C3PX said:
Perhaps it is just because you are so used to seeing the crystal clear, clean and bubbly, overly bright, wet & soapy 2004 versions?

If anything the DVDs are too dark and high contrast with botched colors, they are no way "overly bright". The restoration is actually great aside from the crushed blacks and whites and the color correction. The GOUT DVDs on the other hand, are grainer than any LD preservation...maybe it's just because they are sharper, maybe not. There is certainly some dupe grain on them.