[US] Sailor Moon anime re-releases

[Lady Pen]

That's so cool you managed to get the Dynit DVDs!
I've been wanting to get the French DVD of the 1st and 5th seasons because of the dub but it's near impossible to get them, let alone from internationally.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever get a proper remaster (even though some series even older than SM from other studios seem to get excellent remasters), I'll be satisfied as long as Toei removes - as much as possible - those ugly filters all over the episodes, from pink to dark to yellowish throughout the series even if we've stuck with the DNR gumming out the details in the background art...
Personally, by using VLC settings and white balancing on my TV, I'm super satisfied with the wide range of colors I get and even my very old Naruto DVD's colors pop out so much but God Lord are some of those S episodes color damaged...
I wonder if it was the case on the Laserdisc masters too since it seems the broadcast version too had those filters on them?

I bought a second-hand DVDs set. It was really hard to find them, I had to constantly browse through websites like Ebay Italy, Mediaworld, AliExpress Italy, IBS, and so on because it's the sort of product that tends to be sold in a more localised way. Try doing the same if you're looking for the french version, delve into the french market, especially the second-hand market.

Colours aren't something that bothers me too much (I've never seen what the colours look like in the LD version), but I'm very demanding when it comes to details in the backgrounds, brushstrokes, and watercolour washes... which are almost non-existent in the current upscaled version.
I think nobody will really know what the colours look like unless they access the original film prints. In the 90s, the lighting and colour used to be calibrated for TV broadcasting and also for VHS/LD. So, I wouldn't trust the colour accuracy of the LD too much either.

 

[Talentless Fool]

I bought a second-hand DVDs set. It was really hard to find them, I had to constantly browse through websites like Ebay Italy, Mediaworld, AliExpress Italy, IBS, and so on because it's the sort of product that tends to be sold in a more localised way. Try doing the same if you're looking for the french version, delve into the french market, especially the second-hand market.

Colours aren't something that bothers me too much (I've never seen what the colours look like in the LD version), but I'm very demanding when it comes to details in the backgrounds, brushstrokes, and watercolour washes... which are almost non-existent in the current upscaled version.
I think nobody will really know what the colours look like unless they access the original film prints. In the 90s, the lighting and colour used to be calibrated for TV broadcasting and also for VHS/LD. So, I wouldn't trust the colour accuracy of the LD too much either.

Yes, unfortunately because of the abuse of the DNR, the brushstrokes in the backgrounds are lost...
Atleast, the art and pen strokes in the line-art of the characters isn't too much lost but my grievance with the colors comes from the wide range of colors that were used in the series - Usagi and Minako having 2 different yellows for their hair, the uniform colors of the 3 Outers are actually quite beautiful but too dark on most masters or even the watercolor color gradients in instances like for the Venus Crystal Aurora background that has different hues ranging from yellow, vermillion, red and pinkish red (similarly Jupiter's has some very nice colors) but in Stars, for example an oversaturated yellowish filer is applied (in all of the stocks minus Moon and the Starlights) and thus all of those colors are lost...
With good colors, it helps the line-art to pop out more too and for details to bloom more but some episodes, the colors are very muddy.

As for the French DVD, my friend from France tells me it's super difficult to get your hands on them - especially Stars since it got an exclusive dub.
Hopefully, Kaze France will eventually release the BD edition they announced last year... one day

 

[Lady Pen]

Yes, unfortunately because of the abuse of the DNR, the brushstrokes in the backgrounds are lost...
Atleast, the art and pen strokes in the line-art of the characters isn't too much lost but my grievance with the colors comes from the wide range of colors that were used in the series - Usagi and Minako having 2 different yellows for their hair, the uniform colors of the 3 Outers are actually quite beautiful but too dark on most masters or even the watercolor color gradients in instances like for the Venus Crystal Aurora background that has different hues ranging from yellow, vermillion, red and pinkish red (similarly Jupiter's has some very nice colors) but in Stars, for example an oversaturated yellowish filer is applied (in all of the stocks minus Moon and the Starlights) and thus all of those colors are lost...
With good colors, it helps the line-art to pop out more too and for details to bloom more but some episodes, the colors are very muddy.

As for the French DVD, my friend from France tells me it's super difficult to get your hands on them - especially Stars since it got an exclusive dub.
Hopefully, Kaze France will eventually release the BD edition they announced last year... one day

Have you got some screenshots of the LD masters? I'd like to see the colours.

 

[Talentless Fool]

Have you got some screenshots of the LD masters? I'd like to see the colours.

No unfortunately...
The only comparison that I could find was on the Laserdisc Database forum and from the looks of it, ep.89 (that hasn't been remastered) looks the closest to it?

I have access to some of the Dynit episodes (mostly SuperS and Stars) and from my settings, for example I can get pretty much all of the colors of Venus' background on Ep.155 but not on the other ones because the image is too dusty/dark and if I push it too much, the colors are lost.
Now my LCD screen is super old (nearly 15 years - I've no idea how it's still alive) but I guess we could easily get more colors via newer TVs that can display more and more colors.
On some of the Classic and R BD masters, via tweaking VLC + TV settings, we can easily get colors closer to those on the 90s magazines (and even better if we adjust the contrast at the right amount) but no matter how hard I try it's impossible for S...

