"Shiyonasan" wrote:Unfortunately, Tezuka Productions holds a tight grip on Astro Boy and doesn't seem to want to release the full Japanese versions of each series internationally (with the exception of Little Astro Boy, which wasn't entirely made by them). If I remember hearing correctly, a lot of the Japanese version of the 1963 series was lost in a fire many years ago. Tetsuwan Penguin or F-Man could explain things better than I could about that. So, it's understandable why we only have bits and pieces of the Japanese version of that series.
However, I would love to see a full Japanese release of the 1980 series and 2003 series internationally one day.
As for the topic at hand, I've only really delved into the 2003 series' English dub, which was many years ago on Toonami. I remember not being a huge fan of it, especially Atom's voice. I wouldn't say it was absolutely terrible, but it certainly wasn't worthy of any awards.
I wouldn't mind watching the English version of the 1963 series one day. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.
I wouldn't say that Tezuka productions has refused to release the series on DVD or BD. They've been available in Japan for years (but not at the kind of cheap prices that we're used to for DVD sets, though the cost per disc wasn't too outrageous). They've been released in Region 2 format, but finding a machine that can play those isn't very hard at all. DVD software for Macs and PC's running Linux can do it.
Jeffbert has had access to the Japanese DVD's for the 1963 series. (That's where the images he's posted on the forum have come from) IIRC only 3 or 4 of the episodes are 'lost', and only one of them is TOTALLY gone. Several have been remastered on the DVD's with some parts of the missing video replaced by still frames, but the audio is present. Only one episode was completely destroyed, but the script written in Japanese is on the DVD.
The entire Japanese DVD collection often shows up on Amazon Japan, or on Ebay, usually in three or four boxed sets to comprise the entire series. If you really want to buy them you can probably manage to find them, but be prepared to spend between $500-$1000 for everything! (You might get lucky on finding a used set for much less and a piecemeal basis). And there are also bootleg ripped MP4 and AVI files hiding out on the internet from time to time. A few of us have watched some of those......
The 1963 ELV box sets are still in production. Both sets together should set you back less than $200. I found used 'like new' ones on ebay for about $70 each.
The Japanese version of the 2003 series is all over the internet, currently several sites in China and other East Asian countries are streaming them. The subs for episodes 25-50 suck, but the first 24 are reasonable. They are all probably based on the bootleg Korean VCD's that were sold on ebay years ago. Those discs still show up from time to time. The quality isn't great, but if you can find them cheap it might be worth it.
Finally, for the 1980 series, just go out and buy the English, Canadian, or Australian dubs on DVD, They show up on ebay often. Not cheap, but not a kings ransom either.
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