Forum - View topicNEWS: Aniplex USA to Release 1st 2 Madoka Magica Films in July
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1846 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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I'll probably buy the movies from CD Japan when I have the money to spare. Wouldn't make much sense for me to buy them from Right Stuf since it's the Japanese release.
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NJ_
 Posts: 3101 Location: Wallington, NJ |
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If Amazon's that important to you then you could always buy Aniplex's products from Right Stuf through their Amazon Marketplace page (seller: "shawnek").
And they continue to live in the shelves of FYE to this day because unlike Right Stuf & Amazon, FYE's STILL charging MSRP for them (or very close to them like the $70 Wings Of Honneamise DVD/BD combo pack) and nobody's buying.
Most? The only title they had that could be considered very popular in the west was Akira. Everything else, not even close.
Here's one title of theirs that got a lot of attention in a negative way, Galaxy Angel Rune. http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?t=70967 animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-04-10/fans-confront-bandai-visual-about-pricing There are more that I can find but this one is the best example of how outraged everyone got over their pricing at the time. |
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3187 |
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@ Ingraman: Rakkyo extra features were translated. My inconsistencies argument holds weight.Until someone pops in here (Sam, you around?) and tells us exactly how "expensive" translation of unscripted features is then I do not believe it.
Also, I really do not want to find myself in disagreement with you or superdry. We are all like minded hobbyists. |
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Juno016
 Posts: 2420 |
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I want to clarify what these movies are, why they exist, and what the differences are to those who are curious (and have been asking on this topic).
1) Why were these copy-paste films made so soon after the TV series finished? Shouldn't they wait a whilebefore doing something like this? Madoka was targeted toward an otaku/niche audience in Japan, just as practically any anime shown late at night in Japan is. However, Madoka made such a ruckus in the mainstream that the public found itself intrigued and several people stayed up to watch it just to see what the fuss was about, giving it a name--not unlike what happened with evangelion to turn it from a general mecha-otaku series into anime-classic-for-everyone status in Japan. Still, most people only heard the name. When Magica Quartet were planning the sequel and decided to turn the story into a film (instead of another TV series, since Urobuchi's idea was too short), they came up with the idea of compiling the series into the first two films and releasing them in public theaters around Japan while the iron was still hot so that the mainstream audience could indulge in the story, finally. These movies, while still appealing to previous fans of the series, are mainly meant to appeal to the general mainstream audience in Japan in hopes of making this a classic outside the otaku fanbase. 2) What are the differences in the films compared to the TV anime? Any new material? Short answer: Some scenes were cut, but everything essential stayed. There was one major scene change, new magical girl transformations to replace old ones, Sayaka has a hairclip when transformed, backgrounds were redone, animation was improved slightly, voices were completely re-voiced, it was given a new soundtrack, a new opening, and an interesting InuCurry ending credit roll--all aesthetic changes only. Long answer: Mami's wish scene was cut, as was the prologue dream and most unimportant scenes from episode 2. The major twist scene where spoiler[Charlotte eats Mami] is sped up without a single frame of hesitation, so it happens all the more sudden and improves the scene greatly. spoiler[Kyouko's sacrifice] has a powerful new facial frame that was added in that makes the scene much more powerful. The ending to episode 9 (Homura and Kyuubey conversation about spoiler[Kyouko's death]) takes place in a graveyard instead of Homura's house, and when that finishes, there is a smooth (and kinda cool) new transition scene into Homura's past. Every Magical Girl transformation scene was replaced with a newer (and personally, way cooler) transformation scene. Mami emerging from a lotus flower, anyone? Sayaka was given a musical-themed hairclip in her Magical Girl form. The backgrounds were redone to the point where they could change your perception of what the city looks like. Not to mention, every single new background is GORGEOUS. I have the production sketches of each background scene in the movies to prove it. The animation gets rid of a TON of the awkward off-model "meguca" frames and also adds more frames to existing scenes. InuCurry added some ghost horses into the Box Witch's labyrinth and they changed some other small things as well. The voices were completely re-done and, if my opinion is worth anything, they are far FAR better than the already-powerful job that was done in the TV anime--especially the emotional scenes. The soundtrack was almost complete re-done. New tracks range from pretty new classical pieces to impacting pieces with meaningful Japanese lyrics added in (Mami's theme, when she gets happy before...), creepy chanting (Charlotte spoiler[eats Mami] scene), Merry-Go-Round music (turning the "Box Witch" into what I call the "Merry-Go-Round Witch," considering the white ghost horses also added into the scene), and even opera ("Shadow Witch" fight--Sayaka's theme is given creepy opera vocals and Japanese lyrics). Definitely makes the new OST worth it. The new opening video (and song) is great and closer to the point of the show than the TV anime's opening. I feel like I should also mention there are ADORABLE cut-out scenes of Madoka's life from being taught how to walk, to going to school for the first time, to her mother being pregnant with Tatsuya, to her playing with Sayaka and Hitomi, etc. -- and if you haven't seen it yet, the already-famous scene with Madoka and Homura snuggling their faces against each other. InuCurry's ending credit roll is just slightly creepy and unless my memory is making things up, I believe it gave us a look at the silhouettes of other Magical Girls throughout the story (spoiler[the ones that came from Witches]), but in their casual/school human outfits. -------- So yeah. The reason this release is less than half the usual price (in Japan--it's still expensive to the average American) is because it's mostly targeted toward the general public instead of the otaku. And if you've seen the TV series and aren't interested in the aesthetic changes, then these movies don't really add anything new and you'll be fine skipping to watch the third movie when that is released. I saw both movies when I was in Japan, so I never saw the subtitled releases and can't judge the quality of the subs (if they're the same), but the bonuses look great. This is a definite purchase for me. If they release a domestic version, though... I might get that, too. It'll depend on whether most of the bonuses are the same as this, if there's a dub, and how expensive it is overall. |
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Ghstmtrx
 Posts: 178 |
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I do hope these movies get a dubbed NA release. I enjoyed watching the show with someone who does not watch with subtitles and I would love to share these movies with them too.
