Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! is an action-adventure comedy fantasy. The series comes from original creators Nozomi Ginyoku (light novel) and Tarō Shinonome (manga). With the original character designs by Tarō Shinonome and Yanomitsuki. The series features nice animation production from Saber Works and Zero-G. Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S- Ranked Monster! features theme song performances by Nonoka Ōbuchi (OP) and Pokapoka Ion (ED). The cast of voice-actors includes Hinaki Yano, Riho Sugiyama, Tasuku Hatanaka, and Tomori Kusunoki.

Aria (Hinaki Yano) is an elf and she stumbles upon a cute little kitten. It isn’t love before Aria begins a fond love of the cat. The cat might not even be a normal cat at all, either! It is a cute and sweet cat called Tama but it is also a former knight who has been reborn as an S-Ranked Behemoth monster! Though a monster, the monster resembles a cute and sweet kitten. Despite being an S-Ranked monster, the cat loves Aria as well and the two form a close connection – with the monster that looks like a cat being determined to help protect Aria at all costs.

The voice-work is excellent across the board. The lead voice performance by Hinaki Yano is especially impressive. The voice performance is perfectly suited to the character and her aspirations to be an excellent adventurer. The supporting voice-work does wonders for the series, too. The voice work utilized for the cat character, Tama, is something special and adds a lot to the production. The overall effect is something solid and memorable. The team did well with the production. The voice performances are certainly commendable.

The music by oni (In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki, Saiyuki Reload -ZEROIN-) is enjoyable and light. The score is certainly engaging and adds a lot to the production. The music is a wonderful backdrop to the whimsy and the action. The score highlights the character moments while also providing some fun and engaging aspects for the action-packed saga. The result is a memorable score and one that plays a big role in the series.

The character designs by Tomoyuki Abe (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira, B Gata H Kei - Yamada’s First Time) are well done. The designs feel perfectly suited for the cast of characters. Given the genre, the designs seem especially well thought out. The designs for both the human and monster characters makes the series all the more engaging. The effort here is something commendable and fans will appreciate the design elements.

The animation is one of the key strengths of the production. The series features art direction by Kako Tachikawame (Kaginado) and Yukihiro Shibutani (Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street, Natsume's Book of Friends). Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! also features chief animation direction by Tomoyuki Abe (B Gata H Kei - Yamada’s First Time, I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness). The animators did terrific work with the production. The animation team brought out the best in the characters and artwork. Line art, background art, and fine details are well displayed. The vibrant and sunny animation style is engaging throughout and works perfectly well for the genre and sensibilities of the series.

The series is written by Kanichi Katō (Black Clover, The Eminence in Shadow). The scripting is well done on the whole. The story is engaging and the concept is well executed. The core idea of a cat helping a beautiful adventurer out with her journeys is something that is adorable and is well done for the series. The dialogue is effective and makes a big impression. The overall result is something memorable and perfectly suited for the genre.

Directed by Tetsuo Hirakawa (Kedama no Gonjiro, YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world), Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! is a fun anime and one well worthwhile. The series has a cool sense of style and a lot of that sensibility comes from the efforts of the director. The direction is well-done throughout and makes the series even more energetic and ambitious. The results are undeniably compelling. A superb action-adventure for fans of the genre.

One of the best attributes is the action filmmaking. The action sequences are some of the most compelling in the production. There is a sense of gusto and gravitas to these action beats. With a less talented director at the helm, these aspects would have been less impressive. With quality direction, the action aspects are given a greater chance to shine. This makes Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! a fun series for action-adventure fans to explore. The saga is all the more compelling as a result. The audience will want to go along with the journey of the lead protagonist and see where things go next.  

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The crisp and colorful animation makes a big impression overall. This is certainly a gorgeous looking anime and the vibrant cinematography is brought to life well. The nice animation style is well reproduced with line artwork, background animation, and fine details all quite impressive on the release.

One of the great things about Blu-ray disc is the encoding quality. The format offers a consistent and pleasing image quality. Streaming video services are sometimes less consistent and can have some subtle fluctuations in picture quality because of buffering, encoding rates, and internet speeds. The results are generally more consistent and pleasing overall with physical media – bit-rates can and often are higher and there is often less compression. Fans appreciate these differences with regards to the Blu-ray format.

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! - 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 lossless audio encoding is quite pleasing overall. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The score and soundstage are well reproduced on the release. The impressive audio makes the presentation all the more meaningful. The robust and engaging dynamics work wonders.

The Blu-ray disc format offers a significant advantage by offering lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services are limited to lossy (non- lossless) audio encoding. For home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles alike, the audio quality difference can be quite meaningful. These types of differences matter to collectors. The format audio quality has always been one of the biggest selling points.

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:42)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:42)

Unfortunately, the release comes with a lackluster supplemental package. The release could have been a lot more impressive with some extra bonus features. The release could have used some audio commentaries, cast/crew interviews, roundtable discussions, convention panels, behind-the- scenes footage, art galleries, photo galleries, and more. Alas, the extras are weak on the release and are close to barebones. In an era of streaming options, a nice supplemental package is sometimes needed to determine between a "one time" stream and a physical media purchase.

On the bright side, Sentai provides some alternative options - sold separately from the standard edition – with more deluxe packaging for the collectors market. There is a separately available steelbook edition which is a similarly barebones package in terms of on disc extras but which also includes deluxe steelbook box-set packaging for the steelbook fanbase to enjoy.

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster! is an entertaining and engaging action-adventure. The cast of characters are memorable. The animation is fantastic and the production values look superb across the board.

The Blu-ray release features an excellent high-definition presentation. The release also includes lossless audio encoding. For home theater enthusiasts, the lossless experience is one of the best aspects of the release. The release includes both the original language Japanese audio and an English dubbed option. Fans of the series may wish to consider a purchase and to add the release to their collection. Recommended.