![alt text][logo] [logo]: https://i.imgur.com/vsZKv76.png "" #### Big thanks to the following people: ghsushsu123: for general help and assistance kannikanno: for syncing the Manga Entertainment dub ### You can get my release of the first Patlabor movie [here](https://nyaa.si/view/1396430) Join the [Discord!](https://discord.gg/PMrccmpYTu) We're looking for translation checkers and some typesetters for the Ghibli project. (more info at the bottom of this description and in the FAQ channel on the server.) ___ ### Patlabor 2: The Movie - Enthusiast's Collected Edition *The best picture quality, All the main audio tracks & Multiple subtitles + Extras* ### Video The Japanese Blu-ray is, for the most part, an all-around ideal release with nice picture quality. I say for the most part because there's one caveat with it in the form of [a small black bar](https://i.imgur.com/t0TtuA8.jpg) appearing on one side of the screen in several shots. They somehow messed up the framing on those shots when scanning the film, so it's a problem with the scan itself. Because of that, no Blu-ray or DVD exists that doesn't have that occasional black bar. Though I'd say in most cases, you won't find it very distracting. I didn't even notice it until someone specifically pointed it out to me. It might start to bother you depending on how keen your eye is when it comes to stuff like that, and in case it does, your best bet will be to try to mentally block it out. But I doubt it'll be a problem for most people. There are also very slight color inconsistencies between some scenes, but I didn't find them to be a nuisance when just normally experiencing the movie. Overall small color differences like the ones here seem to be very common in movies shot on film, so they're pretty easy to forgive. Because all the Blu-ray releases of this movie use the same scan of the film elements, they all look relatively similar (and have the same slight color problems and the framing issues with the black bar on the side). The biggest clearly noticeable difference between them regarding the picture quality is the bitrate, and in typical Japanese fashion, the JP BD has the highest bitrate of them all, averaging at around 28.4 Mbps. It also has no excessive filtering on it as far as I can tell, as the smaller details and the grain all look fine. So unless a new release comes out that has fixed framing and improves on the color inconsistencies, it looks like the JP BD will stay the best edition available of this Oshii classic. [20 Comparisons between the JP BD, HK BD, Kagura, Niizk and sxales](https://slow.pics/c/j4iGT4cw) Evident from the comparisons is that even the best encodes lose some detail in exchange for smaller file sizes. The incorrect colors on the HK BD seem to be due to an improper colorspace conversion having been done on it. (I wasn't sure what the exact problem with the HK BD was, so [thanks to user scav for clearing that up.](https://nyaa.si/view/1385665#com-1)) The color issue together with the [noticeably lower bitrate](https://i.imgur.com/LrmfScp.png) make it overall not as appealing. ### Audio For the Japanese audio in this release, we have the original 1993 2.0ch Dolby Surround mix and the 1998 5.1ch "Sound Renewal" remix. The remix has re-recorded dialogue (not sure if all lines were redone, but some definitely were), updated sound effects, and remixed music which has also been differently timed/placed in scenes. I've put the remix version as the default audio track as it's the one I personally always go for whenever I decide to go for a rewatch. It has that added "punch" to it, and of course, the better clarity that the original Dolby 2.0 mix is missing in my opinion. I know some people disagree with its different use of the music, so I suggest you check both out to see which one you like better. Two different English dubs for the dub watching folk: The old Manga Entertainment dub from [sxales' release](https://nyaa.si/view/1278814), speed/pitch corrected by user kannikanno to match the Blu-ray. It's unfortunately sourced from a re-encoded 160kbps AAC file, so the quality isn't quite as good as it could be, but I decided to add it since few others seem to have included it in their releases before. And it is a relatively rare, old dub that's still nice to have nevertheless. (The dub track on the 2003 DVD is 192kbps, so the 160kbps one isn't too far off from the original.) And the other dub is the newer 2006 5.1ch Bandai dub. Important