Video:

I've done a bit of research on the horizontal lines that run throughout the show and it turns out they are a "visual effect" chosen by the producer for the show. They are not a problem of this transfer. A number of reviewers of the R1 and even the original Japanese releases have commented on them so there isn't a better quality copy available. In fact, the colour scheme throughout the show is gorgeous and I didn't see a single instance of pixellation. There is a lot of beautiful scenery to enjoy and this release will let you see it in all it's glory as intended by the director.

Audio:

The Japanese audio track is a flawless 2 channel stereo transfer while the English track was reworked with a few 5.1 tricks that only a true audio junkie will pick up on. I can't pick a preference between the original Japanese voice cast or ADVs English voice cast. Both crews did a great job so you have the best of both worlds here.

Subtitle:

These are the original ADV subtitles... nice and yellow, well timed and most importantly easy to read. The translation used for the subtitles is mostly the same as the translation used for the dubs. There are a few notable instances where what the subs say and what the dubs say contradict each other. It's amazing how changing a few words can totally change the feeling of a story.

Comment:

It's weird to see only 4 episodes on the first disc and 9 (that's right... nine) episodes on the second disc. Fortunately this doesn't seem to have impacted the video quality on the second disc. This is the same crew of people that brought you Serial Experiments: Lain a few years ago. Once again, they have crafted a series of stories that will challenge the viewers brain more than your typical anime fare. I prefer this to Lain, however, because they focus on the story telling more and give a complete story with every episode. If you're looking for something to enjoy that has a bit of action as well as stimulating your grey matter then this is an excellent title to pick up.

Video:

The video on these disks has some visible errors it is not pixilization but whenever their was a faster moving anything the video or character moving looks like their is lines in them. For a series where the animation itself is so high end and impressive an error like this is more noticeable

Audio:

This is the best part of the disk, clear crisp, vocal audio all the voices are clear. The music is beautiful and haunting, fits the series very good. Theme song is one of the best I have ever heard in a series

Subtitle:

Found no errors in the part of the disks

Comment:

This series is not for everyone. First glance you will be taken by the animation how beautiful it is and the music. But this series takes you on a philisofical journey. It makes you think and the meaning of each episode is not spelled out, you have to figure it out. For fans of big explosions, giant robots, and cleavage you will hate this series. This series has moments of self reflection and the stories in each episode are very deep. I rather enjoyed this series, I rate it as a definate pick up.

Video:

This is the second worst video i've seen on HK. I'm very surprised the other reviewer said it was a clear crisp picture. Not only is there a lot of pixelation on both discs every time someone moves (like a head turning) or whenever the camera pans, but very often there are visible horizontal lines running across the screen. Now, that's not to say this is unwatchable. It's quite annoying, but for $14 for the series i'm really not complaining about it. The only set that's worse (and way way way worse) that i've seen is yu yu hakusho set 3. If you've seen Saiyuki the pixelation is similar to that, only worse. Saiyuki really didn't bother me much at all.

Audio:

Great english audio. Perfect. Japanese sounds fine too, but only watched about 2 minutes in japanese to hear the differences in the voices. Didn't sound tinny or anything while I listened.

Subtitle:

Subtitles seemed great, watched a couple episodes with them on. These are subtitles, no dubtitles available - however there is a second option to trainslate japanese text and such.

Comment:

I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this series. They do a great job of giving a sense of danger at every second of the anime. Keeps you wondering if the people in the different towns can be trusted. There's a bit more action than I was expecting, but the focus is on story and character interaction rather than action for the most part. This is a great set. If you want good video, buy the R1's. If you don't mind a bit of pixelation pick this set up, it's a really good anime.

Video:

Clear and crisp, this does not suffer the same problem as the TV rip (which feels washed out). No noticable flitches and NO M logo that pops up in the beginning of each episode like the TV rip.

Audio:

Both English and Jap tracks are available, no glitches or errors. While the quality of the English voice acting is questionable, it is still there but does feel kinda strange when compared to the original Jap voice overs - especially with Hermes.

Subtitle:

No errors at all, this is a huge improvement over the TV collection, and makes watching a lot easier to understand.

Comment:

Special features is the opening song played without text. There is a menu screen that starts up on play which allows audio selection and chapter selection. This is a great anime title - not a lot of action but with a great artistic style. Get this over the TV collection - far better quality and proper subtitling.