If you have a question about anything on CDJapan's site, you can write him at: davidhirsch918@earthlink.net He'll answer it here. (Sorry, personal replies are not possible.)

David Answers Your Questions

Dear Mr. Hirsch,
As you know, "Oh Mikey!" began as a reoccurring series of segments on an avant-garde late night Japanese TV program titled "Vermilion Pleasure Night." In this original incarnation, it was not called "Oh Mikey!" however. The original title was "The Fuccon Family," and while Mikey was key, the focus was more on family life and bad parenting, than on Mikey's unsatisfactory interactions with his eccentric friends.

While I cannot speak for the continued popularity of "Oh Mikey!" I can recommend a few of the original "Fuccon Family" episodes. In general, episodes of "The Fuccon Family" segments were more daring than episodes of "Oh Mikey!" though the episode of the later (from the 1st season disc) in which Mikey's parents discipline Mikey for not drinking his milk by hiring a hooded figure to break into the home and threaten the family comes close (I'm also fond - more of the idea than the execution - of the episode on the 2nd "Oh Mikey" disc, in which Mikey - and later his father - are invited to a play date with a couple of Mikey's young female friends, only to find them dressed and behaving like bar hostesses, not only expecting to be paid for their company, but also having enlisted the help of a thuggish male accomplice to see that they do get paid).

You will find the original "Fuccon Family" episodes in two different compilations: "The Color of Life" and "Vemilion Pleasure Night Gold." Many of the same episodes appear on both, but I prefer "The Color Of Life," both for the selection of episodes and the superior subtitling and translation. The episodes I most recommend would be "Mikey's Kidnapping" (track 5) and "Mikey's Exorcism" (track 12). "Dad's Affair" (track 7) is also good, but there is a slightly longer and better version of this on "VPN Gold."

In addition to "The Fuccon Family" segments, both compilations also include other segments from "VPN," though the humor in most of these does not translate very well. One amusing segment that appears on both compilations and does translate, however, is an erotic/fetish musical performance piece titled "Dr. Phero on the Color Of Life" comp, and (inaccurately) as "Dr. Fellow" on VPN Gold.

In addition to the fuller, racier version of "Dad's Affair," however, there is one other reason you might want to pick up the "VPN Gold" compilation... a segment titled "Cathy's House." While there is also an episode of "Cathy's House" on "The Color of Life," it is not a very good one. The episode on the "VPN Gold" disc is far superior, coming off as a hilarious poke at the vacuousness of American TV sitcoms and mindless slapstick.

Finally, it has been said that "The Fuccon Family" is a parody of American family life, and - on the surface it is - but I wonder if it is not also taking a veiled stab at Japanese family life... particularly the tendency of both American and Japanese parents to pretend that all is well, when in fact, their house is on fire.

Best! Paul Kazee (co-director of New York Asian Film Festival) http://subwaycinema.com

WOW! Thanks for all the helpful tips Paul, and good luck with this year's festival. I think you're interpretation of the two versions of "Oh Mikey!" is right on target. In retrospect, I do believe much of my inability to comprehend the series has been that I initially viewed it from the perception that it was supposed to be a spoof of what I expected American's to be. That it could be a clandestine stab by the Japanese back at themselves is a very indisputable observation.

Hi David,
I write to you on the ledge of a 100 story building wanting to 'end it all' because I do NOT have a widescreen/subtitled DVD of the film "SUBMERSION OF JAPAN" (Nippon Chinbotsu). All melodrama aside, could you give me some information regarding the title including its Region 2 availability and any chance a subtitled version might be released?

Regards - Jason Henry

Well Jason, come down off that ledge. "Submersion of Japan" is available from Toho DVD, unsubtitled, but in its complete 140 minute running time, in stereo and Dolby 5.1 remix. If that's not enough for you, also available is the complete TV mini-series!

Hi David,
I am searching for a black & white Japanese horror movie that I have seen (years back). Unfortunately, I have no record of the title except that I know part of the story.

In the movie, there are three short stories, one of the segments is about a blind story telling monk, who was led to a warship to tell sorry to the spirit war lord and his army. At the end of the story, a senior monk helps the blind monk to escape the spirit by writing holy spell on his body, except his ears, so the spirit came and can see his ear.

Please help me to identify the name of this movie. Thank you.

