LONE WOLF & CUB: THE COMPLETE SERIES from AnimEigo

[bruce h]

Not exactly horror, but I'm surprised I haven't seen any love on here for this upcoming set!

Framed and forced to flee his post as official decapitator for the Shogun, swordsman Ogami Itto now roams the countryside, assassin for hire, pushing son Daigoro in a weapons-laden baby carriage. Sworn to a path of vengeance, our pair ("The greatest team in the history of mass slaughter," claimed the ads) seek justice, and will apparently kill all of Feudal Japan to achieve it.

Wildly and surreally violent -- gouts of arterial spray fill the air with intense frequency -- these adaptations of a popular manga series have stood the test of time to be considered true chambara classics. If you're a fan of the Americanized SHOGUN ASSASSIN (a reworked amalgamation of the first two entries), you owe it to yourself to see the originals! (Plus, almost all the blood sprays and kill scenes are longer here!)

Pre-order now up:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B008H1Q3NW

The SHOGUN ASSASSIN trailer:
http://youtu.be/00SVsAkw-Wo

[X-human]

There was some talk about the Shogun Assassin release in an unrelated thread. I pity the poor bastards who picked up that release when this was announced shortly after.

I'll be on top of this release for sure as this is the only manga I've read all the way through. I really hope Zatoichi is close behind. I picked up all the DVDs from both series AnimEigo had as box sets but will gladly pick them up again on Blu-ray.

[SaviniFan]

I'll definitely buy this as it is priced quite reasonably. It is an awesome series. That said.....Shogun Assassin is kick ass as well.

[crikan]

All six films are some of my favorite films ever. They infinitely re-watchable. That said, I'm pleased with the DVD set so I'll wait until I can get the BDs for even cheaper.

[Anaestheus]

Had the LDs. Have the DVDs. Really happy with the presentation. But, I am a bit worried that, according the Amazon, they are cramming all six movies onto two discs. I really hope the quality doesn't suffer from that, if it's true.

And, I'll certainly say that the Shogun Assassin edit has quite a few merits, even if it should not replace the first two films. I'd still recommend getting it just for the kid's narration. "My father has killed many men..." is still one of the most quotable mini-monologues.

[crikan]

Originally Posted by Anaestheus

Had the LDs. Have the DVDs. Really happy with the presentation. But, I am a bit worried that, according the Amazon, they are cramming all six movies onto two discs. I really hope the quality doesn't suffer from that, if it's true.

It's worth keeping an eye on but cramming 4 films on one disc didn't cause any issues with SHOGUN ASSASSIN.



From blu-ray.com review of SHOGUN ASSASSIN

One passing qualm some may have is the fact that the sequels have all been placed onto one BD-50, but there were no egregious compression artifacts resulting, and the overall image quality of the sequels retained the same general sharpness, clarity and saturation as the first film.

[bruce h]

Hrmm... Didn't realize it was only going to be a two-disc set. Still, if they have someone who know what they're doing authoring the discs, everything should be fine. That review of the prior set sounds promising, but I'd still like to see it with my own eyes!

Releasing the series in separate English-dubbed and subtitled sets is really a desperate cashgrab from AnimEigo. I would've hoped for better from them! Why not just encode the discs with both language tracks, and include SHOGUN ASSASSIN as a bonus disc?

I agree SA is its own entity, and honestly a great film in its own right -- I may even like it better than any separate entry of the series proper! The new score, the reworked plotline, the child's narration... It's really an excellent reworking and well worth the accolades it has received over the years. (Just look at Columbia Pictures' '70s release of the third film as LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH to see how mucked up it could've been.)

[crikan]

Originally Posted by bruce h

Hrmm... Didn't realize it was only going to be a two-disc set. Still, if they have someone who know what they're doing authoring the discs, everything should be fine. That review of the prior set sounds promising, but I'd still like to see it with my own eyes!

Releasing the series in separate English-dubbed and subtitled sets is really a desperate cashgrab from AnimEigo. I would've hoped for better from them! Why not just encode the discs with both language tracks, and include SHOGUN ASSASSIN as a bonus disc?

I agree SA is its own entity, and honestly a great film in its own right -- I may even like it better than any separate entry of the series proper! The new score, the reworked plotline, the child's narration... It's really an excellent reworking and well worth the accolades it has received over the years. (Just look at Columbia Pictures' '70s release of the third film as LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH to see how mucked up it could've been.)

"desperate cashgrab"

That's really unfair and you explained it well in your last paragraph. This is the rare case when the English dub is a different property. The way they've gone about releasing these two separate series is reasonable. I'm pleased that they reduced the number of discs and passed along the savings to the consumer (with a low MSRP).

[russweiss]

One of my absolute favorite film series I've also owned the laserdiscs (anyone remember the discovision Shogun Assassin?) and two different DVD sets. I've purchased the Shogun Assassin blu set but will surely pick this one up as well to get the first two films in their original versions.

[spawningblue]

I pre-ordered this from Amazon.ca for $42! That's just over a third of the price of the DVD set.

[crikan]

^^ It's $35 (no tax) at Deep Discount.

[MorallySound]

Originally Posted by crikan

^^ It's $35 (no tax) at Deep Discount.

Yeah, but when you live in Canada and get free shipping from Amazon.ca, that $42 will be much cheaper than if we had ordered it from Deep Discount with international shipping, import and processing fees.

[russweiss]

Originally Posted by crikan

^^ It's $35 (no tax) at Deep Discount.

Not sure how you get no tax. Deep Discount wanted $2.77 from me.

[Darga]

I was just gonna say that I might not upgrade since I already have 'em all on DVD, but $35?! I'm all over that.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by russweiss

Not sure how you get no tax. Deep Discount wanted $2.77 from me.

It depends on what state you're ordering from. If the company has a presence, such as a distribution center, in your state, they will probably have a legal obligation to charge taxes. There are also some states (New York, I think) that have mandatory taxes even for out of state vendors. Other states, like Illinois, may have a "Use Tax," where you are responsible for reporting and paying taxes on out of state purchases, not the vendor.