6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
Darkness is moving in, and young exorcist Allen Walker is humanity's greatest hope against the wicked forces conspiring to bring civilization to its knees. Akuma - cruel spirits born of tragedy and lost souls - lurk in every shadow, willing and eager to do the bidding of their leader, the dread Millennium Earl. With an eye cursed to see evil in its truest form and blessed with an arm to slay soul-devouring demons, Allen stands ready to confront the gathering storm. Should he fail, Innocence will be lost forever.
Starring: Sanae Kobayashi, Shizuka Itô, Takahiro Sakurai, Ken'ichi Suzumura, Katsuyuki KonishiAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 92% |
Action | 41% |
Comic book | 34% |
Fantasy | 27% |
Comedy | 26% |
Adventure | 17% |
Horror | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
With the recent release of D. Gray-man on Blu-ray, Funimation switched gears by delivering bite-sized portions of the lengthy first season, rather than offering a colossal 51-episode box set. While I can’t say I’m all that excited about playing the waiting game for subsequent episodes, it appears the next 13-episode bundle is set for release only four months after this collection (not that bad considering the typical release schedule during the DVD days). For those unfamiliar with the anime series, D. Gray-man originally began as a critically-acclaimed 2004 manga production, written and illustrated by Katsura Hoshino. Given the popularity of the manga publications, D. Gray-Man was licensed to TMS Entertainment and Aniplex to create a 103-episode anime series spanning 2 seasons between 2006 and 2008.
Allen Walker seems pleased with himself.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 21Mbps), D. Gray-man offers one of the sloppiest visual presentations I've seen from Funimation. In recent months there've been growing concerns over the use of digital noise reduction on anime productions from Funimation (Samurai Champloo and Basilisk to be exact), but the newly released 2-disc set of D. Gray-man is easily the weakest entry out of the three. The most egregious offense is the presence of noticeable stair-stepping along fine lines (such as character outlines), which I'd expect to be less of a problem with the transition to 1080p. The second major deficiency is the appearance of aliasing within blocks of consistent color (you'll notice the effect when a slightly brighter color is moving in odd waves over the top of the source coloring). The presence of these issues in such a noticeable fashion raises concern over the level of quality control at Funimation these days, and may indicate a need to slow down their aggressive release schedule in order to focus on the consistency of their product. I recently contacted the video team at Funimation regarding the overuse of DNR, and received an acknowledgement that too much grain was removed in the completion of recent transfers (not necessarily D. Gray-man), and they are working toward remaining faithful to the source material. Perhaps the first release of the D. Gray-man series will mark the end of what could be perceived as a recent drop in quality from the heavy-hitting anime studio.
Moving away from the negative aspects of the transfer, I was largely pleased with the coloring of the predominantly dark series, and felt black levels demonstrated average depth. Contrast showed a degree of weakness at times, as if brightness had been kicked up to offset the dark nature of the show, but taken as a whole it wasn't something I'd consider bothersome.
In the end, D. Gray-man is a bit of a disappointment in the transition to high-definition, and leaves plenty of room for improvement as the series moves forward.
Mirroring Funimation's DVD release from a year ago, The Blu-ray contains the original Japanese language track in Dolby Digital 2.0 (not Dolby TrueHD 2.0 as the back cover indicates), but offers a lossless upgrade for the 5.1 English dubbed track. In a perfect world, I'd hope for a lossless surround option in the native language of the series, but considering the limitations of the original recording, my only disappointment with this effort lies in the decision to stick with a lossy 2.0 track, rather than providing a lossless 2-channel option. As always, I prefer the native language on any foreign-produced series, so I was somewhat disappointed in the diminished quality of the Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The front-heavy mix lacks the depth of finely tuned surround separation, leaving us with an experience that's merely adequate at getting the job done (but not what I'd consider a value-added audio experience). The English dub on the other hand, demonstrates an excellent sense of immersion, separating nuances in the audio effects to create a wild roller-coaster ride. The world of D. Gray-man melds the atmosphere of 19th century England with technology of the future to create a balance between familiar and fantasy elements. As such, we have musical selections and environmental effects that often seem quaint and innocent, but transform into cold, violent themes with the drop of a hat. The battle sequences between the Exorcists and the Akuma are often lengthy standoffs with each side progressing through increasingly powerful weaponry. The Akuma favor rockets and cannons, which project effects throughout the surround field, while the Exorcists typically utilize traditional hand-to-hand weaponry. During the blade encounters, the clashing sound of metal-on-metal registers with amazing clarity, demonstrating the precision of the mix. From the standpoint of volume balance, every element is given appropriate weight, without one aspect overpowering another.
If I had the option of scoring the audio offerings separately, I'd give the English track a 4/5, and the Japanese track a 2.5/5. The differences between the two tracks are certainly noticeable, but the lack of surround separation on the Japanese mix never downgraded my overall enjoyment of the show.
As a side-note, there've been reports of an audio-sync problem on the English dub during episode ten (second disc). After hearing about the problems some were having, I tested the episode on my Samsung 1500 Blu-ray player, and noticed the audio from episode 11 plays over episode 10. However, upon testing the disc on my Playstation 3, the problem had disappeared. I haven't attempted a firmware update on my Samsung yet, but it appears this could be a player-specific issue.
The supplements on this release are limited to a commentary track on episode two, a collection of trailers for other Funimation releases, and textless opening and closing songs. The English commentary features Todd Haberkorn (voice of Allen Walker and director of the English voice cast) and Luci Christian (voice of Lenalee Lee and contributing writer on the English version). Rather than focusing on the action in the episode, the pair discuss the casting decisions for the series and the difficulties Haberkorn encountered while splitting his time between voice work and directing.
The first 13 episodes of D. Gray-man build a good base for the rest of the series to build on. By the end of this initial collection, we know Allen is expected to play a large role in a terrible prophecy, and the Earl of Millenium has enlisted the aid of a group known as Noah. Both revelations look to play a role in the direction of the series, and should make for a high level of entertainment in the episodes to come. Although I've expressed my overall enjoyment of the series from a content standpoint, this still doesn't register on my list of greatest anime offerings, and I'm going to pass on a recommendation at this point. 13 episodes simply isn't enough content to offer a recommendation on the merits of a 103-episode series, so I'll stick with a rental suggestion at this point.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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