Kimba box

[O2Destroyer]

My Kimba set finally showed up in the mail yesterday (I had to order it twice since the first supplier ran out of copies). Right Stuf has done a fantastic job with this (I assume it was them and not Madman, though who can be sure?), and while the films still show their age, they are worlds better than the rhino box (never mind having the complete series--not just half). Unfortunately, the Manga Astroboy box makes me wish all of these sets could include subtitled/original language versions of all the episodes, but that isn't the case here.

Nonetheless, this is no doubt the best treatment Kimba is going to get short of buying the japanese versions (which probably aren't subtitled at all) and it is a great step in the right direction. With Right Stuf having also announced that they are bringing out the astroboy 60's box as well, I feel like the older anime is finally getting the big boost in the arm it needed.

It is also rather nice to see Rhino's sketchy products getting phased out. This AND Gatchman in the same year! Yay!

[Astro Forever]

Is that the story with only the young Kimba? Not the one in which he's a dad?

[jeffbert]

Originally posted by Astro forever@Dec 20 2005, 08:00 PM
Is that the story with only the young Kimba? Not the one in which he's a dad?

Yes, although Tezuka wanted to depict the cycle of life, he was dependant upon $ from NBC, & NBC required an eternal cub.

[Astro Forever]

At least they did the next series in which he was a dad! That's the only one I've seen, unfortunately.

[O2Destroyer]

Originally posted by Astro forever@Dec 21 2005, 02:20 PM
At least they did the next series in which he was a dad! That's the only one I've seen, unfortunately.

Where can you get the next series (Go ahead, Leo! ? I'd love to see it.

Kimba itself is a really strange thing because (as is well documented), it is neither what Tezuka wanted nor is it what NBC wanted. The dubbing is also sometimes highly questionable, so many may even question why drop $80 on a box like this at all? And...well...part of it is just that it is the first color anime, part of it is that it is tezuka, and part of it is while at times Kimba really flounders, the strength of his characters often still holds the series together.

Oh one additional thing about the DVD set. Right Stuf has added titles to every episode. It isn't intrusive--they don't paste it over any of the scenes--they just put it between the opening and the beginning of the story, but until this point, there was no determined order to the series (another NBC stipulation.)

[Astro Forever]

Originally posted by O2Destroyer+Dec 21 2005, 06:17 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (O2Destroyer @ Dec 21 2005, 06:17 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Where can you get the next series (Go ahead, Leo! ? I'd love to see it. [/b]

I don't know. I've seen it on a French Canadian cable children channel in the 1980s. I still somewhat wonder why! It's very odd that such an old series was shown. Not because it looked old to me though, it's just like it was probably a new channel and they might have had a shortage of series or something. It's too bad we never got to see the first series.

<!--QuoteBegin--O2Destroyer@Dec 21 2005, 06:17 AM
Kimba itself is a really strange thing because (as is well documented), it is neither what Tezuka wanted nor is it what NBC wanted. The dubbing is also sometimes highly questionable, so many may even question why drop $80 on a box like this at all? And...well...part of it is just that it is the first color anime, part of it is that it is tezuka, and part of it is while at times Kimba really flounders, the strength of his characters often still holds the series together.[/quote]
History repeating itself (thinking of 2003 Astroboy)... When will the Japaneses just do it their way and not try to please the Americans? :angry:

It's funny what you say about the strength of the characters holding the series together, I think it also held the Canadian/French 1980 Astroboy series together, because despite missing 20% of each episode, somehow its spirit was strong enough to leave a strong impression on the viewers anyway. That shows how amazing Tezuka's work was.

[jeffbert]

Originally posted by O2Destroyer+Dec 21 2005, 07:17 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (O2Destroyer @ Dec 21 2005, 07:17 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin--Astro forever@Dec 21 2005, 02:20 PM
At least they did the next series in which he was a dad! That's the only one I've seen, unfortunately.

Where can you get the next series (Go ahead, Leo! ? I'd love to see it.

Kimba itself is a really strange thing because (as is well documented), it is neither what Tezuka wanted nor is it what NBC wanted. The dubbing is also sometimes highly questionable, so many may even question why drop $80 on a box like this at all? And...well...part of it is just that it is the first color anime, part of it is that it is tezuka, and part of it is while at times Kimba really flounders, the strength of his characters often still holds the series together.

Oh one additional thing about the DVD set. Right Stuf has added titles to every episode. It isn't intrusive--they don't paste it over any of the scenes--they just put it between the opening and the beginning of the story, but until this point, there was no determined order to the series (another NBC stipulation.)[/b][/quote]

Netflix offers all 6 discs for rental: Leo the Lion/ Jangaru Taitei Reo. I borrowed them from here, but because the sound was very distorted, I would not consider buying them.
Amazon has only three: Leo the Lion: The Original King of the Jungle

Amazon also lists the VHS


Amazon also list other titles under "Leo the Lion". But, beware, some of these are an entirely different Leo, & some are Spanish.

I reccomend checking here, before buying: http://www.kimbawlion.com/LeoTheLion.htm

[O2Destroyer]

Not to be US-centric, but I wish more Japanese releases could include US subtitles. Not that all US titles include japanese subtitles (or even Spanish for that matter), but there's still too much anime I want to see that I can't--coz I'm too lazy to learn Japanese...

[jennytablina]

Having ordered this set myself, I'm still waiting for it to arrive. My only experience of Kimba is the Canadian dub which they show sometimes here. Yet I hear the orignal dub was better so I'm fairly curious about it

[O2Destroyer]

I watched 3 discs of this over the break and I need to say that Madman/Right Stuff has done a fantastic job (even if all right stuff did was regionalize it, they still deserve some serious applause for putting some real support behind classic anime (which I imagine is not always enormously profitable.)) Obviously the picture is gorgeous (apparently better than it has ever looked), and the sound MUST be better (though it had to be recovered from collectors.) The biggest thing is just seeing these episodes in order (and having all of them! Now, at long last, a larger story really is unfolding (even if at times you must read between the lines.) One theme is often developed across two or three episodes in a row, while a character who seems beaten in one episode, often comes right back in the next until some kind of understanding is reached. Also the characters are added to greatly when the stories play out in order (this part is not always easy to pin down but you'll know it when you see it.)

I've tried showing Kimba to friends with little luck, but I now am starting to feel strongly that for others to see what Kimba is really about, they will have to watch a good number of episodes. One of my favorite episodes 'The Trappers' (Kimba confronts the hunters who killed his parents), works best because it sits on a foundation of gentle episodes that have built up both the characters and an understanding of Kimba's trials.

I still desperate wish I could get ahold of Jungle Emperor as I feel this and some of the Phoenix mange are among my favorite material from Tezuka.