Carole & Tuesday: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Carole & Tuesday: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Carole & Tuesday is a unique anime series that takes audiences on a music odyssey. Produced by Makoto Nishibe (Domestic Girlfriend, Chain Chronicle: The Light of Haecceitas) and Noriko Ozaki (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Kids on the Slope), Carole & Tuesday is from the genius creativity of Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo). The series features animation from studio BONES (Bungo Stray Dogs, Captain Earth).

Destinies sometimes intertwine in unexpected ways and the road to success isn’t always what one expects to find. The journey is quite different for Carole Stanley (Miyuri Shimabukuro) and Tuesday Simmons (Kana Ichinose) and yet these music lovers both find their pathways intersecting. Carole grew up as an orphan refugee with little to her name and a difficult background. Yet Carole is determined to make a name for herself and succeed as a musician! Dreaming big and hoping to jump start a huge career in music, Carole won’t stop until her dreams come true.

Tuesday, on the other hand, grew up with a privileged life. Yet Tuesday doesn’t have content – even if she lives a life of comfort. Running away from her life unexpectedly, Tuesday wants to live the life of a musician and takes a trip to another city. As Carole and Tuesday meet, their destinies intersect. Can the pair perform and reach the heights of their musical ambitions? Guitar in hand, the journey is only beginning!

The production has outstanding animation. This is one of the core features of the series. The art style manages to showcase the evocative beauty of the landscape. A lot of this is because of the effective background animation. The team of animators involved in the production made sure to create an effective array of art for these design elements. This is felt in the city landscape – with the wide animated canvas making the production seem larger in scope and more ambitious. The cityscape elements certainly are an essential component.

The series has effective character designs by Eisaku Kubonouchi and Tsunenori Saito (Sword of the Stranger, Blast of Tempest). The character designs seem to feel right at home in the world of anime while also taking some inspiration at times from Western art: showcasing a blend of the Cartoon Network style seen on some high quality productions while simultaneously highlighting the craft of anime as a medium. The end results are certainly impressive: the core cast of characters are distinct and the aesthetic fits the personalities of these characters. A solid effort from Kubonouchi.

The animation works on the whole and the production team involved with the series certainly help the production to deliver something that is truly exceptional. The effective art and production is possible through the noteworthy art direction of Ryō Kōno (Paranoia Agent, Space Dandy). What a fantastic component of the Carole & Tuesday series. A lot of great animators worked on the series and the end results are certainly exceptional.

The cinematography by Masataka Ikegami (My Hero Academia, Space Dandy) makes a solid impression on the production as well. The visual language of the cinematography helps to provide the series with vibrant, jubilant, and engaging visuals. The series has a nice sense of serene cinematography for the skylit visuals. None of this would have been possible without the dedicated craft of Ikegami behind the scenes.

The score by Mocky makes a solid impression as well. Carole & Tuesday would not have been as successful without an interesting and effective music landscape. This is something viewers will be familiar with given the team behind-the-scenes (as Cowboy Bebop is a perfect example of how the musical backdrop of a series can completely transform a production and make it all the more important, vital, and special). The efforts on Carole & Tuesday are certainly worthwhile and the music imbues the production with more energy and creativity.

The screenwriting is solid and the storytelling will take viewers on a journey. The odyssey is about these characters and their journey as musicians. The tale is one that audiences can relate to. Anyone who has ever had a dream and pursued it will relate to the series and the idea of pushing oneself to be the best they can be in their respective field – this is something that many will find an essential component of the series. As a dreamer myself, who has long toiled away at my dreams, Carole & Tuesday taps in to that raw energy.

Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) is one of the most talented and exciting directors working in anime. The filmmaker behind classic gems like Cowboy Bebop is not someone to underestimate. Carole & Tuesday is a beautiful production and it has the stamp and trademarks of the work of Watanabe. The series is certainly an interesting and compelling anime for Watanabe and fans of the gifted anime mastermind will want to go along for the ride.

Carole & Tuesday: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Carole & Tuesday is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation features a lush and colorful aesthetic and the encoding capably handles the series art style. The animation is beautifully reproduced on the high-definition release. The series cinematography is well showcased as well.

The high quality of the Blu-ray encoding showcases how superior the format is compared to paltry and forgettable streaming quality (which is lackluster and doesn't provide fans with a truly special viewing experience). Viewers should remember that streaming quality is of a significantly lower quality with average at best bit-rates and compression that is not as effective as the quality on Blu-ray. Sentai did an excellent job with the presentation quality on the release and fans will be quite pleased with the results.

Carole & Tuesday: 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 on the release is enjoyable and capably preserves the soundstage and sound design. Though it would have been nice for the release to include a surround sound option for the English dub, the track still sounds robust, crisp, and engaging. Purists will prefer the original Japanese language audio track to experience the series with the original voice cast.

Audiences can rest easy knowing that the quality encode by Sentai Filmworks is of a higher quality than the sub-par streaming options, which are often at a paltry 320kbps for the audio presentation, which is a far cry from the capabilities of the Blu-ray disc format (which offers audiophiles a significantly more rewarding experience). Streaming will only offer a lackluster experience while the Blu-ray offers a much more worthwhile and rewarding experience.

Carole & Tuesday: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 3:04)

Animated Shorts:

1. Gus & Roddy (HD, 1:05)
2. Ertegun & Roddy (HD, 1:05)
3. Angela & Tao (HD, 1:08)
4. Tuesday & Roddy (HD, 1:16)
5. Ertegun & Ertegun (HD, 1:32)
6. Ertegun & Tao (HD, 1:08)
7. Carole & Gus (HD, 1:20)
8. Carole & Tuesday (HD, 1:05)

Making Of (HD, 1:34)

Music Videos (HD, 7:19)

Song Lineup (HD, 29:35)

Japanese Promos (HD, 00:49)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Nana (HD, 1:27), Clannad (HD, 1:32), Revue Starlight: TV Series (HD, 1:33), and Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1 (HD, 00:38).

Carole & Tuesday: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Carole & Tuesday is an entertaining and well-made production. The series has a wonderful cast of characters. The series explores the world of dreams and this is something that is going to connect well with audiences. For anyone who has ever had a dream and envisioned succeeding at their goal, Carole & Tuesday should connect beautifully.

The series has an outstanding video and audio presentation that easily surpasses the lousy sub-par quality of streaming services. The release also includes a nice selection of bonus features, including a selection of animated shorts. The release provides a short making of extra as well. Fans of Carole & Tuesday will want to own the release for the superior video and audio quality. Recommended.