vi
@v-i.dev
Manic Spreadsheeter (ist? izer?). Likes old anime dubs, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and that weird sticky goo that holds magazine inserts in place. Frequently wrong.
www.v-i.dev
www.v-i.dev
MB’s very earliest AnimeWorks titles used their own in-house system they quickly abandoned.
I was unaware CPM switched distributors around that time, it may help explain it (and why it wasn’t used on the NuTech DVDs)
I was unaware CPM switched distributors around that time, it may help explain it (and why it wasn’t used on the NuTech DVDs)
January 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM
MB’s very earliest AnimeWorks titles used their own in-house system they quickly abandoned.
I was unaware CPM switched distributors around that time, it may help explain it (and why it wasn’t used on the NuTech DVDs)
I was unaware CPM switched distributors around that time, it may help explain it (and why it wasn’t used on the NuTech DVDs)
Interestingly, Right Stuf did briefly use them, but only for Gundam releases from Aug 2013 to Aug 2015. RS/Nozomi-branded would use a custom system, and all Right Stuf releases, Gundam included, would switch to FCC ratings in September.
January 11, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Interestingly, Right Stuf did briefly use them, but only for Gundam releases from Aug 2013 to Aug 2015. RS/Nozomi-branded would use a custom system, and all Right Stuf releases, Gundam included, would switch to FCC ratings in September.
Pioneer had rated Cardcaptors 7UP, and my guess is they wanted the uncut subbed release to be rated slightly higher. Far as I can tell, Pioneer only ever used 3UP, 7UP, 13UP, and 16UP, so one rating higher than 7 is a 13, as stupid as that sounds.
January 11, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Pioneer had rated Cardcaptors 7UP, and my guess is they wanted the uncut subbed release to be rated slightly higher. Far as I can tell, Pioneer only ever used 3UP, 7UP, 13UP, and 16UP, so one rating higher than 7 is a 13, as stupid as that sounds.
As for Funimation, it appears they switched in November 2004. First release I can find with an FCC rating is Case Closed: Like Old Times (Nov 23)
January 11, 2026 at 7:03 PM
As for Funimation, it appears they switched in November 2004. First release I can find with an FCC rating is Case Closed: Like Old Times (Nov 23)
Looking at their releases, it appears to have been January 2005. Burn Up! (Jan 11) is the earliest release of theirs I can find with an FCC rating.
January 11, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Looking at their releases, it appears to have been January 2005. Burn Up! (Jan 11) is the earliest release of theirs I can find with an FCC rating.
Pioneer/Geneon themselves would continue to use the system until the very end. Even their Funimation-distributed titles (who tended to use FCC ratings) still carried the xUP badges
January 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Pioneer/Geneon themselves would continue to use the system until the very end. Even their Funimation-distributed titles (who tended to use FCC ratings) still carried the xUP badges
Similarly, Bandai appears to have used the system until they closed in 2012, many years after they split from Pioneer and switched to self-distribution.
January 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Similarly, Bandai appears to have used the system until they closed in 2012, many years after they split from Pioneer and switched to self-distribution.
As far as I can tell, CPM would continue to use the xUP system on all releases they distributed themselves until their closure in 2009, with the exception of the ones they outsourced to NuTech.
Their Image-distributed titles also lack the badge, but I believe all of those predate 1999
Their Image-distributed titles also lack the badge, but I believe all of those predate 1999
January 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM
As far as I can tell, CPM would continue to use the xUP system on all releases they distributed themselves until their closure in 2009, with the exception of the ones they outsourced to NuTech.
Their Image-distributed titles also lack the badge, but I believe all of those predate 1999
Their Image-distributed titles also lack the badge, but I believe all of those predate 1999
Viz was never super consistent in their use, and it appears they stopped entirely when they switched to Ventura Distribution in March 2003.
They’d later introduce an in-house system shared with their manga, but I’m unsure on an exact date.
