Customer Reviews

Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise (Combo HD DVD and DVD) [HD DVD]

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

The DVD release of this film had been delayed more times than i've had hot dinners, so i was with some some excitement that i finally layed my hands on a copy, esp. as i saw it was enhanced for widescreens TVs. OH DEAR. This is a disaster of a transfer, arguably the worst transfer of any anime disc ive yet seen (and thats a lot) On the plus side it does have a cool commentary track but surprisingly enough i don't buy a DVD to listen to, and this is like looking at the film through the bottom of a full beer glass, after having knocked back 10 pints already.

This is what the net is all about, i waste my money so you don't have to. AVOID untill someone does justice to this film with a proper transfer.

I bought the 12" laserdisc release of this movie some years ago, and the colors are vivid, the edges are sharp, and I could find little to complain about except they messed up the subtitles in several spots -- they were actually missing in certain scenes.

But laserdisc is a dead format. Now comes the DVD, and they've ruined the movie. The colors are washed out. Edge enhancement is very prominent and annoying. If you are watching on a progressive monitor -- the deinterlacing is bad. The picture looks fuzzy, in spite of the edge enhancement.

I thought the Return of Sherlock Holmes DVD transfers were bad, but this is worse. Shame, shame on all who had a hand in releasing this DVD edition.

EDITED as of 11/09/2007: There is a new version, a new transfer of this movie, in a combination HD-DVD and standard DVD package. I believe there is a Blu-Ray version too, also containing a standard DVD in the package. They have fixed the video problems I complained about in the original DVD release. I'm glad they finally got the mastering right. It's a beautiful rendering of a beautiful film. Overpriced, though.

"This DVD is broke. I can live with the fact that Manga had a bad master, but the fact that this DVD was authored out-of-spec really bothers me. This is a VERY amateur mistake and can be relatively easily corrected. Let me say this a little more clearly -- "THIS DISC IS DEFECTIVE." It is just as defective as the missing subs in BGC or the out-of-phase audio problem with the Slayers box set. Sure, there are some setups out there that will mask the problem (ie: HDTVs won't introduce the ghosting issues because the image doesn't have to be resized) but the simple fact remains that this disc should probably be recalled, remastered and reissued."....

This is another great film sent screaming completely down the drain hole thanks to the fellas (and lasses, of course) at Manga Entertainment. One would think that after their 'attempts' at encoding the two Patlabor movies, things would improve, but...*sigh*

Unless you happen to have STATE-of-the-art video correction equipment (and even that won't help in most cases here), you're going to be left with picture compression artifacts and an awful lot of scan lines... I don't just refer to occasional compression blotches you see on most anime DVDs or artifacts you spot when viewing frame-by-frame BUT ENTIRE SEQUENCES where the animation is composed of just portions of shimmering scanlines. Just to round it off, the dreaded layer change is back(!).

NOW, I know Manga is on less than a portion of the budget of major Hollywood studios and I can (almost) forgive the fact they haven't obtained the best source material (which, by the way, I think was from laserdisc. LD source! For a DVD!?), but these are problems which could have been fixed by L-O-O-K-I-N-G at the encoded footage before mastering. ARE THEY THAT BLIND THAT THEY CANNOT SEE THEIR MISTAKES (sorry, I'm venting my anger at Manga), especially giving the time they take to release their discs.

This is most certainly the worst DVD to have come from Manga. Considering they have the rights to Evangelion Movie and X (two movies equally as excellent was WoH), I must say I'm not looking forward.

FRANKLY, i'm annoyed (#*##@#* to be more accurate). DO NOT BUY this DVD and complain to Manga.

This DVD is a scandal. One of the greatest anime ever made, and Manga gives us one of the poorest video transfer ever on DVD. The edge enhancement is visible to the point of being grotesque, the picture is unstable and not even soft but blurry. I'll spare you the details on the print defects, which are, to say the least, numerous. Even the LD was better.

You'd be all well inspired to boycott this DVD and buy the Japanese edition instead. I'll think thrice from now before I buy any title from Manga.

I am a relative newcomer to DVDs, but of the two dozen or so that I've seen (both animated and normal movies). This is the only DVD that has made me sit straight up and say out loud, "Something is wrong." The video transfer is terrible and it is very noticeable whenever anything moves. Maybe it has to do with the age of the film (the animation is about 15 years old), but the videotape version is superior in terms of quality picture. The sound is average and the extras are nice, but watching the film itself is unpleasant and it's hard to visually sift through the distortion.

Honneamise no Tsubasa is a superb show in itself. Sadly, you have to be aware that this DVD doesn't give it justice at all. The commentary track is a great addition, but the anamorphic transfert is *so bad* compared to the Japanese release (not to mention the lack of the new Japanese DD 5.1 track) that it's a shame from Manga to have made us waiting for two years and gratified us with such a poor video output. Boycott this until they put some new effort into it !

It is not every day that one is able to see such a fine movie as Wings of Honneamise. This movie takes on what is usually too much for one movie. Besides the obvious plot about a space program, this movie deals with war, politics, friendship, religion, love, morality, the sanctity of childhood, homelessness, and a man trying to find himself.

The movie starts off slow, but if you don't pay close attention at the beginning, one of the most intriguing parts of the movie will be lost to you. At the beginning of the film, Shiro Lhadatt is shown to be a goof off, one who does not care where his life is going... until something seemingly unimportant happens to him (see the movie, I don't want to give away anything). From this point on, he is serious, dedicated, but also shown to be carrying a lot of pain inside - this change in character is possibly a little too sudden, but important and very thought provoking nonetheless. He unwilingly is thrust into the spotlight and is hoisted as a scapegoat for many of the country's problems. This movie thankfully keeps the supporting characters to a minumum, and each is round and diverse. I am not going to say too much more about the movie, only that the ending of this movie is the most glorious and magnificent ending of any anime I have ever seen (and better than most of the regular movies I have seen for that matter). I earnestly reccomend watching it multiple times - like most good animes, it can only be fully appreciated after being watched 4 times or so. Please E-Mail me with comments on my review or the movie in general - I love discussing movies like this.

Save your money. DO NOT buy this DVD. Wings of Honneamise is an awesome movie. A truly excellent film in its own right, and top notch anime. Also, the extras are far better than your normal anime DVD. There are plenty of reviews for this title which will tell you about the story and its triumphs. Unfortunately, everyone who has written a review with more than one star has done you a diservice: This DVD is poor quality. Primarily, any time there is any quick action on screen, bars will appear over the picture. Second, the picture is not sharp at all, akin to a well used VHS. If you must own this movie, go for the VHS. Manga has cheated everyone who purchased this disk by doing a poor transfer. Before buying this disk, I did not even know you could botch a DVD this badly. I shall never buy another Manga DVD unless they re-release this title and reimburse me for my trouble. That's too bad to, because Manga has licsence for several excellent anime titles. SAVE YOUR MONEY!

As far as I can tell, the main problem with this DVD is that they generated it from a VIDEO master, instead of film. Everything the other reviewers said about motion artifacts is true. When anything moves, raster lines appear. I have the Laser Disc and it is fantastic. Truly fantastic. Even VHS copies look better than this DVD. I'm going to talk to the vendor because Amazon shouldn't have to eat this dog.