 

[NJ_]

Have you got some screenshots of the LD masters? I'd like to see the colours.

Some DVD/LD comparisons here from the SuperS TV special.

 

[Lady Pen]

@NJ_ Thank you!

Let's see.... @Talentless Fool , I'm not sure if those colours are correct, but I do notice something in particular. The LD colours have a blue filter and there's more brightness, which results in whites being too white (something very common in films released on LD). The temperature is cooler, so dark blues become "lighter" and magenta takes on purplish tones. The colours on the DVD look more natural. I notice the same thing in the opening:

Who knows? Sadly I can't find more examples.

 

[Talentless Fool]

@NJ_ Thank you!

Let's see.... @Talentless Fool , I'm not sure if those colours are correct, but I do notice something in particular. The LD colours have a blue filter and there's more brightness, which results in whites being too white (something very common in films released on LD). The temperature is cooler, so dark blues become "lighter" and magenta takes on purplish tones. The colours on the DVD look more natural. I notice the same thing in the opening:

Who knows? Sadly I can't find more examples.

Hmm, it seems we gain on some colors but lose on some others.
I guess the best comparison to the true colors is the movie masters - or the very least, it's the master that provides us with the most range of colors, we can finally see the Aurora and its hues in Uranus' final pose background.

 

[Lady Pen]

Hmm, it seems we gain on some colors but lose on some others.
I guess the best comparison to the true colors is the movie masters - or the very least, it's the master that provides us with the most range of colors, we can finally see the Aurora and its hues in Uranus' final pose background.

We need the film prints, if they still exist...

I'm comparing Neptune's transformations NJ_ posted to the one showed in episode 106 of the Dynit's DVDs.
The DVD SuperS special one looks too greenish like the Dynit SuperS special; the LD one had that blue filter but it looks similar to the Dynit episode 106's one. The Dynit ep.106 one looks darker while the LD SuperS special one looks lighter and bluer due to the temperature, the filter and the brightness.

My conclusion is the SuperS Special has a green filter for the DVDs and BDs. The LD one has also altered colours. It seems the Dynit one is more natural BUT I don't think the colours are right either. After checking the S movie, it seems Neptune's transformation has the right colours there. They are lighter & natural, it has more range of blues and aquamarines.

 

[Talentless Fool]

We need the film prints, if they still exist...

I'm comparing Neptune's transformations NJ_ posted to the one showed in episode 106 of the Dynit's DVDs.
The DVD SuperS special one looks too greenish like the Dynit SuperS special; the LD one had that blue filter but it looks similar to the Dynit episode 106's one. The Dynit ep.106 one looks darker while the LD SuperS special one looks lighter and bluer due to the temperature, the filter and the brightness.

My conclusion is the SuperS Special has a green filter for the DVDs and BDs. The LD one has also altered colours. It seems the Dynit one is more natural BUT I don't think the colours are right either. After checking the S movie, it seems Neptune's transformation has the right colours there. They are lighter & natural, it has more range of blues and aquamarines.

Yup, that's what I want - no pink, blue, green or yellow filter but a master with a good enough contrast to elevate the various colors used on the backgrounds and the characters (namely their eyes).
Unfortunately, I don't know why there are so many different filters applied throughout the series...
I like the LD SuperS Special a bit better because it's not dark as in the series and we get to see a little bit more of the colors.
The best remains the S movie version.
Such a shame that the Crystal henshins in the SuperS movie were in split-screen

 

[ChibiBoi]

That is ridiculous. So when someone tell me to look up like Sailor Moon S episode 22, instead of going straight to that episode in one go, I'll have to first remember the name of the previous seasons before S, and then remembering the total number of episodes of those seasons, then do the math adding up all those episodes plus 22...

No one would ask you that. They would ask you to look up Sailor Moon S episode 111 or Sailor Moon episode 111. Even on Hulu, it's listed as episode 111, not Season 3 Episode 22. Fans have been going by this numbering for 30+ years, no need to change it now LOL
But here's a cheat sheet:
Sailor Moon contains episodes 1-46, Sailor Moon R episode 47-89, Sailor Moon S 90-127, Sailor Moon SuperS 128-166, Sailor Stars 167-200.

 

[KingPriceman]

if I was to go by that logic of Season, Episode in season, I'd say he was looking for Episode #322 (With the number in the hundreds column in this case representing the Season number) I think only US shows actually go in this order.

 

[lansing]

No one would ask you that. They would ask you to look up Sailor Moon S episode 111 or Sailor Moon episode 111. Even on Hulu, it's listed as episode 111, not Season 3 Episode 22. Fans have been going by this numbering for 30+ years, no need to change it now LOL
But here's a cheat sheet:
Sailor Moon contains episodes 1-46, Sailor Moon R episode 47-89, Sailor Moon S 90-127, Sailor Moon SuperS 128-166, Sailor Stars 167-200.

