Product: Star Blazers: The Quest for Iscandar - Series One, Part 1 (Episodes 1-5) (1974)
Rating: 3.0
If the Gamilons made DVDs...
The legendary Star Blazers TV series (the Americanized version of Japan's "Space Battleship Yamato") has finally arrived on DVD! ...But don't get too excited yet, fans, because this DVD edition (which includes the first 5 episodes of Star Blazers) comes to us NOT from a major anime studio, but from a little company called Voyager Entertainment. It seems that Voyager holds exclusive rights to all things Yamato, and that is very bad news for the millions of rabid Star Blazers enthusiasts in this country (and the world). Why? Because it appears that the folks at Voyager know about as much about how to make a DVD as my cousin Bubba does! If you can manage to wrest this disc away from its fancy case (complete with typos on the back cover!) without breaking it in half (and that's a big IF, `cause this bad boy is constructed like a plastic bear trap!) and pop it into your player, you will immediately be struck by the obvious shoddiness of this production. Even the obligatory FBI warning looks cheesy! Then there's the menu design: nothing but a solid gray screen with two little pictures at the bottom left (one for PLAY and one for CHAPTERS)! Select PLAY to start the feature, and step back in time to the year 1979 - long before DVDs were even thought of. In 1979, the audio and video quality of this disc would have seemed good. Keep that in mind, and you won't be quite so disappointed. Now you can sing along to the inspiring theme song, marvel at the stylish animation, and savor the sophisticated storyline. Remember that an inferior Star Blazers disc is a whole lot better than nothing...and nothing is what we've had for far too long. And unfortunately, since Voyager OWNS the Star Force, a properly restored version of this excellent animated program may not be available for many years...if ever. For that reason alone, I will (reluctantly) recommend this disc. The picture is a bit grainy and the sound warbles in places, but it's still _Our_ _Star_ _Blazers_! Keep your digital expectations low and let your imagination soar with this blast from the past! ...1 star for the DVD, 5 stars for the show.NOTE: I read on the Web that Voyager is waiting for the little consumer response cards (included with the DVD) to come back before starting on a Volume 2 disc, so if you want more Star Blazers, make sure you fill the card out and send it in (YOU provide the stamp, of course).