They’d later introduce an in-house system shared with their manga, but I’m unsure on an exact date.
January 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Viz was never super consistent in their use, and it appears they stopped entirely when they switched to Ventura Distribution in March 2003.
They’d later introduce an in-house system shared with their manga, but I’m unsure on an exact date.
They’d later introduce an in-house system shared with their manga, but I’m unsure on an exact date.
Looking through Media Blaster’s releases, it appears they stopped using the xUP system for anime and switched to their own in-house rating badges for new titles around October 2004. Giant Robo V1 (10-26) is the earliest release I’m seeing.
January 11, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Looking through Media Blaster’s releases, it appears they stopped using the xUP system for anime and switched to their own in-house rating badges for new titles around October 2004. Giant Robo V1 (10-26) is the earliest release I’m seeing.
The argument could also be made that some late model VHS units were primarily designed for playback and not recording. Many of the ubiquitous Funai VHS/DVD combo units can’t even record in LP or EP mode (but can play back).
(Granted, Funai did advertise them as VCRs, so maybe my point here is moot)
(Granted, Funai did advertise them as VCRs, so maybe my point here is moot)
January 11, 2026 at 4:21 PM
The argument could also be made that some late model VHS units were primarily designed for playback and not recording. Many of the ubiquitous Funai VHS/DVD combo units can’t even record in LP or EP mode (but can play back).
(Granted, Funai did advertise them as VCRs, so maybe my point here is moot)
(Granted, Funai did advertise them as VCRs, so maybe my point here is moot)
Maybe I’m just missing something obvious (or maybe nobody cares), but this feels like a kind of important piece of history for the American anime industry that seems to have been all but forgotten outside of Aniplex (which is run by ex-Pioneer people, fittingly)
January 11, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Maybe I’m just missing something obvious (or maybe nobody cares), but this feels like a kind of important piece of history for the American anime industry that seems to have been all but forgotten outside of Aniplex (which is run by ex-Pioneer people, fittingly)
The weird part isn’t that Pioneer made a rating badge, it’s that everyone else also used it. Bandai and Viz kinda make sense, as Pioneer was their distributor at the time, but what convinced CPM and MB to sign on? And exactly when? And why did everyone eventually stop, switching to FCC ratings?
January 11, 2026 at 3:09 PM
The weird part isn’t that Pioneer made a rating badge, it’s that everyone else also used it. Bandai and Viz kinda make sense, as Pioneer was their distributor at the time, but what convinced CPM and MB to sign on? And exactly when? And why did everyone eventually stop, switching to FCC ratings?
The earliest examples of the badge I can see date to 1999 or so on Pioneer/Bandai releases, usually as a sticker. Within about 2 years, essentially everyone but ADV and AnimEigo were using them.
January 11, 2026 at 3:09 PM
The earliest examples of the badge I can see date to 1999 or so on Pioneer/Bandai releases, usually as a sticker. Within about 2 years, essentially everyone but ADV and AnimEigo were using them.
Does anyone know the story behind the ubiquitous “Suggested xUP” age rating badges that were all over anime for a decade or so? They appear to have originated at Pioneer, but everyone from Bandai to CPM to Media Blasters to Aniplex have used them at one point or another
January 11, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Does anyone know the story behind the ubiquitous “Suggested xUP” age rating badges that were all over anime for a decade or so? They appear to have originated at Pioneer, but everyone from Bandai to CPM to Media Blasters to Aniplex have used them at one point or another
Im sure there are more, but the only other ones that come to mind (that aren’t “real” movies) are The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (also recut into a series of movies) and Super Sonico: The Animation (but only as a sticker).
January 9, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Im sure there are more, but the only other ones that come to mind (that aren’t “real” movies) are The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (also recut into a series of movies) and Super Sonico: The Animation (but only as a sticker).
