Dallos: Complete OVA Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Dallos: Complete OVA Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Dallos OVA is an entertaining anime spectacle and science-fiction mecha. Broadcast on the Bandai Channel, Dallos OVA is based on the original story by Hisayuki Toriumi. Produced by Yūji Nunokawa (Urusei Yatsura, Kaze no Yojimbo), Dallos OVA features animation production by Pierrot (Black Clover, Flame of Recca). Featuring voice performances by Hideki Sasaki, Kouji Nakata, Mizuho Suzuki, Rumiko Ukai, Shūichi Ikeda, Tesshō Genda, and Yoshiko Sakakibara.

The galaxy has experienced a seismic shift. Planet Earth is changing and the environment has become uninhabitable. Earth is a sad relic of its former glory and the resources that once made the planet so special have changed to a harsh landscape of dwindling resources and impossible habitation.

Now civilians are habituating and colonizing the once vacant Moon. Monopolis is a colony on the moon and one that many citizens are drawn to joining. A miner colony is formed and the people of the moon use whatever resources they can to survive the new colonization.

Shun Nonomura (Hideki Sasaki) is one such inhabitant on the Monopolis colony. Chaos ensues on Monopolis and the miners face a lot of epic clashes. Yet one thing inspires hope – a unique alien artifact almost seen as an incredible deity.

The character designs by Toshiyasu Okada (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, The Mysterious Cities of Gold) are well-done throughout the OVA. The designs manage to make an impression and add something special to the production. The character designs feel engaging throughout and are quite beautiful. The designs are well-done for all of the lead characters. The supporting characters have impression character artwork, too.

One of the most beautiful aspects of Dallos is the animation. Dallos features superb art direction by Mitsuki Nakamura (Crying Freeman, Kimagure Orange Road). The animation style is robust and engaging throughout the production. The animation style impresses in spades. The colors are robust and beautiful. The background art manages to make the series look all the more impressive.

The mecha designs by Masahiro Satō (Urusei Yatsura, Gold Lightan - The Golden Warrior) are well-done and add a lot to the production. Satō is a gifted mecha designer and someone who created epic and expansive vistas for the OVA series. Dallos is terrific as a science-fiction mecha and the hand drawn animation perfectly showcases the mecha designs.

The cinematography by Akio Wakana (Urusei Yatsura: Only You, Sherlock Hound) and Masayoshi Miyakojima (Space Warrior Baldios, Ninja Robots) is wonderful and there is so much beauty. The cinematography is lush with wonderful visuals and the end result is an even more stunning anime production. The cinematic aesthetic makes the OVA as beautiful and robust looking as a major-motion picture.

The score composed by Hiroyuki Namba (Armitage III, Momotaro Densetsu) and Ichiro Nitta (Sukeban Deka, Baribari Densetsu) is terrific throughout. Namba and Nitta are outstanding composers and the music plays a huge role in the production. Dallos is an epic score and it adds to the epic scope of the OVA series.

Written by Hisayuki Toriumi (Gatchaman, Gasshin Sentai Mechander Robo) and Mamoru Oshii (Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade), Dallos is exciting and offers a lot of fun for science-fiction fans. The script creates engaging characters and a huge world-building style that is impressive. The storytelling is essential to the anime series.

Another impressive quality of the series is found in the exceptional action. Dallos is a creative anime production showcasing the ambitious style of the team. The results are top-notch during the OVA. Wonderful creativity in spades.

Directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor: The Movie), Dallos is one of the best works of the anime legend. Oshii is one of the greatest of all Japanese anime directors. Dallos is another first-rate achievement by the iconic filmmaker. Dallos is exceptional – the filmmaking impresses from beginning to end. Dallos features wonderful storytelling and hand-drawn animation and fans of classic anime will certainly appreciate the ambitious OVA.

Dallos: Complete OVA Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Dallos OVA is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The high-definition video is impressive on the release. The transfer provides a robust and pleasing presentation. Colors look excellent on the release. Color reproduction is accurate looking and well-done. The scan is robust and free from egregious issues with the transfer.

One of the strengths of physical media is the encoding quality. Streaming video services have a more varied quality. Physical media provides a more robust presentation quality that offers a consistency often missing from streaming services. For home theater enthusiasts wanting the best possible presentation, the physical media format offers gains that one cannot always expect to find on streaming.

Streaming quality can run into more variables such as streaming plan quality, service plans, speed caps, number of connected users, weather issues, unforeseen outages, and other problems. Physical media can provide a consistency that is dependable and one cannot always get that with streaming. Fans of physical media still have a lot to cherish.

Dallos: Complete OVA Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio encoding is engaging throughout. The sound direction by Shigeharu Shiba (Castle in the Sky, Maison Ikkoku) is well-done. Dialogue is crisp and clear on the release. The score is a beautiful component of the release and is well mixed into the sound presentation, too. The English subtitles are well-done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

One of the hallmarks of physical media is the lossless audio encoding. The lossless sound quality is something that adds a lot to the presentation quality. Physical media benefits from the lossless presentation. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding and compression is more apparent on streaming services (even more so on catalog titles).

Dallos: Complete OVA Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first print run of the release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover adds to the collectability of the release. The release looks great in hand and will look exceptional on the shelf. Collectors appreciate the quality of slipcovers and Discotek Media continues to provide excellent slipcovers that add a lot to the collectability of the releases. The crisp o-card is a big part of the collecting fun.

On disc supplement:

Emotion Logo Collection (HD, 1:46)

Unfortunately, the release has a lackluster supplemental package. The bonus features could have been more robust. The release could have used some audio commentaries, making-of documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast/crew interviews, art galleries, photo galleries, and more. A supplemental package with more enticing extras would have added some extra value to the release. In the streaming era, some anime fans might opt for a one-time stream over a purchase if the extras are not enticing enough.

As a result, it is always good to see some extra effort on the supplements in order to entice as many anime fans to collecting the physical media releases as possible. Discotek Media often provides exceptional extras. It is a bit disappointing to see a lackluster bonus features package on an anime classic as esteemed as Dallos.

Dallos: Complete OVA Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dallos OVA is an outstanding anime series and one of the great works of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). The filmmaking is exquisite and the epic sense of scale to the production is outstanding. The animation is stellar and there is a lot of beauty in the hand- drawn art style.

The storytelling is riveting. Fans of classic hand-drawn Japanese anime will want to experience this epic classic. The acclaimed anime has received a wonderful release from distributor Discotek Media.

The Blu-ray release provides an exceptional high-definition presentation and lossless audio encoding. The first print run of the release also includes a nice o-card slipcover. Highly recommended.