Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Girlish Number: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 30, 2018

The world of Anime is so enjoyable right now because it's one of the few corners of the visual-medium entertainment landscape where there's still some creativity and novelty at play. The format lends itself to long-form explosions of imagination, if not outright inspired thought, and so many series -- like the wonderful Tanaka-Kun Is Always Listless -- are not just absorbing, they're on the cutting edge of narrative presentation and boldly build stories well outside the purview of typical examples of Western entertainment. While Girlish Number's story doesn't take place entirely in uncharted territory -- the well-received In a World... could at least be considered a distant dot on the same map -- its story is nevertheless culled from compelling ideas with an eye towards little-known corners of the world, which is where the genre shines. That said, the finished product isn't a peak Anime series; it scores more points for idea than it does execution, more for its baseline excellence rather than any fine-tuned intimacies, more for its lead character construction than a wider roster of memorable players, though there are certainly components that rise well above the Anime din: they're just more subtly realized here.

Chitose Karasuma aspires to greatness. She just doesn't always want to put in the work to get there. She's a very talented voice actor, but she's got something of an attitude problem. She believes the industry, rather than her own work ethic, is keeping her down. Her older brother Gojō is her manager, and he's kept her in the loop with a number of small parts. But she wants more. She demands more. One day, she gets her big break. She is cast as one of the leads in a new Anime series that puts her on the path to stardom, but as luck would have it, the production is in shambles. Stumbles of her own making and many out of her control threaten to tear down everything that's fallen into her lap. Can she overcome a sloppy production -- and her own hubris -- to find the fame and fortune she so desperately craves?

The series' biggest draw is its main character, Chitose. She's portrayed as a cocky but spunky and spirited girl who takes her gifts for granted and is so good what she does -- even in bit parts -- that both she and others around her are often able to overlook her approach to her profession, which means spending more time criticizing the industry than honing her craft, even after she lands a lead role (with several other girls). Of course, troubles brew on the horizon, whether she realizes it or not, and the show's strengths stem from how she will tackle adversity on her way to vocal stardom...if she can really ever get there. Hers is an intriguing character and, regardless of her ultimate arc, that a show would put a genuinely unlikeable and so deeply and fundamentally flawed character out front says much in the creators' confidence in the material, just as the creators of Tanaka-Kun led with a character who favored sleep and relaxation above any and all things. And they are justly rewarded. The show may not be the most compelling in its total, but Chitose is one of the most irresistible characters in recent Anime, given the entire body of work and whatever character evolution may ultimately propel the narrative.

But just as critical to the series' success is its depiction of the industry in which Chitose works, loves, and loathes all at once. While it's undoubtedly played up for dramatic effect and to fit the central character's arc, there's a deliciously insider-flavored component to the show that opens up not only the talent but also behind-the-scenes creative juices and inner workings that play such a critical role in shaping Chitose's perception of it and, ultimately, herself. There's a nicely harmonious full-circle construction to the series that sees the character and her world working hand-in-hand to define one another at just the right cadence to give the viewer the meatiest drama.

Girlish Number: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Girlish Number: Complete Collection features a solid, albeit fairly Sentai-typical, 1080p transfer. There is a little banding across the odd solid background but other interferences are rare. Everything else easily satisfies. Lines are clean, textural elements are robust, and the 1080p resolution allows the artistry to shine through, albeit artistry that's not particularly novel in presentation or delivery. This is certainly a fairly nondescript show in terms of characters and environmental construction alike, but the Blu-ray does deliver all essential elements with the expected level of finesse. Colors are bold and varied. The palette often favors more of a pastel, softer shading, lacking the intricacies of nuance and intense saturation and contrast, but the colors never miss a beat, whether punchy multicolored hair or bland, flat gray and blue backgrounds. Longtime Anime fans should know just about what to expect from this one. Newcomers will find a very agreeable image.

Girlish Number: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Girlish Number: Complete Collection's native Japanese language (no English dub is included) two-channel DTS-HD Master Audio track is physically limited, of course, lacking any sort of surround, dedicated center, or subwoofer support, but the presentation is certainly acceptable within the given parameters. Musical clarity, through a fairly broad range from subtle to spicy, is consistently well defined and wide, even without any kind of low end support structure. Ambient effects are very few, but there is actually some very nice crowd immersion and width in episode four, along with some impressively wide microphone reverb and "live" musical vitality in that same episode. It's a good example of the show at its sonic peak, delivering a very healthy, even robust, sound presentation that doesn't necessarily seem to expand beyond its confines but that does take full advantage of the real estate given to it. Dialogue delivery is fruitful with natural front-center imaging that all but comes through the center channel.

Girlish Number: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Girlish Number: Complete Collection contains a fun little unique extra as well as the Sentai-standard clean opens/closes and previews for other Anime titles.

• Inside Show Preview (1080p, 1:24): A preview for the in-show series that plays central to the Girlish Number storyline.
• Clean Opening Animations (1080p, 16:53): Textless intro videos.
• Clean Closing Animations (1080p, 3:14): Textless outro videos.
• Also from Sentai Filmworks (1080p): Previews for Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto, Chihayafuru, Flying Witch, and Flip Flappers.

Girlish Number: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While Girlish Number doesn't set the Anime world on fire, it delivers a quality viewing experience, headlined by its well realized lead character and the nicely defined world of Anime voice acting -- the good as well as the bad -- that sprouts up around her. What the show sometimes lacks in flow it makes up for in enthusiasm and characterization. Girlish Number: Complete Collection's two-disc Blu-ray is typical of the average Sentai release, skimping on extras but offering quality video and audio presentations. Recommended.