to note as well is that the Manga Entertainment dub uses the original Dolby Surround mix as a base, and the Bandai dub is based on the Sound Renewal remix. ### Subtitles The default subtitle track uses Niizk's script largely untouched save for a few lines borrowed from HACK-JOB, some line break changes, and one or two ever so slightly edited lines (Can't remember everything, but one of them was literally just the addition of an "a" letter, so nothing major.) Other smaller edits include putting the depressed video subcontractor worker's and Matsui's lines [here in this one shot](https://i.imgur.com/pT1uZGD.png) to the top of the screen. All the subs I've seen have the dialogue at the bottom in that shot, and I've always disliked it because it totally blocks Matsui's beautiful face. Most signs were also taken from HACK-JOB, which I have edited further to make them blend in a bit better. I'm no typesetting expert, so they're still not great, but they should be a bit more tolerable. More precise motion tracking was done by ghsushsu123 for the title card sign. Dialogue is "PT Sans" at font size 80. I've also included the original, untouched versions of Niizk's and HACK-JOB's subtitles for anyone who doesn't enjoy the modifications I've done. ### Extras Only one extra, but it's a good one! It is the 42 minute long "Making File Remix" documentary on Patlabor 2 which is comprised of material from "*MAKING FILE 1*" from the "*Patlabor Complete Works*" LD box set (released 10/1994) and Patlabor 2 "*Access the Movie*" (released 7/1993). ("*Access the movie*" is a "making of" documentary that was released with the movie.) This compiled documentary has a multitude of interviews with the staff members, including key people like Mamoru Oshii, Kazunori Ito, Toshihiko Nishikubo, Kise Kazuchika, Ogura Hiromasa, Takada Akemi, Yuuki Masami, Shoji Kawamori and others. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of Patlabor. [A Shoji Kawamori cameo in Patlabor?](https://i.imgur.com/L5i1ySK.png) ### Specifics of this release Video: 1. JP BD Remux (1920x1080, 23.976fps) (default) Audio: 1. Japanese 5.1 FLAC (Sound Renewal Mix) (JP BD) (default) 2. Japanese 2.0 FLAC (Original Dolby Surround Mix) (JP BD) (*But how can 2.0 be surround?* See [this thread](https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/difference-between-stereo-and-dolby-surround-2-0.45530/) for a quick explanation) 3. English 5.1 FLAC (Bandai Dub) (US BD) 4. English 2.0 (160kbps AAC 2.0 -> FLAC) (Manga Entertainment Dub) (2005 Madman DVD) Subtitles: 1. English (Niizk/HACK-JOB) (edited) (ass) (default) 2. Signs (Niizk/HACK-JOB (edited) (ass) 3. English (HACK-JOB) (ass) 4. Signs (HACK-JOB) (ass) 5. English (Niizk) (ass) Extras: 1. Making File Remix (720x540, 23.976fps, eng subs) 42 min [MediaInfo](https://pastebin.com/raw/AFPp4iAD) ![alt text][logo2] [logo2]: https://i.imgur.com/VZ23Fiy.png "" _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ #### Update on the Ghibli project: The plan is to create these collected editions for each Ghibli movie, which includes acquiring the best video, audio, and subtitles for every single one. The video and audio are for the most part pretty easily available, but since we're trying to create the best versions here, we thought it'd be good to have nice subtitles as well. Like I already said earlier, I'm no TS wizard nor do I know much Japanese, so my friend ghsushsu has been working on the overall typesetting with some help from [Mysteria](https://nyaa.si/user/Ingenioussubs). Where we're in need of help is in making sure the translations are good. As [nedragrevev](https://github.com/nedragrevev/custom-subs) kind of set the bar for Ghibli movies with his Nausicaä subtitles, it'd be great to not have a huge drop in quality right after with the next movie. To try to keep up the quality we basically need someone to do translation checking for the existing subtitles. If you know Japanese and would like to help us with this project, hit me up on Discord @ hydes#9586, join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/PMrccmpYTu) or message me via email @ [email protected] You can check out our two versions of the first movie in this project, *Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä*, [here](https://nyaa.si/view/1425297) (2010 BD version) and [here](https://nyaa.si/view/1425023) (2014 BD version). *My Neighbour Totoro* is now also available [here](https://nyaa.si/view/1445155). *- hydes*