Yeah, there is nothing about condition and stuff like obis and inserts but I have been amazed with everything from them so far: these Oniisama E discs are truly mint and crisp. Your luck may vary. The shipping is not cheap: I paid 7500 yen to ship this order which had 11 platters to the USA, which is more than what the lds cost (still not that bad, considering the order took just a few days to arrive by EMS - truly premium service!).

In my experience, surugaya cannot be beat for providing some elusive title you really want. Oniisama E sets turn up on Yahoo JP now and then, but going through some bidding service would have been quite a bit more expensive (and I would not have found a set in better condition than this one).

How surugaya makes any profit on their LD sales is anyone's guess. I have a feeling that their other sales are where they make their money, and the laserdisc business is just along for the ride .

I have Captain Harlock: Arcadia of my Youth (1982) [LSTD01195] and its definitely letter boxed. Are you taking about the US one or the really really early JP version?

Either way, as a curiosity it's interesting, but I'm not sure why I would really want to see more than intended. They were probably just filling the same sized sheets as they did for TV anime since wide screen anime was still rather rare back then. It would be easier and cheaper to just direct it widescreen and then not order cels, boards, cameras, etc for 1:85 and just have everyone keep doing things 1:33. Anime was *incredibly* low budget in some ways back then.

I do indeed have the US Animeigo release of Arcadia of my Youth, and it is in 4X3 (they probably received the same master used for the earlier JP release). There is a bit more to see of the image in fullscreen, so I suppose it is more about seeing everything there is to see. I remember reading a review of the Korean GE999 DVD which illustrated the matte cutting off the head of a robot, and I want to see that robot head dammit . This does lead to some issues, because you can see things that were never intended to be seen: for example, there is the aforementioned scene on the US AOMY where you can actually see the bottom end of the background painting, brushstrokes and all, ending in white!

The Queen Millennia disc I mentioned earlier in this thread actually is in widescreen (which I discovered after a viewing), as it is a late 90's release, rather than the 4X3 I thought it might be (the older QM movie ld from the 80's would have been fullscreen, like the Adieu 999 and AOMY discs from around the same time). It's also notable that the GE999 Galaxy Box remained at 4x3: it was from 1990, so it was only later that Matsumoto films came out on WS ld (e.g. the AOMY you mentioned and my QM movie ld).

These movies were seen in widescreen originally, so that is probably the authentic experience (it definitely adds to the epic feel), but the completist in me has to have the 4X3 transfer too. I wonder about the meaning of "original aspect ratio" when dealing with open matte productions: perhaps the excesses of pan and scan cuts of 2:35 films may have conditioned purists into wanting to see everything, when some things are best left hidden, as is the case of some open matte compositions. Some theaters may have been set up for "Academy Ratio" projection back in the day, which would have projected the full frame, so for some viewers 4X3 would have been the version they remembered as original (in my case, the Sci-Fi channel showed the 999 movies as part of their "Anime Week" back in the late 90's, where I first saw them, and that fullscreen version probably stuck in my mind).

I have zero desire to see more than intended. I don't want to see Robin Hood wearing Nike shoes, or boom mics at the top of the screen. Even more than that, it just jacks up the original composition. I mean, that stuff is fine for a blooper real, but it only subtracts from the experience for me. There is nothing "purist" about it. Its like a guy driving around in his Corvette with the hood off because he thinks it looks cooler.

However...I'm not sure what is "correct" is the case of Arcadia! When I watch it, some scenes look like they were composed for 4:3 since it seems *really* close to people's heads and things are just...layed out in a way that I wouldn't have done. However, if the backgrounds literally run out then obviously 4:3 isn't correct either.

New theory: maybe there was some bad communication and some of the studios created 4:3 content and some made 16:9? This is certainly possible given how spread out things were at the time. A lot of "studios" were actually just three guys in the attic of their mom's house. If a substantial amount of work was done incorrectly...retakes were really rare back then. If, for some reason, 10 minutes of the movie were completed at the wrong ratio they almost certainly would not have shot it again. They probably would have just picked an aspect ratio and went with it.

In which case, the "purist" would need both versions! These days, with everyone having wide TVs, you can just watch the 4:3 in Wide mode and get the same effect. The version I have fits my TV almost perfectly when zoomed. This would, of course, cut off the subs on the US version.

You'd have to use a shipping service with a surcharge but many will take paypal. I recently bought a Playstation 2 controller from Surugaya which was a three week process and I still haven't heard anything back since confirming. I'm definitely going to try a shipping service next time.

