6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Japanese Ministry of Defense has an anti-paranormal special forces group called the Paranormal Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters. They're the ones responsible to protect Japanese soil and its people from supernatural and paranormal events. However, things didn't go so well in one of their missions, which leads to intervention by the Ministry of Enviroment's Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division after the PDCH has sustained large numbers of casualties battling demons.
Starring: Kaoru Mizuhara, Minori Chihara, Shinya Takahashi, Mai Aizawa, Norio WakamotoAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 93% |
Action | 27% |
Comic book | 18% |
Horror | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
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
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (2 BDs, 3 DVDs)
DVD copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There is something deep in the post-World War II Japanese soul that seems to express almost atavistic fears in sometimes rather odd ways. For example, whole swaths of animes feature horrible attacking forces that typically take on Tokyo and other Japanese locales, places that are in many cases already in the depths of a post-Apocalyptic nightmare. It’s probably too pat to lay this phenomenon squarely at the feet of the horrors of the atomic bombs having been dropped on Japan, but there’s no denying that that unimaginable horror affected the Japanese psyche in manifold ways which are perhaps still being worked out, maybe only semi-therapeutically, in a host of artistic endeavors where mutant creatures wreak havoc on an unsuspecting public. Many animes posit these forces in terms of aliens arriving from a hostile sky, but Ga-Rei Zero takes more of an X Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer approach, with hosts of attacking demons and spirits who harbor malevolent intent against the general Japanese populace but more importantly against the Japanese Defense Ministry’s Paranormal Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters and an even more elite unit which is called upon the fight the supernatural terrorists, the Ministry of Environment’s Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division. Quite a mouthful to be sure, but the core story of Ga-Rei Zero is really more about a trio of young demon fighters who each have their own tormented pasts to overcome. Though there's certainly a science fiction element which fills Ga-Rei Zero to the brim with visions of hideous wraiths and huge Godzilla-like beasts, it’s really the interpersonal relationships that sets the series apart from a lot of its anime kin.
Ga-Rei Zero slashes onto Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (upconverted from an SD master) in 1.78:1. This is a relatively soft and lackluster looking Blu-ray, though it does offer occasional visual interest. Though it may seem strange, this is actually one series where the backgrounds take center stage at least some of the time, courtesy of some lovingly detailed renderings of real life Japanese locales that populate the series. Truth be told, Kagura and Yomi are fairly generic looking character designs, and though they're represented here cleanly and clearly, there's nothing intrinsically exciting about either of them. It's the backgrounds and the demons you'll probably remember most about Ga-Rei Zero, and it's in these elements where the series displays the bulk of its visual ingenuity. The series is intentionally rather dark, but the color scheme utlized is strong and variegated and reds are especially robust and well saturated throughout the bulk of the episodes. In the long run, however, nothing really pops with high definition wonderment throughout this enterprise. The closest we get to anything approaching a "wow" factor is in some of the demonic creatures, but even those are so frequently rendered in a dark, low contrast setting that it's hard to get very excited about them.
Two above average lossless Dolby TrueHD tracks, one in Japanese (2.0) and one in English (5.1), help elevate this series above the norm, at least sonically speaking. Because of the English dub's surround activity, I chose to stick with it for the bulk of my first time through this series on Blu-ray. From the first episode, when you are thrust smack dab in the middle of an involving sound design as various ghosts and goblins go on a rampage, you realize you're in for some excellently detailed sound effects positioning, and some awesomely robust LFE. Strangely, this is also one of the quieter animes in recent memory, at least when it delves into the more introspective aspects of its characters' lives, but even there, the track offers superior fidelity and an extremely effective underscore. Dialogue is crisp, clear and well mixed, but it's the ubiquitous sound effects which give this series its sonic muscle, and the good news is that those effects are delivered with excellent fidelity and very impressive dynamic range. For the purists who prefer the original Japanese soundtrack, while obviously much narrower, it also provides bristling fidelity and some real "oomph" in the low end. Even without the repurposed surround activity, there will probably be few complaints from listeners here.
This nicely slipcased set includes two keepcases, one with BDs and the other with DVDs. While two of the three DVDs simply offer standard definition versions of the television series, the third DVD offers copious bonus content:
I'm more than a little conflicted about Ga-Rei Zero. It's too stereotypical for its own good, and it travels a well worn shounen path that any fan of manga or anime is going to feel like they know like the palm of their own hand. And yet the series defies all expectations with one of the most surprising opening gambits in recent anime television outings. Unfortunately that conceit is only good for one big shock, and then we're left to pick up the pieces of a too traditional story. What works inarguably here is a very lush background design, as well as some compelling demons and beasts, and the interpersonal relationship between Kagura and Yomi becomes very affecting as the series hits its stride. So are you a cup-half-full or a cup-half-empty sort of person. If you're the latter, you'll probably want to pass this enterprise by; if you're one of the former, this series, flaws and all, you'll probably want to give Ga-Rei Zero a spin, if only to experience the relationship between Kagura and Yomi.
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