Some quick japanese swordsplay/samurai questions...

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 15 Oct 2008, 00:02

I see on play.com some titles, like a set for Lone wolf and Cub, and Azumi 1 and 2, and Shinobi.

- What's the deal with the LWaC set? good quality? Worth buying? AV-wise ofcourse.

- Azumi 1 and 2: I azume (hahahahah!) that this version of Azumi is cut? Is the HK DVD uncut?

- Shinobi: Is the UK dvd uncut? And how is the Av quality!?

Play.com seems to have a bunch of good deals on some asian movies.

Killer Meteor · Post by **Killer Meteor** » 15 Oct 2008, 02:17

The UK Lone Wolf and Cub set is dreadful quality. Region 1 is the way to go

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 15 Oct 2008, 08:27

For LW&C there's also more affordable Thai dvds that should be almost as good as the R1 (although I can't confirm myself). How "official" these releases are, I'm not sure. But the R1s are pretty good, although a bit boosted and not the best encoding. But there aren't any better options.

The R2J Azumi is uncut. FR and DE also have the uncut version available. Notice that both countries have more than release available, and not all necessarily come with the uncut version. UK, Nordic, HK, US, KR, AU and Thai dvds are cut. The uncut version runs 143 min (NTSC), cut is 128 min (NTSC).

Optimum also features burnt in subs. The good news is that it has about 2½ hours of excellent documentaries subbed. This is the only reason why I have the disc. It's still missing many extras from the R2J Deluxe, though.

As for Azumi 2 I believe all dvds are uncut but the UK release has horrible picture quality. I originally bought it because I wanted to steal the subs, only to notice that Optimum's subs were much less detailed than the fansubs I had been using with the R2J. And the documentary was unsubbed, although I hear it's been fixed with the later pressings.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 15 Oct 2008, 09:26

Not seen the R2uk release of Shinobi, but the transfer appears to be on par with the r2j according to reviews. I believe it is true PAL as well.

Azumi 2 is a rancid turd of a film. it amazes me that it actually has a fanbase. The first film isn't particularly great either, but at least it's enjoyable.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Oct 2008, 09:33

I have that Thai LW+C set and I'm happy with it, I think its fine TBH. As Hung says its just like the R1 versions (except the subtitles are white).

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 15 Oct 2008, 10:19

Thanks for the advice, guys. I already have 2 of the 6 LWaC movies, region 1, and they were OK quality but not great. If the UK release is worse, then that's a no-brainer.

Might pick up the thai dvd set, or wait for a Blu-Ray release in a few years time.

A shame to hear about Azumi being cut. I almost picked it up in Hong Kong this summer, but wasnt sure about it being cut, so didnt bother. I quite enjoyed the movie when it played on MTV 2 years orso ago. Havent seen Azumi 2.

BTW, the HK dvd of Azumi runs 132 minutes, according to DDDHouse!? (NTSC) What's that about?

Heard some good stuff about Shinobi. Might pick that one up

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 15 Oct 2008, 12:04

Yi-Long wrote: BTW, the HK dvd of Azumi runs 132 minutes, according to DDDHouse!? (NTSC) What's that about?

HK Flix and Yesasia, too. Must be some sort of mistake.

But now I'm not 100% sure which version it is anymore.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 19 Oct 2008, 23:45

Ok, finally. The first three Lone Wolf R2J's coming in December.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/search.html?ty ... zure+Okami

oldeschool17 · Post by **oldeschool17** » 23 Oct 2008, 03:28

Yi-Long wrote: Heard some good stuff about Shinobi. Might pick that one up

Cant comment on the uk version of Shinobi, but I do have the R1 version if anybody would like to do a comparison.