HUGE KITE NEWS! John Sirabella (President of Media Blasters and Kitty) has informed me that KITE is scheduled to be released in a much less cut version in January. Details are still preliminary, but it looks like the only scenes that will be removed are the Young Sawa scenes. Unfortunately, it looks like it will only be on VHS for now, but a DVD version isn't out of the question in the future. Of course, if the VHS sales tank, I doubt they'll do a DVD in the future.

I hope to be able to get a preview copy of the tape and do a full report on it, but at the very least I'll be checking the tape out when it's released in January and doing a full report then.

I know there are some people who'd say the cuts of the young Sawa scenes are bad too and that they should be restored as well (and I agree), but considering their content and explicitness I can understand the need to remove them (don't like it, but can understand).

Here's the text of the news (from the animeondvd.com forum):

jsirabella   Sep-20-00, 01:40 PM (EST)
  17. "RE: MB's Kenshin Disc 1 and 2 announceme..."

Hi Jim,

But I am responding to you to let you be the first to know that the Uncut (Less Cut) kite is being released in January under Kitty. We can not put it under AW becasue of the nature of the video. More important the only scenes cut will be the ones involving the young sawa. Once I get the dman people at my internet provider to have www.kittymedia.com pointing to www.mediablasters.com I will give specifics. I know you will want to know exactly what scenes will be added back. And before you ask it will be on VHS since Kitty and adult guys still are big on VHS. Maybe way down the road we can think about a DVD but alot of stores will not carry this version of KITE. I am doing this one becuase of the persistance.

I must warn you all UNCUT KITE will stick in your mind...and may change the way you think of KITE. It is graphic to the extreme.

You see Jim persistance does pay off!!!

NEW EDITING REPORT! I have added an editing report for Lost Universe. In addition to a different opening and the episodes being released by ADV is an order different than the Japanese LD release (both probably due to differences between the way the series was shown on Japanese television and released on LD), ADV apparently digitally changed an English word reading 'BITCH' to 'LOSER' on a girl's forehead. Read the editing report HERE or click the 'Full List' link to the left.
 
 

NEW EDITING REPORT! Although calling it anime is a stretch (at least to me, I have added an editing report for Transformers. Mostly it's information about the movie edits since the television series was made to be shown in North America from the start. Please note, that I have not heard any confirmation on what edits (if any) will be on the upcoming DVD release of the Transformers movie, so keep that in mind if you are considering buying it. Read the editing report HERE or click the 'Full List' link to the left.

SAILOR MOON UNCENSORED: Thanks to David Robb for pointing it out, I've added a new link to the Sailor Moon editing report. Sailor Moon Uncensored is a website dedicated to detailing the changes made to Sailor Moon by the various North American companies that have handled bringing it over from Japan. From the looks of it, it's a good resource. Check it out by clicking HERE.

OVERLAYS UPDATE:David Williams of ADV posted a some news on overlays earlier today in the Anime on DVD forum today:

dlw
Aug-30-00, 11:17 AM (EST)
11. "RE: ADV: Gasaraki & Screen Text"
All of the computer screens and whatnot are all in english to begin with. No need to overlay them or subtitle them.

Now, on a related note, to set some people at ease (and I hope we don't start another war in the other direction), word has come down that going forward, ADV will NOT be overlaying
text in any more videos.
-----
David Williams
A.D.Vision, Inc.

Unfortunately, the Nadesico DVD is already too far along in its production and will use the same masters that the VHS version of Nadesico was made from, overlays and all.

UNCUT ESCAFLOWNE NEWS: From a Bandai press release comes the details of how Escaflowne will be distributed on home video. In addition to the already released English subtitled VHS, there will be:

An EDITED English dub based on the Fox Kids version (which I strongly urge everyone to avoid like the plague and encourage everyone they know not to buy this edited version)
1. An unedited English dub on VHS
2. An unedited English sub/dub on DVD

Here is the press release:

BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT OCTOBER RELEASES 2000
____________________________________________
Escaflowne Vol. 1
Dragons & Destiny
Hitomi Kanzaki is a typical high school girl, with typical high
school problems. But when a vision of a young man battling a dragon
becomes a reality, her life changes forever. Drawn into a strange
vortex with the swordsman, Van, Hitomi is thrust into the strange
world of Gaea. Entangled in a struggle over life and death, Van
must learn to master the suit of armor, Escaflowne. Chased by the
Empire of Zaibach, Van and Hitomi will encounter both allies and
enemies in an effort to unlock the secrets within Escaflowne.
Hitomi's heart, stirred by love and adventure, but at times
aches with sorrow. But why was she sent to this world? Her
journey as just begun.
HIGHLIGHTS:
· National Broadcast on Fox Kids Network
· Created by Shoji Kawamori ("Macross Plus")
· Character Designs by Nobuteru Yuuki ("Record of Lodoss Wars", "X")
· Music by Yoko Kanno ("Macross Plus", "Cowboy Bebop", "Brain Powered")
· "An Amazing Show!" - Animerica
· "A total MUST for all anime fans!" - Protoculture Addicts
STREET DATE: 10/3/2000
RATING: 13UP
VHS DUB (FOX VERSION) SRP: $14.98
VHS DUB (UNEDITED) SRP: $19.98
DVD BILINGUAL SRP: $29.98

NEW EDITING REPORT! I have added an editing report for Space Cruiser Yamator/Star Blazers. Read it HERE or click the 'Full List' link to the left. With Voyager re-releasing this series on DVD (edited English dub only), I figured this was a good time to do an editing report. My thanks to Walter Amos for allowing me to reprint his article on the edits made to Star Blazers and to use it for the reference for my editing report. I only summarized some of the changes, his article is a must read for any fan of Star Blazers to see what was missing.

KITE PETITION: I moved the Kite petition information pages from my old Crosswinds web site (the old pages are still there, but mostly collecting dust at the moment). You can look at the new pages by clicking the 'Petitions' link to the left. As before, there is a web site banner and convention flyer information if you want to help spread the word. And don't forget to sign the petition if you haven't already!

MISC: Cleaned up the rest of the editing reports to the new slimmer summary format and made some slight updates to info in some of them. Nothing major though.

For older news: No Editing Zone News Archives

For current news: No Editing Zone Current News