Forum - View topicThe Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV).
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CloverKuroba
 Posts: 506 |
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3 times already? Wow. You must have a lot of time on your hands. |
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DKL
 Posts: 1956 Location: California, USA |
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I've actually already seen the first Black Lagoon DVD like... 6 times... (and add one more because, as soon as I get off the damn computer, I'm firing up the DVD again) Yeah, much of my time is actually spent RE-WATCHING anime... not necessarily following new stuff around. It's still a little confounding how I never watch stuff in Japanese though, despite going through copius amounts of re-watches... ... Yeah, I don't get it either. |
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Jeiku
Posts: 3 |
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Yesterday was incredibly annoying for me; once I brought home the Haruhi DVD from Best Buy ($19.99, whoo!) and popped it in, starting on episode 3 I noticed rather noticeable glitches on the screen every so often, and when I took closer inspection I realized that the disc had one ugly, fingerprint-like smudge on it that I knew I did not place on there, as well as some pits on one end of the disc. I had it exchanged just to find that on my second copy that same stupid smudge was there, albeit with fewer, less obvious pits. This version played better than before as the on-screen glitches were no longer present, but I'm sure that this is a manufacturer problem and suffice to say, I was already disappointed with its handling.
With that aside, I enjoyed the English dub a lot, and all the voices are great to near perfect. |
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Porcupine
 Posts: 1033 |
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My disc also had a number of easily noticeable surface imperfections but my player was able to play them fine. Perhaps this is a serious issue for those with more-sensitive-than-average DVD players....
I plan to go out and buy the LE today from Best Buy...according to the website the price dropped from $50 (before release) to $45. If it's $45 I'll buy it. I don't mind having 2 Haruhis. They have different covers so at the very least it's a collector-item sorta thing. Plus, at $18 (reserved at Suncoast) the regular Haruhis are dang cheap. Also, apparently the later Special Editions of Haruhis will be similarly priced, but also contain a 2nd DVD with the episodes in broadcast order. This is good because #1) you are buying 2 DVDs for the price of one, making the special editions quite worthwhile, #2) the extra DVD contains mostly the "older" episodes so actually, if you just buy Haruhi vol 2 Special Edition...you get all of the "first 8" episodes of Haruhi at once...although supposedly the extra DVD does not contain a dub that is okay I also discovered something new yesterday. Even if you don't have a surround sound setup (like me, actually I have most of the required ingredients but I don't use surround sound anyway) and want to view the dub, DON'T use the 2 Channel English dub track (which is what you should normally do). That track sucks. Use the 5.1 anyway and let your DVD player downmix for you. The 2 channel track is fine except the intro and ending songs play ULTRA FRICKIN LOUD. I unfortunately watched Haruhi several times that way before I discovered the 5.1 track is better. So anyways, guys don't use the 2 channel track unless you like going deaf during the intro/ending songs. About the subtitles, they are big but I don't think they are too big. Many other studios use this size subtitles. It is just that for Haruhi they tend to be a problem (I was the one who brought it up first). Smaller would have been better, yeah. But this is the exact same font Geneon uses for most of their stuff...well, Geneon changed their font recently but many of their titles used or still use this (the DVD mastering, subtitling, and dubbing is all Geneon-like, not Bandai-like). I think the subtitles would still block things even had they been a bit smaller. I'm just happy the dub is as good as it is (due to Kyon). I'll watch Haruhi both ways, subbed and dubbed, anyways. BTW, I also recommend turning off the subs completely, even the sign-translations. This can be an annoyance at times, and you won't get to know what "moe" means (does it really mean "turn-on" like the DVD says?), but it makes Haruhi even cleaner and to me looks better. Especially during the OP and ED scenes. The "double subtitle" approach really blots out all sorts of good stuff. I never even noticed all the funny physics equations in the Intro until I got rid of the subs. Has anyone else noticed the funny physics equations? Those are actually some fairly advanced equations, you don't learn that stuff till 2nd year in college normally I'd say, and only if you are a physics major. Creator of Haruhi I guess maybe has some interest in physics, it came up a couple times in the show so far. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6871 Location: Kazune City |
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@Mylene: Galaxy Angel was contracted to Ocean, not BangZoom, which is why the subtitles are different size despite them both being Bandai series. In fact, Geneon & Bandai don't really have a specific "style" since they contract out to BZ, Ocean, New Generation, or occasionally Odex and other places. Each of those has a specific style for their releases.
