Region 4 Winners and Losers

    The Region 1 disc was released at the beginning of the year. Like the Region 4, it was released in single-disc and limited edition forms. I was curious, and got the limited edition version. This was quite interesting. It arrived in a box that was a hexagonal prism, split lengthwise — cute, but not the most practical packaging you've ever seen; it takes up more room than most. It contained the disc, a T-shirt (not my size, as usual), the soundtrack CD, a furry hippo, a demo of the PS2 game .hack//infection (I don't have a PS2), three postcards of anime artwork, and a sheet of stickers of the main characters. Quite a collection! The R4 special edition comes in a normal rectangular box with a T-shirt, and that's all, but it costs quite a bit less, too. I don't think the R1 limited edition of this disc is available any more — it seems to have sold out. R1 is getting limited editions of each disc in the series — I won't be bothering to get any more of them, though. So let's talk about the regular versions.

    The Region 1 and Region 4 versions are extremely similar. They contain the same episodes. They have mostly the same extras. Even the artwork is very similar, although I prefer the R4 presentation. The R1 version I received seems mis-cut: the spine of the slick can't line up with the spine of the case, and the front cover seems far too narrow. Moreover, their front cover seems too busy. I also prefer the R4 menus — they are more interesting, even though they aren't animated, and the R1 menus are. Oh, and the R1 is in a fairly cheap keep-case, while the R4 gets a top-notch transparent Amaray.

    The Region 4 disc is missing:

• isolated musical score
• .hack video game trailer (1:44) — interesting, because the game characters look more detailed than the anime (and 3D, too)
• trailers for Kikaider (0:49), Silent Mobius (1:11)
• booklet (all of the content, except the credits, is on the inside of the cover on the R4)

    The Region 1 disc is missing:

• character profiles
• .hack//SIGN trailer
• trailers for Argentosoma, Jubei Chan, Spirited Away, Read or Die, Geneshaft

    The transfers are equally good, although the R1 seems very slightly more intensely coloured, but slightly more prone to aliasing.

    If you already have the R1, then you don't need the R4. Otherwise, I think you could be happy with either version. I slightly prefer the R4, even though I'd have liked the isolated music score (nice to watch with the subtitles).