Beast Tamer: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Beast Tamer: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Beast Tamer is an entertaining and light nature action-adventure comedy. Base on the light novel series as written by Suzu Miyama and featuring artwork and original character designs by Hotosoka, Beast Tamer was adapted into a manga series featuring illustrations by Moto Shigemura. The animation production by EMT Squared (I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear) is impressive and one of the forefront elements of the series. The theme song music is performed by MADKID (opening) and Marika Kōno (ending). Featuring voice-performances by Shōya Chiba, Azumi Waki, and Rumi Okubo.

Rein (Shōya Chiba) finds disappointment when he is rejected and banished from being a member of the hero Arios’ party. Rein finds the news distressing and is upset because he is expelled due to his limited abilities. Unlike some of the other heroes of the Arios party, Rein can only seem to form a contract directly with animals. Rein finds a new companion when he helps to save the life of Kanade (Azumi Waki), who is part of another tribe of animals – the cat spirit tribe. This unexpected alliance helps strengthen the abilities of Rein as he gains access to powers belonging to Kanade.

The epic journey becomes much more exciting as Rein finds himself with abilities usually only found in the different species. As Rein and Kanade venture forth together, the pair find themselves on a new mission and exploration. Rein begins to make contracts with a variety of other heroes and soon finds himself with more abilities than ever imagined – almost Kirby style!

As a result of the new abilities gained, Rein becomes far more powerful. As the power dynamics change, adventurer Rein surpasses Arios. A rivalry forms between the two sides. Who will emerge the victor? The journey is only just beginning.

The character designs by Shūhei Yamamoto (Between the Sky and Sea, Battle Girl High School) are an impressive part of the production. The designs by Yamamoto are well-done and add to the style. An impressive effort by the character designer and the main characters are certainly more distinct as a result.

The animation is impressive and one of the most worthwhile parts of the production. The series features art direction by Hiroto Murata (Tabi-Hani) and Kenichi Tajiri (The Comic Artist and His Assistants) and chief animation direction by Miyako Yatsu (Between the Sky and Sea, The Legend of the Legendary Heroes), Satomi Kurita (Peach Boy Riverside, Real Girl), Shūhei Yamamoto (Kakushigoto, Anime De Training! Ex), and Sonomi Sugimura (Fluffy Paradise, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear). The animation is an essential ingredient of the series and something that helps to bring the colorful and vibrant style of the series to life. The animators provide bright and colorful art work for the production and it has a style that feels light and airy.

The cinematography by Daigo Matsumoto (Strike Witches: Road to Berlin, Magical Girl Site) is a nice accompaniment to the series animation. Matsumoto is a talented cinematographer and someone gifted with showcasing the colorful photography and range of the animation. The series aesthetic is certainly well enhanced by the creative cinematography by Matsumoto and the visual flourishes provided.

The score composed by Arisa Okehazama (Jujutsu Kaisen, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist In Another World), Naoyuki Chikatani (UniteUp! -Uni:Birth-), and Yuki Hayashi (My Hero Academia, One Piece Film Gold) adds charm to the production. The score is an effective part of the series and it adds quality attributes to the series production and style. The score is a good background to the series fantastical elements.

Written by Takashi Aoshima (If Her Flag Breaks, Yuruyuri - Happy Go Lily), Beast Tamer is a series with an entertaining protagonist and the concept is well-done for fans seeking some laidback fun with the light anime series. The action- adventure elements also play a role in the writing. Aoshima does well with balancing character beats with the action.

Directed by Atsushi Nigorikawa (Between the Sky and Sea, Naruto Shippūden), Beast Tamer will appeal to anime fans seeking a charming and fun action-adventure with elements of slice-of-life, too. This is an effective part of the production. Beast Tamer is worth checking out for the engaging characters and a creative concept.

Beast Tamer: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Beast Tamer is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series has an impressive high-definition presentation with good clarity, color, and detail. The colorful animation highlighted on the series adds to the series sense of charm. The background animation and line art appear well reproduced on the release.

One of the strengths of the Blu-ray disc format is the superior encoding to streaming platforms. Streaming video services tend to provide video with lower-quality bit-rates. Even though some audiences might not pick out every detail differentiating between the physical format and digital presentation, there can be subtle improvements only seen on Blu-ray disc. This makes Blu-ray the preferred format for video enthusiasts seeking the best possible presentation quality.

Beast Tamer: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release also provides a third option with French Dolby TrueHD 2.0. The release capably reproduces the sound direction of Satoshi Motoyama (The Comic Artist and His Assistants, The Dawn of the Witch). The audio quality on the release is excellent and adds to the presentation. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score is well reproduced and adds to the series sense of charm and immersion. The English dub has a slightly more expansive surround sound track compared to the original Japanese language audio (with a 5.1 surround sound track compared to the 2.0 track on the original language version). Nonetheless, purists will prefer to experience the series with the original language audio.

One of the things that sets the Blu-ray format apart from streaming video services is that none of these platforms provide lossless audio quality. The Blu-ray disc format provides lossless audio encoding with higher bit-rates and better encoding. The lossless format allows for more detail and a more expansive soundstage. The improved audio quality is something that audiophiles cherish about the format. For audiences seeking the best possible option, the Blu-ray disc provides an improved audio experience.

Beast Tamer: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first print run of the release comes with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover is well designed and features unique key art that is different from the artwork highlighted underneath the slipcover. The effect creates a sense of "dual art" with additional illustrations showcasing the series animation and style. Fans of the series will especially appreciate the extra detail added to the quality packaging.

On disc extras include:

Promo Videos (HD, 3:41)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Crunchyroll dropped the ball with the supplementals. The release could have benefited by having a more robust supplemental package with audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast and crew interviews, photo galleries, and more. Unfortunately, the release offers next-to-nothing of any real substance and fans will find the average by-the-numbers extras to be underwhelming.

Beast Tamer: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beast Tamer is an entertaining action-adventure series with some interesting ideas at play. Based on a Japanese light novel series, the anime series has impressive animation and a good lead character. The series features beautiful animation and some creative elements.

The Blu-ray release provides an excellent high-definition video presentation and lossless audio encoding. The release also comes with an o-card slipcover with unique artwork (on the first pressing). The on-disc supplemental package is sparse, though – these supplements add little of value to the package. Fans of the series will want to consider picking up the series for their physical media collection – weighing the pros and cons of the release because of the lackluster supplementals.