I guess the use of moe is a double-edged sword -- it's good to see it used, but I (and the Wiki Article) disagree that it means "turn-on," since moe is not specifically a sexual feeling, but rather a feeling of loving/protection akin to the feelings one would have for a cute kitten. Incidentally, that was one of my gripes against the fansub group that did this show (and Lucky Star) as well, since they used "turn-on." Is BZ's similar translation a way to connect with the fansub viewers? We can only speculate. Physics equations and other stuff in the OP: Check back to pages 12 and 13 of this thread -- I and a few others attempted to analyze some of the numbers and pictures in the opening animation. Don't worry, I don't blame anyone for not reading through every last thing in this thread, especially those who didn't watch the fansubs for whatever reason. |
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Porcupine
Posts: 1033 |
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Yeah, those equations made me laugh. I can probably add some details to your guys' observations of those equations, especially if I took a closer look at them, but I don't really think it's that important.
What dormcat wrote was fairly spot-on regarding what most of those equations were. They don't really have anything special to do with time-travel, relativity, etc, like you speculated back there. A better way to describe them is that somebody, who actually knows his physics, just went and wrote down fundamental basic equations from all sorts of basic or semi-basic areas of physics that a phys major might learn. I recognize most of those things because I was a physics major too. Mostly it's "fundamental" stuff like F=ma (that's not one of the equations, but that's the idea)...such as E=mc2 from special relativity (although it's not really that fundamental but definitely the most recognizeable). Other stuffs I think I saw were the "classical wave equation" (very fundamental in whatever basic 1st-year sophomore waves class for phys majors in college), some basic equation relating to thermodynamics like dormcat said (I should probably know that one well but my thermo is super bad, hehe)...of course Schrodingers Equation (written in a compact way that is more likely to be used by college students, if you learn in HS you won't learn it that way as it is unatural, even though shorter to write down) which is like the F=ma of basic quantum mechanics....why there is the positronium particle there I have no idea lol....some product series mathematical formula like you said, and some other purely mathematical equations but I can't really tell (too blocked out, or have to pause and analyze carefully). Anyway, they made me laugh though, because my conclusion is that while those equations were scatterbrained and come from all sorts of different areas of physics and therefore imply nothing...it shows that someone chose those equations carefully cause most of them are serious, basic, fundamental equations. (if you randomly opened physics books and copied down equations, it's unlikely you would choose those). Oh yeah, I think one of those equations is some basic astronomical calculation regarding age of the universe or something related...I dunno, I am bad I think I am supposed to recognize it but I don't. Maybe my friend will if I show him. Last edited by Porcupine on Thu May 31, 2007 6:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mylene
 Posts: 2792 Location: Indiana |
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I had no idea that the dubbing people were in charge of the subtitles as well. Then again, aside from hearing the names of the companies, I know nothing else about them, seeing as I don't watch English dubs (personal preference, although I might make an exception for Paradise Kiss if the English dub is supposed to be better than the Japanese dub which I thought was just awful.) |
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Nom_Anor
 Posts: 246 |
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To be honest, I actually appreciated that choice. Since, incidentally, this was my first real anime, had they just used Moe, I would have had no idea what they were talking about. The second time I watched it, I could hear her shouting out moe enough that I realized what she was saying, and by that time, knew what it meant. I would have to say, I think that it is a good way of translating it for the more mainstreamed animes. For the more niche markets, such as Lucky Star, or the Sub only LE DVD, I would want to see it as moe(If a person doesn't know what moe is, Lucky Star is probably not worth watching anyway.). |
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Jedi General
 Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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Well, sure enough, I found the first Haruhi LE on my doorstep. The box is gorgeous. Bandai did an excellent job with it. I'll be buying the rest of the LEs for sure.
