Yeah, Funimation this year hasn't really been on the ball, but they have a bunch of older titles from the Geneon catalog (Lain, Tenchi, etc) set to be released soon, so that is something to look forward to. Otherwise, I agree with Monkey that Discotek is your company. They've been releasing some good older stuff that deserves more love then it gets.
Honestly, I had never heard of Discotek until last year when it was announced they'd be releasing the first series of Lupin the 3rd in the United States (which I'll be getting). I was even suggested a while ago to ask them for older anime releases so I sent them a message suggesting they acquire the right to the original Kinnikuman series, because I understand that show is very old (late 70's to mid 80's I believe).
The original series ran from 1983-1986 to be exact with a sequel series that ran from 1991-1992 and then there's Kinnikuman Nisei (Ultimate Muscle) which i'll get into below.
Quote:
The thing it thought with shows like Ultimate Muscle and Shaman King they are older, but are still modern looking enough in my opinion to be given a proper and uncut dub. While I can understand the faults of animation for Shaman King to a certain degree (I still think it looks great, but some fight scenes re-used clips from earlier episodes) I don't believe that could be said for Ultimate Muscle. UM had fantastic animation and is a classic fighting Shonen series that I believe can compete with shows like DBZ.
A new dub for Muscle may not be a good idea because the anime itself is just not that good. The show actually bombed in Japan during it's run over there for not being as good as the original 80s show was and got cancelled after 51 episodes. When 4Kids picked it up in 2002, their dub actually was a success here and it did so well that they got Toei to produce a second season a year later and they did with episodes 52-77 which aired exclusively for western markets (before eventually airing in Japan afterwards as two separate seasons with 52-64 in 2004 & 65-77 in 2006) and this was something that at the time Toei hadn't done since the successes of Voltron in the 80s (see episodes 53-72 of the Lion Force episodes & the Fleet Of Doom special) & Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in the 90s (see Zyuranger 2).
To get to the point, i would much rather see Ultimate Muscle get the Samurai Pizza Cats treatment (dub & sub released in separate sets) because despite the dub being done by 4Kids, this was one of the few that they did right and this release model has done well for companies in the past (see Media Blasters' Teknoman & Voltron sets for recent examples) plus it pleases both sides and would also give fans of the dub the complete release they never got when 4Kids dropped the singles after releasing only one volume.
While I don't know a lot about the original Kinnikuman I'm still very interested in it. That's why I'd like some sort of release over here in the states, even if it's just a subbed set.
As for Ultimate Muscle though, I do agree that the 4kids dub was well done, but it's just their small edits that bothered me. I'd buy any set released for it, subbed, dubbed, both, etc. I'm sorry if I'm getting off track with the subject at hand, but I was aware of the fact the series bombed in Japan and that it's popularity was mostly in the states. If ever given the option to buy a actual set for Ultimate Muscle's dub I will, even if it's the 4kids dub. But it wouldn't hurt at all if the series were ever picked up again for another dub.
P.S. - Thanks for the example of the Samurai Pizza Cats treatment, I would have never thought of that.
Well first I have to say I don't feel the same way, at all.
Sure I love a lot of older series, like DB, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell etc.
But newer series like Seikon no Qwaser, and the current long-running shonen are great too.
Really I'm just an anime fan in general.
Anyway, your problem: I doubt you like the newer material because its new. It's just that nothing similar to the old shows you like pop up at you. I suggest looking for them.
From what I can see you like shonen. With the exception of Toriko the current shonen series are good.
___________________________________________
Currently watching: Berserk, Fairy Tail, Bleach, Naruto Shippuden, One Piece, Ghost in the Shell, Yugioh: Zexal, Yugioh GX, Gun X Sword
Anyway, your problem: I doubt you like the newer material because its new. It's just that nothing similar to the old shows you like pop up at you. I suggest looking for them.
I have the same problem. I pass at a lot of the new shows because they tend to follow newer tropes that I'm just not a fan of. Actually it's the same problem I have with books. When I watch Zoids: Chaotic Century and then check out some newer anime I just don't find anything similar enough. I compare to some degree but then I really don't want to watch a show that I'm not interested in or can't get "the fan on."
I feel this way about anime in general though I'm not sure if it's just because I'm getting older or not.
I do not have the sophistication and rabid exposure to it that many people seem to get possessed by. Having said that, I've watched a few over the years and I find pre 2000ish anime -APPEARS- to have certain defining traits that differ from modern trends. I may be completely backwards here, and I'm sure I'll be told all about it, but here goes:
Older anime seems to have a wider variety in character models. I notice much of today's anime looks like it's all be done by the exact same team from series to series. Same type of shading, same type of backgrounds clearly drawing heavy influence from actual places etc etc.
Older anime also tends to have a wider variety of scenarios. One of my chief distastes for modern anime comes from the fact that 3 out for 4 new series is another variation of "Kid in goofy sailor suit has mysterious adventures, 90% of which will take place in school hallways." Like I admitted earlier, I'm getting older, so maybe it's just that I can no longer relate to that. But even as a kid myself in the 80's and 90s I was into a wide variety of themes. If you've seen one school kid deal with spirits or aliens etc, you've seen them all.
