'Wings of Honneamise' - High-Def Digest review

[jed]

Kenneth's review of the anime classic 'Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise' is up. Although he's a huge fan of the film itself, he says the 4.5 star TrueHD audio mix is the one highlight on this otherwise middling Blu-ray release. Add to that an exorbitant price tag of $79.99 ($55.95 on Amazon), and this one's for fans only.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/986/...onneamise.html

[Shoeless]

Sigh. I've been waiting for a decent release of this particular feature, it's one of my favorites. But that price... really makes me hesitate.

[momaw]

According to IMDB the original Aspect Ratio of this film is 1.85:1 not 1.66:1 as stated in the review. Now this is no biggie except, I have the Japanese Import of this title on Blu-ray and I can tell you that it is 1.85:1 and not 1.66:1. It is in full glorious widescreen. I also noticed *no* dirt on it whatsoever. Yes it was not perfect. There was obvious source damage in some scenes, but it was far better than the review here.

Is the US release an inferior product? Is the review wrong?

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by momaw

According to IMDB the original Aspect Ratio of this film is 1.85:1 not 1.66:1 as stated in the review. Now this is no biggie except, I have the Japanese Import of this title on Blu-ray and I can tell you that it is 1.85:1 and not 1.66:1. It is in full glorious widescreen. I also noticed *no* dirt on it whatsoever. Yes it was not perfect. There was obvious source damage in some scenes, but it was far better than the review here.

Is the US release an inferior product? Is the review wrong?

Actually, it is 1.66:1 -- the original theatrical aspect ratio. Make sure your screen isn't auto-stretching the image (as some default settings are likely to do) and you will notice distinct (but thin) black pillar box lines on either side of the screen.

I have verified this on the Blu-ray and HD DVD editions again just to be sure. Reviews of the Japanese edition of the Blu-ray confirm this as well (the aspect ratio and the pillar boxes). Even if there was a discrepancy, I definitely don't think the American product would be inferior based on the aspect ratio if it was an accurate representation of the original theatrical presentation.

IMDB is most likely reporting previous aspect ratio numbers from earlier DVD releases in the US -- the ratio was artificially stretched on several occasions by the DVD producers to completely fill the screen.

As far as the dirt, watch the first act of the film closely. You'll see flecks of dirt appear for split seconds constantly (sometimes every few seconds). If you pause, you can see that these flecks are slightly transparent and asymmetrical -- this means they are flecks of dirt that were on the original animation cels. This is common to older anime and can be seen on most home video releases of these films before the late '90s.

Hope all of that info helps!

[Chris Beveridge]

FWIW, the film doesn't take place in Japan. I can't imagine how that came to be interpreted. Everything about it is a completely alternate world vision with no real ground in "our reality". Particularly evident when they show the history of the world towards the end. The place where Shiro lives is called the kingdom of honneamise after all. Alluding to a WWII that never happened doesn't really go with it. Unless I've missed this completely in the last twenty years of watching this film.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

FWIW, the film doesn't take place in Japan. I can't imagine how that came to be interpreted. Everything about it is a completely alternate world vision with no real ground in "our reality". Particularly evident when they show the history of the world towards the end. The place where Shiro lives is called the kingdom of honneamise after all. Alluding to a WWII that never happened doesn't really go with it. Unless I've missed this completely in the last twenty years of watching this film.

It's hard to deny the similarities -- while it certainly isn't Earth per se, it shares too much in common with the '50s of our era (including its blunt allusions to Japan, the US, the space race, WWI, etc) to overlook the striking satirical nuances. The kingdom of Honneamise's fears, doubts, and honor systems clearly parallels Japan as well.

Besides, interviews with the director and lead animators has revealed this interpretation to be correct -- they've stated it rather directly over the years as a driving force behind the story and characters.

That being said, I can definitely see where my description makes it sound more matter-of-fact than it is. I'll change this to make my view more clear.

[Chris Beveridge]

I'm not denying the similarities, but what I was taking issue with are some of the things that you have since changed. You can't say something about the Japanese government in regards to being portrayed in the film when it's clearly not there. It'd be like talking about Star Wars and saying Soviet Union instead of the Empire or some such.

[ryoohki360]

If you're intelligent , you'll read the review done by our friend Chris (animeondvd) on his site, he saw all version of the movie...

[polyh3dron]

Are the bigwigs at Bandai smoking CRACK??

First of all, the MSRP for both HD DVD and BD versions is $79.99!

Second, why the hell are they bundling the SD version with the BD version? It makes absolutely no sense, because the people buying it for the high def version won't want to play the SD version and the suckers paying the exorbitant king's ransom for the SD version aren't equipped to play the high def version.

Third, WHY ARE THEY CHARGING $79.99??

[Chris Beveridge]

Bandai Visual is not performing standard US releases. They're basically doing everything they do for a Japanese release (where all their films typically command a $100 price point for a variety of issues there) and just adding subtitles, any existing dub tracks and translating the booklets. Their goal, worthy or not, is to provide as Japanese an experience for their products as possible.

