Zone Fighter DVD?

[omgitsgodzilla]

borodan, that sounds very interesting. Was this produced abroad (outside of Japan) by some exploitation distributor or something a while ago, or is it more recent or a fan project?

[borodan]

borodan, that sounds very interesting. Was this produced abroad (outside of Japan) by some exploitation distributor or something a while ago, or is it more recent or a fan project?

It was in English, so I doubt this was a Japanese-produced project. The copy I got said 1983, but there were no credits in the video itself, and there's no way to verify that date. I'm inclined to think that it's a fan project since it only uses footage from the Godzilla episodes of Zone, and those are the ones that tend to get circulated in the gray market. That and the fact that it's really poorly intercut, but there have been some atrocious professional jobs out there, too.

A quick google search seems to back up the fanfilm hypothesis (the imdb page was taken down), but none actually say where it came from.

[Tamura]

I don't see the intense desire to get this show released on R1, personally. It's cheap fun with that 70s Godzilla feel and even has Godzilla, but IMO there are a ton of other, far better old tokusatsu shows that need to be released in America with subtitles first. It sets a bar and achieves what it tries to be, and it's pretty enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it has the same compelling unpredictability as good episodes of stuff like Return of Ultraman. This is all just my opinion though, and maybe if the series gets subbed, we'll all be able to individually judge it more easily.

[MDK]

I don't see the intense desire to see this show on R1. It's cheap fun with that 70s Godzilla feel and even has Godzilla, but there are a ton of other, far better old tokusatsu shows that need to be released in America with subtitles first. You watch one Zone Fighter episode, you've seen them all. It sets a bar and it achieves at what it tries to be, and it's pretty enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't have the same compelling unpredictability as good episodes of stuff like Return of Ultraman. Maybe my opinion about it would change if subs were available, but yeah.

Maybe you should ask Ben to translate it.

[Tamura]

Ben is cool.

[StriderSubzero]

I think people just want to watch it because it's so difficult to see right now. People always want what they can't have.

[Tamura]

I think people just want to watch it because it's so difficult to see right now. People always want what they can't have.

Ah, that's very true. You see this kind of thing a lot with obscure/lost movies even if they aren't particularly well regarded by that many people. And if this does get released on R1, it would be really sweet if the distributor did new transfers... the R2s are horrid LD rips with tons of ghosting. It's hard to tell what's going on in the human fight scenes because the frames get blended together in a big, blurry mess.

[Starsteam]

I think the most reason people want it is because... it has Godzilla.

If a R1 Subtitled copy was ever released I would buy it, I can't say that I cared too much for the show, but it didn't help that I couldn't understand Japanese. It's not the best Tokusatsu show out there, but it is unique for having big-movie monsters.

[Tamura]

If this show delivers the goods in any aspect, it's the special effects scenes. The monster designs are interesting, the fights exciting, and the detail in the miniatures uncanny. There was a lot of talent behind this, and it shows. The special effects scenes justify watching it, IMO. The music is really good, too. This show is enjoyable and I like it, but you just need to have the right expectations of it. It's probably not the greatest tokusatsu series, but it doesn't strive to be that anyway. It's only sincere, harmless, mindless, escapist fun... nothing more, and nothing less. At least that's the way I see it.

I don't want to sound like I'm trying to influence peoples' opinions of this show before they even see it - it's just a bunch of thoughts I've been having about it that I wanted to let go. In a way, this show ought to be more easily available so everybody can have a chance to form their own unique opinions about it and be able to discuss it in detail or whatever.

[20th Century Boy]

I can understand that there are better Tokusatsu shows in need or release in the States, but this is quite different--this is a piece of Showa Godzilla that you're not seeing. Take a minute to process that.

[Tamura]

That's true too. I do see what y'all are saying. And the Godzilla episodes are pretty rad, along with the King Ghidorah two-parter. It's always fun when Toho's more well-known monsters appear in this. It's like being able to watch 70's Godzilla movies for the first time again (if that makes any sense).

[Rody]

Speaking as someone who watched dozens upon dozens of Ultraman fight videos while never actually seeing the full episodes, it's just not the same. Even if I'm seeing the whole battle, it doesn't feel like I've really seen it, because I'm only seeing a portion of the story.

That said, I'm not currently very concerned about Zone Fighter, but I would like to see a R1 release someday.

[Rockzilla]

This show needed to be dubbed by axis international SO BAD.

[Godzillian]

I remember hearing rumors that Classic Media was interested in it back when they were releasing Godzilla films but I doubt they were more then just rumors. I think the best bet would to hope that Shout! factory does a release of it in the near future. After all they are releasing Ultra Q on dvd (which is something I am very excited for )

[Goji]

It wasn't CM who were interested, it was ADV. They passed on it because Toho was asking for absurd amounts of $ for it.

[inframan]

I bought the R2 Dvd's years ago, the picture quality was pretty crappy, didn't even have menus on the discs. I ripped copies and sold the originals. Still haven't watched all of them.

[obs]

I would love to have a US Zone Fighter release, and to be honest, the Toho Masters are not nearly as bad as others have said. It obviously could use a good restoration job. I'm a little surprised that Toho has not re-released Zone Fighter on DVD in Japan, or even a Blu-ray Release.

[inframan]

Now that I think of I think mine do too, but if I remember correctly they are set up to autoplay and not load the menu when you first insert the disc. It's been a while since I watched these....

[Tohosaurus]

I would love to have a US Zone Fighter release, and to be honest, the Toho Masters are not nearly as bad as others have said. It obviously could use a good restoration job. I'm a little surprised that Toho has not re-released Zone Fighter on DVD in Japan, or even a Blu-ray Release.

That suggests that even in their domestic market it is a niche franchise. I think I read on here that Toho's Godzilla Blu-Rays didn't sell that great either, but I doubt there is any available information to confirm that.

Still, I wonder if Shout! is willing to get as niche as Ultra Seven and Ultra Q, maybe they'd go a bit higher on the nicheometer and try again for a ZF release. Mill Creek did the Super Robot Red Baron and Iron King releases, and I can't imagine those are more popular than Zone Fighter would be, especially if they advertised how Godzilla and related monsters are in the series. NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON DVD! Lol.

What really matters is how much Toho would want for the complete series. From what we've heard (if it's true) they wanted more the last time than what Shout! was willing to spend on the series.

[Godzillian]

I could see shout releasing the series on DVD but its prob not very likely