Regards,

Desmond

Oh, that's the 1964 classic horror film "Kwaidan" (AKA Weird Tales or Ghost Story) and you're talking about the third segment "Hoichi the Earless." It's probably the most famous of the four, though "Woman of the Snow," cut from the U.S. release to reduce the 164 minute running time to 125, is equally creepy and also very tragic. In much the same fashion as Nobuo Nakagawa's 1960 version of "Jigoku" (Hell), Masaki Kobayashi relies less on special effects and more on traditional stage effects like lighting and color. Don't watch it alone!

Hi there,
What is the problem with releasing music DVDs in Region 2? Why do they do that? There is no need for this and is quite silly. As you know, region coding was originally done to prevent American movies from being sold on DVD before they "Road Show" in Japan started in order to protect ticket sales. I think the Japanese music industry has misunderstood this and for some reason think that they must "follow" the rules and continue with region coding for music DVDs.

As you and I both know, price is not an issue for collectors, however "export" sales would most likely double if they would make music DVDs region free. What is the reason behind this? Please advise

Ted Yates

Frankly, I find regional coding a great big pain in my sit-upon. After years of frustrations with the British PAL format, now they lay this upon us. I've even proposed to Apple Computers that people should be able to buy a license to extend the opportunities to change the coding on their computers after the 5 time limit. So far, no one's biting. I do agree with you that coding of music DVDs, in particular those companion DVDs with the CDs, is ridiculous. Okay, some artists like BoA or Boom Boom Satellites may have release contracts outside of Japan, but what are the odds that the Super Sentai 2004 Live Concert DVD will ever see the light of day here? At least Universal Music's Japanese arm has released their DVDs uncoded. The only answer I can give you until I can interview every music exec in Japan is the continuing problem with bootlegging in Central Asia, which has eaten more into their industry than on-line file sharing. A May issue of Newsweek magazine (with Zhang Ziyi on the cover) reported that in Mainland China, most people see movies at home on bootlegged copies that are very cheap. That's quite a lot of lost revenue that gets made up by increasing prices of the genuine article.

Hello David,
I was Googling for information on Linda Miller ("King Kong Escapes," "Green Slime"), when I came across the letter you answered. I was wondering if you heard anything since? I'd love to know what happened to her. :) Hope you can help.
Cheers,

Michael

I know inquiring minds want to know, but sorry Michael, I've heard nothing.

I'd like to buy the sets in the promo boxes. Please direct me to the sale of these. Thanks.

Tyler Stokes

Sorry Tyler, but we cannot and do not sell the promotional items we get for review. Heck, I have a hard enough time beating off the other staff members from taking my stuff.

Fortunately, "Ultraman USA" is still third Animex1200 wave. As for "Ultraman Great," that's been out-of-print for over 10 years. I paid a lot for my copy. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Nippon Columbia re-issues it sometime soon, real cheap, too! Meanwhile, they're releasing another rare score for the American-produced "Ultraman Powered" (AKA Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero) by the composer of "The Big O."

Hi,
I'm searching the sequel songs by Minako Honda on CD:
01) Crazy Nights
02) Golden Days
I know that two versions of these songs exist: sung in japanese and sung in english....Can you help me?

Thanks,

Luca

Couldn't find "Golden Days," but "Crazy Nights" appears on "Honda Minako Golden * The Best"

David,
I was reading your corner of the CD Japan website and thought this bit of info might be helpful. Regarding viewing region 2 DVDs, many DVD players have "secret" screens that allow you to change the region code of the player or set it to "0" for region free playing. I use the site videohelp.com to check out a DVD player before I buy it. On this website choose "DVD Hacks" from the left column, then enter your DVD manufacturer to see if there is a "hack" for your player. Most hacks are simple key sequences using the DVD's remote.
I just picked up a Cyberhome DVD player for the office that cost under $40 at Sam's Club that is a region 1 player, but by pressing MENU, 1, 9 to bring up the secret screen and setting the region to 0, I now have a region free DVD player and we can now enjoy DVDs from CD Japan at lunch.

- Edward

Thanks for the great tip!

Hello David
I'm stuck in England now and saw this film in Tokyo some 20 years ago (1983). Would love to get a copy of it but the internet reveals no leads....The director was Moritani Shiro. Wonder if you could point me in any useful direction? Thanks for any comments you might have.

Phil Hamill

Do you mean "Shosetsu Yoshida gakko?" It's the only film he directed in 1983. However, it's not available.

Hello David,
I've notice there isn't much English subtitled DVD movies, why is that? Is it because it's too much trouble to sub? If the DVD companies actually subtitled their movies, wouldn't it attract a lot more western people to buy Japanese movies?

