Quiddity wrote:In case people want a sneak peak at what the ZZ Blu Ray volume 1 packaging looks like, including a few sample photos of the video quality.
http://imgur.com/a/MdJJR
Gundam X volume 1 has also arrived but haven't gotten a chance to look through that much yet.
I've been going through the new release of Gundam X Part 1. Given the source material, and the fact that it's never been remastered, it's probably about as good of a DVD transfer as one can expect, and it fills up its screen ratio properly. From my tests, it actually seems to hold up better in terms of color and clarity on a CRT TV than on a laptop--maybe that's to be expected, though. It's not as cleaned up as images on Nozomi Entertainment or Sunrise's Gundam X websites seem to suggest, but I've since been told that even though they are episode-based screens, those online pics were promotional images/cels provided by Sunrise, not representative of the actual DVD transfer itself. So, the latest Japanese release and this one are the same, as one would hope and expect, but don't expect Blu-ray/remastered quality here.
The sound is really clear. The translation seems pretty smooth, but there are some choices I'm still trying to figure out, and the DVD credits and the subtitles use different translations for characters' names--thankfully, the subtitles appear to be the more accurate ones. (i.e. "Sara" in the subtitles, "Sala" in the DVD credits--if you look at the katakana on the official website and listen to how characters pronounce it, especially Jamil in Episode 2, it's clearly "Sara"; likewise, "Roabea" in the subtitles, "Roybea" in the credits.) I assume there were different people doing the subtitles than the DVD credits, but I am very happy that the subtitles have given us spellings for names that equally match katakana, pronunciation, and intentions.
I'm no expert, and maybe this is normal for subtitled-only releases, but there appears to be a bit of localization in addition to translation going on: The phrase/episode title of Episode 4, which used to speak of an operation being "Time Critical" or "Time Sensitive" (in katakana) has now become "A Race Against Time." (I can see what they were going for there, but I think Jamil might use the more technical/formal terms given his background. Then again, this way it's more direct and intense.) Similarly, Episode 3's title has become "My Steed is Vicious," which, as the old saying goes, is really six of one, half a dozen of another. Meanwhile, Garrod's first launch with the GX has been jazzed up and made much better regarding his stance on a higher power--I'm not versed enough to know if that's a direct translation or localization. Episode 6, which MAHQ has listed as "I Don't Like It," is now "It's Offensive," which actually seems more appropriate for the scene it's related to and who is saying it. There are some odd instances of maybe overthinking things, however: When Garrod does his famous "hold up" in Episode 1, verbally saying "hold up" in English, the subtitles read "stick up." On the other hand, the Federation is referred to as U.N.E., or United Nations Earth, right from the start, which is really excellent. Still, any way you slice it, it's GREAT to have this series out officially.
I'll get back with more thoughts when I've watched more. Right now, I'm on Episode 7, and the only thing confusing me at the moment is if "San Angelo" has been translated as "St. Lange," or if there is another location in the show called St. Lange that I'm not thinking of. Because this arc is called the San Angelo arc when you look at the katakana on the official Japanese website (and even their romanized translation of it there in the heading). I imagine a few more episodes will clear this up for me one way or the other.