I may buy this set regardless just incase we never get a NA release and incase the NA release is lacking in extras. |
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PurpleWarrior13
 Posts: 2034 |
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I mostly care about Aniplex stuff on Amazon so they can reach a broad customer-base. I have no personal problem with buying from RightStuf. 
It's very clear that Bandai Visual's stuff was not selling, and stores are still having a hard time getting rid of it, as shown when I got their Patlabor LE for 85% of MSRP. It is a great release though, I admit. Aniplex definitely has an advantage over them because they actually have titles in demand here. Wow! That thread was nearly identical to these Aniplex threads. I wonder if someone should do something similar at an Aniplex panel (politely of course). I don't think anyone's even tried to ask them about their pricing. |
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Ingraman
Posts: 1084 |
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Hmm... What's "Rakkyo", and what are its extras? The name didn't turn up anything on ANN, and Google gave me mostly sushi results. |
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vulcanraven01
Posts: 677 |
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What on earth are Aniplex US thinking?!
I know these are just compilation movies, but you know for a fact they will dub movie 3 due to the popularity of the show, so if they end up not dubbing movies 1+2, how stupid is it going to be from a collectors point of view... I'll be skipping these, since if people keep supporting these rip-off, lazy releases, then Aniplex US are just going to keep pumping them out. Hopefully there will be a proper domestic release later down the line with a dub, and a more reasonable price scheme. If not, more fool Aniplex US... |
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zeo1fan
Posts: 1016 |
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[quote="Juno016"]I want to clarify what these movies are, why they exist, and what the differences are to those who are curious (and have been asking on this topic).
1) Why were these copy-paste films made so soon after the TV series finished? Shouldn't they wait a whilebefore doing something like this? Madoka was targeted toward an otaku/niche audience in Japan, just as practically any anime shown late at night in Japan is. However, Madoka made such a ruckus in the mainstream that the public found itself intrigued and several people stayed up to watch it just to see what the fuss was about, giving it a name--not unlike what happened with evangelion to turn it from a general mecha-otaku series into anime-classic-for-everyone status in Japan. Still, most people only heard the name. When Magica Quartet were planning the sequel and decided to turn the story into a film (instead of another TV series, since Urobuchi's idea was too short), they came up with the idea of compiling the series into the first two films and releasing them in public theaters around Japan while the iron was still hot so that the mainstream audience could indulge in the story, finally. These movies, while still appealing to previous fans of the series, are mainly meant to appeal to the general mainstream audience in Japan in hopes of making this a classic outside the otaku fanbase. God bless Urobuchi for not pandering, in spite of his audience. That man is a great writer. It's too bad that SHAFT as a company has returned to trying to be artsy and pandering at the same time (Sasami-San@Ganbaranai). Whether subsequent material is good or bad, the original Madoka TV Series will at least age gracefully as most masterpieces do. 
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24131 |
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Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my original question, especially to Juno016, who provided such a detailed answer. I may end up cursing you, but you've helped to convince me that there is a value beyond merely satisfying my completist bent to owning the first two films.
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bhl88
Posts: 255 |
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Urobochi and Iwakami. Well at least I can show this with lesser fanservice (I skip the opening everytime xD) |
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zeo1fan
Posts: 1016 |
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So, um, you know that fanservice isn't nudity's sole purpose in anime, right? Especially with regards to the Magical Girl genre. Depending how it's used, it's also effective for illustrating innocence or purity. |
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bhl88
Posts: 255 |
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^ yeah true. Normal people don't understand it though.
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ssandulak
Posts: 128 Location: BC Canada |
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Jebus, you can get that kind of money for them being autographed? I mean I'd never sell mine, but it's good to know
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bhl88
Posts: 255 |
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That doesn't count the English voice actresses. If it was the Japanese voice actresses... praise thee Madokami. Edit: ...... it doesn't hide pictures.... 
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