Thanks
Simon Tsui

I many cases, it's probably because of the expense in hiring a translator. As to why a big studio like Toho doesn't, I can only assume it's because they make more money licensing the product to a U.S. company than risking the expense of over producing product. Only the film companies understand the logic of regional coding.

Question: Why did my search for "Yoko Ishida" on CDJapan's web site find nothing? Yoko Ishida has sung songs for at least three different animes (Ai Yori Aoshi, Pretear, and A Little Snow Fairy Sugar) and has a least one album/CD of her own titled "Sweets". All of these I have bought here in the United States, which were distributed by Pioneer (now called Geneon). I was hoping to find more CDs of her music. My other search on CDJapan's web site for "Rie Tanaka" found nine pages of listings of CDs and DVDs.

Craig Helenbart

Maybe you spelled it wrong? Yoko with two k's, perhaps? I don't know, but I found 10 albums. Here's the link: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/search.html?type=AC&word=Yoko+Ishida&restrict=ALL&step=50&sub=

Dear David,
I'm just curious as to whether CDJapan has uncut "Beyblade G Revolution" DVD's in Japanese with English subtitles? Does such a thing even exist because I have been searching, but keep coming up with blanks. If you could get back to me on this I would be really grateful,

Darks Light

Sorry, but the Japanese publisher did not include English subtitles on their release.

Hello David,
My question is why do anime DVD's in Japan have only about 2-3 episodes per disc and c ost more than American anime DVD's that have a minimum of 3 episodes per disc and go as high as 6 episodes per disc. Plus, the American DVD's have both the English and Japanese tracks plus some extras on the discs and with the series box sets. So why do the Japanese DVD's cost more and you're getting less? (Although this year, the prices seem to be getting lower in Japan like with the Detective Conan and Naruto DVD's)

Kevin

It's really all economics. However, the Japanese publishers have been fighting to lower prices in country as of late, but their sole market target is Japan only and they look for the product to be successful there. Foreign sales are just icing on the cake. As for English audio, anime is dubbed either in the States or in Canada. Prices will come down as the economy and/or market improves.

Dear David,

I wonder, if copy-protected CDs are popular among iPod and other MP3 player users? I am sure, once you have such device you will hardly buy a copy-protected CD. I don't have an iPod, but I do copy all CDs that I buy to my computer at home and office and I also like to burn private CD-audio compilations. I must say, that such habit refrain me from buying copy-protected CDs... There is also a psychological factor. No one wants to be limited, everybody likes freedom.

In one of the Japanese CD Recording web-sites, on the explanatory page for copy-control technology, I saw a heading "Respect Our Music". How nice! And who will respect us? Or they are probably convinced that each customer who buys their CD is involved into piracy?

Regards, Rustam

Rustram,

I am happy to report that I have had no problem achieving and transferring copy-guarded CDs to my iPod with the current software (4.5). Sadly, outside of Japan in some Asian countries, CD piracy runs rampant and, much like the recent file sharing cases in the U.S., the Japanese artists are only trying to protect their rights. In a perfect world, none of this would be necessary. As both a producer and collector, I often find myself torn between the rights of the copyright owners and my personal needs.

David:

I have been ordering from CDJapan for a number of years now. The Region 1 and 2 versions are similar and I use them on an HDTV. I do not really know what you are talking about, saying R2 DVDs have better quality. A "Mazinkaizer" DVD with just 25 minutes of play time costs around 30 dollars already! How would you explain that?...Your words are very far from the truth...Please, DO NOT TO MISLEAD CUSTOMERS!!! By the way my DVD collection spans from Region 1 to 3...

Tetsuya

Tetsuya,

Apologies for giving you this impression. My intent was never to mislead a customer, that's how you loose them. The fact is this statement has been bounced around between my office and CDJapan's Tokyo homebase. I will admit that after viewing several Studio Ghibli titles sent to me in recent months, the quality between the Japanese issued "Spirited Away" for example is no different than Disney's U.S. release. However, Toho's releases, though un-subtitled are far superior in both audio and video quality to anything available here. I'm hoping Regal Pictures uses Toho's far superior remastered DVD of "Godzilla" instead of their rather poor theatrical print. I have heard from several Japanese amine fans who are aware that we pay far less here in the U.S. Sometimes we can buy the complete anime series for the cost of one episode in Japan.
I strongly urge all my readers to carefully shop and, if you don't understand what you're buying, ask for additional product details. Sometimes, publishers fail to provide CDJapan with product details, that's what we always hope my column offers, as I review the titles after watching or listening to them.

