There is absolutely nothing wrong with this transfer.

Go and check the Amazon Japan page for it....all 2 or 3 star reviews. I translated it hoping it was just the high price or the 2.0 audio they were unhappy over....but no, they're kicking off good style about the transfer and the colour levels, saying the DVD looks better in terms of colour. From the shots I've seen, the lack of compression artefacting is a blessing....but I can see the red tint the Jap consumers are kicking off about. I caught the reviews early and sacked the pre-order of the import, I now have the UK optimum release on its way, should be here today. I'm hoping it is improved.

Will keep you informed.

Someone at AVSForum posted a BD vs DVDs comparison: www.avsforum.com

The print on this is everything I hoped for. Watched it all the way through and did not detect a single compression artifact. The quality of the hd master is also very high given the age of the animation with only minor flecks showing up (which is to be expected). Not dirt or major issues at all. The Japanese lossless audio is of great quality and the subtitles very good. The English dub is of noticeably lesser quality and despite being 5.1 sounds more like a tinny mono track. The Japanese track is definitely the way to go.

If this is an indication of the quality we can expect from Miyazaki's catalog titles I am very excited.

Now, which one is next

And for what it's worth I second the region free status. Tested on an Oppo BDP-83SE and anydvd.

The packaging on this is absolutely amazing. I wish they did the same for Ponyo. A pity they aren't they same to have the Ghibli collection looking uniform on the shelf, but damn this is nice. Can't wait to watch it when I get home from work to check the quality.

Got mine this morning. It's a region free BD50. Info coming up here:
forums.highdefdigest.com

Looks like these are on their way out. The currency conversion was most unkind though Oh well, it's a top film, here's hoping for a top transfer.

Dub schmub!
What I'm interested in is that YesAsia lists a commentary track by Hideaki Anno, Mr. Evangelion himself!!!
He was key animator on the final battle in Nausicaä, and has some great anecdotes. That final is now mostly in two colors during the big explosions, as stated by Hayao Miyazaki in his notes, but Hideaki Anno wanted to use more. For his efforts Anno got himself his first deaththreat in his career in anime, given to him by the big humanist himself: "Change my color-schemes and I will kill you!".

Any news about subs on the commentary? Pleaaaaaase!

It's a pity the audio is only 2ch, however it looks that the Japanese track is also only 2ch (that being said the original language track is an uncompressed lossless PCM track as opposed to the Dolby Digital English track). The purist in me is happy the original mix isn't being messed with, but I won't hide the fact I'm disappointed not to see a surround track.

The reason a surround mix wasn't created for the DVD was that the source materials don't exist for it (apparently there's only the mono M&E track to work with) and their attempts to synthesize one out of what they had proved unsatisfactory - Hong Kong film fans probably have a better-than-average idea of what it ended up sounding like. Under those circumstances it's best to simply not do it at all, ever. I wish that every studio was so reasonable - better yet, so responsible.

Also, I am overjoyed to see that the blue/white design is indeed the final artwork. A shame it's artwork that's just too awesome to ever make it to the US intact.

cdjapan is listing this as codefree. can we say it is confirmed though?

I haven't seen this reported anywhere else yet, but after much wrestling with Japanese (I do not speak, read or write it at all ) I found the following confirmation of what seems to be both the inclusion of a 2ch English audio track and English subtitles. It's a pity the audio is only 2ch, however it looks that the Japanese track is also only 2ch (that being said the original language track is an uncompressed lossless PCM track as opposed to the Dolby Digital English track). The purist in me is happy the original mix isn't being messed with, but I won't hide the fact I'm disappointed not to see a surround track.

Details are:

Approximately 116 minutes recording time

Japanese Audio (2.0ch / Linear PCM)
English / French / German / Korean / Cantonese / Mandarin (2.0ch / Dolby Digital)

Japanese subtitles Subtitles / English Subtitles / French Subtitles / Subtitles Korean / Mandarin (Traditional) subtitles

Color Image

Other specifications picturedisk, BD50, MPEG4 AVC, non-duplication

Widescreen 16:9 screen size 1920 × 1080 FULL HD

Production in 1984

Special Notes Package Specifications
- Inclusion Award - "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind GUIDE BOOK" mini-book edition reprint Save (size: 9cm × heaven right 6.5cm)

Source: wdshe.jp/ghibli/product/index.jsp?cid=240 (last tab)

Lots of languages there to keep most of the world happy.

Looks like I'll be keeping my Amazon.co.jp pre-order.

Damn I'm excited.

I've ordered this in the hope (like Ponyo) it has english subtitles. If it doesn't I can always cancel the order.

That cover is just THE SHIT. Absolutely awesome. I want that on a poster. Proof that cover art doesn't have to suck donkey balls. Also, hooray for NAUSICAA on Blu-ray; but damn that's a tight cover.

OOOOHHHHH
Please please have at least English subs! Interesting cover though.