Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Blu-ray Movie Review

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is an OVA production connected to the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The OVA series serves as a spin-off production taking place following Diamond Is Unbreakable. The OVA is something that unfolds after this fourth part in the anime series.

The manga was comprised of one-shots. The series received a worldwide streaming release on Netflix. The anime OVA was licensed for home media by VIZ Media in North America.

The animation is by david production (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation). The animation production is one of the central components of the series. An intriguing spin-off, Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan might not gain viewers unfamiliar with the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure but the series is one that will appeal to the central fan-base.

Rohan Kishibe (Takahiro Sakurai) set out on a mission to provide his manga creation with some semblance of reality. The attempt to bring the real world to his manga creation leads to Rohan becoming tossed into a world of surrealist terror with fantastical elements. Rohan is now in the unexpected terrain of the supernatural.

An episode with a killer drinking the blood of a slowly decaying romantic partner, a moment of a dark confessional taking place in Italy, and even an episode exploring a gym workout obsession and the big quest of being in the best shape humanly possible – a sequence of strange occurrences unfolds. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan delves into the realm of horror. Will Rohan find the reality he is looking for?

The Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan OVA has interesting character designs by Kenta Mimuro (Hataraku Saibō!!) and Shun'ichi Ishimoto (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable). The designs highlighted on the production are interesting in the grand scheme of the series. The aesthetic components are impressive and fit in the mold of the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure easily. For audiences who appreciate the unique artistic approach of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan provides more of these qualities

The animation remains true to the style of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and this is something that makes the OVA fit in to the franchise threshold perfectly. Fans of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure will find the art style is appealing for its similar approach to animation and storytelling. The animators who worked on the production provide a highly stylized and flamboyant art style that is exactly what one would expect considering the unique animation approach for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime franchise is distinct in its style and looks like almost nothing else in anime. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan continues with this artistic vision.

The score composed by Yūgo Kanno (Library War, Psycho-Pass) is one of the highlights of the OVA production. The music serves as a good backdrop for the action scenes as well as the dramatic scenes that are interwoven in to the production. The composer has a good grasp on the series and adds flavor to Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.

Written and directed by Toshiyuki Kato (Captain Tsubasa, Hunter X Hunter), Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is an intriguing spin-off and one that fits in the realm of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure while still establishing a separate path from the main saga. The spin-off (adapted from the manga one-offs) provides a more surreal element than some might expect but this is also one of the reasons why it works well. Kato handles the scripting and directing duties with ease and has a good handle on the material. With Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, fans of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime franchise may find this to be a fun and intriguing spin-off yet it is doubtful that newcomers will feel it is a good starting point or place of entry. Audiences who are unfamiliar with the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or who are less invested in the story might feel it isn’t for them. Nonetheless, diehard JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fans have something to look forward to with this OVA production: it is aimed squarely at the fans.

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from VIZ Media, Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. An impressive high-definition presentation of the OVA series. The colorful and vibrant animation is beautifully reproduced on the release. The picture-quality is sharp and pleasing on the release. Outstanding detail and encoding.

The encode quality from VIZ Media provides a quality bit-rate. Audiences can rest easy knowing the Blu-ray provides a superior viewing presentation to video streaming services, which only provide a more compressed presentation (with lower bit-rates in compression methods). Those seeking the absolute best picture-quality available for the series will certainly want to consider opting for the Blu-ray release from VIZ Media.

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is impressive with good dialogue reproduction. Dialogue sounds crisp and clear on the release. The audio clarity is impressive and the soundtrack is well reproduced.

The stereo audio mix sounds engaging and capably handles the sound direction by Yoshikazu Iwanami (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Ghost in the Shell: Arise) and sound effects by Yasumasa Koyama (Chrome Shelled Regios, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure). A quality lossless audio encode from distributor VIZ Media. Audiophiles will appreciate the quality boost provided by the lossless encoding – which offers superior audio encoding to streaming video services (which only provide lossy audio quality).

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The limited-edition collectors version of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan comes in a chip-board art box. The release includes unique key art on the inner sleeve (different from the art on the chip-board art box). The release also comes with a 17-page booklet.

The booklet includes information on each of the episodes included in the release. The pages in the booklet devoted to the episodes feature select commentary from production team members (the comments include notes from the director and character designer). Interviews are also provided.

Interviews are spotlighted with Koki Uchiyama (voice of Yoma Hashimoto) and Hiroki Takahashi (voice of the Confessor/young man/servant characters).  

Episode Sections:

Ep. 9 "The Run"

Ep. 16 "At a Confessional"

Ep. 2 "Mutsu-kabe Hill"

Ep. 5 "Millionaire Village"

The booklet also provides an "in conversation" interview featuring director Toshiyuki Kato, character designer Shunichi Ishimoto, and voice-actor Takahiro Sakurai (voice of Rohan Kishibe). The last pages of the booklet also provide Japanese Cast, English Cast, Japanese Staff, and English Staff production credits. Full color images from Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan are also provided.

An Interview with Landon McDonald (HD, 9:46)

Opening and Ending Songs (HD, 2:30)

More from VIZ (HD, 5:15)

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is an intriguing OVA spin-off set in the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Fans of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime franchise are the primary target audience for the OVA spin-off anime series. The series has a dark and compelling stylistic approach with compelling animation. A production that adapts the one-offs from the manga for audiences. The Blu-ray release provides an impressive video and audio presentation. The release has quality 1080p video and lossless audio encoding.

The set also includes a selection of bonus features – including an interview with Landon McDonald. The collectors edition release also provides a deluxe chip-board art-box alongside a nice 17 page booklet containing interviews, an episode guide, production credits, and more. Fans will find the release well worth owning. Newcomers who are unfamiliar (or who are less invested) in the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure might not find this to be the best starting point. Nonetheless, the core fanbase should be quite pleased with the quality of the release. Recommended.