So, I watched the entire DVD last night (well, the episodes anyway, I'll get to all the extras soon), and I must say that this dub absolutely rocks my socks. Episode 00 especially. The VAs succeeded in making episode 00 even more hilarious in English. They did a superb job of making all the dialogue sound cheesy and poorly acted, without going over-the-top to much. Sheh and Bosch did an great job. Then there was Crispin's brilliant narration. On to the cast: Wendee Lee - Man, oh man, she just nailed this role! I'm throughly impressed, given how I had my doubts about her. Her voice does indeed take some getting used to, but still. The acting is just great. That scene where she was introducing Mikuru was awesome. Man, I thought that it was funny in Japanese, it was even better in English. I love the usage of "moe" in the dub and subtitles. Then there was the computer club scene. Although Dave Wittenberg stole a bit of the spotlight there (he was fantastic in that scene), again Wendee just nailed it. Those are just a couple of examples. Wendee just absolutely nailed so many scenes, she exceeded my expectations greatly. Crispin Freeman - To echo what others have said. Crispin is awesome as Kyon. The narration in episode 00 was the best. It really made that episode much more enjoyable. Oh, and that "yay" pure genious. I rewatched that little scene several times and it got my to laugh every time. Nothing more to say other than the fact that he completely made Kyon his own. Easily the best performance from the cast. My only gripe is that sometimes it's tough to tell when he's actually talking or narrating. The scene where he was talking about Haruhi cutting her hair, I thought he was narrating, but then Haruhi responded to him. But other than that, it's an awesome performance. Stephanie Sheh - It's almost like the seiyuu reprised her role in the English dub. I barely noticed the difference many a time. She captures the moe-ness that is Mikuru quite well. Nothing much more to say here. Michelle Ruff - She does sound a bit robotic in this role, but isn't that the point? I think she's done a good job as Yuki. I love how she does the next episode previews. Yeah they don't hold a candle to the original TV previews, but I still like them regardless, due to Ruff making Yuki sound very sexy. Johnny Yong Bosch - Seems like the usual performance from Bosch (but then again he didn't have very many lines in this volume), but his voice fits Itsuki perfectly. Bridget Hoffman - I fell in love with her voice when I watched Onegai Teacher. She didn't have very many lines, but I'm liking her so far. Her voice fits nicely with the "school hottie" character as Taniguchi called her. Oh and that reminds me. Sam Riegel & Brianne Siddall - Nice performances out of them as Taniguchi and Kunikida respectively. Not many lines, but Sam Riegel did a nice job when he was talking about Haruhi and then about some of the girls he'd checked out. Brianne Siddall also did quite nicely in her lines. Kari Wahlgren - She only had lines in episode 00, but still she was awesome in episode 00. Especially when she laughed at the terrible dialogue. Oh man, she had me laughing along with her! The greatness that is the bub aside, I enjoyed this volume very much in English. One thing I noticed much more was the music, since I didn't have to concentrate on reading subtitles. But, the music was a bit overbearing at times, as can make it a bit hard to hear the VAs at times. But, the music overall is great, now that I can actually hear it. Also, watching the volume in one go, I now realize how much episode 00 foreshadows the events in the series. When I first watched the fansubs, I didn't take episode 00 all that seriously. Upon the fansub rewatches, I always skipped it. Watching it in English was actually the second time I watched episode 00 in it entirety. So overall, it's a great release. Totally made my week. |
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DKL
Posts: 1956 Location: California, USA |
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I actually understood that scene as an integration of both dialogue and narration... (like there was this seamless transition) I hope that made sense... |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I (finally) recieved my copy of the first special edition DVD today. The little pencil board and the CD are pretty neat. I don't think I'll be wearing the hair ribbon, but even that's pretty cool, so I wore it once and laughed. I'm not sure if I'll ever use the iron-on, but I may. The box itself is pretty good-looking, even though it isn't particularly strong.
Now for the dub. I haven't seen any full episodes of the dub, but have skipped around to different scenes. Wendee Lee as Huruhi Suzumiya - Not as bad as I expected. In fact, rather good in some scenes. There isn't much difference between her melancholy and SUPAA GENKI states, though, so I hope Lee is able to differentiate a little better later on. She does still sound (as expected) a bit too old for the part, but is by no standard grating or annoying as Haruhi. Crispin Freeman as Kyon - A decent performance. He's certainly able to capture Kyon's exasperation and sarcasm, and even adds a bit of charm of his own to the role. Some of his lines fall kind of flat, however. I think he has some rough edges to his approach that should have been ironed out before recording. But not bad at all. Stephanie Sheh as Mikuru Asahina - This is one of the few performances I felt sounded a little too forced. She was trying to be too cutsie and high-pitched, when it doesn't seem to fit her voice as well as it did the Japanese voice, whose voice was natural for it. There are parts of her dialogue which, with Sheh's voice, makes it sound sort of grating. Still, it's not terrible. It's not like Mikuru has a lot of lines, anyway, but I would have prefered if someone like Ellen Wilkinson could have done the voice instead. Michelle Ruff as Yuki Nagato - A good choice. I believe I even voted for her in