Having bought their films for $100 a pop over the years in import form, I personally have no issue doing it since they're providing subtitles for them now and it's in HD both in audio and video quality. The main difference is that with direct US distribution, we get to take advantage of discounted pricing. You don't get to do that with Japanese releases for the most part though you can get some discounts. Nothing like DeepDiscount or anything though until you talk about the secondhand market.

[polyh3dron]

I've bought a fair amount of SD anime DVDs from Bandai and never had to pay such a premium. I was so hyped to run to the store and buy this until I learned of the price.

[eva05]

Japanese product has always been far more expensive than the US product. Of course you do tend to get much higher quality mastering, packaging and extras compared to the US releases...but for many that isn't worth it.

The original releases of Evangelion and GITS are perfect examples of sub par mastering for the US market. The Japanese versions have always been superior. On the other hand the US versions of Bebop and the Gundam stuff has been on par with or exceeded the Japanese releases.

At the end of the day, if you like anime, you should be happy there are subtitled versions even available. Personally I am waiting for them to stop bundling surplus DVDs with the BluRay versions ;-)

I also know that the Japanese companies have decided to stop licensing the new stuff to US companies because they can simply sell their releases here and not lose royalties. Smart for them. The US is a big market and they are going to get to it directly now.

j

[momaw]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Actually, it is 1.66:1 -- the original theatrical aspect ratio. Make sure your screen isn't auto-stretching the image (as some default settings are likely to do) and you will notice distinct (but thin) black pillar box lines on either side of the screen.

I have verified this on the Blu-ray and HD DVD editions again just to be sure. Reviews of the Japanese edition of the Blu-ray confirm this as well (the aspect ratio and the pillar boxes). Even if there was a discrepancy, I definitely don't think the American product would be inferior based on the aspect ratio if it was an accurate representation of the original theatrical presentation.

IMDB is most likely reporting previous aspect ratio numbers from earlier DVD releases in the US -- the ratio was artificially stretched on several occasions by the DVD producers to completely fill the screen.

As far as the dirt, watch the first act of the film closely. You'll see flecks of dirt appear for split seconds constantly (sometimes every few seconds). If you pause, you can see that these flecks are slightly transparent and asymmetrical -- this means they are flecks of dirt that were on the original animation cels. This is common to older anime and can be seen on most home video releases of these films before the late '90s.

Hope all of that info helps!

The aspect ratio on my Japanese copy is definately 1.85:1. The setup on my system is correct. The aspect ratio of the Japanese version is confirmed 1.85:1 in this review also

http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/d...views/6442.php

Not sure where you are getting the original aspect ratio being 1.66:1 from. A quick google search comes up with many hits confirming a theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85 for this title. This review (http://www.ex.org/2.3/21-wings.html)of the laserdisc from 1995 had this to say:

"The correct, original 1:1.85 aspect ratio of the theatrical release is kept intact "

And many other sources confirm this aspect ratio.

Seems like the US got a different print to me.

[Chris Beveridge]

Originally Posted by polyh3dron

I've bought a fair amount of SD anime DVDs from Bandai and never had to pay such a premium. I was so hyped to run to the store and buy this until I learned of the price.

Do you mean Bandai Entertainment in the US or Bandai Visual (Japan or USA?)? They're two very different companies and release philosophies. If you're talking US only or Europe only, then no, you'd never see these prices from Bandai. Bandai Visual is a whole other beast that started up with higher prices than anyone else last year that reflect their home market and their perceived value of their films.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by momaw

The aspect ratio on my Japanese copy is definately 1.85:1. The setup on my system is correct. The aspect ratio of the Japanese version is confirmed 1.85:1 in this review also

http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/d...views/6442.php

Not sure where you are getting the original aspect ratio being 1.66:1 from. A quick google search comes up with many hits confirming a theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85 for this title. This review (http://www.ex.org/2.3/21-wings.html)of the laserdisc from 1995 had this to say:

"The correct, original 1:1.85 aspect ratio of the theatrical release is kept intact "

And many other sources confirm this aspect ratio.

Seems like the US got a different print to me.

Sorry to argue, but this quote is from the review you linked to:

"Originally in theaters back in 1987, the inaugural film of Gainax is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is encoded using AVC. Depending on displays, this may appear to be slightly pillarboxed as I believe the original presentation was about 1.66:1 and overscan may eliminate said bars. "

If the aspect ratio on this release was 1.85:1, I would not be staring at pillar boxes on either side of the screen. A widescreen television is roughly 16:9 (which translates to 1.78:1). Since there are visible pillar boxes and no object distortion, it has to be 1.66:1. The image clarity would suggest there has been no artificial tampering with the picture, which would make the aspect ratio more authentic (thus harkening back to the original release). Plus, Bandai has made numerous boasts about this edition being the "first release of this classic film to restore the original theatrical experience."

Many reviews in the past have likely assumed the aspect ratio is 1.85:1 based on the previous home video aspect ratios -- but it's tough to rely on other reviews as reference for facts (because it's unclear where they researched their material). As such, a news article or a journalistic look at the ratio is much more reliable -- unfortunately, just because it appears online, it doesn't mean the person writing it did responsible homework.

Still, thanks for keeping up on this! Hopefully we can get to the correct aspect ratio so the review is as accurate as possible. Thanks for posting!