I looked up some time sheet from sailor moon production, they do indeed use the continuous numbering convention even during cel production, so you're right.

 

[ChampionOfNuggets]

I looked up some time sheet from sailor moon production, they do indeed use the continuous numbering convention even during cel production, so you're right.

No offense, but this was never in doubt.

 

[jaytheaquarius]

Is it possible that the SuperS and Stars US original releases were sourced using something that is not as high quality as what is being issued in these new complete season sets ?

I have a theory that what is being released in these complete season sets is a different master altogether from what SuperS and Stars were made from .

Viz began issuing the “ Toei Upscale “ starting with Supers , and Stars, so in theory , any new box sets should have picture quality identical to these original discs. My problem is this ; Stars in particular looks awful and blurry compared to these new releases of classic and R, despite both having been made of the superior “ Toei Upscale”.

The original US issue of Stars seems to be inherently blurry in every episode . The new complete season sets lack this intense line art blurring and color smudging. Stars also had minor artifacting in the image that these new sets don’t suffer from.

It makes me wonder if every season will see a video improvement this time , not just the first three which were in desperate need of better source video.

I was kind of banking on not needing to re- purchase SuperS and Stars as they were made with the Toei upscale , but after seeing the new complete season sets I have reason to expect that these will look better as well when their turn comes around.

 

[ChibiBoi]

Is it possible that the SuperS and Stars US original releases were sourced using something that is not as high quality as what is being issued in these new complete season sets ?

I have a theory that what is being released in these complete season sets is a different master altogether from what SuperS and Stars were made from .

Viz began issuing the “ Toei Upscale “ starting with Supers , and Stars, so in theory , any new box sets should have picture quality identical to these original discs. My problem is this ; Stars in particular looks awful and blurry compared to these new releases of classic and R, despite both having been made of the superior “ Toei Upscale”.

The original US issue of Stars seems to be inherently blurry in every episode . The new complete season sets lack this intense line art blurring and color smudging. Stars also had minor artifacting in the image that these new sets don’t suffer from.

It makes me wonder if every season will see a video improvement this time , not just the first three which were in desperate need of better source video.

I was kind of banking on not needing to re- purchase SuperS and Stars as they were made with the Toei upscale , but after seeing the new complete season sets I have reason to expect that these will look better as well when their turn comes around.

I would be interested as well. For me, I didn't like the quality of SuperS in particular. But if you were to buy Classic through S of the re-release anyway, then you might as well complete it with SuperS and Stars.

 

[lansing]

Is it possible that the SuperS and Stars US original releases were sourced using something that is not as high quality as what is being issued in these new complete season sets ?

I have a theory that what is being released in these complete season sets is a different master altogether from what SuperS and Stars were made from .

Viz began issuing the “ Toei Upscale “ starting with Supers , and Stars, so in theory , any new box sets should have picture quality identical to these original discs. My problem is this ; Stars in particular looks awful and blurry compared to these new releases of classic and R, despite both having been made of the superior “ Toei Upscale”.

The original US issue of Stars seems to be inherently blurry in every episode . The new complete season sets lack this intense line art blurring and color smudging. Stars also had minor artifacting in the image that these new sets don’t suffer from.

It makes me wonder if every season will see a video improvement this time , not just the first three which were in desperate need of better source video.

I was kind of banking on not needing to re- purchase SuperS and Stars as they were made with the Toei upscale , but after seeing the new complete season sets I have reason to expect that these will look better as well when their turn comes around.

It is going to be the Toei remaster. The only difference may be the fix of the wrong color matrix conversion issue from the previous release as described here.

 

[lansing]

One more thing I would like to add about Super S and Sailor Star, the original Japanese DVD released back in like 2003 are actually the best source of the show. Toei's blu-ray upscale suffers horrendously on color bleeding on all the edges, which were originally just noise on the dvd that can be fix. The blu-ray magnified the problem without treating the noise and now it is unfixable and impossible to color correct.

A comparison shot here for Sailor Star, look at all those red/green color bleed along the edge on the blu-ray in comparison to the original DVD. I also added a fixed version of the dvd with AI upscale.

Sailor Moon Sailor Star DVD vs blu-ray - Imgsli

So if you had already brought the two seasons from the previous part1/part2 releases, there is really not enough of an incentive to repurchase again, considering this subpar quality.

 

[danilushk]

actually the best source are Italian DVD's

 

[lansing]

actually the best source are Italian DVD's

No it's not. The Italian DVD uses a low quality temperal degrain filter where it completely flatten the grain over time. This created an ugly effect where the grain looks as if they were stuck onto the screen on playback. The filter also seems to not have a solution handling grain during scene changes or fade in/fade out trainsition. You can see grain popping back out for a split second after a scene change before the filter kicked in again, it is not good.

 

[BillyKonstantine]

I noticed all the episodes are free on YouTube (or maybe cuz I have YouTube premium or plus or whatever it’s called) the quality and sound are impressive , anyone else have opinions on it ?