My R1 set came in today (all hail Bandai!), so I gave it a first look. I did not see any differences so far, perhaps they start later (every difference that I have saved occurs later). The picture is crisper, and that's all. Scaling it down for the blog hurt DVD enough to make them the same.

For some reason, the shameful quality and weird computerized animation does not bother me as much as it did at the first pass. I'm quote enjoying the rewatch.

Notes:

• The third astronaut, Akane Miura, is in the very first scene of the show.
• I missed that Director referred to "waste of taxpayer money". For some reason I was certain that SSA was a private entity. It's the mythos of the New Space! I should've known. In Japan, IHI cannot even fly a methane engine on top of a ready-made 1st stage without the government money.
• LS-5 issues seem to be a plot hole. When the target weight of 40kg was calculated for Yasakawa, the payload capacity was known. Yukari is less than the requirement at 38kg. So, why is it necessary to experiment with the fuel? It just makes no sense to me.
• Another thing, how did the director know that Yukari was searching? If he eavesdropped, or the restaurant owner told him, the presence of Yukari in the room would not be a surprise.

I suspect problems in the adaptation. Books usually do not make mistakes of such sort.