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Finally. i've been stalking CD Japan, AmiAmi and e-bay for quite a while now.. Fifth March, eh? Well, I guess I should start saving now, for the horrid shipping and all. I just wish they would make some original Gatchaman Figmas.

Figmas? Hmm that's exciting to think that subtitles will be coming one way or another ...

We know the English subtitles already exist, seeing as they were used at the film festivals in Canada, the US and Australia. Why wouldn't they use them? Subtitles take up almost nothing in terms of space on a DVD.

No subtitles, when a myriad of other movies have them! Grrrrr ....

Originally posted by ChrisW Figmas?

Figmas are small action figures that come with a stand and a set of accessories. They are jointed, so you can set them up in all kinds of poses, have interchangeable faces, and are very customisable. And the detail in some of them is incredible. Here, a figma from the manga/anime Attack on Titan.

Oh, I so like that. (says she who isn't really an action figure person0

Ooooooh that's awesome. I'd love some Gatch figmas!

I've got to have the subtitles to order. I like that figma.

Hi all!

Originally posted by Transmute Jun We know the English subtitles already exist, seeing as they were used at the film festivals in Canada, the US and Australia. Why wouldn't they use them? Subtitles take up almost nothing in terms of space on a DVD.

This type of subject has come up in the past, but it's been a while. So, let's go over it again. From a purely manufacturing standpoint, you are quite correct. There is no technological reason why they can't include subtitles from the English translation Nikkatsu already has, assuming Nikkatsu is willing to share that translation with Vap. The reasons why it probably won't happen aren't so much technological, but sociological. Unlike America, Japan tends to be a very insular country, looking at itself as isolated from the rest of the world. When they make a product like DVDs or Blu-ray discs, they aren't thinking in terms of anything beyond the Japanese market. Yes, they are aware that there are those outside of Japan who might buy their products, but they aren't making them with those outsiders in mind. With a mindset that their total audience is in the Japanese market, they really don't see a reason to include things like English subtitles as an extra. Also, as I mentioned in my original post, there aren't any captioning options listed for this release. This includes Japanese language captions. If they aren't providing captions to make the film more accessible for hearing-impaired people within their own country, why should they worry about making the film accessible for a non-existent (In their view) foreign market? Okay, to be fair, it could still happen. Vap's official website for the home video release does include a disclaimer that the discs are subject to change from what is currently announced. So, there is a chance that Vap will add additional material to the release, including captioning options, but the chances of that are very slim indeed. So, yes, it is disappointing. But without any real perception on Vap's part of a need to do so, it is unlikely to change. Instead, we'll probably have to wait for a bootleg version to show up that does include English subtitles (And hope that they do a decent job of translating the script! The translations on the bootleg discs from Taiwan or Hong Kong can sometimes be fairly poor). Who knows, there might even be a legal home video release of the film here someday. Sadly, if the Yatterman and Space Battleship Yamato live action movies are any indication, that might not be for a while. Both of those films took four years from their Japanese theatrical releases to have a legal North American home video release. If that holds true for Gatchaman, we might not see it legally released here until 2017... Yikes!! James

A cultural perspective is always appreciated, James! I wonder what it will take to tip these things over into a change, not just for foreigners, but for those who need Japanese-language captioning. (Of course, it'll have to come from within, rather than from without.) I went to Japan on a pop culture tour in 2006 or so (Tokyo and then the Sapporo ice festival). A reporter actually did a feature on our group. I've still got the article. (The tour company translated it for us.) I'd gone with friends and there's a pic of us in there holding up some of our manga/art book purchases. I'd say that shows they have some curiosity toward foreign fans.

Having looked at figmas online, -the price! I think ill stick to my Games workshop vice.... How about we contact the company directly? prove there is a market outside of Japan?

You'd think they'd want to make the additional income.

They have to be sure it'd balance out to income.

It can't cost that much to do subtitles, could it?

Oh, I was still thinking figmas.

Originally posted by tatsunokofan With a mindset that their total audience is in the Japanese market, they really don't see a reason to include things like English subtitles as an extra

Ah yes, that delicious paradox. They, or at least the people responsible for marketing, still operate with this sakoku mentality, and yet they keep on complaining about fansubs and scanlation sites. This includes occasionally even the Japanese government itself. I see where they're coming from, however I'm of the opinion that fansubbing raises the overseas popularity of the shows in question, and though some of the producers/studios/mangakas claim they don't care about this, others actually acknowledge the benefits this brings to the industry. And so I'm not going to feel particularly guilty once I download a pirated copy of the movie.