Angel Heart Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Angel Heart Blu-ray Movie Review

Angel Heart is part of the popular City Hunter anime franchise. Based on the manga by Tsukasa Hōjō, Angel Heart features superb animation production by TMS Entertainment (Lupin the 3^rd, Magic Knight Rayearth). Originally broadcast on Chukyo TV, Broadcasting Co., Ltd, Kids Station, Nippon Television Network, and YTV, Angel Heart is a tale of a second chance for an assassin.

Angel Heart features a theme song performance by Sowelu (opening one), Koji Tamaki (opening two), Isawa Asami (opening three), Skoop on Somebody (ending one), and Kanon (ending two). Produced by Masayuki Nishimura (Detective Conan: A Challenge from Agasa, Meitantei Conan: Joshi Kōsei Tantei Suzuki Sonoko no Jikenbō), Shuichi Kitada (Case Closed, Hanasaku Iroha - Blossoms for Tomorrow), and Yuu Takahashi (Flag, Elite Jack!!). Angel Heart features voice performances by Akira Kamiya and Mao Kawasaki.

Glass Heart (Mao Kawasaki) has had a strange and adventurous life. Glass Heart wanted to move on from her past as an assassin. After having been a coveted assassin, Glass Heart finds herself waking up a year later – now returned from her deep sleep coma.

Despite some battle wounds, Glass Heart find herself having a number of scars that she survived. As Glass Heart recalls her assassin years, the tale explores her experiences as a younger assassin working in Shinjuku. The story also showcases the journey with the legendary City Hunter, Ryo Saeba (Akira Kamiya).

The character designs by Atsushi Aono (Gall Force: The Revolution, Detective Conan: Conan vs Kid vs YAIBA) and Takashi Saijō (A Spirit of The Sun, The Day the Earth Moved) are well-done. The fantastic character designs certainly play a compelling role in the production. Aono is a gifted character designer and the results certainly help the production achieve even greater success. The artistic designs fit each central protagonist well.

The animation is top-notch and there is a lot to celebrate about the animation style. Angel Heart features excellent art direction by Hiromu Sato (Megumi, Night Shift Nurse: Yagami Yu) and Osamu Honda (Blue Comet SPT Layzner, Harlock Saga). Angel Heart also features chief animation direction by Atsushi Aono (Bakumatsu Crisis, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen) and Takashi Saijō (Naruto Shippūden, A Spirit of The Sun). The animation style is robust and engaging. There is plenty to love and appreciate about the impressive animation. The aesthetic qualities are robust and certainly make a big difference. From the background animation and its detailed visual aesthetic to the superb line artwork and layout designs, the art is always a constantly impressive quality. There is plenty to love and appreciate in the animation.

The cinematography by Yoshito Kuwa (Harukana Receive, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki) is well-done. The visuals are well highlighted by the cinematographer. Kuwa is a gifted cinematographer – with an enormously impressive sense of style. Kuwa provided fantastic visuals for the production. The cinematography shines and adds a lot of creativity to the series.

Featuring a score composed by Taku Iwasaki (Gurren Lagann, Witch Hunter Robin), Angel Heart is well-done. The music adds a sense of wonder to the production. Iwasaki is one of the most gifted of anime composers. The music is certainly a compelling part of the production and it adds plenty to the anime series. The score creates an enveloping sense of magic and wonder. The music plays a vital role and is certainly essential to the series.

Written by Sumio Uetake (Dragon Ball Z, Tenchi in Tokyo), Angel Heart is well-penned. The scripting is solid. The dialogue is well-done. The writer is an accomplished one – with a good sense of style from working on Dragon Ball Z. Uetake has a lot of fun with the script and the results impress in spades. Impressive characterizations and action sequencing through the scriptwriting.

Directed by Toshiki Hirano (Great Dangaioh, Vampire Princess Miyu), Angel Heart is well directed and has a keen visual sensibility. Hirano is a talent and someone with a good knack for storytelling. With plenty of fun action-packed adventure, Angel Heart is a good genre series for audiences who enjoy anime with a gritty edginess and maturity. Hirano did a good job and Angel Heart is all the more impressive as a result.

Angel Heart Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Angel Heart is presented in 1080i MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition transfer is somewhat disappointing and lackluster. The transfer is problematic at times. The first significant issue is the interlaced video.

Having interlaced video, the video quality simply isn't as impressive as it could have been otherwise. The results could have been much better with a more streamlined progressive transfer. The animation is still reasonably well produced – the colors are a little softer looking on the release and without as much depth to the overall image. The animation could have had more saturated colors if it had been animated in a different production era, too. The results disappoint because of the production time-frame and the inherent limitations of the video.

Angel Heart Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 audio soundtrack (with English subtitles). The release provides solid lossless Japanese audio. The audio presentation capably handles the dialogue, score, and soundstage. The sound direction by Yukio Nagasaki (Digimon: Data Squad, Dragon Ball Z Kai) is well-done, too. Nagasaki is a gifted sound designer and the style of the audio presentation adds some magic and wonder to the production.

One of the benefits of physical media is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only offer lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. Physical media enthusiasts who want the best possible soundstage and audio presentation will appreciate the differences provided by the disc format. The lossless audio allows for more immersive dynamics. The sometimes-subtle differences are still noteworthy and are worth celebrating.

Angel Heart Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover features compelling artwork. The artwork on the cover-art underneath the sleeve features additional key artwork. The compelling visual contrast between the o-card slipcover and the standard cover makes for a nice "dual cover art" visual effect. The box-set also has nice interior artwork. The disc artwork is fantastic on the release, too. An impressive box set design.

There are no on disc supplements, though. The release could have used a more expansive supplemental package. The box-set could have been more well-rounded if it had included some audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, making-of featurettes, photo galleries, art galleries, cast/crew interviews, and more.

Discotek usually knocks it out of the park with regards to bonus features. It is a bit surprising when one finds a release from Discotek that lacks any meaningful on disc supplemental features. The set could have been a lot better with a more expansive supplemental package.

In the age of streaming, bonus features and physical swag is one of the things that often sets physical media releases apart from streaming. Fans want a nice Blu-ray package with more extras and physical goodies compared to streaming counterparts. These are the types of differences that make fans prefer physical over digital in the streaming age.

Angel Heart Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Angel Heart is an entertaining action-adventure anime series set within the universe of City Hunter. The anime has developed a cult following. City Hunter fans also enjoy Angel Heart and the series art style. The animation impresses in spades and there is a lot worth loving about the art style. The great production values also contribute to the series. Director Toshiki Hirano (Vampire Princess Miyu) has managed to make something special that fits in well alongside the City Hunter anime franchise.

The Blu-ray release provides a nice presentation alongside lossless audio encoding. The release also includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. Recommended.