BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Game on.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 23, 2013

Aniplex of Amrica has been doling out the anime called Sword Art Online in a pretty pricey series of deluxe editions that each include a few episodes as well as some other bonus material and assorted swag (Sword Art Online: Box Set I , Sword Art Online: Box Set II, Sword Art Online: Box Set III, and Sword Art Online: Box Set IV). Heaven knows anime fans are among the most loyal audiences of any entertainment genre, but considering the fact that acquiring the “complete set” of Sword Art Online releases will probably run a consumer well over $500.00 is probably enough to give even the most rabid aficionado a momentary pause. For those whose Christmas stockings weren’t stuffed with cash and/or Amazon gift cards, there’s a perhaps suitable alternative available, the fairly similar entry Btooom!, an anime which, much like Sword Art Online, deals with a so-called MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game). While there are some salient differences between the two properties, there are probably enough similarities that those not wanting to shell out massively multiplayer online bucks for Sword Art Online might find a lot of the same ideas and even plot structures in Btooom!. While Sword Art Online had its hero Kirito actually enter a virtual reality where the titular game was being played, Btooom! at least seems to be positing its hero, Ryuta Sakamoto, in a real life environment where the titular game is being played. In several other ways, though, the two properties are remarkably like each other, including in the conceit that ostensible "game play" can result in actual death if the player isn't really careful and skillful.

As odd as this may sound, Btooom! also may remind some fans of the iconic series Lost, for in both shows a bewildered hero finds himself seemingly trapped in a dense tropical jungle environment on an island, surrounded by an odd and often threatening array of other inhabitants. Memory also plays into Btooom! much as it did in Lost, with various flashbacks slowly illuminating parts of the mystery while keeping other secrets hidden. Part of the intrigue of Btooom! is that Ryuta finds himself on an island where the “videogame” is being played in real life, and he has to quickly adjust to the fact that he’s in a “kill or be killed” scenario. Ryuta has no clear memory of how he ended up in this predicament, and a lot of the series’ interest comes from Ryuta unraveling this enigma as he continues to fight off attackers.

We do get a bit of context courtesy of some flashbacks which show us that Ryuta is a 22 year old guy with absolutely no ambition to do anything other than become the all time champion in an online game called Btooom! This game is something of a phenomenon and is attracting worldwide attention, so when Ryuta's team places in the Top 5, he becomes something of a (geeky) superstar, including attracting the attention of one of the few girls who has adopted an avatar and is "in" the virtual world of the game. Meanwhile in the real world, Ryuta's mother is increasingly frantic that her son get a life, or at least a job, leading to some kind of unseemly violence. All of these strands are disrupted once Ryuta wakes up on the island.

Btooom! perhaps plays thing a bit more psychologically astute than Sword Art Online does, especially once Ryuta figures out that some of the other inhabitants on the island will not hesitate to kill him. That presents the first of several moral conundrums that Ryuta must face, as he has to come to terms with the fact that he might have to kill other combatants. As that inner turmoil begins to unspool, Ryuta comes across a beautiful young woman with a rather large stash of food, a gorgeous lass who is scantily clad as she bathes herself in a sylvan stream. The girl is named Himiko, and unlike Ryuta, she actually has some memory of what has brought her to the island, though she’s more concerned with the lustful advances of some of the other players, which has caused her to view every male (including Ryuta) with suspicion. (Most people will probably guess who Himiko turns out to be, but that won't be spoiled in this review.)

This anime works on several levels simultaneously. First and foremost, the pure adrenaline rush of the fight sequences where combatants lob bombs at each other gives the series a visceral intensity, especially once it becomes clear that not everyone is going to get out of this “game” alive. But perhaps even more compellingly, the flashback gambit starts to fill in missing pieces in the backgrounds of several characters and also begins to (much as with Lost) create a rather dense web of interconnections that repeatedly casts new light on what exactly is going on.

Ultimately, when it’s finally revealed that there is a nefarious entity monitoring the competition, Btooom! becomes rather close in tone to The Hunger Games, especially in terms of Ryuta and Himiko attempting to contravene the “game”’s rules in order to maintain their own sense of morality while also staying alive. Btooom! is a rather graphic series, quite violent at times and at others rather explicitly sexual (including some attack scenes), which makes this most definitely adult (or at least much older teen) material. But the series is rather unexpectedly thought provoking, even if it just slightly peters out in its closing moments (again, rather like Lost). The characters are almost uniformly very interesting and the multilayered plot is handled rather smartly.

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a really interesting looking anime that looks great in high definition. The animation style here is quite varied, with an intentionally "distressed" (and sometimes intentionally soft) look accompanying some of the actual video gameplay as well as some flashbacks, but a clear, precise looking image during the "contemporary" island sequences. Colors are quite bold throughout this offering, with greens especially prominent. The play of light on the island is also handled very well, especially with a dappling effect when beams penetrate the thick foliage. The island has a number of bugs and other beasts which are animated in a stylized but very effective manner. Line detail remains very strong throughout all the episodes, and aside from minor banding (something that seems to at least slightly hobble several recent Sentai releases), there are no other real problems of any note.

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes in Japanese and English, which are virtually identical save for the voice work. With a series this full of explosions, the added low end of a 5.1 mix probably would have been preferable, but these tracks offer superior fidelity and quite a bit of sonic "oomph". Dialogue is very cleanly presented and the series' good opening and closing themes also sound just fine. There are no issues like dropouts, clicks, pops or anything else to mention.

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Clean Opening Animation (1080p; 3:04)


• Clean Closing Animation (1080p; 3:10)


• BTOOOM! Digest 1 (1080p; 2:17) gives brief biographical data on the "players" and some snippets from the series.


• BTOOOM! Digest 2 (1080p; 2:17) is more of the same.


• Japanese Promos (1080p; 1:06)


• Japanese TV Spots (1080p; 1:21)

BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

BTOOOM! is a rare example of a series taking on a nascent subgenre in anime (in this case the "real life" game) and doing rather smart, innovative things with it. Even the most fierce anime fan will often admit (if pressured, anyway) that anime is frequently derivative, with lots of the same sorts of plots, characters and concepts populating tons of different outings. BTOOOM! is at least reminiscent of several other properties (and not necessarily just anime, as mentioned above in the main body of the review), but it still manages to be surprisingly fresh for most of its running time. The ending may be a bit of a letdown for some, but anyone who stuck with Lost for several years won't find that a particularly surprising phenomenon. Video and audio are just fine on this release, and BTOOOM! comes Highly recommended.