Older anime seems to have been a little more risque in theme and aesthetic without making the leap into hentai territory. This definitely shows the naivete of the kid I once was as every teenager thinks lots of swearing and nudity and cigarettes means "mature". Still, there was a certain cultural grittiness to movies and shows that seems to be lacking today.
The quality of the animation, in terms of character movement, was much higher. It seems like the budget for modern anime is spent on a "still life" style aesthetic. There are some very beautiful scenes in modern series but they are almost always static with just a camera pan to give the illusion of motion. The budget in years gone by seems to have been expended more on the action sequences and, given my choice, I'd take dynamics over aesthetics any day.
I suppose this last point is certainly a sign of my age, but I miss the dystopic tech society theme. I know it was done to death, but I've come to miss it. Every other anime seemed to be channeling blade runner in some fashion and it made for some unforgettable scenes. Animation has always been most appealing to me when is takes on locations and themes that are hard, if not outright impossible to do in live action cinema. So to watch a bunch of kids having a conversation at the cafeteria in school show after show after show is mind numbingly boring.
So many factors to consider when having this type of discussion from age, to theme exposure, to what may be lost in translation given that many of the western world's favorite shows were actually not very successful in Japan.
@JaiGaru: I think you and me are gonna be good friends. RETRO ANIME FTW!!!!
But yes I agree with near everything you said, Older anime at least attempted to be more diverse in its style, each show tried to have a certain flare to it you don't see quite as often in modern shows, charcters were (arguably) somewhat less generic, and the overall feel of the shows was more inviting, balanced, and as you mentioned the "mature" themes actually attempted to be so and weren't just thrown in for the sole purpose of pandering. And yeah, I too miss the sci-fi heavy anime we saw from around the 70's-early 00's.
Heck, give me Big-O, Gundam, Eva, Dirty Pair,Outlaw Star, Trigun etc over 3/4 of Modern anime any day!
I say its high time we Sci-fi & Fantasy nerds wrangled the Anime reigns back from those naughty Otaku! XD.
I recently went on a kick of older series, picked up Project A-ko, Outlanders, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Wild Cardz, Arcade Gamer Fubuki, and AlienNine all for less then 50$, so no I wouldn't say liking older series is a disadvantage. You meet all types of anime fans out there, some haven't looked past the long running series like Bleach and Naruto, some have never seen a show that hasn't aired on cable, but it's always going to be harder to find people who know about lessor known series.
Also there isn't a limited library, just browsing on Amazon will net you a ton of older anime series, while you don't see many older series getting licensed these days you can still find a huge backlog of DVDs and VHS.
@Stock: Agreed Amazon & Righstuff are both great places to pick up older titles, God bless em! Also as long as we have companies like Discotek & Nozomi were sure to still get some retro/classic anime stateside, and of course Funi still grabs an older title from time to time.
Although I guess to break topic a bit to be fair, obviously I don't think anyone here thinks ALL modern anime is bad, we all know thats not true, theres still great works out there, Madaoka, Tatami Galaxy, etc. But it does seem with the vast quantity of anime made these days, most of the gems can easily get buried in all the dirt & garbage. But thats arguably true of media throughout history I guess, its just more prominent these days as there is arguably much more media then before, an anime overload if you will, its harder to find that Diamond in the ruff then it was back in the 80's/90's, at least IMO any who.
But ahh back on topic. Yeah I would deffinantly suggest most of Disotek & Nozomi/Rightsuff's library of retro titles, even the blatantly/obviously bad stuff *like Madbull 34* can be pretty fun XD
And again I personally would recommend Big-O Dirty Pair, and Tenchi Universe to pretty much everyone.
I had a long well written post that got lost because the forums fugged up on me.
But yeah, in short. heres hoping more old shows pop up over time.
All Will Know The Wonder Of My Dark & Jewled Sky, When All The World Is Wrapped In An Eternal Lullabye.
The original series ran from 1983-1986 to be exact with a sequel series that ran from 1991-1992 and then there's Kinnikuman Nisei (Ultimate Muscle) which i'll get into below.
A new dub for Muscle may not be a good idea because the anime itself is just not that good. The show actually bombed in Japan during it's run over there for not being as good as the original 80s show was and got cancelled after 51 episodes. When 4Kids picked it up in 2002, their dub actually was a success here and it did so well that they got Toei to produce a second season a year later and they did with episodes 52-77 which aired exclusively for western markets (before eventually airing in Japan afterwards as two separate seasons with 52-64 in 2004 & 65-77 in 2006) and this was something that at the time Toei hadn't done since the successes of Voltron in the 80s (see episodes 53-72 of the Lion Force episodes & the Fleet Of Doom special) & Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in the 90s (see Zyuranger 2).
To get to the point, i would much rather see Ultimate Muscle get the Samurai Pizza Cats treatment (dub & sub released in separate sets) because despite the dub being done by 4Kids, this was one of the few that they did right and this release model has done well for companies in the past (see Media Blasters' Teknoman & Voltron sets for recent examples) plus it pleases both sides and would also give fans of the dub the complete release they never got when 4Kids dropped the singles after releasing only one volume.
no, not at all. i've just recently really gotten into anime myself and i'm finding that i've got a love for both new and older series of shows.
