Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

It's all in the cards.

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is a crime-saga anime series produced by Atsushi Kirimoto (Flying Witch), Ayuri Taguchi (One Punch Man), Ryosuke Tanaka (Love is Like a Cocktail), and Toshiyuki Satoh (Real Girl). The series comes from acclaimed animation studio Madhouse (Black Lagoon, Cardcaptor Sakura). Produced by Atsushi Kirimoto (Gatchaman Crowds), Ayuri Taguchi (One Punch Man), Ryosuke Tanaka (Love is Like a Cocktail), and Toshiyuki Satoh (Real Girl), Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is a loan shark crime-saga.

Yukio Tonegawa (Toshiyuki Morikawa) is the second-in-command to a ruthless and corrupt boss leading the infamous Teiai Group towards a landscape of more corruption and greed. In charge of bringing the diabolical plans of his boss to life, Mr. Tonegawa enacts his “middle management blues” as he destroys everything that so many hold dear. Mr. Tonegawa ruins lives as he focuses on causing havoc with the defaulted borrowers. Things get out of hand as Mr. Tonegawa and the rest of his gang begin a “game of death” designed to please the big-boss. Will Mr. Tonegawa reign in the chaos or will things get out of hand?

The series is a bit over-the-top. Yukio Tonegawa (aka “Mr. Tonegawa”) is the central character of the series. The story follows the strange journey of the loan shark master as he dishes out chaos for the borrowers around him. As the central lead, it is a bit uneven to experience: the anime is less fun in focusing so much on a diabolical character like Mr. Tonegawa – though anti-heroes can work with certain productions, the results here are uneven and the character doesn't seem like the best fit that is available to lead an anime series. The character simply isn't “lead” material in some respects and yet they are nonetheless.

The series animation direction by Haruhito Takada (Monster Rancher, Saga of Tanya the Evil), Ik Hyun Eum (Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin), and Kil Yong Jang (Hellsing Ultimate, Hunter x Hunter) is reasonably effective for the production. The animation isn't great or ambitious – it is merely average in most respects – but it is also serviceable in a way that doesn't manage to inspire much fault. The animation lacks the kind of creativity and finesse found in more elaborate productions. Nonetheless, the effort isn't a total waste.

The loan shark expert, Mr. Tonegawa himself.

The character designs by Haruhito Takada (One Outs, Gakuen Basara: Samurai High School) are reasonably effective. Though the production seems lacking (to some degree) – in regards to the completed animation (which especially seems modest with regards to background artwork), the character designs are memorable enough to at least make some semblance of an impression.

The cinematography by Hironobu Hatanaka (Ace of Diamond, Hunter x Hunter) is nothing to write home about, either. The visual aesthetic is often underwhelming. The colors look somewhat muted. Everything lacks the kind of finesse one would hope to find in an anime series. The art-work simply seems bland and uninspired and the lighting isn't that effective. There simply isn't anything that special about it.

Written by Mitsutaka Hirota (Hunter x Hunter, Rent-A-Girlfriend), Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is not too exciting or relevant. The series has average scripts surrounding a loan shark underworld which is less thrilling than some might hope to discover. The storytelling isn't that exciting. The script could have been better with a more Scorsese-like approach to the loan-shark style of life and underworld. Instead, Hirota makes the storytelling feel stagnant and uninspired. There isn't much to get excited about regarding Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues.

Directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi (Hayate the Combat Butler, OniAi), Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is mediocre on the whole – that is simply how it goes. Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is underwhelming. The filmmaking doesn't even stand out from the crowd. There could be so many improvements made. The end results aren't thrilling.

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition. Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is not the greatest looking anime presentation around. In fact, that seems like an understatement. Colors are mediocre. The line detail is average-at-best. The picture-quality still seems mundane. Encoding is acceptable – nothing too exciting.

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options for viewers to choose from: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless, high-resolution audio on the presentation is acceptable even if never as dynamic as some 5.1 surround sound presentations manage to be. Nonetheless, dialogue is crisp and easy to understand. The music score is well implemented in to the mix.

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 11:33)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:04)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Book of Bantorra (HD, 1:34), Cutie Honey Universe (HD, 1:33), My Teen Romantic Comedy – SNAFU (HD, 1:32), and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? - Arrow of the Orion (HD, 1:03).

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues is a average-at-best anime series. The storytelling is nothing too exciting. The series is decent in some regards but it simply lacks the creative spark necessary to be something more. As a crime-saga exploring the underbelly of loan sharks, anime fans who appreciate the genre might find it worth checking out. Nonetheless, Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues doesn't resonate as well as one would hope for. Yukio Tonegawa is only a decent leading character. Everything about the production could be better – and the results are simply far too average most of the time. The Blu-ray has a average video presentation, good audio, and a lackluster supplemental package. RENT IT.