'Tekkon Kinkreet' USA Trailer & Tentative R1 USA DVD Date of September 25th 2007.

Looks like I will have to order Tekkon Kinkreet, Paprika and Kemonozume from Amazon.jp even without the subtitles. It is really sad, the Ultimate edition of the Mind Game was subbed and I gladly paid more than $200 for this gorgeous DVD set.
BTW any word if The Girl Who Leapt Thrugh Time DVD has subs?

the japanese DVD hasn't got subs (the girl who leapt through time) but it has been set for a USA release at some point in the future, i am sure.

Sony will give 'Tekkon Kinkreet' the US theatrical release on July 13, 2007.

I saw TEKKON last night and was really excited...until the movie began. Visually it's aces, and very reminiscent of MINDGAME. But there is just no heart or soul to this movie. By the end, I was having a hard time staying awake.

Maybe my expectations were high since I'd been looking forward to it for a long time?

Nah, it stunk.

Grady Hendrix: Can you do a review? I'd like to know more than what you wrote. I am psyched about this movie but I hear mixed reports.

I too saw this movie last night at the MOMA and agree with Hendrix. Visual you can't complain. Studio 4C can make poo look absolutely beautiful. The backgrounds were great and you could feel like the city was very cluttered and busy but in an enjoying way. Animation was good but there really wasn't anything going on for the animators to do something cool with it. The story was very long and didn't know who to follow. After the screening, the director even mentions that half way through he started to like the secondary character more and develope him. Pacing was terrible. The movie felt like it was 3 hours long and I started to doze off towards the end. Whenever something interesting started to happen we would cut to something slow and static like dialogue. It was hard for your suspence to build with this method of cutting. It was too bad because I really wanted to like this film but I came out very disapointed. I love the work of Studio 4C and will continue to follow them but the story of this film really hurt its overall appeal. Beautiful to look at, but boring to watch.

Anyone compare it to the manga? I'm main interested because of how good the manga was, so I'm curious if the screwed up the adaptation, or those people who didn't like the movie would have described the manga in similar terms.

Alex M,

As a non-Japanese speaker/reader, what part of that 200 USD boxset is left for me to enjoy? And I'm not joking or being sarcastic. I'm very much interested into buying it, but for that price I'd like to figure out exactly how much of its content will be wasted on me.

(And yes, I should learn japanese)

I saw the movie with someone who is very familiar with the manga BLACK & WHITE and they were fuming over the movie. I didn't get it, since I didn't know the manga, but they seemed to feel that the movie was very unfaithful to the source material.

Damn. Thanks for the head's up, Grady. I'm still really excited about seeing it, but now that excitement is just the slightest bit tempered. I read the manga -- BLACK & WHITE -- as well, and it was one of the most amazing comics I'd ever read, so when I saw Studio 4C was doing the movie I almost died under the weight of expectations... Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy it anyway.

And are there any plans for a U.S., subbed KEMONOZUME release?

Ardvark,
I can email You a detailed description and the pictures of this set, so You can see what you get before ordering. And if You have friends in Japan you can order it for less than $150.
My email coincident11@gmail.com.

I am not sure if it OK with this site but if ther is no other options for english speaking
fans of KEMONOZUME the subbed version (fansubs) can be found.

Hi Alex,

I would really appreciate that description. You can use ardvark@twitchfilm.net if you like.

As for that fansub remark, YOU'RE BANNED!!!!

No, kidding. Lots of people buy unsubbed foreign DVD's legally, download the (fan)subtitle file and burn a copy for themselves WITH the subs. That's fair use and is totally legal as long as you keep both the original and the copy for yourself.

yes, lots of folk do by unsubbed DVDs. some know japanese, some use PCs to compile a legit playing in sync with subs on their PC. some burn their own DVDs in a similar or connected fashion. some will download. some will head to ebay.

seriously, i can see why some would push for cinema releases, i think it's as legitimate a hope as a subbed DVD. for me, DVD has been both a squandered opportunity of open minds to foreign and old material. for me, a DVD is the most regular source of films that suit what i am looking for. this is site frequented by similar like-minded people, i think. for japan to go to the heights korea went to relatively easily and quickly, it would (as with other countries) be broadening the material officially released with english subs and allowing or forcing a competative / equal-basis release system to develop, rather than the negative sectioning and manipulating of tastes and incomes.

japanese DVDs will best serve japanese films, for the quality of the presentation and the range of material, but without these films being understandable, it seems learning japanese is an expensive, time-consuming, almost laughable and yet completely understandable solution to companies failing to flow with the crowds desire to support product with their money. a film like this, or any foreign product in a non-domestic setting is a niche product, mature anime is (as ive heard described effectively this week) a niche of a niche. a cinema run will only be minimal in america for something like this, and the frustration of another delay through scattered screenings delaying seeing this will only add to the negative slide of DVDs downturn... it's a habit i can't see being broken though.

i, like anyone else, can only handle so much of these issues repeatedly drumming people passion into the ground. at the first opportunity : serve us well, or be damned.

That's interesting, Mr. Hendrix. I am familiar with the Black and White manga series as well and I thought the film was pretty darn faithful. Could your friend give some examples of deviation?