Hi, David,

I apologize up front if my e-mail offends you -- understand that this is not my intention. I have noticed that your write-up of "King Kong Escapes" on says Linda Miller is Jackie Gleason's daughter. However, I believe this to be in error. There were, in fact, several actresses named Linda Miller, and the one who appeared in the King Kong film is not Gleason's daughter. Otherwise, I enjoyed the write-up.

Sincerely, Rich Handley

Rich,

This may be true. One of my sources was Stuart Galbraith IV's "Japanese Science fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films" (McFarland 1994), but I recently discovered he sort of contradicts himself in "Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo" (Feral House, 1998) where, in an interview with co-star Rhodes Reason, the actor claims her father "was a major in the Air Force . . ." The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) only credits Kong and "The Green Slime." Beyond the claim that she was a model living in Japan, almost nothing is know about her before or since. She's a real enigma!

Hello David. I live in New York and have been searching for an available DVD of the early 70s Japanese live series GO RANGER. I recently discovered the entire series has been re-mastered and available on DVD. I was wondering if you've come across DVDs of this series that actually have English subtitles?

You see I first saw this in Manila, Philippines when I was about 5 years old, and back then they showed an English dubbed version at the time. I doubt this exists. So I was wondering if you had an idea of where I could get the GO RANGER TV series set DVDs, OR the GO RANGER MOVIE which has 3 DVDs I believe, any of these that have ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

Your help is very much appreciated! Thanks a million! -Skye

Skye,

Sorry. Unfortunately, almost all Japanese TV series seem to lack English subtitles, which puts me in the same boat when it comes to the Ultraman series. I'd really love to watch "Ultra Q" but Tsuburaya doesn't subtitle any of their DVDs.

Hello David!
Thank you very much for Your Impressions and Words @ CDJapan. I have read every contribution. I hope you write further nice lines. I wish all the best! I love CD Japan, one of the Best Internet Dealers, I wouldn't know from where I get otherwise the many beautiful DVDs and CDs as fine Japanese Editions. Regards Ronny Beutin/ Germany.

Ronny,

Many thanks to you for you kind words and patronage!

David, perhaps you can answer this question concerning Godzilla DVDs?

Why hasn't an American company (say, like Criterion) bought the rights to release the early Godzilla movies on DVD with English subtitles? Surely, they must think the series would make money for them.

-Steve

Steve,

That's the age-old question. This being the 50th Anniversary year, I wouldn't be surprised. Regal's theatrical release this year of a subtitled print of the original version of "Godzilla" came as a pleasant surprise. Anything's possible.

Hi David,

I have been searching all over the world (French, English, or Spanish Subtitles) for a VHS or DVD of a 1989 movie from director Ken Kumai called: "sen no rykyu" ("Death of a Tea Master"). This movie provided such an impression me 15 years ago when I saw it in a little art movie theater, that to this day I cannot abandon my unfruitful search. I have the other very pale version of the same story released a year later from director Teshigahara. Of course your site is the only one which carries it but without English Subtitles!!!! My Japanese is not good enough...Is there a time when these movies that are lost gems for the Western world will be made available to teach the younger generation what a real movie is about????

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Matthieu Schmitter

Matthieu,

All I can recommend is write to many of the small indie labels that release some of the more esoteric Japanese titles like ADV or Tokyo Shock (who released a favorite of mine, "Pyrokenesis" (a.k.a. "Cross Fire").

I saw your site on the Japanese movies: two questions (one business related, the other not):

1. Any chance of the "Ninja Spy" films from the 1960's coming out on DVD?
2. Is this the David Hirsch who attended Homestead High School back in the mid 70's?

Kirk,

For question #1: "Ninja Spy" is called "Ninjutsu Sarutobi-Sasuke" and it's a 1976 show(not from the 1960's). There's no release scheduled for this show to come out on DVD at this time.

As for question #2; sorry, no.

Quote:
Why are things so expensive? Japanese CDs and DVDs use the highest quality mastering techniques. I've compared several DVDs and the Japanese discs have richer color and a sharper picture. In fact, many recent U.S. DVD releases used the Japanese DVDs as their masters.

Kai, I disagree when it comes to DVDs from most Japanese made films. Toho, which charges a premium price for their titles, but offer little in "bonus" material often, do spend a lot of effort cleaning up the video and audio. The current release of "Mothra" has full stereo sound and much of the processed shots look better than ever. However, this doesn't hold true with film's made outside the country which, just as with publishers of foreign films in the U.S., Japanese publishers don't often get the best possible masters when they license a foreign made production. Most, if not all, of the DVD titlesappearing in this column are Japanese made films not available or released with lesser quality masters in the U.S.

David