Original Japanese or US-dub DVDs better?

Bushido Philosopher · Post by **Bushido Philosopher** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 2:09 am

Ran into a little dillemma this weeekend.

I saw this Cowboy Bebop series DVD set. The store was selling it for $45.00. You hear me, $45 for the WHOLE series. My immediate reaction was to grab it and rush to the register, but then something else later popped into mind.

Does the US version have something that this doesn't???

Then I thought maybe textless and promos that were on the US version would not be in these. The English track I could care less about since I would only want the original voices. There were english subtitles so that was good. Plus these were all encoded under the almighty "ALL" DVD region. But then there was that odd-looking "copy" icon with a red slash through it, obviously meaning anti-copy protection. So I thought maybe there would be complications ripping it.

So all things considered, what would be better: buy this box-set, or get the US version collection?

Also please clarify the unknowns for me if you can.

iserlohn · Post by **iserlohn** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 3:07 am

How about the US version is legal and the set you saw isn't?

Besides the fact that that particular set is a bootleg, I've seen screencaps and they're pretty piss-poor for most of the episodes (and if you talk to certain people who've done AMV's with Bebop they'll let you know just how screwy the R1 encode already was). In this case, you get what you pay for, buy the R1...and listen to the dub, it's one of the best ever made. Even die hard sub fans say it rivals the Japanese at times.

Bushido Philosopher · Post by **Bushido Philosopher** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 12:54 pm

wow, bootlegs are getting harder to spot....
then again, I've never actually seen a legit Japanese and a bootleg before.

Ashton · Post by **Ashton** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:46 am

Ko Oh Yoku wrote:wow, bootlegs are getting harder to spot....
then again, I've never actually seen a legit Japanese and a bootleg before.

I own both.

This is not something I am proud of (well, my 5 R2 DVDs kick ass, but the bootleg... you get the point)
Bootleg = bad. I have Inu Yasha bootlags as well as original R2, the difference in quality is unbelievable. The R2s look spectacular. I feel like using the bootlags as frisbees. I, unfortuantely, bought them before I was aware of what a bootlag was, and ignorance strikes once again.
And let this be a lesson to all of you kids out there thinking about buying bootlags, they are BAD!

EarthCurrent · Post by **EarthCurrent** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 1:40 am

Are you certain that what you saw was not the Cowboy Bebop - The Perfect Sessions (Limited Edition Complete Series Boxed Set)?

NME · Post by **NME** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 2:20 am

Dude, think here.

If its for 45 its not legit. Unless the pricer has been sniffing some shit.

Bushido Philosopher · Post by **Bushido Philosopher** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 8:17 pm

earthcurrent wrote:Are you certain that what you saw was not the Cowboy Bebop - The Perfect Sessions (Limited Edition Complete Series Boxed Set)?

Well it was something. It looked pretty legit to me. I've never seen any foreign and/or legit covers before so that's why I was skeptical to get it. Had all the stats on the back like:

DVD9 x 5
ALL region
Japanese stereo
Subtitles: 1. Chinese, 2. English

I must have looked at it for a good hour trying to figure it out. I've seen others with this same fomatting on the back from the Ah! My Goddess Movie to Rurouni Kenshin OAVs. If someone could give me a pic of what a legit and bootleg covers look like then please tell me.

NicholasDWolfwood · Post by **NicholasDWolfwood** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 8:31 pm

It's a bootleg.

Usually, you won't see double-sided double-layered (9GB disks) for R1 releases, besides the fact that it's got an all region coding and chinese / english subtitles.

ErMaC · Post by **ErMaC** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 8:34 pm

#1 Rule of thumb - if it has Chinese ANYTHING on it, it's bootleg.

Japanese Anime releases NEVER have Chinese subs, nor do US ones, so either it's one of the very small number of legitimate Region 3 releases, or it's a bootleg.

Dannywilson · Post by **Dannywilson** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 10:32 am

The only bootleg I've found that is worth it's salt is the 2 disc Hellsing set. The animation was clean, the subs were well translated, and the packaging was EXTREMELY well done. Sadly I also have the R1's and the differences are noticeable... but then again I detest the english voices they used for Hellsing... The dub alone of cowboy bebop is worth the extra cash... it is quite good im my opinion, ranking up there with Trigun and Golden Boy.