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2012-07-22

My Neighbor Totoro Blu-Ray Screenshots


Studio Ghibli's latest Blu-Ray discs, My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies, has been released this week in Japan.  Each movie is available in a separate package, or joined together in a deluxe set (mirroring the films' double billing in 1988).  The retail prices are, unfortunately, slightly horrifying, at over $80 apiece, but worth it to diehard collectors who want the very best Ghibli BDs.

The cases continue Ghibli's cover design, with thick cardboard with magnet lock.  A small booklet is included which includes short notes and the Japanese movie posters.  The striking green looks wonderful; I really enjoy the rainbow style of these Blu-Ray covers, much nicer than the standard blue plastic casing.

Now to the screenshots/  Let's take a look and see how Totoro BD compares to its DVD cousin.  I think you'll be impressed by the results:



As you can see, My Neighbor Totoro looks stunning on BD.  It's a significant improvement on the DVD release.  After years of study, I don't think DVD was a very good medium for animation.  The digital artifacts, pixelation, over-use of edge enhancement, and MPEG-2 colors are all notable distractions.  All of these compromises are thankfully no longer necessary, as Blu-Ray delivers stunning clarity, detail and smoothness.  The painterly quality of the artwork shines as never before.  Now if I could only get my hands on the LaserDisc... :P

Much thanks to Hayao Miyazaki for insisting on the preservation of film grain for these movies.  I'm really not a fan of Disney's style of hyper-smooth digital look to their animated films on DVD and BD.  I know it's largely a matter of personal taste and differing goals (Disney aims to recapture the look of the animation cels, while Ghibli aims for the look of 35mm film), so I don't expect everyone to share my love of film grain.  I'm happily retro-tech these days.

In any case, My Neighbor Totoro on Blu-Ray looks stunning.  I'll leave more DVD/Blu-Ray comparisons below the fold:






4 comments:

Chris Sobieniak said...

Pretty cool!

Unknown said...

Looks to me like they *have* filtered the grain, if only slightly, probably much as they did with the Laputa release. Also looks like they're keeping on with the subtle warm tint. Both are minor nit-picks though.

Nick said...

Looks great.

Thought you might like to know that Amazon.co.uk lists UK release dates for Totoro and GOTF for November 12th.

Unknown said...

Looks amazing!

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