Magical Girl Site: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Magical Girl Site: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Magical Girl Site is a dark and disturbing horror anime created by Kentarō Satō. The horror series features animation produced by studio doA (Is the order a rabbit?? Sing For You). Produced by Asami Komatsu, Gouta Aijima, Hiroshi Kamei, Kazuaki Takahashi, Kazuto Matsumura, Satoshi Kubota, Souri Nakazawa, and Yoshinori Takeeda, Magical Girl Site is the sort of series that can crawl under your skin.

Aya Asagiri (Yūko Ōno) doesn’t see a point to living anymore. Life seems so bleak and meaningless to her that she considers suicide as one of her only options. Committing suicide and leaving the world behind seems tantalizing to Aya.

Nonetheless, Aya’s morbid curiosity leads her to a strange website promising to turn ordinary girls in to superpowered heroes. Given a toy gun, Aya plays around with it only to find it kills. The toy gun isn’t just a toy. Now a dark power is discovered and Aya must use it to help track a magical girl serial killer who is terrorizing young girls with powers. Will her new mission to stop the serial killer save Aya’s life?

The central protagonist of the series goes through a difficult time in her life. The journey of Aya is one that some audiences will find highly relatable: the struggles of life. The character finds herself going a new direction and the twists and turns that follow offer plenty of surprises. The depth of the characterization is important to the series.

Animation director Hisashi Kawashima (Log Horizon, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax) and Sakae Shibuya (Kase-san and Morning Glories, Is the order a rabbit? BLOOM) brings out some great looking production merits. The series has beautiful animation and it certainly manages to be dark, disturbing, and compelling in equal measure. The series animation doesn’t fit in a cookie-cutter aesthetic as much as some series do. That’s not to say the series lacks some more upset scenes, considering the nature of anime. There are still elements to the series that aren’t as pitch-black. However, expect a more mature production on the whole.

The cinematography by Yūjirō Yamane (Bodacious Space Pirates, Log Horizon) enhances the tone of the production. The visuals are impressive and bleak (as needed). The animation certainly stands out with plenty of detail showcased in the production. Cinematographer Yamane handles the style quite well.

The original score by Keiji Inai (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan) adds something special to the production. The music fits the tone of the series and adds dark layers to the characters and the journey taken in the production. Inai provides the backdrop to the series – allowing the darkness to come forward through the music.

Written by Takayo Ikami (Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation, Dances with the Dragons), the screenwriter has a knack for darker material and showcased their craft with the Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation series. Magical Girl Site is another production to highlight darker storytelling. Exploring the psychological and outer elements of terror, Ikami focuses on the mind-trip of the series and what the genre can do.

Tadahito Matsubayashi (Tokyo Ghoul: Pinto, A Lull in the Sea) brings the unique tale to life as director. Matsubayashi pushes the series to a complex and dark arena. Magical Girl Site is a series showcasing different elements of horror genre tropes and the director brings a compelling aesthetic to the series. Horror fans will want to check it out especially. Magical Girl Site is a series that is a fine showcase for Matsubayashi’s talents as a director – and there is something to appreciate about that and the way it impacts the production and brings the series together for audiences.

Magical Girl Site: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Magical Girl Site is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.78: widescreen. The brooding animation style certainly is well highlighted by the encoding. The release has a strong video encode that capably handles the series and the animation. Sentai Filmworks provides a solid release that hits the right notes in the picture-quality arena.

Magical Girl Site: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The set does not provide an English dubbed option. The lossless Japanese audio option will satisfy viewers regardless as it has a strong audio encode and the presentation preserves detail in the music and soundtrack. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear on the release. The stereo sound imaging sounds quite pleasing. The English subtitles are good. Sentai Filmworks did a solid job with the audio presentation.

Magical Girl Site: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a selection of music videos and making-of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

“believe again” Music Video (HD, 4:08)

Making of “believe again” (HD, 10:19)

“Only Look at Me” Music Video (HD, 3:17)

Making of “Only Look at Me” (HD, 14:33)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Scum’s Wish (HD, 1:34), Revue Starlight (HD, 1:33), Dusk maiden of Amnesia (HD, 1:32), and Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time (HD, 1:34).

Magical Girl Site: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Magical Girl Site is a decidedly dark series and one that might disturb some audiences. Yet the animation is compelling and the production merits are high. The series has solid direction by Tadahito Matsubayashi (A Lull in the Sea). The Sentai Filmworks Blu-ray release has a strong video and audio presentation. The Bli-ray release even includes some bonus features (such as some music videos alongside making-of shorts). Fans will find the release well worth picking up. Recommended.