Special thanks to
Wing Journey for posting this first; there's going to be a Tsubasa movie in theatres in Japan, released alongside the xxxHOLIC movie in August! It'll be interesting if the two movies' storylines will crossover like the manga series. Here's hoping!
The movie will be called;
Tsubasa Chronicle the Movie: The Princess of the Country of Birdcages. Sounds great. I'm guessing there'll be a bit of a feather theme (moreso).
You can visit the official site
here.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Episode 3
Sorry about the 2 day late posting, I was out all night Saturday and all day Sunday and internet was too slow this morning. Anyway, wow, was Episode 3 cool!
I noticed several things while watching this episode, one being that they seem to be downplaying a lot of the cutsie factor and amping up the action and epicness (if that's not a word, it is now) of the story. There's still pleanty of characterisation (EVERYTHING dialogue wise from the manga featuring our main characters is in here) but some small subtle cutie nods have been left out. i.e. less longing looks from Saoran.
The transition from the manga has also brought other changes besides the "feel". While all the plot points are included, several of them have been resorted in a different order. Sorata and Arashi, for example, while they are in the anime, appear
after the group meet the two kudan gangs and Sakura, while she gets her first feather back as soon as they enter Hanshin in the manga, has to wait until after Rayearth battles the water kudan (apparently Sakura is slower at dying in the anime... just kidding!)
To fit with the episodic storytelling of the average anime series, this episode was a single character developement episode (i.e. mainly focuses on one character while the main story continues in the background) featuring Kurogane. Several changes were made to accomodate this. One of which being the inclusion of a Tomoyo in the anime Hanshin dimension! Speaking of which, it's worth noting that Kurogane's attitude towards her is subtly different in the anime. In the manga he seemed to be annoyed that Princess Tomoyo sent him away but still maintained a sense of honor and respect towards her. In the anime, Kurogane seems to be on a revenge trip. At times it seems like he would take out Tomoyo if he had the chance! This adds an extra element to the story and doesn't seem to change anything major.... yet. It'll be curious to see where this goes.
Anyway, Kurogane chases after "Tomoyo" which seperates him from the others and leads him to battle the fat guy and discover he has a kudan of his own, straight out of Magic Knights Rayearth!
I'm begining to think 25 minutes isn't long enough for this show. I guess that's what we get for knowing the story before hand via the manga. It'll be interesting what happens when the anime will overtake the manga storyline. Can't wait!
p.s. Still no Miyuki!
Friday, April 22, 2005
X!
Hope you liked the sub review guys and gals! Now don't be afraid to comment on it by clicking on POST COMMENT, now. ;)
Tonight the latest CLAMP File Magazine came out here in Japan. This issue focused on X (next month will too) and came with a Kamui King Chess piece and a black and white Mokona Pawns! I was reading it at the station and a middle aged couple next to me commented "Magicu Knightso!" They were close.
Only another month until the two singles come out for the anime! Amazon shipped my order of the latest Tsubasa manga for me! If you're going to buy one (and you SHOULD!), please do so by clicking through the links on this site. That way I get money!!! Whahahah!!! Seriously, if this site starts raking it in I'll buy some manga and cds here in Japan and throw contests! How does that sound?
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Fansub Reviews - Dattebayo vs Kancho
Here it is! A comparison review of the two most popular fansubs of Tsubasa Chronicle online, Dattebayo and Kancho. For your convenience I've taken screenshots of several scenes which highlight the differences between the two versions, for example, the script, subbing style/font, and general approach to the episode.
The most notable difference in these releases was the, well, the release. Dattebayo was very good and have so far released both episodes 1 and 2, subbed within 24 hours after the episodes aired in Japan. Kancho on the other hand suffered several staffing problems (it looks like) and didn't release their first episode until after episode 2 had aired! However, they did release 2 on time and seem to be on track.
The Subtitles The approach to the subtitles differ greatly between the two subs. For example, Dattebayo seems to have gone for a straight forward sub, with clear white with black shadow text for the dialogue (very easy to read and not distracting in their positioning and timing) while Kancho seems to have taken the project beyond simple translating and made it their own by adding "study notes" which I found very useful and interesting, having not read all of Clamps earlier works such as RG Veda which made watching Kancho's episode more of an experience rather than simply watching an episode with subs. However something that was off and distracted from Kancho's release was the subtitle timing. The subs appear when the character starts talking and disapear immediately when the character stops talking. This is very distracting and makes it impossible to read when a character says one word in Japanese which translates into several English words. This was particularily annoying in the market scene with Sakura. Dattebayo's subs however are well timed and don't distract from the viewing at all.
The Script Translating is always a tricky thing, especially with Japanese which is a vocab inferior language when compared to English. For example, the word Kawaii can translate as cute, cool, different, adorable, special, etc, depending on the situation and the person saying it. So when it comes to translating an anime there will always be numerous different versions of a translation. Dattebayo and Kancho both seem to have got it "correct" but when it came to capturing the real feeling of what the characters were saying, I'm leaning in Kancho's direction. They seem to have translated the anime and then used common sense to culturally translate further to get the real meaning and add some minor touches which make what the characters are saying more realistic and not "direct translation" sounding. Dattebayo's script is still great, but I simply think Kancho have gone the extra mile here.