Research and choose your own, but as an example this is who I'll be trying in the future.
http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/

I don't know if a domestic sale through a service would speed it up, ie they buy it and have it in hand and ready to ship in a few days instead of weeks and weeks. That could be an added bonus. But I don't know if that's the case.

You bought "a" PS2 controller? Was it like a fighting stick or a Para Para controller or just a standard 200yen PS2 pad?

I ask because maybe it takes them longer to get around to shipping really small orders. I've completed three orders from them at this point, all three took about a week to get shipping confirmation. All were between $50 and $150 orders. I just placed an order the other day. I'll post when I get shipping confirmation.

It finally shipped today /bellyaching lol

SoZ, it's an odd controller from a company called Fujiwork. The model is "Shin" and switches up the left analog stick with the d-pad. I was amazed to find one! I'm playing the Fatal Frames on Xbox and the Shin controller layout will help the transition to Fatal Frame 3 on PS2. I'm also excited to try this with Parasite Eve 2. If you don't cheat, that game's a serious b**ch with the normal stick placement.

Here's a pic. I have one of Fujiwork's Kiwami controllers and their build quality is way up there with Hori.

That's unique all right.

I'm sure the long wait was indeed due to such a small order. Looks like they floated me a special shipping discount I missed while waiting, which was nice of them.

Appears they were trying to make a PS2 controller like an Xbox controller with the analog sticks non-parallel to each other. The design of which was done because it was believed that it was better to navigate a 3D shooter with the stick placement like that. Guess it's true then!

I'm curious to see if it's date stamped. I don't remember ever seeing these at EBX bitd, and I only learned of em a few years ago after trying the Kiwami cheap from hit-japan. It would be even more of a curious oddity if it pre-dates the Controller S.

Why the controller S? The Saturn had two analogs on the left, the d-pad below the analog. The DC was the same way, and the DC pad quite obviously inspired the OG Xbox pad (not a good source of inspiration, IMO.) The Cube as well (which actually had a right analog).

The reason the Dual Shock had the analogs down low was because they were added post facto to the original PS pad. They didn't want them interfering with the vast majority of PS software that didn't even use the analog sticks. At this point its probably a good idea to change direction and put the d-pad out of the way because now its usually only used for menu choices or as a group of four buttons.

Yeah, I remember those first analog PS controllers! I still have one but it never saw much use before Dual Shock came to games.

For that Fujiwork I just meant it would be a curious spot on the timeline, if it was conceived early on by someone and then went nowhere. It would definitely be sandwiched between what you mention, no doubt.

I agree those DC controllers are not great lol. The original Xbox aren't too good either but I know some people like them. The right sticks are nice though, and they will fit into the S if you don't like the big dips. The Cube sticks are fantastic! I love the little triangulations around them to help orient yourself.

It's here. It's typical praise of Surugaya but I'll repeat it anyway, once the sale is closed they do get it out FAST.

i'm using google translate... so

Cheap \ 2,670 new retail price! !
means the original retail price was Y2670?

Pre-sale price 480 yen (tax included)
this is the price they are selling it for now?

theres no way to search for LD only?
an "anime cd" is just an audio cd.
whats an "underlay" ? a bedsheet or poster or something?

from:
http://www.suruga-ya.jp/database/185010757001.html
what is a "Mook Animation" ? is it vhs? mook is the name of an animation studio? what format is it?

the ld doesnt have a cover picture , darn.
thanks for any help.

"Mook" is one of those Japanese portmanteau words, from "magazine" + "book". Typically it's like a thick magazine issue, with some glossy pages, frequently a cover foldout, & a good deal of concept art & interviews.

much thanks! i dont think i would have figured that one out on my own.

So Suruga-ya had a sale on this week where if you bought 50 laserdiscs you got 20% off. I only wanted about 9 but the total came to around $100, so I wanted that 20% discount. So I then listed Suruga-ya's laserdiscs as cheapest first and proceeded to enter 40 of the 10yen laserdiscs into my cart. Didn't even know what I was getting, just kept putting random 10yen LDs into my cart until that sweet 20% off popped up (so the 10yen discs were now 8yen!).
Luckily, the order being over 1500yen and me living in Japan, I got free shipping too. Now when my 50 disc lot eventually shows up, I will take the 40 discs I don't want straight to Hard Off and get 10 yen a disc. Actually making money on them (a huge 80yen!!!). plus I saved 2000yen on the Laserdiscs I actually wanted to buy in the first place. I love Suruga-ya!

I just got a perfect Ghibli Ga Ippai Collection (1996) [TKLO-50180] from them for 8230円. I feel like every other LD I'll ever buy at this point is just gravy. This is the ultimate LD release for me.

Nice. It's a great set. How much was the shipping on that bad boy?