Apprentice3xvhsvcd,dvddub
apprenticeFrom days of long ago... Galen of Uxbridge, a young sorcerer in training comes to the door of Zima, a cunning sorceress eager for power, who's hell-bent on offering sacrifices to the Demon Bonglin. He's eager to learn, but when "Blinkie" the goat just won't do anymore, she offers HIM as a sacrifice. But, he won't go down without a fight. Features an original score by Vanilla Almond Creme.
Details
The Apprentice is circa 1998... "...[it's] cell animation across a rendered background, digitally colored and composited. It is blended seamlessly, with Lightwave digital effects abound. Overall, [it's] ... lots of fun, especially if you want to see just how far some computer equipment can take a fan. It's amazing how the work of just a few dedicated people can pretty much outclass 90% of the other animation produced in America."
Commentary
This title was made by animation fans, using classic themes found in traditional anime. I was very impressed by the animators' effort.
It's very short, but, it's a nice effort. The quality of the VCD version isn't so good, but, the VHS version is much better and the DVD version is even better.
I happened to pick up a compilation CD of work released by Sakura Soft. The compilation CD included a promotion for the Apprentice. Upon further investigation, I found out that the animators had been deceived by Sakura Soft and that they were not being paid for the CD. I felt compelled to support the artists and repurchased legitimate versions of their work directly from them.
Over the years, I've kept tabs on their work and it is getting better and better with the passage of time. I'll certainly continue to support their efforts in the future.
I used to have the Apprentice on VHS. I still have the Apprentice on VCD and I enjoyed this title so much that I decided to repurchase it twice on DVD. This is one of the few titles that I've repurchased four times.
The thumbnail is a modified version of the VCD cover art, which included both the Item and the Apprentice artwork. The VHS cover art was a small card inserted into the case.
There were two different DVD releases. The "Perfect Collection", a DVD-R release which is being phased out, contained both the Apprentice and the Item as well as the Evil at Tentacle High. The packaging on the first DVD release, left a bit to be desired.
In the second DVD release, "Magic and Monsters", the White Radish crew made significant advances in their packaging. The second release includes the Apprentice and the Item as well as Cutethulhu (sorry, the Evil at Tentacle High isn't included).