Martian Successor Nadesico-Volume 3: Danger Zones (2000)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Main Menu Audio & Animation Biographies-Character Trailer-Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040;Neon Genesis Evangelion;Gasaraki Theatrical Trailer DVD Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	88:42 (Case: 100)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Tatsuo Sato
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Yuji Ueda Houko Kawashima Kentaro Ito Naoko Takano Maya Okamoto Omi Minami
Case	Click
RPI	$34.95	Music	Takayuki Hattori

    Martian Successor Nadesico: Danger Zones is the third collection of episodes from this popular Japanese animated TV series. The series was voted the Best Anime Show of All Time by Japanese fans at the 1998 Animage Grand Prix.

    Nadesico is a twenty six episode animated television series that was first produced in 1996. The series is based around the battleship Nadesico and its crew as they help fight the Jovians, an alien race that have taken over Mars and are attempting to capture Earth.

    This science fiction series features an unusual combination of comedy, mecha, romance and action. Numerous in-jokes and references to other anime series are spread throughout each episode and are unlikely to be understood by all casual viewers. If you are an anime fan, these references can be very funny, but if you do not understand all the jokes, the series is still able to easily stand alone with its own storyline.

    This DVD release contains the following four episodes. I have included a very short description for each episode but as these may contain some very minor spoilers you may wish to skip directly to the Transfer Quality section.

The Miracle Operation Of The Kiss
    Still not thrilled to be under military command the crew of the Nadesico accept a mission to rescue a stranded ambassador. Despite being set at the end of the twenty second century the writers still find a way to place a number of characters in 20th century Japanese school outfits.

The Dangers Of Femininity
    When a new type of chulip is discovered the Nadesico is sent to investigate. This time they are on a small equatorial island and the crew all strip down to their swimsuits.

Finding Yourself In A Routine Plot
    A devastating new type of Jovian weapon is unleashed and the crew must find a way to destroy it. Along the way they encounter some low tech retro resistance.

Those Unforgettable Days
    A computer malfunction causes significant problems for the ship and the crew must find a way to overcome them.

Video

    The full frame transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    As with previous releases in this series, the transfer is always slightly soft but this is not distracting to the viewer. No low level noise was detected during the transfer. There was never any problems with shadow detail during the brightly animated transfer.

    The colour palette displayed during the transfer appears slightly muted as typically seen in television animation of this age.

    A number of small MPEG artefacts were detected during this transfer. Some examples of these may be seen at 1:33, 7:03, 12:41 and 16:45. As seen on the previous discs in this series, during the closing sequence for each episode Gibbs effects may be seen around the scrolling credits and lyrics subtitles. All of these artefacts are quite minor and are only slightly distracting to the viewer.

    A number of aliasing artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 18:51, 29:49, 34:23, 36:34, 36:48 and 37:15. Each of these artefacts occur for only a short period of time and are only slightly distracting.

    A small number of minor film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 2:57, 4:22, 8:09, 10:48, 18:13 and 20:01.

    A single set of yellow English subtitles is present on the disc. When compared to the English audio track, numerous differences may be seen but the general information conveyed is the same. As previously seen on other discs in the series, the opening and closing credits for each episode contain subtitles for the song lyrics that are burned into the image. During the episode Finding Yourself In A Routine Plot a series of English subtitles are burned into the image while the pilots sing a short song.

    In addition to the subtitles, numerous overlays are present throughout the transfer. This is done by placing English text directly over or next to the original Japanese artwork allowing English viewers to understand the various signs and monitor displays seen in each episode.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The dialogue was always clear and easy to understand during both tracks.

    As this is an animated feature there are the expected obvious problems with audio sync for each soundtrack. No dropouts were detected at any stage during the transfer.

    The musical score by Takayuki Hattori varies in style considerably during the episodes, ranging from pop numbers to classically based pieces, but always seemed to suit the on-screen action without drawing attention to itself.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not utilised during either audio track.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The minimally animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Character Profiles

    A single page profile is provided for the following characters: Omoikane, Admiral Fukube, Goat Hory, Erina Kinjo Won, Akatsuki Nagare, Admiral Misumaru and Inez Fressange. These character profiles do contain some spoilers and should only be viewed after watching the individual episodes.

Trailer: Martian Successor Nadesico (1:31)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a Japanese musical Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Trailer: Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (1:27)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a musical Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Trailer: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1:08)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a musical Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Trailer: Gasaraki (1:31)

    This trailer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with an English musical Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

• Textless opening and closing sequences

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

• Nothing

    As seen on the first disc in this series, the only difference for the local release is the omission of the textless opening and ending sequences. Most viewers will not consider this to be a major loss.

    Martian Successor Nadesico is an extremely funny and highly entertaining series that should appeal to all anime fans.

    The full frame transfer is quite acceptable but does display a small number of minimal artefacts.

    The inclusion of both English and Japanese tracks will satisfy fans of both dubs and subs.

    The character profiles provided on this disc contain a number of spoilers and could have been supplemented with the inclusion of textless title sequences.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall