Busou Shinki: Armored War Godess - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Busou Shinki: Armored War Godess - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess is an action-adventure science-fiction comedy. The series comes from producers Masashi Takatori, Tsuyoshi Tanaka, and Yoshiaki Uraki. The anime features animation production by studio 8 bit (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Encouragement of Climb). The cast includes voice actors Takahiro Mizushima, Kana Asumi, Kaori Mizuhashi, Megumi Nakajima, and Minori Chihara. Fans of over-the-top and silly boy-meets-girls series will find things to enjoy about Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess.

Rihito (Takahiro Mizushima) seems to be an ordinary high school student and there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly unique about him at first glance – this bumbling guy takes a cue from most men. Yet somehow this high school freshman finds himself surrounded by four gorgeous girls: Arnval "Ann" (Kana Asumi), Altines "Aines" (Kaori Mizuhashi), Altlene "Lene" (Megumi Nakajima), and Strarf "Hina" (Minori Chihara). Can Rihito handle the heat?

Yet these “beautiful babes” aren’t ordinary vixens – these girls are Shinki, extremely tiny six-inch girls who are part of a growing craze with android girls small enough to place them inside your pocket and carry them with you wherever you go. These customizable and programmable girls can be made to do whatever you please and can have intelligent assignments – it’s time to listen to master! The only thing is… all of the girls want to Rihito’s favorite! Who can win a battle of the wits against the other girls and emerge the victor as his favorite?

The charming cast of characters are one of the most essential elements of the production. The characters have bubbly and fun personalities – the charming Shinki girls often displaying some hilariously over-the-top elements. The characterization for Rihito is somewhat standard – with a somewhat average guy tossed in to an odd situation with plenty of girls vying for his own attention. Though the characterizations aren’t particularly deep, the emphasis is on comedic elements and this arena is where the series manages to excel in showcasing the central characters.

The animation is worthwhile and one of the best components of Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess as a production. The art direction for Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess is led by Megumi Kato (ef: a tale of memories, World Trigger) and is an altogether interesting element of the production. Under the chief animation direction of Ryōma Ebata (Magical Warfare, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime), the series manages to achieve a compelling aesthetic. The art style of Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess is bold and imaginative – exploring the science-fiction element in a compelling way.

The character designs by Ryōma Ebata (Magical Warfare, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime) and Takahiro Kishida (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Puella Magi Madoka Magica) add to the fun. The designs are certainly impressive. The central girl characters who comprise the Shinki are all well designed characters – essential to the production. Each character has a unique and distinct personality. This comes through well with the production.

The cinematography by Kazuya Arahata (Infinite Stratos, Hunter × Hunter) is another compelling element of the production. The series has a bright and colorful cinematographic style. The cinematography does excellent work highlighting the animation. This is a key element of the production. Arahata does great work here. The aesthetic enhances the animation.

The score composed by Tetsuro Oda (Armored Trooper Votoms: Alone Again, Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist) is compelling and a worthwhile element of the production as well. Oda is a solid composer who does excellent work with the series. The score might not be the finest element in Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess but it is noteworthy and it adds to the charm of the series. A solid and engaging score composed by Oda.

Written by Masahiro Yokotani (Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, Wasteful Days of High School Girl), Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess might not break any new ground – everything from the concept to the execution of the series seems to recall other anime series – but it is still a compelling enough idea for something fun. The writing by Yokotani is decent enough with good dialogue and the characterizations being fun. The scripting has a playful element to it and this is a strength of the series.

Directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Infinite Stratos), Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess isn’t going to seem like an anime gem to most viewers, but it does offer its audience some entertaining elements and the filmmaker understands the assignment. The sillier comedic nature of the production is worthwhile. Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess offers a entertaining diversion from reality even if isn’t much more than that.

Busou Shinki: Armored War Godess - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess 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 impressive and looks far more engaging than a substandard standard-definition upscale might have offered audiences (as is sometimes the case with some anime productions).

The native high-definition animation looks crisp and colorful on the release. The art style is well reproduced and preserved by the encoding. As a result, the video capably handles the animation direction and the aesthetic of the production. The encoding by Sentai capably handles the action and comedic elements in good measure. The Blu-ray presentation offers a better encode quality than what one could find on a streaming service – this is one of the things that makes Blu-ray superior to streaming alternatives. The higher bit-rates play a big role in providing a superior presentation quality – making the release well worth considering for series enthusiasts.

Busou Shinki: Armored War Godess - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding on the release is excellent and satisfactory. The lossless audio sounds crisp, clear, and engaging. Dialogue is well reproduced. The English subtitles on the release are excellent as well (and are free from any significant spelling or grammatical errors). The one potential drawback to the audio presentation is the lack of an English dubbed option. Fans of English dubbing will find this to be an unfortunate aspect of the release.

Nonetheless, the original Japanese language version sounds wonderful and is well preserved by the encoding on the release. The high-quality lossless encoding is one of the strengths of Blu-ray as a format: streaming video series only offer lossy audio quality with heavily compressed audio (by comparison). There is something dependable and appreciable about knowing that the audio presentation offered is in a superior lossless format.

Busou Shinki: Armored War Godess - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release could have benefited from a more extensive supplemental package. The release might have benefited from a more in-depth selection of extras – with behind-the-scenes material or a selection of audio commentaries.

On disc extras include:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Japanese Promos (HD, 2:02)

Busou Shinki: Armored War Godess - Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess doesn't break new ground with its comedic science-fiction concept or execution but the series does offer audiences a reasonably entertaining mix of science-fiction and comedy with this production. As the primary audience is likely to be teenage boys, viewers should have some kind of general idea of the genre and what to expect – with the central male lead becoming surrounded by pint-sized "put them in your pocket" girls. An amusing comedic concept for those interested.

The Blu-ray release features a solid high-definition presentation and a nice lossless audio encoding. The release doesn't include much in the supplemental arena, though. The set also lacks an English dubbed option and this is one of the biggest drawbacks of the collection. Yet fans of Busou Shinki – Armored War Goddess will be pleased with the generally excellent presentation quality and may wish to consider adding this release to their collection anyway (despite some slight nitpicks and reservations). Recommended.