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Quick note--the commercial release of Azumanga Daioh is now available, and surprising to me, I highly, highly recommend grabbing it.
At the moment, you can get the first DVD separately--or get the first volume in a collector's box thing with two lapel pins (one of Chiyo and one of Kamineko) for only about five dollars more. *Sweet* deal. Yeah, I got the fiddly box so I could get the pins. (Other pins will come out with the third, fifth, and sixth DVDs).
The cover on the DVD is reversible (cute art), and in the booklet/on the DVD, they give character art and sketches of Chiyo and Chihiro (we're guessing two characters will get art per each volume). But what really impresses me is the 12 page booklet that comes with the DVD--5 1/2 pages for translator notes, the character art, comments from the Japanese staff... Wowsers. And they really have gone to a lot of effort to explain things--odd cultural notes, puns and plays on words, odd character bits. It's really very nice. And there's only a very few things where I think "I would have phrased that differently" in these notes or in the subtitles (most notable for me is when Osaka questions whether Chiyo being a child genius is an extreme version of the 'precocious' child in her neighborhood--this joke *only* works if, like the fansubbers, Osaka refers to the child in her neighborhood as being a smart aleck).
But to get nice DVD quality picture, good subs, and thorough explanations of all the cultural in-jokes? Definitely worth going for the commercial DVDs, and not just settling for Hong Kong/fansubs. (And like other commercial releases out there that appear to have options for Japanese with subtitles or English dub only, if you use the subtitle button on your DVD player remote, it can be switched to Japanese language without subs, for those looking for learning practice. : ) )
[/babble]
[/almost]
And where in the heck can I find tankubon of Azuma Kiyohiko's other work, Yotsubato! ? I know there's at least one volume, if not two by now, and I still can't find somewhere selling it. Maybe YJ!...
[/babble, really this time]
(Edit: YJ!, I doth love j00. >) Now to wait for just the right set, because surely someone will eventually sell 1 & 2 together... )
At the moment, you can get the first DVD separately--or get the first volume in a collector's box thing with two lapel pins (one of Chiyo and one of Kamineko) for only about five dollars more. *Sweet* deal. Yeah, I got the fiddly box so I could get the pins. (Other pins will come out with the third, fifth, and sixth DVDs).
The cover on the DVD is reversible (cute art), and in the booklet/on the DVD, they give character art and sketches of Chiyo and Chihiro (we're guessing two characters will get art per each volume). But what really impresses me is the 12 page booklet that comes with the DVD--5 1/2 pages for translator notes, the character art, comments from the Japanese staff... Wowsers. And they really have gone to a lot of effort to explain things--odd cultural notes, puns and plays on words, odd character bits. It's really very nice. And there's only a very few things where I think "I would have phrased that differently" in these notes or in the subtitles (most notable for me is when Osaka questions whether Chiyo being a child genius is an extreme version of the 'precocious' child in her neighborhood--this joke *only* works if, like the fansubbers, Osaka refers to the child in her neighborhood as being a smart aleck).
But to get nice DVD quality picture, good subs, and thorough explanations of all the cultural in-jokes? Definitely worth going for the commercial DVDs, and not just settling for Hong Kong/fansubs. (And like other commercial releases out there that appear to have options for Japanese with subtitles or English dub only, if you use the subtitle button on your DVD player remote, it can be switched to Japanese language without subs, for those looking for learning practice. : ) )
[/babble]
[/almost]
And where in the heck can I find tankubon of Azuma Kiyohiko's other work, Yotsubato! ? I know there's at least one volume, if not two by now, and I still can't find somewhere selling it. Maybe YJ!...
[/babble, really this time]
(Edit: YJ!, I doth love j00. >) Now to wait for just the right set, because surely someone will eventually sell 1 & 2 together... )
