After the Rain: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

After the Rain: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A must-see anime gem

After the Rain is a first-rate anime production which explores an unconventional romantic storyline as well as the importance of never letting go of one's dreams. Based on the original manga by Jun Mayuzuki, After the Rain is an exceptional anime series with great characters and a solid story. Poduced by Taku Matsuo and Gô Wakabayashi, fans of slice-of-life anime should seek it out.

17 year old Akira Tachibana (Sayumi Watabe) is trying to find a new groove in life as a waitress at a restaurant. The fastest member of her track team at school, Akira finds herself injured and unable to continue to pursue her athletic ambitions. Looking up to her manager Masami Kondo (Hiroaki Hirata) as a symbol of stability and adulthood, Akira starts to fall in love with her much-older manager (a mid-40's single man) and dream of finding the same kind of long-term success that Masami has found. Will Akira and Masami find true love together?

At the heart of the series is an exploration of never giving up on dreams. Beyond the initial romantic element, the true core of After the Rain is about dreams and the reason it is important to always pursue them. In the storyline, Akira and a close friend from her track team are both determined to excel at the sport. The plot-line focuses on how this impacts Akira and her friend. At the same time, the story of After the Rain also explores how Masami Kondo gave up on his dreams of being a writer (while his best friend from school went on to become a mega-successful writer himself). These elements are at play in the fun, charming story.

The animation is exquisite. The art direction by Shun'ichirô Yoshihara (Attack on Titan, Dr. Stone) is top-notch. The character designs are unique and compelling. Each and every episode seems to have been animated with a careful attention to detail. The cinematography by Haruhi Goto (From the New World, Tiger & Bunny: The Rising) gives the series a sense of organic beauty which is appreciable.

Everything from the background artwork (with the restaurant and other locations seeming beautifully animated) to the subtleties of the exterior scenes (with trees and flowers radiating beauty) make the series more compelling from a visual standpoint. The anime has absolutely stellar animation and that is one of the best qualities of the program. It is clear that the animators put forth a lot of effort in the series production and the end result is something all the more visually stunning.

Chase your dreams.

Edited by Kiyoshi Hirose (Ride Your Wave, Batman Ninja), After the Rain is surprisingly focused as a production. The series seems well paced throughout the entire run of episodes. There were no glaring lulls where the story or direction seemed to falter. Hirose did a solid job of editing the series and the end result is a program which has plenty to offer.

Another component of the series which impressed was the beautiful music score by Ryô Yoshimata (Listen to My Heart, After-School Starlight). The music was light and airy throughout the program. Helping to explore the characters and the storyline with a subtle grace, composer Yoshimata made exceptional musical compositions for the series. The music is every bit as important as the artwork.

After the Rain features scripts by Yuichiro Kido (Dr. Stone, The Great Passage), Hitomi Mieno (Carole & Tuesday, My Roommate Is a Cat) , and Eiji Umehara (Silent Rain, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us). The screenwriters did an excellent job in adapting the material. This is such a well-told story and it is clear that the writers put a lot of thought in to how to structure it. The characters are highly engaging and the surprising turns in the story are compelling. After the Rain is a beautiful story.

Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea, Space Brothers) served as the head director of After the Rain. There is no doubt that Watanabe is an enormously gifted director. The series has such a excellent production aesthetic (with breathtaking animation) that it is clear the director brought together a solid team. Fans of slice-of-life dramas in the anime realm are highly encouraged to check out this gem: After the Rain is a must-see series.

After the Rain: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, After the Rain is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. Throughout the entire series presentation, I was impressed by the crisp visuals and the vivid reproduction of the color palette on display. Line art remains consistently well done. The encoding is a good fit for the source material. The animation is often bright and colorful. The background art work is visually impressive as well. The colors have more than enough "pop" to make the experience a worthy one. There are no egregious issues with banding to report. A top-notch presentation.

After the Rain: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release includes two separate lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). Each of these options will provide viewers with an impressive audio-track and a worthwhile experience. The English dub is quite good and adds to the experience with relative ease. The soundstage is somewhat minimalistic but effective. Dialogue remains crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The music is similarly well integrated in to the sound mix. An effective audio presentation that will have fans of the series feeling enormously pleased.

After the Rain: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Japanese Promos (HD, 3:13)

The Blu-ray release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other anime releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Senryu Girl (HD, 1:02), Maid-Sama! (HD, 1:31), Domestic Girlfriend (HD, 1:11), and Real Girl (HD, 2:11).

After the Rain: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After the Rain was an enormously surprising anime. The story was much better and more ambitious than the debut episode suggests. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the primary focus is exploring the importance of never giving up on personal dreams. The series is well- told, features excellent characters, and has beautiful animation. A must-see gem. Highly recommended.