Photon: The Idiot Adventures Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Photon: The Idiot Adventures Blu-ray Movie Review

Photon: The Idiot Adventures is a comedic science-fiction action anime classic. Created by Masaki Kajishima, Photon: The Idiot Adventures features original character designs by Masaki Kajishima. Featuring animation production by AIC (Vampire Princess Miyu, Tenchi Universe). Produced by Hiroaki Inoue (Memories, Perfect Blue), Koji Shimana (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Girl from Phantasia), Masaki Sawanobori (Ninja Scroll, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna), and Yasuo Hasegawa (Armitage III: Poly-Matrix, Tenchi in Tokyo). Featuring the voices of Junko Takeuchi, Yui Horie, and Yumi Kuroda.

The planet has become devastated by total disaster. The land is now barren and it has become a desert wasteland. Photon (Junko Takeuchi) is an average boy in some respects but he also has incredible strength and an enduring sense of determination to do well. Photon sets off on numerous adventures. Photon eventually discovers fragments of a crashed spaceship, too.

Before long, Photon finds himself experiencing more than he bargained for – an evil emperor, the henchmen, alien cheerleaders, and other unexpected encounters. Photon also finds himself soon marrying the rebel Keyne (Yumi Kuroda), a pilot on the run and tossed into the same intergalactic adventures. Can Photon and Keyne survive and continue their adventures together?

The character designs by Shinya Takahashi (Kurogane Communication, Shadow) are well done. The designs add a lot to the series. The aesthetic of the character designs is superb. Each of the characters plays a nice role in the storytelling.

The animation is beautiful and one of the most robust qualities of the production. The series features art direction by Toshihisa Koyama (Pilot Candidate, Outlaw Star). The art style is extremely stunning. The hand-drawn animation makes a bold impression. The animation style is also highlighted by chief animation director Shinya Takahashi (Armitage III: Poly-Matrix, Darkside Blues).

Featuring a score composed by Haruhiko Nishioka, Photon: The Idiot Adventures is a beautiful score. The music plays a big role in the anime. The music is wonderful and something that provides so much great wonder to the storytelling.

Written by Yōsuke Kuroda (Trigun, My Hero Academia), Photon: The Idiot Adventures is well- written. The characters are given moments to shine. The dialogue is well-done. The writing creates fun storytelling and adds to the production in spades.

Directed by Koji Masunari (Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, Saber Marionette R), Photon: The Idiot Adventures is a compelling anime classic. Fans of old-school anime adventures will delight. The enormous creativity of the production is something special. Photon: The Idiot Adventures is fun throughout and there is a lot of joy in the classic anime. Director Masunari made something special with Photon: The Idiot Adventures.

Photon: The Idiot Adventures Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Photon: The Idiot Adventures is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The high-definition presentation is engaging and provides a pleasing transfer of the anime series. The animation is certainly well reproduced on the release. Discotek Media provides solid encoding of the series.

Photon: The Idiot Adventures Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English uncompressed PCM 2.0 and Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding capably provides a quality presentation. The sound direction by Kazuya Tanaka (Ninja Girl & Samurai Master, Kamisama Kiss) is wonderful. The English subtitles are well-done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

Photon: The Idiot Adventures Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover features compelling artwork. The slipcover is well-printed and showcases the nice collectable quality of the work of Discotek Media. A wonderful effort with regards to the collectable packaging.

There are no on disc supplements.

Photon: The Idiot Adventures Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Photon: The Idiot Adventures is a charming and delightful old-school anime. The Photon: The Idiot Adventures anime series features creative animation and fun storytelling. A classic adventure for genre fans.

The Blu-ray release provides a quality high-definition presentation and lossless audio. The first print run also includes a nice o-card slipcover. Recommended.