This is a really nice set. Great audio, video, and subs. The problem is it's so goddamn boring. My buddies enjoyed it more than i did. Give it a shot if you're into slow-paced, early 90's anime based on japanese folk tales.

Well, like many people already said, it's an R1 rip, it even has the English audio (the voices suck btw) Packging: Nothing special, 3 dvd's in one case. I have no problem with the fact that it looks the same as the R1. The discs had some cool pictures in my opinion. Video: I don't think it was the same as the R1 because pixelation was noticeble. If this had been an R1 AoD would have killed it. It's not really bad but by no means R1 standard. Audio: Nothing wrong with it. There was a moment halfway through the series that the audio desynced from the video. This was only a little bit and for a couple of minutes. subs: They were perfect. I was very satisfied with this set. I may seem unsatisfied with the video but I'm really not. It's quite good, but just not up to R1 standards. The story was also very good in my opinion, but you gotta get through the first 2 episodes.

The animation in the show has its highs and its lows. Though you shouldn't buy an anime set just for animation but its story and the Hakkenden has a great story that flows nicely. The imagery at times can both be powerful and disturbing.

Even though I have the R1 I want to right something on the show, but no the technical aspects of the set, seeing as I don't have it. The show is set in ancient Japan, and involves the love between a dog and woman (you have been warned). There is no love scenes though so don't worry about that. For some reason the animation is incredibly detailed for one episode and then horrible the next. The best thing I could say is just pay attention to the plot. The plot is 3 dimensional and can become very confusing. However in the end it is a very nice series. I watched it after seeing Maison Ikkoku. It is a nice show to watch after a very long series.

Hakkenden is a 13 episode series. It's a very interesting set in old Japan but can get confusing. This DVD is obviously a direct rip of the Region 1 release. The box is even the same! Except it doesn't say the word "Pioneer" in the corner. And since it's rip, video, audio and subs are all good. Great buy. Many sets cram 13 episodes on 1 or 2 DVD, this one uses 3 and thus the quality does not suffer.

This is a such a ripoff of the Region 1 version. The box for this is even the same as the R1

Okay i'm gonna start formatting out my review now :) Video: R1 rip, no doubt about it. It looks very good, however there was quite a bit of grain on the film but that already has been reviewed on animeondvd.. Audio: R1 rip which includes both japanese and english tracks, sounded good to my 2 speaker setup. Subs: Rip of R1, quite good and understandable. Discs: Dunno, for the most part the 3 discs i have worked fine and without a glitch, however on my disc 2 about twice during one episode, windvd jamed up cause it could'nt read the disc, oh well Overall, good buy Ps: Is it just me or was episode 9 or 10 really crappy looking, as the person who drew the characters must've of been drunk as they were just *ugly* looking indeed