A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

A Centaur’s Life is a slice-of-life genre anime. The series was created by Kei Murayama. The production features original animation produced by the Emon Animation Company (The Silver Guardian, To Be Hero). The series has an unusual blend of dramatic storytelling with a concept unlike most – with exploration of a centaur. Fans of quiet dramas with a twist will want to check out the series.

Himeno Kimihara (Seria Fukagawa) is one of the most gifted centaurs in the entire world. Half-human and half-horse, the centaur has the lucky chance to attend high school alongside her best friends, Kyōko Naraku (Haruka Shiraishi) and Nozomi Gokuraku (Yūki Kuwahara). The lifestyle of a centaur isn’t the most glamorous and there are plenty of difficulties in front of Himeno. Can she put one horse-shoe in front of the other and be the hero of her own tale?

The entire concept revolves around the central protagonist. Himeno makes a compelling lead as the centaur with a unique life. The series would not be as effective without an effective centaur at the forefront of the characterizations. Himeno manages to imbue the series with a sense of dramatic weight. The character certainly builds on the “hooves” of the series to make the end result more memorable.

The animation is reasonably engaging and makes a solid impression. The character designs and chief animation direction are by Sakae Shibuya (Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness, Girl Friend Note). The art certainly enhances the experience. The art style is calm and serene. The art finds a tender balance. Sometimes a more quiet and reserved anime production offers the ingredients necessary for fans seeking an entertaining slice-of-life gem. The background animation isn’t as complex as one some productions but the art style is still memorable and effective. The animation fits the universe of the storytelling and works wonders with the material.

The original score by Tak Miyazawa (Seven Senses of the Reunion) is a solid contribution to the series. The score has a calming and inviting nature to it. The music by Miyazawa finds the necessary notes audiences are looking for. The score builds on the threshold of the production and provides the characters some extra dramatic depth. A solid effort by Miyazawa.

Written by Touko Machida (Chaika - The Coffin Princess, The Everyday Tales of a Cat God), A Centaur’s Life is a series that doesn’t rely on action sequences or on a big-concept with plenty of fast-paced or adrenaline- infused components. Machida handles the more quiet and reserved nature of the series material. The storytelling is based in the slice-of-life anime genre. The focus remains predominately upon the central characters. As the characters journey together and experience their unique scenes together in life, the exploration of a centaur’s life remains central to the series and the storytelling.

Directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki (Place to Place, Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness) and Naoyuki Konno (Guitar o Motta Shōnen - Kikaider vs. Inazuman, Shina Dark - Kuroki Tsuki no Ō to Sōheki no Tsuki no Himegimi), A Centaur’s Life is quiet and reserved anime series aimed predominately at fans of anime dramas with a unique spin. In this case, the production adds the centaur element to enhance the series and provide a more fantastical element to something that is otherwise quite ordinary in many respects. Though this is certainly a series with a specific audience in mind, those looking for a drama exploring the day-to-day experiences of a centaur along their own unique path will find that the directors imbue the series with some creativity and imagination. The aesthetic of the series is well realized through the directors and these filmmakers manage to bring forth solid effort from the team of animators involved in the series production.

A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, A Centaur's Life is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series animation is colorful and bold. The art style is well preserved by the encoding from Funimation. The quiet animation style in the slice-of-life realm is well presented with a colorful encode. As this is a dramatic series without as much action, the compression is easier for the release to handle and it certainly capably presents the original animation. A solid effort from Funimation Entertainment.

A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese 2.0 Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The surround sound option that is provided on the English dub offers a more immersive sound experience with a moderately more enveloping surround sound mix. Though not as complex a sound mix as the best series receive, the sound mixing still enhances the experience with some added ambiance and room to highlight the score. The original Japanese dub is more authentic, though. Fans of the original language versions will want to opt for that instead.

A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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Textless Opening Song "Darwin, please teach me." (HD, 1:31)

Textless Closing Song "Edelweiss" Ver. 1 (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "Edelweiss" Ver. 2 (HD, 1:32)

Trailers (HD, 6:16)

A Centaur's Life: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Centaur's Life is a quiet slice-of-life anime with an unusual creative spin. To put it one way, there aren't many anime series revolving around centaurs. The series has its fans and will appeal to the viewers who most enjoy distinct slice-of-life genre offerings. While not a classic series, A Centaur's Life is a series that will most certainly appeal to some anime fans. The Blu-ray release features a solid video and audio presentation. The release includes a small but appreciated selection of bonus features with the textless opening and closing songs and a selection of trailers. Series fans will find the release to be worthwhile.