It's finally happening...!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/999021320875708416

Nozomi Entertainment

@NozomiEnt

The Utena rings have arrived! We are currently in the process of assembling the sets and will be shipping these out in the next few weeks. http://nzani.me/rings

Hell yeah! I had almost given up hope.

As far as I'm concerned "dated" is (usually) a huge non-argument with a bunch of bad implications about art anyway

I personally don't think anime can be compared to literature in this specific context. Literature can feel dated in the sense that the way people talk changes each generation. That is not so much an issue of age rather than a modern-day reader having a vocabulary so different from the writer that they might as well be speaking a different language. It's like not being able to enjoy a book that's written in French or Spanish because you barely have knowledge of those languages in the first place. The 90s however weren't that long ago though and I personally felt like the humor and character interaction is not very different from more recent shoujo shows or just anime in general. But the matter here was in fact the visuals, not the dialogue or some other aspect of the show and visuals are of course something literature lacks as well.

I don't think an anime can really look dated unless we're talking pre-70s, I understand that anime made today use brighter colors, making it seem like there's a sort of filter over it all the time (a good example of what I mean would be Kyoto Animation shows) and if you're used to seeing that all the time I can imagine it's a bit difficult to get into the rougher look of 90s anime. Still, like I said, the artwork itself and the animation are of much higher quality than shows coming out this season and probably any season of the last 10 years so I don't think it's fair to reject anything from that era because it looks old, if that even means anything.

RightStuf has already charged my credit card for my aeons-ago preorder, so hopefully I'll get it soon. In the meantime, here's Nozomi Entertainment unboxing it:

https://twitter.com/NozomiEnt/status/10 … 7681411078





I really hate this diamond-faceted collage, but oh well …

Giovanna wrote:

I feel like they printed that artwork, unobstructed, personally, for me.

And you. My scanner is twitching, the only copies that exist are garbage scans of the Japanese DVD boxes with spam all over the images so that's basically new art IMO.

Old but new. That's how many feels about this release. LOL. Will you order 2 copies? One to keep, and one to destroy via scanning? That whole art book will be debinded. LOL …

Meanwhile … I'm scrutinising the reflections in the rings and that warehouse they shot it in. No cleanup whatsoever. If I did that, I would get fired from my job. Haha!

Honestly, I can't afford to atm, but I'm 99% nothing in the book I don't already have.

If...there is something there...

Welp. We'll see.

My set came Monday and I am LOVING it. It's so beautiful.

Also, I was THRILLED that the subtitles were fixed in the opening prologue. I think the CPM and Nozomi DVD releases prior to this one always subtitled this part of the prologue incorrectly:
Screenshot
The Prince isn't the one who says "We will meet again." It's supposed to be Utena/the princess who asks "We will meet again, right?" It's correct on the blu ray Such a small thing, but it would always drive me nuts, LOL.

I saw the 'Special Thanks' to Giovanna/Yasha and the Empty Movement community at the end of the first disc's credits, so THANK YOU if you were responsible for fixing that and also for your contributions to the release.

Last edited by ShinraiTenchi (06-13-2018 07:32:34 PM)

My copy of the 20th Anniversary Ultra Edition Blu-ray set arrived in the post today - rings, book, glitter, and all.

And it's glorious.

I am glad I had the opportunity to import it down under and get it during Rightstuf's 30th anniversary sale, as I doubt the Australian license holder Hanabee is going to bother doing it. Hanabee had done the DVD remaster localisation some years ago, but they have yet to bring over the standard Blu-Rays release. I'm uncertain if Utena is actually listed on their site anymore, as prior to placing my order through Rightstuf, I couldn't find it there.

I feel I ought to add that one of the selling points that pushed me to order in this particular(ly dazzling) set were the details in the last few posts. Up until I saw it mentioned above, I had been unaware of that particular error in the subtitles for Utena's dialogue in the first episode, and I had been unaware that Giovanna and Yasha from IRG, and other fans from the larger community had contributed to this release. I figured that if community members had helped to improve the subtitles, that it would be worth picking up this set over the previous (and perhaps less dazzling) editions.

I've loved this series since I first saw it seven years ago, and though I confess I've postponed watching it since so that I could one day own a copy of my own to watch, I am happy to own this set knowing that it is the finest version of the series (and film) available our in language due to community input. I am not so great at offering compliments, but, I am grateful for the contributions of all those involved, and I hope that this community continues to the support the legacy of Utena for many years to come.

Now, the only remaining obstacle is to consider a region-free Blu-Ray player so that I can enjoy it all over again in high definition