SDB, talking about the upcoming release of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, sez: "Bandai and Kadokawa have decided to compromise by releasing the series both in chronological orderand in broadcast order. The broadcast order version will come out as Special Editions, without dubs. That means that completist fanboys will have to buy the series twice, yielding more revenue."

Well, yes and no. According to Robert, the Supreme Ruler and Usurper of the Anime Corner (does anybody else get a chuckle out of the inflated titles he gives himself in his weekly e-mails?), the "Special Edition" releases will have both the chronological order AND the broadcast order discs in them!

Unfortunately, that DOES mean that you'll have to pay more (and Bandai's releases are on the pricey side to begin with) for the S.E. versions, of course, so it may very well work out to paying the same price as if you bought two discs. But hey, you get a collector's iron-on! *eye-roll*

The broadcast order dvds will be, as noted, without dubs, which is okay with me, since I haven't watched a dub version of a show that's in my collection in *coughcough* years. I just have a problem with the voice acting in dubs, particularly if I've seen the show subbed beforehand.

There HAVE been a few dubbed shows recently that don't drive me screaming for an icepick to insert forcefully into my eardrums: Cowboy Bebop's was particularly good... in fact, I've yet to see the subbed version. Ghost In The Shell: Stand-Alone Complex was decent as well, though I still prefer the subs.

I've heard nothing to make me think that Haruhi will be worthwhile in dubbed form, though Bandai has done some good work in that area before. Go ahead, Bandai, surprise me!

Actually, what really surprises me is that there was a discussion about releasing the episodes in chronological order to begin with. The broadcast order may be a little confusing (particularly in the first, oh, third of the series), but the whole thing tells the storyline in a very smooth arc. By the time you hit the last episode, you've gotten the whole package in a way that keeps you intrigued the whole time.

In contrast, the chronological order gives you the meat of the show ("Melancholy" I thru VI, plus the 'movie') at the very start, and then tacks on seven episodes that, while good in their own right (particularly "Day of Sagittarius"), feel like filler when viewed chronologically.

Put it this way: you could make a fantastic OVA out of the 'meat', lose the other seven episodes, and you'd STILL have a smash hit on your hands.

But in the broadcast version, you learn more about what's happening in Haruhi's World (it's her world, she just lets us live in it), albeit in flashback/forward form... and it makes sense, and it doesn't feel like something's tacked on that way.

My take: KyoAni broadcasted it the way they did for a reason, it worked, and it worked WELL. Why mess with it?

(UPDATE: the original version of this post said that Geneon was the distributor, not Bandai as is the case. This has been changed, and the entire continuity department has been sacked. The management of The Pond regrets the error, and will fully refund the money you paid for this post.)

Posted by: Wonderduck at 03:13 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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