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Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. Well, this series looks like it was made a while ago, but it's not. This is actually a recent release. I find this series very good & very interesting, showing what's being a man is all about. The way that Captain Herlock feels, somehow, I understand what's he is representing. This isn't just your normal pirate adventure for a teasure in the vast open sea, but actually, space pirates that travels around the Univers, not for teasure, but for freedom & saving humanity from the evil & destruction. The legendary space pirate have return, Captain Herlock, to face his destiny. However, the evil have already taken root & four possessed corpses started to bring choas where they appeared. Tadashi's father have been killed by them & as they about to kill Tadashi, Captain Herlock save his life. Vowing for revenge, Tadashi joins Herlock to go after who killed his father. As the journey started, with the mysterious ship called the Arcadia, set out to rescue the former crew. A note that the music is really brings the series to life & to seek out adventure.
Video:
Geneon Entertainment did a very great job. They have taken the time to do it right. I found no problem, the image are clear & the color looks perfect. It's a really colorful. There is some watermarks done for the introduction & ending credits (they are translated in English). Each episodes are separated into 5 parts: the introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview for the next episode! Since all the episodes are on one single track on the DVD, there is no loading time or changing tracks when you move on to the next episode. I do note that you can skip the warnings & logos in the beginning using the "Menu" button on your remote.
Dubbing: English:
I find the dubbing very well, not to mention they actually improve the creepy voice of Noo. Oh, that freaks me out everytime I heard that. The cast is very well picked & play their roles very well. 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.
Audio XX: English 2.0:
Just letting you know, there isn't an English 2.0 audio track on this DVD. This is artificially made from the 5.1 audio track, that's why I noted it as "XX". I found no problem with the audio, but I bet it would be alot more interesting with the 5.1.
Audio 02: Japanese 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system, I can't really say much.
Audio XX: Japanese 2.0:
Just letting you know, there isn't a Japanese 2.0 audio track on this DVD. This is artificially made from the 5.1 audio track, that's why I noted it as "XX". I found no problem with the audio, but I bet it would be alot more interesting with the 5.1.
Subtitle:
Geneon Entertainment have selected a great font, very easy to read. It's all yellow for the dialogues & while for the signs & text. There is no need for any subtiling for the introduction, since there is no vocal, & the ending theme is already in English. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the sign subtitling & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue.
Menu Option:
The menu starts off with a close-up of Captain Herlock, then a bright flash then leads to a parchment, like pirates will use for maps with Captain Herlock on the right. Yes, it does move, like there is a wind blowing it. There is the "Play", "Setup", "Extras" & "Screen Access". There is no special effect if you select any options. One of the background music is playing in background in the main menu, but the other sections have none.
DVD Extras:
The only extra is little clip of the original Japanese opening for the first episode of this series. That's all there is.
Packaging:
There isn't much special about the packaging. On the cover, you see Captain Herlock, with his famous flag in the background. In the back, you get many screenshots. Well, red doesn't really goes will with black, so you might have to take a little more time to read what's there, with screenshots from the episodes in this volume. What I like is another quote of words of wisdow & courage that Herlock speaks. The new "Geneon" logo is now dominate, as they phasing out the old "Pioneer" logo. The insert is bascially the same image use as the cover, along with the chapter lising. On the DVD disc itself, the cover image is used once again.
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 only thing annoying is the menu option. You have to click on the arrow to make the selection, instead of the word, for example, "Play". The episodes are place on one single track as you play the episodes, so loading time is really small. You can fast forward to the first episode to the last episode with one move on your mouse! However, you can't skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc.
Overall DVD Rating:
It's a very cool series, though, the Noo really creeps you out, so don't watch it in the dark & in the middle of the night. I love it how Captain Herlock thinks & reacts to every reaction.
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