Date A Live III: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Date A Live III: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

The third season of the popular anime franchise.

Date A Live III is an entertaining science-fiction action series created by Koushi Tachibana. The series comes from acclaimed animation studio J.C. Staff (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga). The third season adapts additional volumes of the original manga series and covers volumes 8-12 of the saga. Originally broadcast on Tokyo MX, Date A Live III is a fun comedy-action sci-fi for fans of quirky anime series. An exciting new journey begins with the third season.

Shido Itsuka (Nobunaga Shimazaki) has a new and dangerous mission laid out before him: saving the entire world from annihilation. The Fraxinus crew has new threats to face when the team meets the spirit Natsumi (Ayumi Mano). After first considering her as a possible friend to the crew, Natsumi reveals herself as a dangerous witch who will destroy Shido and everything in his path.

As things escalate, Natsumi disguises herself and disappears. Shido seeks her out and tries to discover her hidden identity. As Shido begins to go on dates with Ai (Risako Murai), Mii (Midori Tsukimiya), Kotori (Ayana Taketatsu), Miku (Minori Chihara), Mai (Kayoko Tsumita), Kaguya (Maaya Uchida), Origami (Misuzu Togashi), and Tamae (Kaori Sadohara), the quest to discover the identity of witch Natsumi is underway. Can Natsumi discover her and save the planet before it is too late?

Shido Itsuka is a compelling lead character for the sci-fi series. The story revolves around his journey and the strange encounters he has with otherworldly aliens – in the form of beautiful ladies. While a less character-driven series than some productions (as this is not a slice-of-life anime per-se), the characters are still part of the charm. The large cast of female characters is compelling as well: featuring Ai, Mii, Miku, Kotori, Mai, Kaguya, Tamae, Origami, and other supporting players.

The animation on Date A Live III is compelling. Produced under the art direction of Koichiro Bizen (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou, Food Wars! The Third Plate), Date A Live III is a nice looking series. Animation is crisp and clean. The art-work shines. The background art is creative and shows the science-fiction underpinnings of the production nicely. It is clear the animators put forth a lot of effort in developing the animation.

The journey continues.

The original character designs created by Tsunako (Hyperdimension Neptunia, Ange Vierge) helped usher in the anime character designs by Koji Watanabe (Blue Gender, Ace Attorney). The efforts manage to help the production soar: great character-design efforts with the characters seemingly coming to life. Each central (and supporting) character appears well animated. A solid effort all around.

The cinematography by Yoshio Ookouchi (Ai Yori Aoshi, The Demon Girl Next Door) adds something unique to the experience as well. The series is never overly dark in style – this is a bright and bubbly looking anime series. Ookouchi gives the production a nice stylistic aesthetic and it helps the series excel.

The music score composed by Go Sakabe (Chronicles of the Going Home Club, Wolf Girl & Black Prince) is effective as well. Though the score is not as memorable or compelling as great anime compositions are, the results are still entertaining and effective. The music works well for the background. The music helps enhance the action.

Written by Hideki Shirane (Shakugan no Shana, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?), Date A Live III is not a high-brow series. The anime never intends to be. The story is silly and the emphasis is on action mixed with comedy. The science-fiction element is never going to match the likes of Neon Genesis Evangelion and the like but the storytelling works well enough for the genre.

Keitaro Motonaga (Digimon Adventure tri: Future, Ah My Buddha) directs. Date A Live III is entertaining. The series has enough energy and enthusiasm for fun storytelling. A decent effort by Motonaga. Motonaga manages to bring forth quality animation from the team of artists involved in the production. Other elements are well-managed by Motonaga as well.

Date A Live III: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation Entertainment, Date A Live III is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. Date A Live III is a beautiful looking production. The animation looks great on the release. The encoding is fluid and manages to showcase the action sequences well. The one minor drawback is occasional banding (a problem common on many Funimation titles). Despite the occasional issues with banding, the transfer is generally effective and engaging. The color reproduction is solid and the series looks crisp.

Date A Live III: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless, high resolution audio is engaging. The surrounds are used to highlight the original score and the sound effects. While not perfection (as the mix is never too robust and LFE is mediocre) the surrounds do help add some additional ambiance to the series.

Date A Live III: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 2:

Episode 12 Audio Commentary

Promo Video (HD, 1:20)

Textless Opening Song:

Version 1.0 (HD, 1:43)

Version 1.1 (HD, 1:43)

Version 1.2 (HD, 1:43)

Version 2.1 (HD, 1:43)

Version 2.2 (HD, 1:43)

Textless Closing Song:

Version 1.0 (HD, 1:32)

Version 1.1 (HD, 1:32)

Version 1.2 (HD, 1:32)

Version 2.1 (HD, 1:32)

Version 2.2 (HD, 1:32)

Date A Live III: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Date A Live III is the third season in the popular anime franchise. Anime enthusiasts who enjoy sci-fi fantasy with comedy-action components will find it worth checking out. The series has excellent animation overseen by art director Koichiro Bizen (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou). Keitaro Motonaga (Digimon Adventure tri) enhances the series with decent directing as well. The Blu-ray release has a worthwhile encoding – solid video and audio presentations. The extras are slim. Fans of the series may wish to add the release to their collection. Recommended.