The cover for Karas is quite interesting to me, as it’s one of only a very small number of anime OVAs/TV series to have English dub credits on the cover (even if Manga did technically recut it into 2 films)
January 9, 2026 at 8:28 PM
The cover for Karas is quite interesting to me, as it’s one of only a very small number of anime OVAs/TV series to have English dub credits on the cover (even if Manga did technically recut it into 2 films)
Cockroaches was treated differently than essentially every other Streamline title. It’s the only subbed LD they ever did, and the 2nd edition (Dub) VHS wasn’t directly distributed by Orion like the rest of their later VHS releases, but instead sub-licensed to Fox Lorber under their Mondo Pop brand.
January 5, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Cockroaches was treated differently than essentially every other Streamline title. It’s the only subbed LD they ever did, and the 2nd edition (Dub) VHS wasn’t directly distributed by Orion like the rest of their later VHS releases, but instead sub-licensed to Fox Lorber under their Mondo Pop brand.
Just started capturing, it’s an odd mix of English and Japanese. Does look like it’s jumping around between scenes, unfortunately.
January 4, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Just started capturing, it’s an odd mix of English and Japanese. Does look like it’s jumping around between scenes, unfortunately.
Not all their WMT sets are English subbed, and in fact, it looks like the complete single box set release of Dog of Flanders drops them to save space. So make sure to double check the back of the box
www.yesasia.com/us/a-dog-of-...
www.yesasia.com/us/a-dog-of-...
January 4, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Not all their WMT sets are English subbed, and in fact, it looks like the complete single box set release of Dog of Flanders drops them to save space. So make sure to double check the back of the box
www.yesasia.com/us/a-dog-of-...
www.yesasia.com/us/a-dog-of-...
Fun fact:
Proware put The Dog of Flanders (and a few other WMT series) on full licensed, English-subbed DVD box sets in Taiwan in the early 2000s. The subs are better than you’d think, and these occasionally pop up on JP auction sites.
Proware put The Dog of Flanders (and a few other WMT series) on full licensed, English-subbed DVD box sets in Taiwan in the early 2000s. The subs are better than you’d think, and these occasionally pop up on JP auction sites.
January 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Fun fact:
Proware put The Dog of Flanders (and a few other WMT series) on full licensed, English-subbed DVD box sets in Taiwan in the early 2000s. The subs are better than you’d think, and these occasionally pop up on JP auction sites.
Proware put The Dog of Flanders (and a few other WMT series) on full licensed, English-subbed DVD box sets in Taiwan in the early 2000s. The subs are better than you’d think, and these occasionally pop up on JP auction sites.
Fresh off the slow boat from Japan, the tape has arrived! Need to run to an appointment this afternoon, so I haven’t chucked it in my VCR yet, but it does look like they’re dubbing entire scenes, at the very least.
(The suspense is killing me!)
(The suspense is killing me!)
January 4, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Fresh off the slow boat from Japan, the tape has arrived! Need to run to an appointment this afternoon, so I haven’t chucked it in my VCR yet, but it does look like they’re dubbing entire scenes, at the very least.
(The suspense is killing me!)
(The suspense is killing me!)
Random discovery of the now:
Apparently when Sony was working on the improved DVD upscaling tech for the PS3 that rolled out in 2007, reportedly the engineers’ target was to make the DVDs for the anime Air look as good as the BD release.
av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2007052...
Apparently when Sony was working on the improved DVD upscaling tech for the PS3 that rolled out in 2007, reportedly the engineers’ target was to make the DVDs for the anime Air look as good as the BD release.
av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2007052...
December 30, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Random discovery of the now:
Apparently when Sony was working on the improved DVD upscaling tech for the PS3 that rolled out in 2007, reportedly the engineers’ target was to make the DVDs for the anime Air look as good as the BD release.
av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2007052...
Apparently when Sony was working on the improved DVD upscaling tech for the PS3 that rolled out in 2007, reportedly the engineers’ target was to make the DVDs for the anime Air look as good as the BD release.
av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2007052...