7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Forced to face her demons at the Tower of Heaven, Erza is in real danger of becoming a live sacrifice in Jellal's demented plan - which spells disaster for Fairy Tail's strongest team! As the Council prepares to wipe out the island with the Etherion beam, Erza's allies endure a heart-wrenching battle to get her back! Big surprises await the comrades as they return for Magnolia's annual Harvest Festival. But the celebrations are cut short when Master Makarov's grandson hotwires a contest to determine who's the fiercest wizard in a supercharged scheme to take over the guild!
Starring: Tetsuya Kakihara, Aya Hirano, Rie Kugimiya, Yûichi Nakamura, Sayaka ÔharaAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 90% |
Comic book | 38% |
Fantasy | 37% |
Action | 35% |
Comedy | 27% |
Adventure | 21% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p (upconverted)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Virtually every television series in any genre that’s lasted any considerable length of time—and even some that have
barely managed to eke out thirteen weeks before being canceled—has recognized the dangerous dance that’s
necessary, one that pits the routine and comfortable (the “sit”, i.e., situation of “sitcom”, for example) against not
falling into a rut and trying to introduce something new. Back in the fifties series routinely cranked out 39 episodes per
season, with just twelve to thirteen weeks therefore given over either to reruns or summer replacement shows. The
number of first run episodes per season has dwindled through the years, first to 32, then to what seems like the most
logical number, 26, then 24, and now season orders of 20 to 22 can be the norm. Even with fewer and fewer original
episodes per season, it’s a rare series that can avoid rehashing some of the same material over and over again. But in
the world of animation and anime, “seasons” can routinely offer even more episodes than what was the norm when
television was consigned to tiny screens, wavering broadcast signals and rabbit ear antennas. Take the case of
Fairy Tail, for example. Its first season totals 48 episodes, which have been released over the past year or so
by FUNimation Entertainment in several volumes which we reviewed here:
Fairy Tail: Part 1 Blu-ray
review
Fairy Tail: Part 2 Blu-ray
review
Fairy Tail: Part 3 Blu-ray
review
As is the case with so many animes that crank out episodes at patently insane levels, the series started out strongly,
with a promising premise based upon a popular manga by Hiro Mashima that saw erstwhile wizardess Lucy Heartfilia
coming to the magical kingdom of Fiore where she meets up with Natsu Dragneel, one of the most legendary wizards in
the most raucous magical guild in the land, Fairy Tail. Quite quickly (from the first episode, in fact), Lucy tended to get
herself in dilemma after dilemma (kind of like the old serial The Perils of Pauline), which forced Natsu and other
Fairy Tail guild members to come racing to her rescue. That proclivity had become fairly tired by the middle arc of the
first season, even with some appealing supporting characters having been added and at least a couple of similarly
interesting subplots added into the mix.
Fairy Tail: Part 4 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The video presentation here is right in line with that of the previous volumes, Fairy Tail: Part 1 , Fairy Tail: Part 2 and Fairy Tail: Part 3. This is a bright, vivid and extremely colorful high definition presentation that benefits from exceptionally sharp line detail and really beautifully saturated colors. Character designs aren't especially innovative, but they're fun and appealing to watch, and as with the previous volumes, some nice CGI elements are very well woven into the more traditionally animated fare.
My comments on the audio options of the previous volumes of this first season hold equally true here. This release features two lossless audio options, the original Japanese language track delivered via a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo mix, and an English dub delivered via a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround mix. Both tracks feature sterling fidelity and excellent dynamic range, and while purists will find nothing to complain about with regard to the Japanese language track, they still may want to at least sample the English dub, which features above average character voicing by a cast of FUNimation regulars while significantly opening up the soundfield in the series' many magic summoning elements (there's also some noticeably increased reverb in some of these sequences, notably on Natsu's voice). Music is also substantially more spacious sounding in the surround track, and a couple of the more action heavy episodes benefit from the greater levels of LFE on the 5.1 track.
Looking back over the entire first season of Fairy Tail, a couple of sweeping generalizations hold true. The series gets off to a fantastic start, introducing Lucy and Natsu and its general premise, but it then quickly gets stuck in a quagmire of Lucy falling prey to one precarious situation after another. That element is partially offset by the introduction of several interesting supporting characters, other guilds and some nice subplots, notably the one(s) dealing with Jellal. But by the third volume, it's a lot of been there, seen that and some fans may not have the patience to stick with the series. The good news is things take at least a minor uptick in this fourth volume, with an emphasis on the interrelationships between several of the characters and at least one or two surprising revelations. The stage is set for the second season now, but it remains to be seen if Fairy Tail is able to craft some real magic or will just end up feeling like Yu-Gi-Oh: The Next Generation. Taken as a whole, though, the first season, and this fourth volume, comes Recommended.
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