Arxane
11-07-2002, 09:25 PM
I decided to give a little review of the first "Inu-Yasha" DVD. Now, I most likely won't do this with every DVD, as it would get very boring for me to say the same thing over and over. This review is more for the people who want to know if buying the series is worth it; for those who won't buy it because of the episode count, this review probably won't do much to change your minds. For me, however, the series is worth it, even with the small episode-per-DVD count.
Anyway, what do I have to say?
First of all, like it has been said before, the DVD is uncut. That means all edits that were forced to comply with Adult Swim's standards are on this DVD. Mistress Centipede's breasts are large and in charge, so that should satisfy you if you go for that kind of thing.
The dub is here, of course. It's the default setting. And, as mentioned before, it's the same dialogue you heard on Adult Swim. If you liked it, it's here. If you didn't...well, switch to the sub.
Speaking of the sub, I had better mention a few things to the Inu-Yasha purists. The episode titles in the sub are the same used in the dub, the English ones; the Japanese ones are nowhere to be found. As for the subtitles, there's good and not so good. For the good, they are possibly the cleanest subtitles I've ever seen. Remember the awful subtitles from "Cowboy Bebop" and "Escaflowne"? A thing of the past; these ones are bright and big and readable. And the translation does seem to stick close to the original dialogue for the most part, so there are no "Totos" in the sub. They even mention "damn" where it's meant to be mentioned. For the not so good, the Shikon no Tama is commonly referred to as the Sacred Jewel, and Inu-Yasha's attack, like in the dub, is called "Iron Reaper, Soul Stealer" (yes, there is a comma in that phrase). Now, this may seem miniscule, but people who grew up on the fansubs probably won't like it.
As for the extras, they're pretty solid. You've got your standard textless opening and ending, so all who complained about CN removing the opening to "Inu-Yasha" can look no further. Then there's some line art and several promotions. The English one is, from what I understand, the promo used by Viz to convince Cartoon Network to air "Inu-Yasha" on TV. It's a pretty good promo, but tell me what you think about the catchphrase:
"Inu-Yasha: Half-human, half-demon, all action."
Yep, thought so.
And the Japanese ones are commercials for the show; there's one promoting the show as a whole and three others to promote each individual episode found on the first DVD. The only gripe about them is that they're not translated or subtitled.
Now, I'd also like to say that I actually have new-found respect for the dub. Sure, it still sounds a little rocky (especially Monica Stori), but now it sounds better because there are no sound glitches like when it first aired. Of course, this may be because I listened to the DVD with surround-sound headphones so as not to listen to it on a crappy computer DVD player, but still.
Finally, to alleviate fears, there is no English versoin of "I want to change the world" on this DVD. I repeat, there is no English version of "I want to change the world". Most of you probably knew that, but I just wanted to make it final.
And that's all. I know there are a few reviews out already on this DVD, but I just thought you might want a review from a fellow Adult Swim fan, just to round things out.
So, hopefully, with this review, I did something worthwhile in my simple existence that'll positively affect other people's lives in a noticable, if mundane, way. If it doesn't, may it fade away like a good lunch with a good taste and no gaseous side-effects.
"Little review"? Boy, can I ever tell a big one...
Anyway, what do I have to say?
First of all, like it has been said before, the DVD is uncut. That means all edits that were forced to comply with Adult Swim's standards are on this DVD. Mistress Centipede's breasts are large and in charge, so that should satisfy you if you go for that kind of thing.
The dub is here, of course. It's the default setting. And, as mentioned before, it's the same dialogue you heard on Adult Swim. If you liked it, it's here. If you didn't...well, switch to the sub.
Speaking of the sub, I had better mention a few things to the Inu-Yasha purists. The episode titles in the sub are the same used in the dub, the English ones; the Japanese ones are nowhere to be found. As for the subtitles, there's good and not so good. For the good, they are possibly the cleanest subtitles I've ever seen. Remember the awful subtitles from "Cowboy Bebop" and "Escaflowne"? A thing of the past; these ones are bright and big and readable. And the translation does seem to stick close to the original dialogue for the most part, so there are no "Totos" in the sub. They even mention "damn" where it's meant to be mentioned. For the not so good, the Shikon no Tama is commonly referred to as the Sacred Jewel, and Inu-Yasha's attack, like in the dub, is called "Iron Reaper, Soul Stealer" (yes, there is a comma in that phrase). Now, this may seem miniscule, but people who grew up on the fansubs probably won't like it.
As for the extras, they're pretty solid. You've got your standard textless opening and ending, so all who complained about CN removing the opening to "Inu-Yasha" can look no further. Then there's some line art and several promotions. The English one is, from what I understand, the promo used by Viz to convince Cartoon Network to air "Inu-Yasha" on TV. It's a pretty good promo, but tell me what you think about the catchphrase:
"Inu-Yasha: Half-human, half-demon, all action."
Yep, thought so.
And the Japanese ones are commercials for the show; there's one promoting the show as a whole and three others to promote each individual episode found on the first DVD. The only gripe about them is that they're not translated or subtitled.
Now, I'd also like to say that I actually have new-found respect for the dub. Sure, it still sounds a little rocky (especially Monica Stori), but now it sounds better because there are no sound glitches like when it first aired. Of course, this may be because I listened to the DVD with surround-sound headphones so as not to listen to it on a crappy computer DVD player, but still.
Finally, to alleviate fears, there is no English versoin of "I want to change the world" on this DVD. I repeat, there is no English version of "I want to change the world". Most of you probably knew that, but I just wanted to make it final.
And that's all. I know there are a few reviews out already on this DVD, but I just thought you might want a review from a fellow Adult Swim fan, just to round things out.
So, hopefully, with this review, I did something worthwhile in my simple existence that'll positively affect other people's lives in a noticable, if mundane, way. If it doesn't, may it fade away like a good lunch with a good taste and no gaseous side-effects.
"Little review"? Boy, can I ever tell a big one...