Customer Reviews

Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer [VHS]

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an awesome movie. Five stars, all the way. Unfortunately, this DVD must have been taken from one of the worst film elements in existence. Three stars, at best.

When this disc was first announced, I assumed that CPM would license the newly-restored, anamorphic widescreen video released on the Japanese R2 DVD. What CPM chose to do was clean up the cropped-to-fullscreen video from the original R1 DVD and release that for this edition. Proof? Check out the 2:15 position, close to the edge of the screen. That red dot that appears repeatedly throughout the movie was on the first release, too. Also note the hard subtitles for signs are same font/color as the older disc, while the soft subs have been improved for better visibility.

Just to rub salt into an open wound, the original Japanese trailer on this disc *is* widescreen. Aarrghh!

On the plus side, the ending is complete now, including the Japanese credits and the full version of "Ai wa boomerang." Sweet! I think the subtitle translation was updated, too.

I was hoping for a new dub, but that was never going to happen. Not for a twenty year old anime movie with one U.S. release already. Even if the existing dub sucks. Even if the movie is the GREATEST film ever.

Overall, if you have the first release, don't bother with this one unless you're obsessive and/or a rabid Urusei Yatsura otaku. If you don't have the original, buy it NOW. You'll enjoy it.

First of all, let me say that this is the best movie in the entire UY collection. If you want ahigh quality anime that actualy isn't depressing. I suggest you buy this. I was very unimpressed with the DVD of this spectacular film. One, there were next to no liner notes. In fact to get to the liner notes you must first remove the sleeve on the front of the case and peer on the reverse side. Also the grave HORROR for the subtitle viewer DUBTITLES! for those of you who do not know, Dubtitling is working off of the dubbed script to make the japanese subtitles. So I must sugest that you pick up the original subtitled tape as well as the DVD or just one. STill a great show!

After the fantastic Only You I expected the second Urusei Yatsura movie to be another laugh-a-second romp through outer space.

It isn't. What it is is a little odd actually. It's a story which focuses on the human cast of Urusei Yatsura, leaving the aliens (except Lum and Ten) out, apart from the odd namecheck and cameo in Ataru's dream sequence. Instead we're treated to a surreal, seemingly post-apocalyptic mystery world inhabited only by the core Urusei Yatsura characters.

And very strange it is too. I don't want to give anything away, although the title does that very well on its own, but this story is not what you expect at all. Which is a good thing in many ways. It's full of surprises and odd twists. But beneath it all, supporting it like a stone collossus (sorry, in joke) is the old Urusei Yatsura humour. Because the jokes, puns and slapstick are there, the rest of the film feels fun, not complex and heavy. And in the end you come out having been entertained, and perhaps a little disturbed. An utterly fantastic film.

Just make sure to watch in Japanese!

This is simply one of the best anime movies I have seen. It combines great characters with a great story that throws you off just as you think you have it figured out. Beautiful Dreamer is not only fun for veteren Urusei Yatsura fans, but is a fantastic way to introduce people to the series. Granted, very few (two, in fact) alien characters are used, but for this plot the others wouldn't really fit anyway. This movie focuses mainly on our earthbound heroes as they struggle to find out what the heck is going on with their world. Trust me. This one's lotsa fun, with just the right blend of mystery and comedy to make a winner.

When I watched this movie in 1984. I stayed in the cinema for more than ten hours straight to watch the same movie three or four times that day. (In Japan, once you paid admission you could stay in the cinema until you were physically out of the cinema.) 21.5 years and a few movies later, I have never seen any movie that gives me more goosedumps that this movie. And many animation fans over 30 years old and a few greatest animation creators in Japan agree with me, including original Gundams' creator.

Urusei Yatsura was popular even when it was on the comics, so when it was recreated as TV series in the early 80s, it had got experienced voice actors (dubbers?). And without their unique voices, expressions, dialogs, and strange dialects you are experiencing this movie only by 50%. I watched the english version and I was impressed the work of translation, however unless you know the language, it's difficult to enjoy every aspect of it.

My friend first saw this film back in '98 when Sci-Fi channel aired it on their "Saturday Anime" programing block; for two weeks he could not stop yammering on about it. Four years later he picked up this DVD and called me over to watch it. I had seen some of the TV series before, but Movie 2 amazed me. It captures all the slapstick elements of the show, but they flow with in the context of a deep plot where the same day repeats over and over, much like the film Groundhog Day. As clues begin to surface that might shed some light on the strange occurances, people begin to disappear.

This film is probably the most popular title in the UY universe and for good reason. With the exception of a few characters, a viewer can jump in totally ignorant to the prior portions of the series. Also, it has a nice balance to the light hearted antics of the TV show, but combines that beautifully with the deeper existentialist trappings of the plot. The ending is satisfying, although the home stretch does drag some. All in all its a great buy for some one who has had some experience with anime, but its not a good starting point for the uninitiated.

This DVD is the only title not put out by Animiego, but it was translated for CPM by the same team, so the continuity and translation is exicelent. This also makes it the only one that is dubbed. its only in fullscreen which might bother some people.

