The Toho "HD" thread

For the discussion of Toho DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs, streaming services, VHS, and other formats where Toho films and soundtracks can be found.
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Andagi1
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Andagi1 »

Is there a way to get the Japanese blu-rays that doesn't involve paying $50+ on ebay/proxy, and what kind of quality can i expect from them? I'm not sure where to start with collecting blu-rays as the distributors and titles available are inconsistent in the west, but my main goal is to have all the movies in Japanese, sub or not. Do all the English releases also have subbed options?

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

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simple answer: yes. Am I allowed to tell you on this forum: no, due to the rules.

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PuzzledAmphibian
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by PuzzledAmphibian »

Andagi1 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:09 pm Is there a way to get the Japanese blu-rays that doesn't involve paying $50+ on ebay/proxy,
Unfortunately, no. While there are still some Japanese retailers who carry them for MSRP and ship overseas, you will still likely pay ~$50 due to overseas shipping costs even without a proxy.
Andagi1 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:09 pm and what kind of quality can i expect from them?
As outlined earlier in this thread, Toho's masters are generally inferior. Sony, Kraken, etc. usually have superior fidelity. The biggest reason to own the Toho blu-rays would be for the exclusive special features which are not subtitled.
Andagi1 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:09 pm Do all the English releases also have subbed options?
Yes I believe so, but to varying degrees of quality. I admit I am not as well versed on this topic. I think Criterion's Showa set is generally well regarded for subtitle quality, while Sony's releases of the Heisei and Millennium films are hit and miss with some being dubtitles. I could be wrong. I do not remember anything about the subtitle quality of Kraken's Showa releases or Echo Bridge's Godzilla vs. Biollante.
Andagi1 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:09 pm I'm not sure where to start with collecting blu-rays as the distributors and titles available are inconsistent in the west, but my main goal is to have all the movies in Japanese, sub or not.
If you just want to own all films from 1954-2004 with the Japanese audio, and you don't care about special features, and can live with the inferior Toho masters, the quickest and cheapest way would be to obtain the following:

Criterion's Showa Era set - uses inferior Toho masters ~$130
Kraken's Godzilla 1984 blu-ray ~$12
Sony's double packs of the Heisei and Millennium series. ~$15 for each double pack***

The only films you would miss out on would be the Heisei films Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and Godzilla Vs. Mothra due to now being out of print. You could import just the Toho blu-rays of these films and save money overall.

***Some of the Sony blu-rays do have English title cards in place of the original Japanese.

Hope this helps!

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Malchik »

airforce111 wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:08 pm simple answer: yes. Am I allowed to tell you on this forum: no, due to the rules.
We have PMs for a reason.

EDIT: Oh wait, newbie restrictions.
Last edited by Malchik on Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Andagi1
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Andagi1 »

Thanks for the info! I'll see what I can get my hands on, but it's unfortunate that I'd miss out on the earlier Heisei stuff, especially Biollante. I mainly wanted to get the Japanese releases to test my comprehension but subtitles are probably a better idea anyway. My grail is that DVD set with every movie up to Final Wars released in Japan, but it's ~$800 online. Truth be told, I probably know about what would be PM'ed to me, but it would be nice to have that ability and not this ridiculous avatar lol.

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Jetty_Jags »

Andagi1 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:28 pm and not this ridiculous avatar lol.
What, I see no problem with it as it stares endlessly into my soul. :shock:

Honestly every once and a while it blinks and really freaks me out.
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PuzzledAmphibian
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by PuzzledAmphibian »

Andagi1 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:28 pm Thanks for the info! I'll see what I can get my hands on, but it's unfortunate that I'd miss out on the earlier Heisei stuff, especially Biollante. I mainly wanted to get the Japanese releases to test my comprehension but subtitles are probably a better idea anyway.
So if you are wanting to test your comprehension and enjoy a Godzilla film while doing so, the Criterion collection is a good start. I believe you can turn the subtitles off at any point except for King Kong vs. Godzilla. And if you do need them for help they are accurate.
Andagi1 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:28 pm My grail is that DVD set with every movie up to Final Wars released in Japan, but it's ~$800 online.
Yeah I would like to have that too, but it is steep. Truth be told, when accounting for inflation that is cheaper than the original MSRP.
Andagi1 wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:28 pm but it would be nice to have that ability and not this ridiculous avatar lol.
Congrats on your new avatar! :Rodan56:

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Terasawa
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

King Kong Escapes - 2014 Universal Blu-ray:
Spoiler:
Image
2021 Toho Blu-ray (full length version):
Spoiler:
Image
2021 Toho Blu-ray (Dec. 1973 Champion Matsuri version):
Spoiler:
Image
Gallery here.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by goji1986 »

Is the Champion Cut the raw scan like KKvsG?