the voice poll. She delivers Yuki's quiet, whisper-like lines in a disinterested manner perfect for the voice. Not much else to say here, since Yuki's voice remains the same throughout, and if you've heard a few lines, you've heard them all. Johnny Yong Bosch as Itsuki Koizumi - Decent. If I were Bosch, however, I'd turn on the charm a little more, as I know he's capable of using a more honey-sweet voice. As is, he sounds too much like his other character voices, but even so, it sort of fits Itsuki. It's frustrating, though, that he's the perfect dub voice for this character, but doesn't work to his potential in it. Hopefully it'll improve around his longer explanations in the show. Other roles - Kyon's friends Taniguchi and Kunakida both have great voice roles, probably the best voices in the dub (Kusanagi is played by the VA who was Jim Hawking in Outlaw Star and Keniichi in Metropolis). I heard too little of Kari Wahlgren's Tsuruya to be able to make a decision about it, but it sounded alright. I still haven't heard Kyon's sister, who is also voiced by Wahlgren, because like I mentioned, I haven't sat through a full episode of the dub yet. But by the time I was finished with the first few scenes of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya I" I had already mostly approved of the dub. Overall a good dub. Not as epic as the Japanese voices, but worth watching. The subtitles that Bandai/Kadokawa/Bang Zoom/whomever added to the DVD are quite large, and often too literal, it seems (from what I can tell, that is). The menus were good, very simple and stylish. The extras on the disc were okay, even though it's sort of dull watching a shooting of a TV commercial. I thought a "Making Of" feature might include something about the show itself. But, I've only seen the first feature. Textless opening of episode "00" (Episode 1 in Kyon Order). I guess I'll need to collect all the special editions before I decide which box to use for the series, but I'm really liking the first one. I wonder when the second special edition will be on sale. Last edited by penguintruth on Thu May 31, 2007 6:01 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mirrinus
 Posts: 230 Location: La Thiene Plateau |
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I mentioned that earlier, but I think that's just an example of the anime trying to convey how the novels themselves didn't make much of a distinction regarding Kyon's lines. Oftentimes, Kyon's actual spoken lines in the novels don't appear within quotation marks, yet other characters will still reply to him. That's why I was hesitant to mark down Crispin Freeman's lack of distinction between dialogue and narration as being a wholly negative point. |
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Darkvyse88
Posts: 18 Location: MASS |
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Recently just got my special edition DVD box set (love it) and got to watching the dub. I got to say, so far, I like it. Freeman gives more personality to Kyon then the seiyuu did, in my opinion, and Stephine did a decent job of doing Mikuru. Haruhi being done by Lee is also suprisingly good.
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Mirrinus
Posts: 230 Location: La Thiene Plateau |
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I've been keeping tallies of the recent Encyclopedia scores, and it seems this title has been receiving a consistant 5-6 "Worst Ever" votes every single day for the past week or two. Suspicious?
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Porcupine
Posts: 1033 |
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Neither Best Buy here had the boxset, even though one claimed to have it on the website (it's only accurate half the time). Dunno if it is because people bought them all or the website stocklist was just wrong, or they were stupid and didn't put it out yet. I doubt people could have bought them all because that store had 40 copies of Haruhi regular edition sitting there, so if they had any boxes they should have had a significant number of them.
I ended up buying it from Suncoast. Right now, Suncoast and Sam Goody dropped the price of the Haruhi boxset to $50, so that's $45 with my 10% member card, same as Best Buy price so I just bought from them. The regular edition is still $20 on sale, $18 with member card. The reservation price had these titles been reserved (I did reserve them) was the same, so no savings on reservations. I also tried to order from dvdpacific.com but with the shipping it came out to $45 also, the boxset counts as a 4-disc set to their shipping system. Too bad I didn't know about the rightstuf super sale back when it was available (I don't think it exists anymore). Anyway, now I have 2 Haruhis ohwell. One comment: the regular edition and limited edition Haruhi DVD 1 have different covers. This is nice, but the problem is that the spines of the different versions are different and don't line up at all. They look stupid when placed next to each other. Also, the disc itself has a different pic on the top of it. I actually think the regular edition pic is niftier, even though it's not really a picture. Anyway, on a separate note: What do you guys think about the opening and ending themes to Haruhi? I don't think the Haruhi music is as great as most people say, to me it's average. But they are still enjoyable songs overall (some done by different composers, especially the opening and ending songs all different composers). I think the "Come On Let's Dance, Baby" stupid OP song is actually the best one!  In all seriousness, it has the best melody and to me sounds the best, only the song is sung a bit poorly at times on purpose. I like the regular OP the second best, and I'm not that fond of Hare Hare Yukai the ending. I think this is probably backwards of what other people think, but not sure....
I also liked the videogame fighting music BGM in Episode 00 better than all those. |
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