"Beautiful Dreamer" is the second Urusei Yatsura movie, and universally accepted as the best UY movie of them all. While not my favorite UY movie (that honor goes to "The Final Chapter"), I still throughoutly enjoyed "Beautiful Dreamer", and am glad that it's a part of my collection.

Comedy wise, this movie is full of the wacky antics we've come to expect from UY. Fans of Mendou will probably enjoy this movie a lot, since he gets plenty of screen time. Two scenes of his that especially stand out are: 1) in his car with Shinobu where he giggles like a madman while trying to find an exit; 2) where he suddenly prances around in joy, laughing and giggling "Oh, you really don't know??!" at Ataru. Both scenes are hilarious because they are things that were unexpected yet ALSO expected from an insanely wacky series like UY.

Mendou aside, there are also many characters that get to showcase their unique personalities. Unlike the first movie, "Beautiful Dreamer" focuses on the humans rather than the aliens this time around. In fact, other than Lum and Ten (which are main characters, anyway) + a few other really small cameos, you don't see any other aliens in the movie. The spotlight is mostly put on Lum, Sakura, Mendou, Megane & Fan club, and even the usually neglected Onsen-Mark. Ataru Morobishi, the main character himself, gets a piece of the action during the last third of the movie. My only gripe is that some of the other funnier supporting characters don't get much slice of the pie -- Ryuunosuke gets a few lines, but doesn't contribute anything and disappears early on; her father, the ways funny Mr. Fujinami, gets about two or three lines at most, and isn't seen again. Worse of all, Cherry, a character that basically screams to be put in the plot, goes completely AWOL for most of the film and is only seen in about 30 seconds combined (which really sucks to me, because I'm a big fan of the deranged monk).

Moving on: the english dubbing is quite good. While there'll probably never be another person who can play Ataru as well as his original seiyuu, the english VA here comes very close. Vinnie Penna captures Ataru's sleaziness perfectly, and even adds another dimension to the character in some scenes. His Mendou is also great (especially at the comedy scenes mentioned above), although I personally would've given the character a slightly deeper voice. Marnie Head plays a PERFECT Sakura. I've always found the original seiyuu's voice to be a bit.. old, and thus fairly unfitting for a character that's supposed to be jaw-droppingly beautiful and in her 20's. Marnie's voice is younger yet maintains the maturity and sophistication that we expect from Nurse Sakura. Honorable mentions are Megane, Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi, and Mujaki.

Unfortunately, the dub has its flaws, mainly: 1) Lum's voice does not have the spunk that the Japanese seiyuu had; 2) Shinobu sounds like she's supposed to be in college; 3) Cherry's voice is too high (I personally WOULD give him a high voice, but not THAT high..); and 4) Ten just sounds weird.

The music for the film is excellent. The score sets the mood for a lot of the scenes -- you have the bizarre music for the wacky scenes, cheesy music for the [intentionally] cheesy scenes, and happy music for the happier scenes. The ending song, "Ai wa Boomerang" performed by UY anime music regular Hiroko Matsuya ("Lum no Love Song"; "Space Is Super Weird!"), is a catchy piece of pop music that'll stay in your head for a long time.

Finally, if you're still hesitant to pick this movie up because of its age, then let me tell you that it's really a non-factor. For a film that's about 20 years old, the animation here is superb. The quality is much better than the TV show (which, unfortunately, does show its age -- well, the early episodes, at least), and should certainly be able to satisfy today's anime audiences.

This was one of the first anime I'd seen... years ago, before I became a huge otaku... I was completely unfamiliar with the series, the characters, or the plot. Needless to say, I didn't get it upon the first viewing, but I watched the movie several times, until I finally got a grasp on what was happening. I have to say that even though the animation is not the most detailed - certainly no Jin-Roh or Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door - on every viewing there were details, shots or scenes that I hadn't noticed before... All in all, every time you watch this bittersweet movie you will see more of its beauty, its nostalgia, its humor, its philosophy, and its strangeness. And herein lies its brilliance.

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Bonus points for the amazing soundtrack by the Grand Daddy himself, Kenji Kawai ("Ghost in the Shell," "Avalon," "Vampire Princess Miyu," "Patlabor" movies... need I go on?)

If you care to scan the huge volume of reviews you'll see that most are in awe of this movie. What can I say? Beautiful Dreamer is amazing on every level. There's the superb animation and highly creative plot. But what does it for me is the loving focus on the earthbound UY characters. The movie is a meditation on life, the universe and everything as Lum and the gang wander through a dream-like reality trying to piece together what's happening around them. In true UY style there's many bizarre twists and turns. If you buy only one movie this year- do yourself a favour and purchase Beautiful Dreamer. There's a good chance you'll grow as fond of it as I have. I'm serious, this movie cold change your life!

Ok the Film was spectactular it will realy make you think. It has that great quote from Ataru "your just like Lum, you don't realize that I never think of the consequences of what I do'. The Film itself is great. The actual DVD however was put together shodily. The subtitles are different than the tap version and I found I typo in the subtitles. I do recommend buying this DVD however it is well worth your money.