Video:

The first thing ill say, is this is not an EZ/FX rip its an original MAC master, they even use a different recording ratio, and different menus on most of the discs. Having watched the first few volumes of the Region 1 release, and a bit of the FX release I might say im slightly disappointed. The video is definately watchable, and better than some of there sets, (Like Yu Yu Hakusho and there original Cowboy Bebop release) but I still find the obvious compression all the time watching it on the computer, while its not as bad on a tv its still noticable. Fact is Inuyasha is a newer tv series, and very action oriented, 9 episodes a disc is fine for an older series, but with all the action and vivid colors in Inuyasha its just a bit much, especially consitering these are single layer discs. This set contains episodes 1-54 across 6 discs, which is the same amount of episodes you get on EZ/FX sets 1,2 and 3, but it contains 1-54 across 9 discs. Overall the video isnt bad, a reminisant of some of the first generation FX sets. EDIT: I dropped the score for this after watchting the EZ/FX sets extensively, it just doesnt compair.

Audio:

English 5.1 or Japanese 5.1, although im not a big fan of the dub, I guess its decent and both tracks seem to be recorded well. My only gripe is the inconsistancy of volume levels, as it changes every 3 episodes. Also I dont like the fact that the volume is recorded very low, I had to crank my tv 3/4 to max just to hear it at an average volume level.

Subtitle:

Yeah ill give MAC credit for copying Viz's subtitles, but im still deducting half a star just because Viz's subtitles suck. Yeah I can understand why they simplified the translations in the dub, but did they really have to do it in the sub to? Inuyasha's famous attack Kaze no Kizu, becomes "Wind breaker", his other famous attack Bakuryuuha becomes "Backlash wave." If that wasnt bad enough they refer to Kikyo and Kagome as "Priestesses". Fact are they are Mikos, Miko, directly translated into English means Shrine Maiden, not priestess. I could go on, but I dont want to bore you, and im sure you get the point. If you dont mind over americanized subs I guess there ok, but having watced the entire series in fansub previously, all these script simplifications just annoy me. When Viz translated Ranma 1/2, despite the simplified dub they kept the subtitle track true to its roots, why they didnt do the same with Inuyasha we may never know. This set is listed as containing Chinese subtitles, it even says so on the back of the box, but I couldnt find any.

Comment:

This set has taken a back seat, most people seem only interested in the EZ/FX releases. MAC has not mentioned, or even hinted at releasing another perfect collection, but the good thing is the episode ratio matches up with the EZ sets, and buying this will save you a little money over buying the first 3 Inuyasha boxes. Yeah the video quality isnt quite as good, but the box alot nicer its a very pretty gatefold, the art presented on a box is a mix of the R1 and R2 Dvds. Regardless of the flaws I still think its a decent purchase, but unless your strapped for cash, or just care about box art more than video quality I suggest skipping it and just getting the EZ/FX releases. The only thing this MAC set has going for it over the first 3 EZ/FX sets is a nicer box art and a slightly lower price.

Video:

This set consists of 6 DVDs, each containing 9 eps (54 eps in total.) R1 ripped and uncut, with English text credits. Picture quality is really good throughout, a little jerky on panning shots and there is some graininess when there is a lot of action (no macroblocking). Other than that it looks really nice, with vivid colours, sharp picture. Only once (on disc three) did I see some blocky artifacts (for a split second during a recap bit), but that might've been my player acting up!

Audio:

The usual English and Japanese audio tracks - I listened to the English dub throughout and just checked out the Japanese one for a brief time(I'll watch the whole thing subbed in the future!) I thought the dub was really well done - just one problem was that the volume seemed to change between some episodes. Not during an episode - thank goodness! It might've been because the R1s were mastered at different volume levels - just a slight annoyance. At least the audio in clear and in sync!

Subtitle:

I can't really comment on the subs - except there isn't a separate track for just the song lyrics. My player liked to default to playing the subs, which I had to switch off, so they are there. Just one English sub track - most likely from the R1 discs.

Comment:

No extras... not a single one on any of the 6 DVDs. I'd only seen the first ep on fansub before getting this, but this seemed like such great value that I just had to try it. And I'm not disappointed! Even though there are so many eps, I was hooked all the way through all 54 episodes. Great animation, music, characters - lots of action, full of funny moments and very dramatic - it's got everything (only downer is the excessive recap bits - not good if you're marathoning the show!) AND there's still over a hundred more eps to come... I've got the movies on order - buy this set!