I see Amazon has two different studio releases of SAC Season 1, one by Anchor Bay and another by Studio Manga. The former is newer (just released in October) but it is also shorter. Is anyone familiar with this release?
shareHas no one purchased the first season on DVD?
shareI have the Manga one. It's awesome. I haven't seen the Anchor Bay one anywhere. Do you have a link to it?
sharehttp://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Shell-Season-1/dp/B001D265RQ
It was just released in October.
Wow okay that is confusing. I know the Anchor bay one says its shorter and it may be, but it says it contains 7 discs. The manga version I have contains 7 as well. I have seen amazon mess up dvd run times before. Another confusing thing is the Anchor Bay says the aspect ratio is 1.33:1 which means fullscreen, but if you look at the features on the top it says widescreen. Go figure.
The manga one I have has a metal collectors box that holds all the separate dvd's. That may account for why it is more expensive. You can get a better look at it here
http://cgi.ebay.com/GHOST-IN-THE-SHELL-SAC-COMPLETE-1ST-SEASON-METAL-BOX_W0QQitemZ180326254973QQihZ008QQcategoryZ617QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
I bet the Anchor Bay set has three dvd's with doubles in each and maybe a triple dvd holder in one to save cost.
I know the Anchor Bay set is a lot cheaper but you can purchase the manga one on Amazon brand new for as cheap as 37.00 here
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Shell-Complete-Season-Collection/dp/B000HIVQAS/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t
I have bought a few dvd's and books through Amazon like that and all have turned out fine and have been brand new. If you do that, just make sure you are buying from at least a 4 star rated seller.
You could also try and contact Anchor Bay through their website and ask. I found a contact page on their site. Maybe they can help. I had no idea they had US distribution rights to the show.
If you do get the Anchor Bay version please post back and let us know how that went especially for future buyers. Wish I could be more help. Good luck.