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Let me tell you. The EXACT same thing rarely hits multiple territories. It gets remastered or they murder the bit rate or they leave out special features and the packaging of US releases it’s typically very poor. If you buy this and a cheap western version comes out there will be things about that JP version that will always be better. You will have paid $80 to get those things but they will be better.

To change the movie then, decades after release, would have been a betrayal to his younger self.

Never watched that one BITD. Wouldn't mind a bit of Mr. Udagawa fighting with Paul Robinson and those twins he was rooting at Lassiters back in the day though!

If it sounds like a post to justify purchasing it, it is. What to do? :lol:

How can you tell when a 4K HDR screengrab is downscaled to 1080p SDR?

I have the two Demon Records releases on CD. Where can I get the DSD?

Anyone who likes Akira and doesn’t already have the soundtrack on SACD or DSD is nuts.

Author:	teddanson [ 24 Apr 2020, 14:50 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
forper wrote: Buy it.

Author:	signofzeta [ 24 Apr 2020, 16:40 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
As someone who has imported quite a bit of anime for $$$ and seeing it later be domestically released for ¢¢¢ I understand your trepidation. Maybe it will come out here, maybe it won’t.... Let me tell you. The EXACT same thing rarely hits multiple territories. It gets remastered or they murder the bit rate or they leave out special features and the packaging of US releases it’s typically very poor. If you buy this and a cheap western version comes out there will be things about that JP version that will always be better. You will have paid $80 to get those things but they will be better. My hunch though is that even total economic collapse won’t stop this thing from coming to the US. It’s Akira. AKIRA. The anime librarians know about. It’s literally the anime as far as the mainstream goes. Critic proof, legendary, always sells. Some sort of 4K version will eventually come here.

Author:	teddanson [ 24 Apr 2020, 16:56 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
100% agree with what you are saying. Plus the JP version doesn't have the Streamline dub! I guess we wait now to see what happens in terms of a US/EU release date announcement. I'll hold fire for now I think, see what happens. It's tough not clicking buy though!

Author:	xtempo [ 24 Apr 2020, 19:16 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
there is nothing wrong with hearing roy lol I'll have to rewatch it sometime.

Author:	takeshi666 [ 24 Apr 2020, 21:22 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
signofzeta wrote: Let me tell you. The EXACT same thing rarely hits multiple territories. It gets remastered or they murder the bit rate or they leave out special features and the packaging of US releases it’s typically very poor. If you buy this and a cheap western version comes out there will be things about that JP version that will always be better. You will have paid $80 to get those things but they will be better. That reminds me, I was supposed to pick up the Japanese box set of Ghost in the Shell. I wonder if it's even available anymore.

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Author:	signofzeta [ 24 Apr 2020, 22:11 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
When Nausicaa hit Blu-ray in Japan it was $80 and people complained about it. They said the color was wrong. I passed on it and bought the US one. Now that G Kids has it in the US I was thinking about buying theirs to replace my Disney version because it makes me f***ing puke to see that magic castle before the Ghibli logo and the case is just a pile of as much text as they could get fit. Video quality of the actual feature is incredible, everything else sucks. Typical US release, $25. The color was wrong on the $100 LD too, it never bother me since it was the only version I had except Warriors of the Wind ($10) which is the same master. Maybe the OG JP Blu-ray is wrong in the exact same way? That would be cool. The LD is more pale and the blues look slightly more blue-green. (For correct coloring see the box set version.) The color blue is critical to this movie, yet it being balanced exactly right doesn’t seem to matter as much. In the OG manga and the watercolors made for that and some of the merch her coat seems to be a different color every time. Occasionally it’s tan. I remember when they were hyping the Nausicaa BR. For this occasion Miyazaki and Takahata watched the movie again and when they asked Miyazaki what changes he wanted to make for the BR he had some comment on the color and otherwise said to change nothing at all. To change the movie then, decades after release, would have been a betrayal to his younger self. That was his explanation. That’s some real talk right there. I wish other directors understood their own careers this well. But what of the color? Is it “wrong” but also “director approved”? One thing I know is that the cover is WAY cooler than the US one so maybe I should buy it used for $10 eventually. American versions of things are usually cheaper but usually have a dozen teeny little sucky things about them that annoy me until I get an import version from Japan.

Author:	nissling [ 24 Apr 2020, 22:49 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
As for the colors I know that the old Blu-Ray of Nausicaä (OG JP, Studio Canal, Disney etc) uses a master sourced from a duplicate positive. Compared to the OCN (which in the case of an animated feature already have passed through a couple of generations) does indeed have a basic color timing to it, meaning that the final results will be somewhat close the original intention. This can of course be done using an OCN as image source, if graded with a well-stored print or something equal as a reference. Which one looks the most accurate I don't know. I do have both the original LD and the Ghibli box set so I could do some comparison of those when I get back to my studio. For film archivists like myself I always want to make sure that every single film I restore looks as close to what it did when originally released. It can be tedious and my friends sometimes feel like I'm taking it to the very extreme, but at the same time it's not my content. It's not my creative work. I have taken the responsibility to maintain it for future viewers and keeping the integrity of the film is essential for me. At the same time I will say that when watching old prints you'd be surprised just how many 80s films were really blue. Shooting day for night got it right almost all the time. Sometimes just so good it's nearly impossible to recreate it completely when going digital.

