Waccha PriMagi: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Waccha PriMagi: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Waccha PriMagi is a magical-girl anime with pop idol elements: song, dance, and performance art. The series features animation produced by Dongwoo Animation (Animal Yokocho, Pretty Rhythm All Star Selection) and Tatsunoko Production (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Neon Genesis Evangelion). Waccha PriMagi was originally broadcast on TV Tokyo. Featuring original character designs by Yumi Nashimoto, Waccha PriMagi is a colorful and vibrant looking animated series and one that will find appeal with audiences who enjoy the genre.

Matsuri Hibino (Chinatsu Hirose) is totally obsessed with the PriMagi and it’s the main thing on her mind. The PriMagi combines so many of her favorite things: song, dance, and the world of fashion. Enjoying the PriMagi world and everything it has to offer, Matsuri finds herself being encouraged by close friends to engage with the PriMagi herself because she has the talent and skills to work her way up to the top too!

Even though Matsuri has plenty of self-doubts, Matsuri wants to do her best and try for the top. Yet how could Matsuri ever stack up to the skills of someone as talented as Jennifer Sumire Sol? When Matsuri receives an unexpected visit from the magical magician Myamu (Riko Koike), Matsuri learns a big secret: the skills of the PriMagi involves magic! Now that she’s been let in on the secret of the PriMagi, Myamu turns herself into a cat in order to show Matsuri her skills. Can the duo team up to make their dreams come true (with a dash of magic added in to the mix)?

The series protagonists lead the way. Waccha PriMagi explores the world of magical girls and song-and-dance competition with a good cast to usher in the performances. Matsuri Hibino is a compelling lead protagonist for the series and she has a determination to succeed in her quest to be a part of PriMagi. Anyone who has ever been an underdog or who has felt like an outsider looking in (while also having bigger dreams of success) will find the character and her journey a big part of the series fun. Alongside the fun character of Myamu, with cat-transformation, the characters certainly help to provide the series with a lighter and more upbeat energy to keep things fun for audiences. Rather than a cast of unlikeable and gloom-and-doom characters, Waccha PriMagi provides fun protagonists and this adds to the series charm.

The animation is one of the most remarkable elements of Waccha PriMagi. The series is such a beautiful and colorful creation. The art work shines bright and makes a huge impression on the production. With colorful aesthetics shining bright, the animation on Waccha PriMagi is more unique and engaging than many other series in the genre. The results are impressive and certainly showcase the nice artistry of the animators. There is plenty to enjoy about the landscapes, background animation, and line art showcased during Waccha PriMagi. The end result is a series with a robust and cinematic landscape. Anime fans will appreciate the vibrant energy of the production and the fine efforts from the team involved from behind the scenes.

The character designs by Sayaka Toda add to the production charms as well. Waccha PriMagi showcases excellent character design work for the series. The designs are certainly creative and fun. The charming designs provide plenty of bubblegum-pop vibes to the production. The effort is appreciable and aids the genre elements.

The score composed by Hiromi Mizutani (Non Non Biyori, Hell Girl: Two Mirrors) is one of the strengths of the production and a good component of the magical-girl adventures. Composer Mizutani enjoys exploring the realm of Waccha PriMagi and imbuing the series with plenty of energetic music. A wonderful assortment of score selections help to make the anime all the more entertaining.

Written by Fumi Tsubota (Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream, Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom), Waccha PriMagi is an anime with a creative and fun concept. The series concept offers plenty of moments for these charming characters to shine. Tsubota has a good time exploring the magical side of things – making a universe for the characters to be a part of. Screenwriter Tsubota clearly enjoys the big, adventurous sandbox of Waccha PriMagi and has fun playing with the magical side of the series.

Waccha PriMagi is a production involving numerous filmmakers behind the scenes – one of the high-profile favorites who was involved on the production includes executive director Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Kaleido Star). Sato is one of the most well-respected anime directors in the industry with big titles including Sailor Moon and other classics. Sato fans will certainly be pleased by their involvement.

Waccha PriMagi also involves the creative energy of chief series director Chi Man Park (Kiratto Pri- Chan, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX) and director Kōsuke Kobayashi (Alice or Alice, Fairy Ranmaru). With a strong team of filmmakers involved with the production, Waccha PriMagi provides a fun blend of magic, pop, and adventure. Fans of the magical-girl genre will find the filmmakers brought together a compelling animated experience for enthusiasts. Waccha PriMagi is worth checking out.

Waccha PriMagi: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Waccha PriMagi is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The series features a superbly colorful and vibrant aesthetic. The presentation is bold and crisp looking in high-definition: this is not merely a standard-definition upscale. The high-definitional visuals are enormously beautiful looking. Animation is well- reproduced and the colorful spectrum of the animation is well reproduced on the release.

The release benefits from good encoding and Sentai has done an excellent job with offering satisfying video. One of the best benefits of the Blu-ray disc format is the superior encoding and high bit-rates compared to streaming video. Streaming alternatives offer a reduced bit-rate and a inconsistent encoding or streaming version while the Blu-ray disc format offers a more robust presentation by comparison.

Waccha PriMagi: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a lossless audio sound presentation: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The high-resolution lossless audio encoding sounds exceptionally crisp and clear on the release. Dialogue is well reproduced and is easy to understand during the presentation. The score is well encoded and sounds bright and engaging during the presentation. The soundstage is excellent for a stereo audio mix and the lack of a 5.1 surround sound track isn't even a huge deterrent on the release.

The only potential drawback for some is the lack of an English dub option. The series is only provided in Japanese. English dub fans might walk away feeling a little bit disappointed by the lack of an option in English but purists will appreciate the high quality of the lossless Japanese audio and the English subtitles are excellent. The subtitles are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

Waccha PriMagi: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The one area of the release that could have used the most improvement is the supplemental arena. The extras on the release are somewhat standard and no audio commentaries, making-of documentaries, or behind the scenes interviews are included. The release does not include any extensive behind-the-scenes material. The release comes in a standard case and does not include an o-card slipcover.

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:47)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:31)

Japanese Promos (HD, 1:08)

Pretty Series 10th Anniversary Program & New Project Presentation (HD, 7:31)

Waccha PriMagi: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Waccha PriMagi is an entertaining magical girl pop-idol anime. Fans of the genre will appreciate the series for its robust and colorful animation. The aesthetic of Waccha PriMagi is impressive and has plenty of wonderful elements. The series comes from executive director Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon). Audiences seeking a fun and escapist bit of entertainment may enjoy the colorful confection offered here.

The Blu-ray release provides a fantastic high-definition presentation and the lossless Japanese audio preserves the soundstage. The only major drawback to the release is the lack of more engaging supplemental features. The only noteworthy extra on the release is the inclusion of the Pretty Series 10th Anniversary Program & New Project Presentation. Recommended for fans.