The final cuts are in, and the mixing can begin!
Earlier today, Funimation announced that they completed work on their English dub for Vision of Escaflowne. The company will offer the adaptation in 5.1 audio when the sets ship to customers this year.
In addition, Funimation revealed that they will include Bandai’s original English dub in all releases of the show. Previously, this was to be a Collector’s Edition exclusive, as the HD remaster includes new footage that didn’t appear in the original release. Upon closer inspection, all new scenes were contained in the show’s first seven episodes. As a result, Funimation will ship the show with two discs that include the first seven episodes of the show, one with the broadcast cut and one with the HD remaster. The remaining episodes will include both the original audio and Funimation’s redub on the same discs.
The company is currently evaluating extra features for the sets. The company was able to confirm that the “Club Escaflowne” featurettes will be included in the set.
Funimation’s Kickstarter to re-dub Vision of Escaflowne officially launched on February 27. In an interview with Anime News Network’s Zac Bertschy, Funimation brand manager Jennifer Fu explained the need for a new dub on the series:
So basically there was the original dub that came out and it’s based on SD materials that, as you’re aware, the director’s cut, the HD Japanese version that was released on Bluray more recently, has scenes that were not in the original materials that the original English dub was based on. So because of that it’s not possible for us to put the subtitled HD material which is what we’ve just received from Japan, on the same disc as the original dub, because otherwise it doesn’t line up correctly and there are some points where the dub just won’t have any dialogue or anything in it and it’d just be kind of strange.
Funimation noted that the $150,000 goal wouldn’t cover the full cost of a new English adaptation.
The campaign reached its goal on March 1, and passed its first stretch goal of $200,000 on March 10. The second stretch goal was hit earlier this week.
The campaign raised a total of $318,784 across 2,058 backers, with an average contribution of $154.90 per backer.
Funimation released packaging shots for the Kickstarter Edition (Standard), as well as both retail editions of the release. You can check these out below:
Source: Kickstarter