Author:	signofzeta [ 24 Apr 2020, 23:12 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
The OG Nausicaa LD was made from a theatrical print (reel change markers every 18min or so) which is part of the reason it’s the only version with the World Wildlife Fund endorsement in front. My assumption is that the color drifted as part of the telecine process and probably had nothing to do with the print itself and it’s tint. It was 1984...you know... The Ghibli ga Ippai version is very accurate, at least when it comes to the blues. I say because the entire movie has been turned into a Film Comic and the colors used there match other sources, individual cels, 80s issues of Animage, etc. I’ve never watched a DVD version (Regions, Disney, too off-putting). I was under the impression than the US Disney Nausicaa BR was not identical to the original JP BR, that it had been adjusted somehow, I don’t remember what I read to make me think that way... This article seems to feel the G Kids version is different from the Disney one: https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72563/n ... s-release/

Author:	nissling [ 24 Apr 2020, 23:32 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
Disney uses the same master as the original Blu-Ray from Japan. Ghibli made a new master when they released a box set in Japan back in 2014, which is certainly from a different source than the old Blu-Ray. And I assume it's the one used by G Kids as well. You can compare the two Japanese discs here. They've also got an old Hong Kong DVD which I think is interesting. https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0 ... 58&i=0&l=0 I remember the cue marks and WWF logo for sure. However considering that the developing process of ECN-2 heavily relies on temperature you will always get some differences in colors when comparing the reels. And the telecine process (most likely flying-spot) is always subjective when dealing with sub-optimal content. Either way I will most certainly try both that and the Ghibli Ga Ippai out next week. May even able to provide some screenshots.

Author:	signofzeta [ 25 Apr 2020, 00:15 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
That would be really cool.

Author:	forper [ 25 Apr 2020, 01:31 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
signofzeta wrote: To change the movie then, decades after release, would have been a betrayal to his younger self. Miyazaki is SUCH a dude. Don't know why he hangs around that communist hack Takahata though.

Author:	forper [ 25 Apr 2020, 01:34 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
teddanson wrote: Never watched that one BITD. Wouldn't mind a bit of Mr. Udagawa fighting with Paul Robinson and those twins he was rooting at Lassiters back in the day though! Had to google that. The thing about Neighbors is Australians don't actually watch it. It's kind of like the Fosters of TV.

Author:	admin [ 25 Apr 2020, 06:13 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
teddanson wrote: If it sounds like a post to justify purchasing it, it is. What to do? I ordered mine yesterday. The "first release" without poster was $20 cheaper... I know I won't care about the poster. I skipped the DVD, the dts DVD and the BD, straight from CLV LD to 4k! Julien

Author:	teddanson [ 25 Apr 2020, 07:30 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
Someone has posted this. Lots of arguing on websites about the 4K version looking awful. How can you tell when a 4K HDR screengrab is downscaled to 1080p SDR? Julien, I'm really keen to see what your thoughts are when you get your copy. Like yourself, I don't care for the poster and no way is it worth around ¥2000+ more than just the normal version. http://momo.gogo.tc/ginban/blog/?p=19632

Author:	teddanson [ 25 Apr 2020, 14:34 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
Just saw a review that mentions the USA release will be a 2 disc set. I'm assuming the soundtrack will be dropped. Rumoured to be coming on the Funimation label who also hold the Akira license at the moment, so I can see an element of truth in that rumour. I guess worst situation is you end up with an expensive Japan import. But you get the extra disc. Also, you could track down a hooky USA copy of the extras disc, extract the subtitles and dump them in a custom MKV container. Straightforward enough to do so long as you can get the disc. The expensive Japan import option is currently looking very attractive. It is now OOS at Amazon JP. Waiting on Julien's review first before I put in an order.

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Author:	nissling [ 25 Apr 2020, 10:02 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
teddanson wrote: How can you tell when a 4K HDR screengrab is downscaled to 1080p SDR? There's no real way as different HDR->SDR conversions are performing differently, but out of these the one with the bike is a typical example. Most of the image is generally darker but the sparkles still stick out. That's essentially a "classic" HDR effect right there, which doesn't really shine when viewed in SDR. Either way all of the screenshots are presented in 1920x1080 so there's no way whatsoever to tell what the UHD-BD is like as far as sharpness and compression goes based on these. There does seem to be some agressive noise reduction going on however whereas the old disc show more intact grain as well as some dithering which I clearly think is in favor of that one. Color management also appears different but it seems to be more due to the fact that the old master was most likely graded on CRT monitors whereas the new one is first and foremost designed for HDR. No major differences really as far as the aesthetic goes.

Author:	signofzeta [ 25 Apr 2020, 15:00 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
Anyone who likes Akira and doesn’t already have the soundtrack on SACD or DSD is nuts.

Author:	teddanson [ 25 Apr 2020, 15:06 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
I have the two Demon Records releases on CD. Where can I get the DSD? I missed the 35th Anniversary manga box too, so just got all 6 of the old editions out at the library instead!

Author:	admin [ 25 Apr 2020, 17:33 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
teddanson wrote: I have the two Demon Records releases on CD. Where can I get the DSD? https://www.hdtracks.com/akira-original-soundtrack-album HDTracks 192Khz/24bit DR=12 HDTracks DSD5.6MHz DR=13 Or if you want to go the extra mile: the DVD Audio (v1.01) in 192Khz/24bit 4.1ch mix. https://www.discogs.com/Geinoh-Yamashirogumi-Symphonic-Suite-Akira-2002/release/5337533 Julien

Author:	rein-o [ 25 Apr 2020, 18:02 ]
Post subject:	Re: Akira 4K Remaster
signofzeta wrote: Anyone who likes Akira and doesn’t already have the soundtrack on SACD or DSD is nuts. This explains it all. Now I know why everybody I ever meet is telling me this, guess I'll have to pickup a copy of the soundtrack due to Dr. Signofzeta.