A lot of stuff just goes to disc without any menus compressed to hell and they don’t even dub most shows. Japanese releases except for the fact they almost never have dubs or subtitles are always superior on compression and quality.
The problem is far too many upscale old composite or component videotape and even if they made the effort to scan a negative at 4k or higher they hit it with DNR. And Q-Tec always filters releases scrubbed grain they even got a newish AI process that was used on Macross do you remember love. I even said what was the point of a 5k scan just to do what they did sharpen the image and degrain it.
I’m quite tired of them doing these film grain noise busting, it’s usually bad when they manage grain.
It was also done on Space Battleship Yamato to bring it into 4K for the 1977 film and for Farewell to Yamato from 78. You know there is a problem when the 4K has better color definition, but the blu-ray has more detail and filmgrain.
It has even happened with Akira.
Never mind they used a digital source for Ghost in the Shell a filmout tape and hit it with DNR. Why didn’t they just scan the interpositive used to make release prints. Sure, its further down than the filmout tape but its looks more organic.
Its revisionism.
Even when they do it right like with the Tenchi Muyo OVA or some older HD scans that scan never gets updated and its becomes the only master for decades in some cases like with Bubblegum Crisis which will probably never get a new 4K scan.
You even have Funi be the only ones to bother to do scans of Dragon Ball from film 16mm in fact in the level sets and then stop. Toei is a huge issue they just remaster old tapes. I’ve been asking for years where the HD scans for Transformers season 1 and 2 for instance, why can’t Toei and Sony BMI resolve their differences or whatever Hasbro has to do to get new masters made. Rhino had workprint 35mm negatives and somehow or another they’ve been lost since.
There is DNR on Sunrise shows like Outlaw Star and Dirty Fair but for the most part it’s not ruinous. Nor is it on Cowboy Bebop, though I would prefer none at all was applied.