In a Q&A on the anime project’s Kickstarter page, the creators of Under the Dog address the question of just why that is the name of their upcoming anime film. Here’s what they had to say:
The phrase “under the dog” comes from GREAT3’s song “Under the Dog” with a line that says “Why don’t you sleep under the dog if you are so sad” for which the meaning is trying to convey (in translation) the definition we had placed on our KS page: “when one is in a situation so disagreeable that they would wish to rather be “under the dog,” a place of dishonor, misery, and filth, in order to escape their current state of affairs.” While the meaning for “underdog” can still apply to the situations the characters will find themselves in, the original meaning comes from very specific elements that are not necessarily tied to “underdog.”
Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell are cited as the primary inspirations for Under the Dog. When the anime film is released, this is what you can expect to find, in terms of video/audio specifications:
- One 24 minute OVA (potentially up to 3 OVAs OR a feature length film with stretch goals)
- Japanese Voice-Over Professional
- English subtitles (soft-sub / separate track)
- German subtitles (soft-sub / separate track)
- Commentary from the creative team and VO cast
- Digital files DRM free, distributed by secure download link
- Video will be in .mov at 1080p
- Audio will be in stereo .wav (48KHz/24bit) and is recorded at 48KHz/24bit
- 2.0 channel stereo and 5.1 surround sound
- Blu-ray/DVD Region-code Free
At this point, the plan is to attempt a release of the first Under the Dog film by mid-2015, although the creative team has understandably not committed to a launch window yet.