@NJ_
While I don't know a lot about the original Kinnikuman I'm still very interested in it. That's why I'd like some sort of release over here in the states, even if it's just a subbed set.
As for Ultimate Muscle though, I do agree that the 4kids dub was well done, but it's just their small edits that bothered me. I'd buy any set released for it, subbed, dubbed, both, etc. I'm sorry if I'm getting off track with the subject at hand, but I was aware of the fact the series bombed in Japan and that it's popularity was mostly in the states. If ever given the option to buy a actual set for Ultimate Muscle's dub I will, even if it's the 4kids dub. But it wouldn't hurt at all if the series were ever picked up again for another dub.
P.S. - Thanks for the example of the Samurai Pizza Cats treatment, I would have never thought of that.
Well first I have to say I don't feel the same way, at all.
Sure I love a lot of older series, like DB, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell etc.
But newer series like Seikon no Qwaser, and the current long-running shonen are great too.
Really I'm just an anime fan in general.
Anyway, your problem: I doubt you like the newer material because its new. It's just that nothing similar to the old shows you like pop up at you. I suggest looking for them.
From what I can see you like shonen. With the exception of Toriko the current shonen series are good.
Currently watching: Berserk, Fairy Tail, Bleach, Naruto Shippuden, One Piece, Ghost in the Shell, Yugioh: Zexal, Yugioh GX, Gun X Sword
Currently playing: Final Fantasy IX
I have the same problem. I pass at a lot of the new shows because they tend to follow newer tropes that I'm just not a fan of. Actually it's the same problem I have with books. When I watch Zoids: Chaotic Century and then check out some newer anime I just don't find anything similar enough. I compare to some degree but then I really don't want to watch a show that I'm not interested in or can't get "the fan on."
I feel this way about anime in general though I'm not sure if it's just because I'm getting older or not.
I do not have the sophistication and rabid exposure to it that many people seem to get possessed by. Having said that, I've watched a few over the years and I find pre 2000ish anime -APPEARS- to have certain defining traits that differ from modern trends. I may be completely backwards here, and I'm sure I'll be told all about it, but here goes:
So many factors to consider when having this type of discussion from age, to theme exposure, to what may be lost in translation given that many of the western world's favorite shows were actually not very successful in Japan.
But there it is.
@JaiGaru: I think you and me are gonna be good friends.
RETRO ANIME FTW!!!! 
But yes I agree with near everything you said, Older anime at least attempted to be more diverse in its style, each show tried to have a certain flare to it you don't see quite as often in modern shows, charcters were (arguably) somewhat less generic, and the overall feel of the shows was more inviting, balanced, and as you mentioned the "mature" themes actually attempted to be so and weren't just thrown in for the sole purpose of pandering. And yeah, I too miss the sci-fi heavy anime we saw from around the 70's-early 00's.
Heck, give me Big-O, Gundam, Eva, Dirty Pair,Outlaw Star, Trigun etc over 3/4 of Modern anime any day!
I say its high time we Sci-fi & Fantasy nerds wrangled the Anime reigns back from those naughty Otaku! XD.
All Will Know The Wonder Of My Dark & Jewled Sky, When All The World Is Wrapped In An Eternal Lullabye.
I recently went on a kick of older series, picked up Project A-ko, Outlanders, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Wild Cardz, Arcade Gamer Fubuki, and AlienNine all for less then 50$, so no I wouldn't say liking older series is a disadvantage. You meet all types of anime fans out there, some haven't looked past the long running series like Bleach and Naruto, some have never seen a show that hasn't aired on cable, but it's always going to be harder to find people who know about lessor known series.
Also there isn't a limited library, just browsing on Amazon will net you a ton of older anime series, while you don't see many older series getting licensed these days you can still find a huge backlog of DVDs and VHS.
@Stock: Agreed Amazon & Righstuff are both great places to pick up older titles, God bless em! Also as long as we have companies like Discotek & Nozomi were sure to still get some retro/classic anime stateside, and of course Funi still grabs an older title from time to time.
Although I guess to break topic a bit to be fair, obviously I don't think anyone here thinks ALL modern anime is bad, we all know thats not true, theres still great works out there, Madaoka, Tatami Galaxy, etc. But it does seem with the vast quantity of anime made these days, most of the gems can easily get buried in all the dirt & garbage. But thats arguably true of media throughout history I guess, its just more prominent these days as there is arguably much more media then before, an anime overload if you will, its harder to find that Diamond in the ruff then it was back in the 80's/90's, at least IMO any who.
But ahh back on topic. Yeah I would deffinantly suggest most of Disotek & Nozomi/Rightsuff's library of retro titles, even the blatantly/obviously bad stuff *like Madbull 34* can be pretty fun XD
And again I personally would recommend Big-O Dirty Pair, and Tenchi Universe to pretty much everyone.
All Will Know The Wonder Of My Dark & Jewled Sky, When All The World Is Wrapped In An Eternal Lullabye.