Picture and Sound While Kancho seem to have put more into the release, Dattebayo looks like they've put more know-how into picture and sound compression, releasing a dvd quality picture and sound release. No problems here whatsoever! Kancho's is still better than a tv broadcast though and is good enough by anyone's standards (are these people getting this from a digital recording or what?). I'm watching the show live in Japan on a normal square tv so I get the bad Japanese broadcast NTSC quality and a Pan and Scan version of the show. The torrents are how I get to see the clear and widesceen version!
Final Words It really is a tough call to make as to which release is better. Dattebay has a more reliable release, crystal clear picture, sound and subtitles while Kancho has a better script (compare the two pics above for a prime example) and bonus information. Kancho has announced that they will fix the timing issues in their next release. I just hope it's the timing issues that I had issues with. ;)
Both have pros and both have cons. Depending what's more important to you will change your opinion greatly.
I'm leaning more towards Dattebayo until Kancho can fix their subs which quite frankly distracted me from the joys of watching the episode.
Winner: Dattebayo (by a hair).
Easy Shopping and Where's Miyuki???
Just added links to Amazon for all the currently released manga of xxxHolic and Tsubasa as well as the ones currently up for preorder! Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle #5 comes out on the 26th! (next week!)
Make sure you get your copy!I also added links to two great Tsubasa sites under another new heading to the right, Terrific Tsubasa. Well worth a look!
Also, something that occured to me last night but couldn't post because of crappy YahooBB Japan (if you ever move to Japan, don't use Yahoo, guys!) was Miyuki! She's appeared in every world in the manga... will she appear next episode in the Hanshin Republic? I hope so! She's a great manga equivalent to Where's Wally!
Fansubb Review coming soon!
Kancho Fansubs just uploaded episodes 1 and 2 of Tsubasa Chronicle which I'm currently downloading. As soon as I get done watching them I'll do a comparison with Dattebayo's fansub to make downloading easier for everyone when it comes to quality. ;)
Sunday, April 17, 2005
A little bit of this...
Joined up with a few cliques and fanlistings which is a great way to get my site out there and also express my love for these wonderful clamp creations. I tell you, half the incentive for joining these fanlistings is just so I can put these purty buttons on my page! Some great design there! ;)
I also added some links on the right for the official sites AND two fan subbing groups who are subbing the series. Dattebayo is the best so far as they have the latest episode subbed in English and up for download usually within 24 hours after it airs here in Japan!!! Probably tomorrow I'll do a review of the two fansubs to help you decide which one to download. ;)
Episode 2
Wow... just finished watching the second episode (had to tape it as I went out last night) and boy was I suprised! While the first episode was almost a direct copy of the manga to the point that some shots were basically animated stills of the manga, the second episode, while still maintaining the authentic style of the manga source, completely changes several of the major plot points! i.e. the guest cameos of Sorata and Arashi from CLAMP's other work, X1999, and the potrayal of the Kudans!
While Rayearth still cameos as Saoran's Kudan, he is reduced to a howling dog... completely speachless! Saoran's rival also has his Kudan in tact but all the supporting characters (the gang members) simply have balls of energy above their fists which act like mystic shotguns.
However the Hanshin Republic arc of the story was crammed into the second half of the episode (the first being a word for word from the manga conversation with Yuko [love her!]) so there will obviously be more time in episode 3 and perhaps 4 for Kudan expansion and the inclusion of missed characters and characterisation.
The music was great this week, and seemed to be more suited to each scene. I especially loved the music for the first minute or so, recapping the transporting of the 4 main characters to Yuko. Speaking of which, it seems that the reasons as to why they were sent/went to Yuko are being saved for later episodes (next episode looks like a Kurogane focused one) to help stretch the story out and form more of an episodic style.
Mokona is great. No disapointment there!
Overall I would give this a 3.5 / 5
Friday, April 15, 2005
Episode 1
Wow, got home just in time to catch the opening credits and wow, the quality of this animation is first class! No dodgey 1980s anime style here, this is cutting edge, flawless stuff going on here, however there are several aspects of both the opening and the ending clips that seemed a bit... cliched? Perhaps it's just all the running and fighting with the music, in fact it seems very similar in content to the .hack//SIGN anime series which was produced by the same studio. The ending clip especially looks like it was copied almost directly from the Emerald Green ending to .hack//Legend of the Twilight. Great music though, and an interesting watercolour feel to it that sets it apart, though very different in feel to the anime itself.
Man, this is sounding pretty negative isn't it? Well, don't worry, the anime itself rocked! Stunning music from the same composer involved in .hack//SIGN and Noir, the previously mentioned artwork which has copied the manga style
perfectly and a screenplay that almost sticks to the manga word for word, though admitedly adds a quick scene in here and there to fill out the first chapter ("You must save Sakura!" is the furthest this ep goes). One such scene is actually something I wasn't too fond of; Saoran and Sakura running from the palace guards. To me it just seemed an unoriginal anime cliched, especially when looking at Saoran's logic defying sprint while carrying Sakura. I'm sure we were supposed to be thinking "How cute!!!", but I was left with "How the Hell can he do that?" and "Wasn't this scene in Aladdin?".
When the anime sticks to the anime it rules. When it tries to add more, it seems to fall in to cliched homage, however it's still worth watching as the storyline is still in tact and the artwork smashing! This is seriously like watching the manga come to life!
4/5!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Welcome!
Welcome to my little Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles blog, created to follow my weekly opinions on the currently airing anime, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles based on the incredible manga by CLAMP!
I'll get a proper layout up within the week with well designed graphics, etc and some downloads and links, etc, but for right now, welcome!
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