Reincarnated as a Sword: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Reincarnated as a Sword: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reincarnated as a Sword is an action-adventure anime. The series features animation produced by C2C (Wandering Witch - The Journey of Elaina, Shangri-La Frontier). Created by Yuu Tanaka, Reincarnated as a Sword is full of sword-play action. The series features original character designs by LLO. The series has theme music performed by Kishida Kyōdan & The Akeboshi Rockets (OP) and Maon Kurosaki (ED). With voice performances by Ai Kakuma and Shinichiro Miki, Reincarnated as a Sword is aimed squarely at the action-block crowd.

Fran (Ai Kakuma) is a cat-girl living in a strange and otherworldly fantasy world. Fran is a former slave and as a cat girl having a bevy of special abilities, she encounters more strange realities than she ever first expected. Fran has a lot on her plate as she learns the ways of living life on the edge.

Fran is joined by Master (Shinichiro Miki), a former adventurer who now finds himself reincarnated as a magic sword with a sharp blade. The gigantic blade is now the home to his entire being. What is an ex-slave cat-girl and god-in-a-blade adventurer to do together? The two unlikely allies pair up to take on demon monsters and slay for the adventure of a lifetime. Meow-scratch, it’s cutting time!

The series has a decent protagonist with Fran. The cat-girl aspect of the series isn’t groundbreaking by any means. Cat-girl anime series might seem like a dime-a-dozen at times. Yet the character has a fun personality that will appeal to some audiences. The upbeat persona of Fran is one that keeps the production going. The heroic nature of Master is compelling for an action series, too.

The character designs by Atsuko Saitō are one of the more effective elements of the production. The cat-girl character design for Fran is effective. The supporting character design for the sword, Master, works well too. The designs certainly have an effective role to play in the film.

Chief animator Ryo Haga (Harukana Receive, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) does a solid job with the series animation. The animation capably showcases the action element of the production for genre fans. The monster designs by Hiroshi Arisawa, Ryosuke Kuwahara, and Shiori Kudo make a solid impression as well. The monster element is one of the more effective aspects of the series. The monster designs help an otherwise ordinary action series to have some interesting genre roots.

The art direction by Masahiro Satō (Armitage III, Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga) adds to the series aesthetic as well. Alongside the chief animation direction of Atsuko Saitō (Wandering Witch - The Journey of Elaina, Tsukimichi - Moonlit Fantasy-), Reincarnated as a Sword is a colorful series. The art has an impressive impact on the production.

This is also strongly felt with the cinematography by Masaaki Onodera (Shachibato! President, It's Time for Battle!, Yurumates3Dei Plus). The cinematography helps provide the series with a lush color palate. The colorful animation adds to the stylistic flourishes of the production – with the lighting adding to Reincarnated as a Sword too.

The score composed by Yasuharu Takanashi (Fairy Tail, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal) is one of the best things about the series. The score is fantastic and one of the best highlights of the series. An action-driven score, the score provides a nice sense of adrenaline-packed gusto underneath the big action sequences. Takanashi understands the genre and has fun exploring it more with this series.

Written by Takahiro Nagano (Duel Masters, Time Bokan 24), Reincarnated as a Sword is an average quality series in the script department. The story and concept is fairly basic and there isn’t much to ultimately write-home about. The dialogue doesn’t make much of an impression, either. This is one particular area where the series feels lackluster and doesn’t excel as well as it could.

The scripting is something that could have been better handled and instead is somewhat generic feeling on the whole. The writing is certainly not the main reason someone would want to check out the series. It doesn’t have great scripting and that is unfortunately an aspect of the production. Reincarnated as a Sword is nothing special in this regard.

Directed by Shinji Ishihira (Sasaki and Miyano, Tokyo Majin), Reincarnated as a Sword is mostly aimed at the action crowd. Fans of action-anime series with swordplay and big battles will find more to enjoy than someone looking to watch a slice- of-life anime or a series with a more sophisticated style. A production for those looking for some mindless action, Reincarnated as a Sword might fit the bill. Anyone looking for some slice-and-dice fun should consider checking it out.

Reincarnated as a Sword: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Reincarnated as a Sword is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. A nice high-definition presentation is provided on the release. The release benefits from having a colorful presentation with a vibrancy that is well extended on the video. The color reproduction is superb. Presentation clarity is excellent as well. The encode has a healthy bit-rate and looks excellent on the release.

One of the best things about Blu-ray as a format is the superior picture-quality. This remains true even in the streaming age. It is nice to know that the Blu-ray copies provide superior encoding to streaming counterparts. There is something soothing and calming about watching a Blu-ray disc that the digital streaming experience does not provide in the same way. A strong presentation from distributor Sentai Filmworks.

Reincarnated as a Sword: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The audio presentation on the release is satisfying. The audio presentation sounds crisp and clear on the release. The dynamics of the presentation impress. Action sequences have considerable depth and benefit from the strong audio fidelity.

The hi-fidelity audio works well at enhancing the presentation. The lossless encoding is a huge benefit of the Blu-ray release. Blu-ray offers vastly superior audio encoding to streaming services (which tend to provide only lossy Dolby Digital audio options). The added bass extension, depth, and clarity makes a nice difference on the presentation. The sound direction by Shōji Hata is excellent as well – with the presentation benefiting from a more immersive soundstage.

Reincarnated as a Sword: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release could have used a more impressive supplemental package. The somewhat sparse extras package on the release is a detriment to the value of the release. The set does not provide in-depth making-of featurettes, art galleries, behind-the-scenes, or audio commentaries. Fans who are looking for these supplements will walk away from the release feeling a little bit disappointed at what is provided. Unfortunately, anime sets are often sparse in the supplemental department. Sentai Filmworks does not provide a slipcover for the release, either. It is a close to barebones release.

On disc supplements include:

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Web Previews (HD, 5:59)

Reincarnated as a Sword: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Reincarnated as a Sword is a sword-play action-adventure anime. The series has a cat-girl lead and a master sword (who both work together hand in hand). The sense of adventure in the series is one element of the production that will appeal to some genre fans. The scripting is average, though. Animation is colorful and robust. The action element is the primary driver for the series. Fans of action-anime series looking for some mindless entertainment will find something to enjoy.

The Blu-ray release features solid video and lossless audio. The package provides only a small selection of supplements – this is one area in which the release may have improved with more behind-the-scenes material. Fans of the series may wish to pick-it up but everyone else might wish to consider a rental first. The series will appeal to its core fanbase but it is mostly mindless. The release does not include a o-card slipcover and this is something Sentai should consider including on releases in the future. Given the series is average – consider checking it out first. RENT IT.