As others have already pointed out, it does not include the original uncut episodes 1 + 2 as listed on most sites selling it and found on the Australian release. It does, however, include dual audio with good subtitles which is fantastic, but it doesn't say this on the box.
The opening and closing sequence is the Japanese version (no English credits), although you can pick Japanese or English audio as well as subtitles for the Japanese credits. I think this is a little strange, since it doesn't show anywhere the English voice talent. But it does mean the unusual closing credits get shown for Uran The Tomboy.
A lot of small sections of cut footage have been reintegrated back into the episodes, mostly short violent bits. Longer sections with dialogue that were never dubbed appear on the extras disc, but strangely it's missing several that appeared in the Madman DVDs extras.
Seek points on the DVDs aren't very good, you can start at the beginning of the opening credits or at the end of the opening credits. Anywhere else and you have to fast forward through the whole episode.
The episode titles are all in Japanese with subtitles, rather than the original broadcast which changed the Japanese lettering to English. The subtitles are a direct translation and do not match the episode titles on the DVD menus, cases or booklet.
Another strange thing is there is no CSS encryption on the discs whatsoever. Which means you can copy the DVDs without special software.
The packaging doesn't show the episodes on the outside of the DVD cases. You have to open each one up until you find the episode you want.
The booklet that comes with the boxset is identical to the one that comes with the Australian release.
As with every other release apart from the Manga VHS, there are no episode trailers that were in the original broadcast.
The picture quality is superior to the Madman release (of course, both are still fantastic). This is either due to the NTSC to PAL conversion on the Madman release, or the restoration by Manga, or it may be that Manga sourced their footage from the higher quality Japanese masters, considering the inclusion of Japanese audio and cut footage.
Madman Australian DVD screenshot (PAL):
Manga US DVD screenshot (NTSC):
The Manga screenshot looks sharp, and with colours more like the Japanese DVD encodes that used to be on the ED2K network.
I didn't study a lot of frames, but it looks like the Manga NTSC version has less ghosting across frames. However, on a PAL system the NTSC version looks worse due to resizing.
Overall I think this is a pretty good release, especially with the dual audio. It seems geared towards returning to the original Japanese version for an English audience. If they'd included the original first two episodes it would be nearly perfect. The price makes it excellent value.