CC on the Toho Blu-ray shows better detail!
PM me for Godzilla versus The Sea Monster Titra Dub HD reconstruction! BLURAY-READY EDITION NOW AVAILABLE!
(Former V2.0 still available as well)
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5561

Godzilla vs The Smog Monster AIP Dub HD reconstruction COMPLETE!
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=26132

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Terasawa
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

goji1986 wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 4:10 pm Is the Champion Cut the raw scan like KKvsG?
No, I'm sure they're different scans of different film elements.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Great Hierophant »

The Champion Festival version looks one generation further removed from the camera negative than the theatrical release version.

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Terasawa
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

Great Hierophant wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 1:06 pm The Champion Festival version looks one generation further removed from the camera negative than the theatrical release version.
For KKE? I don't think the negative was scanned for the transfer of the full length version on the Blu-ray (that doesn't appear to be common practice with these films for Toho). IIRC, the master element for the Matsuri cut of KKE is an interpositive struck from the full length OCN in 1973. At best, I think both transfers on the new disc come from the same generation (once removed from the negative), with the IP scanned for the full length cut the younger of the two (i.e. an IP struck after 1973).
Last edited by Terasawa on Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

So, uh... Bye-Bye Jupiter coming to Blu-ray via Toho Video, October 20th. Amazon Japan.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

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Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:43 am So, uh... Bye-Bye Jupiter coming to Blu-ray via Toho Video, October 20th. Amazon Japan.
I hope the transfer is just as good as the King King Escapes blu ray from earlier this year.
Image

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

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Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:43 am So, uh... Bye-Bye Jupiter coming to Blu-ray via Toho Video, October 20th. Amazon Japan.
Why are Toho Video covers so lame
Did you ever hear the tragedy of Gigantis, the fire monster? I thought not. It's not a story the Toho studios would tell you...

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

GodzillaFan1996 wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:11 pm
Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:43 am So, uh... Bye-Bye Jupiter coming to Blu-ray via Toho Video, October 20th. Amazon Japan.
I hope the transfer is just as good as the King King Escapes blu ray from earlier this year.
IIRC, the HD transfer on Japanese streaming platforms includes the literally hundreds of optical Japanese subtitles for English dialogue that weren't present in the standard-def DVD transfer. That's not necessarily ideal for an archival transfer, even if it's representative of the Japanese theatrical release.
Last edited by Terasawa on Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

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Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:14 pm
GodzillaFan1996 wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:11 pm
Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:43 am So, uh... Bye-Bye Jupiter coming to Blu-ray via Toho Video, October 20th. Amazon Japan.
I hope the transfer is just as good as the King King Escapes blu ray from earlier this year.
IIRC, the HD transfer on Japanese streaming platforms includes the literally hundreds of optical Japanese subtitles for English dialogue that weren't present in the standard-def DVD transfer. That's not necessarily ideal for an archival transfer, even if it's representative of the Japanese theatrical release.
How would I attain such power?
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

GodzillaFan1996 wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:18 pm
Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:14 pm IIRC, the HD transfer on Japanese streaming platforms includes the literally hundreds of optical Japanese subtitles for English dialogue that weren't present in the standard-def DVD transfer. That's not necessarily ideal for an archival transfer, even if it's representative of the Japanese theatrical release.
How would I attain such power?
I don't have it, if that's what you're asking. Sorry. Otherwise I'm not sure which power you'd like to obtain.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

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GodzillaFan1996 wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:18 pm
Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:14 pm
GodzillaFan1996 wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:11 pm

I hope the transfer is just as good as the King King Escapes blu ray from earlier this year.
IIRC, the HD transfer on Japanese streaming platforms includes the literally hundreds of optical Japanese subtitles for English dialogue that weren't present in the standard-def DVD transfer. That's not necessarily ideal for an archival transfer, even if it's representative of the Japanese theatrical release.
How would I attain such power?
Not from a Jedi.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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"Transforming Human Series" BD (Japan)

Post by Terasawa »

2-disc Transforming Human Series Blu-ray coming via Toho Video on Nov. 24. The four films are Invisible Man ('54), The H-Man, The Secret of the Telegian, and The Human Vapor -- all but H-Man are hi-def home video debuts.

Predictably, no English audio or subtitles. All films have original mono mixes; The H-Man and The Secret of the Telegian have additional 3-channel mixes (derived from the original Perspecta soundtracks, apparently), while The H-Man and The Human Vapor also have the 5.1 mixes from their previous DVD releases. The only special features detailed in the Amazon listing are audio commentaries (Kenji Sahara on H-Man, Tadao Nakamaru on Telegian and Kaoru Yachigusa on Vapor) and isolated music on Vapor.

Resized Image
Last edited by Terasawa on Tue Aug 24, 2021 7:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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