested yet because I’ve not “cashed in” anything.)
I noticed there is a whole series of these hi-def remastered DVD sets out there. Like the Yamato TV set or the three Gundam movies. I can see why these two titles would be below my radar but it doesn’t explain the first two up there that are singing their siren’s song.
Is this (Maho Tsukai Tai box) remastered? Does anyone know?
The irony is a little thick considering just not too long ago I was talking about $250 a pop anime series with some people on the internet. And here we are.
Still, something like this is just … too much to bear, even for me. Especially when it tempted me repeatedly. It’s like Princess Tutu–if I find some place selling the original releases, I would buy it in a heartbeat (assuming it was priced no more than it was originally), just for the soundtrack omake.
Last note on this pure-pimp filler of a post: Touka Gettan is available in its entirety on this latest CDJ sale. The discount is meager but it’s better than nothing.
Hidamari Sketch 14/365
Thanks to those of you who put this list together. You know who you are.
January 11: Winter Collage - Episode 1
February 13: Heart and Body - Episode 5
March 13: 3% Hope - Episode 8
April 28: Mar Cabbage - Episode 11
May 18: Singing Short Cake - Episode 4
June 17: Another Indian - Episode 3
July 14: Cool and Laid Back - Episode 6
August 11 - S5
August 21: Japan’s Summer - Episode 2
September 4: Wolf of Ura-Shinjuku - Episode 9
October 12: The Storm of Drying Packets - Episode 7
November 3: Yuno-sama - Episode 10
November 26 - S6
December 25: Goodbye Ume-sensei - Episode 12
I missed the boat for the first 3 episodes, but will make an attempt to start Spring with the right foot forward.
Welcome to Liberty City? I guess if you’re high on GTA4 you probably won’t be reading this anyways. I thought this episode was a good primer for this April 28th, 2008.
Slice-of-life is like that.
What am I doing? For the uninitiated, I’m going through the first season of Hidamari Sketch on the dates of those episodes. April 28 was the date for episode 11, so I watched that episode on that date.
It’s seasonally delicious!
