Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Armed Girl's Machiavellism is an action-adventure anime. Created by Yūya Kurokami (story) and Karuna Kanzaki  (art), Armed Girl's Machiavellism was originally broadcast on AT-X, Tokyo MX, KBS, TV Aichi, Sun TV, TVQ, and BS11. Armed Girl's Machiavellism was originally broadcast between April 5, 2017 and June 21, 2017.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism – Complete Collection includes all 12 episodes and the OVA episode. Armed Girl's Machiavellism features animation by CONNECT (Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody, The Honor Student at Magic High School) and SILVER LINK. (Battle Girl High School, Brave Witches). Featuring theme music by Miku Itō. Featuring ending theme music by Natsumi Hioka, Nozomi Nishida, Rina Hidaka, Sayaka Kitahara, and Yūki Takada. Produced by Jōtarō Ishigami (My First Girlfriend Is a Gal, Love Flops), Armed Girl's Machiavellism features voice performances by Tasuku Hatanaka, Yūki Takada, Sayaka Kitahara, Nozomi Nishida, Rina Hidaka, Natsumi Hioka, and Eriko Matsui.

Fudō Nomura (Tasuku Hatanaka) is a male transfer student who joins the Aichi Coexistence Academy. The coveted location was once an all-girls school solely before updates were made to change the classroom from all-girls to a co-ed setting. The school is led by the Supreme Five Swords.

The Supreme Five Swords are a nice group of girl fighters with incredible skills and the group consists of – Rin Onigawara (Yūki Takada), Mary Kikakujō (Sayaka Kitahara), Satori Tamaba (Nozomi Nishida), Warabi Hanasaka (Rina Hidaka), and Tsukuyo Inaba (Natsumi Hioka). The girls created an agenda involving boys having to dress up like girls – but Fudō might have other ideas. Another transfer student also enters the school: Kirukiru Amō (Eriko Matsui). A school brawl has become a reality as the school enters an era that resembles a battle of the sexes.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism features compelling character designs. The character designs by Shoko Takimoto (Chaos Dragon, Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody) are excellent and add an abundance of charm to the production. The designs are well done and work well for the entire production – all of the cast members.

The animation is one of the main strengths of Armed Girl's Machiavellism. Armed Girl's Machiavellism features solid animation for an action-adventure series and the style adds to the charm of the entire anime series. The production is better because of the efforts made with the animation.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism features notable art direction by Bun Sun Lee (Mitsuboshi Colors, Casshern Sins). Impressive art and plenty of charm. Armed Girl's Machiavellism also features chief animation direction by Miwa Ōshima (Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!), Shoko Takimoto (Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody, The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio), and Yūki Hara (Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody, Ange Vierge).

The animators brought a lot to the table. The animators worked well with the art style – adding style through the series layouts, background art, and line artwork. These aspects help contribute to the modern animation style.

The cinematography by Takeshi Hirooka (The Eminence in Shadow, Sword Art Online) is another key element of the production. The cinematography helps to highlight the aesthetic of the series in an impressive manner. Hirooka is a gifted cinematographer and the efforts provide crisp visuals. The production benefits a lot from the cinematographic approach.

Featuring a score composed by Hiromi Mizutani (Non Non Biyori, Tanaka-kun is Always Listless), Armed Girl's Machiavellism has solid music. The score works well for the action-adventure elements. This is a fundamental part of the production. The composer created music that works well for the backdrop of the series.

Written by Kento Shimoyama (Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World), Armed Girl's Machiavellism is an anime with a fun concept. The series has some of the genre elements one expects from this type of anime. The emphasis on action intertwined with comedy adds to the production. The writing isn’t top-tier but it has some fun elements and characters that are interesting for the series.

Directed by Hideki Tachibana (Alice in Borderland, The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio), Armed Girl's Machiavellism is a decent action anime. Fans of anime series with an emphasis on action will find a number of elements worthwhile. The series might not be perfect but it has a compelling style and adventure element. Armed Girl's Machiavellism is worth checking out for action fans.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Armed Girl's Machiavellism is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition presentation is excellent looking and there are a lot of nice qualities to the presentation. An impressive visual style, the series looks robust and detailed. The background animation and line art are superb.

One of the strengths of physical media is the encoding quality. Streaming video services often provide video with more compression. For home theater enthusiasts wanting to eek out the absolute best in picture-quality, the Blu-ray format offers some advantages that are sometimes overlooked with the streaming industry.

Bit-rates can be higher and encoding can be more consistent on physical media. Streaming variables can be impacted by other factors such as internet speeds, data connections – how many users are active, location, streaming service plan tiers, and other variables. There can be a assurance of something consistent and pleasing from the physical media option that is not always the case on all streaming options.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Complete Collection 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 Blu-ray release capably highlights the presentation and the sound direction by Masanori Tsuchiya (Brynhildr in the Darkness, Tada Never Falls in Love). The sound effects are well emphasized with the release. The audio certainly plays a key role in the presentation.

The lossless audio presentation on the Blu-ray sounds crisp and clear on the release – adding so much to the presentation quality. The soundstage is excellent and there is a lot to appreciate about the audio encoding – including the sound presentation capably reproducing the score. The music is well highlighted. The English subtitles are well-done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

One of the key strengths of physical media is the lossless audio. Streaming video services are limited to lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. Home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles appreciate the higher bit-rates and superior encoding. Physical media has real gains in this arena and enthusiasts appreciate these differences – especially those with nice high-end audio/video gear and equipment.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case. The release does not include an o-card slipcover. The set does not include any bonus physical goodies or pack-in extras. The release is a standard edition and is relatively barebones. Though it is not listed as a bonus feature, it is worth noting that the box-set has both the entire series run and the special OVA episode.

On disc supplements include:

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Japanese Promos (HD, 4:48)

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray release has a somewhat sparse and lackluster supplemental package on the whole. The release could have benefited from having some more interesting bonus features. The set could have had some extra value with audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, making-of documentaries, cast/crew interviews, photo galleries, art galleries, and more. Alas, the only inclusions are somewhat standard bonus- features and do not add much of interest. Sometimes a good selection of bonus features can make a good difference between someone considering a potential one-time stream or making a purchase.

Armed Girl's Machiavellism: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Armed Girl's Machiavellism features compelling action-adventure and impressive production values. The series has impressive animation. Action anime fans will appreciate the style of the series.

The Blu-ray release provides excellent high-definition video and lossless audio encoding. The release includes the OVA episode, too. Fans of the series may be tempted to purchase the Blu-ray set. Recommended.