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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Bandai Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. Oh, here is a classic Anime that is back once again. I remember back when a few selected episodes (voted by fans) of this series was released in remastered 5.1 audio. Why bother with a few episode when we can get every single episode in 5.1! Don't worry, they even left the original audio tracks for both language, too. The bounty hunters are back, with Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed (which you won't see in this volume yet) & Ein, the lovable smart dog! Not all bounty are ceated equal, you win some, you lose some, as Spike & Jet travel the Universe, sometimes eating the most cheapest food around. However, when a big bounty is up for grabs, they are ready to take action. While chasing a known criminal, their ended up getting a dog, Ein & while trying their luck in a casino, they ran into Faye, a very strange woman with a lost past. As things couldn't get any worst, Spike has to deal with his own past. Boy, a life of a bounty hunter isn't all easy!
Video:
Bandai Entertainment have really done a good job releasing it! Clear & smooth, no problem at all. I even feel that they actually made it better then the origina release. First of all, they fixed alot of the annoying parts off in the old days of Anime DVD. First, I do want to point out that the newer releases of Anime DVDs have actually the option to skip all those little annoying warning & logos when you load the disc. No more waiting, just hit "menu" on your remote! Second, the episodes are sorted better. In the original release, the episodes seem to be in multiple tracks & loading time is so slow. Each episode is split into 5 parts: introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview! All the episodes are all in a different track, so moving to one episode to another will required a small pause during play.
Dubbing: English:
The dubbing is the same as the first release of this series, nothing is change. But, even for its age, the dubbing is really cool. Bandai Entertainment pick the cast really well & kept all the voice expressions & tone of the series intact, mysterious! Some cast started even their career with this series. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system, I can't really say much. Though, this is the first time that Cowboy Bebop have a 5.1 audio track, with the expection of the selected episodes release a while back.
Audio 02: English 2.0:
No problem found.
Audio 03: Japanese 2.0:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system, I can't really say much. Though, this is the first time that Cowboy Bebop have a 5.1 audio track, with the expection of the selected episodes release a while back.
Audio 04: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found.
Subtitle:
Bandai Entertainment have selected a great font, very easy to read. They use two colors subtitling combo for the introduction & ending theme, white for the original Japanese lyrics & green for the English translated lyrics for the songs. The rest is yellow for the dialogues & white for Japanese signs & text. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the sign only subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue.
Menu Option:
There is an improvement to the menu from the old release. It made up from the beginning of the introduction theme, which is kinda catchy. There is the "Play All", "Episodes", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". Selecting any of the options will get you a little animation related to this series. The main theme is playing in the background & the other section have various background music from the series.
DVD Extras:
With a new release comes with lots of extras during the remixing audio track. There is two commentary done, for EPS01 with the Japanese voice actors for Jet & Spike, along with EPS05 with Wendy Lee, the English voice of Faye & one of the producer, about their thoughts on the series. Als, there is even a interview with Wendy Lee video. The others are original trailers.
Packaging:
The packaging is a little nicer, but I find it lacking. On the cover, you see Spike & Jet in red cover. In the back, you get a list of episodes with one screenshot each with a vague summary of this new release. Heck, the character Ed doesn't show up in this volume, but it was mention. There is something really cool about it, there is a metalic finish. However, my copy doesn't included an insert, so I don't know what kind of information it has. On the DVD disc itseft, it's the same picture as the cover.
PC Viewing:
Watching it on the PC is the same as watching it on the TV. Very clean, no problem at all, very little pixel (little squares popping in & out), both normal mode & full screen mode. The sound is just great. The episodes are all on different track, so there will be a small pause when you move one episode to another. Like on your regular DVD player, you can skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc, just use the "menu" option to go to the menu screen.
Overall DVD Rating:
This Anime is a classic. For its age, it's still exciting & fun to watch. The only downside is that, if you already own the previous release & you don't have a 5.1 system, the new audio track is render useless. Though, I would get it just to get rid of the annoying bugs from the first release. See you space cowboy...
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