Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 19, 2013

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere is one of those anime which seems to delight in complexity for complexity’s sake, which would be fine if at its core it wasn’t such a simpleminded enterprise. The series, which blends a sort of quasi-history with a post-Modern influence (think Strike Witches, only with more overt obfuscation and perhaps just slightly less overt fan service), is filled to the brim with what seems like a literal galaxy of characters, all of whom zoom and zing through an alternate universe where history—for whatever reason—is being “reenacted”, though no one really seems to be aware of that fact, or indeed aware of why they’re involved in some kind of epochal theatrical enterprise. The first season of the show, which was covered in our Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere: Season 1 Blu-ray review, was often a maddeningly convoluted outing, one where brief bursts of admittedly nicely done action would suddenly halt so that any given character—or even the occasional narrator—could explain to the viewer exactly what was going on. A show that needs this kind of “meta” explication is already teetering dangerously close to the precipice of befuddlement, but the good news—albeit relatively good news—is that Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere got incrementally better as the first season went along, if for no other reason than what might be termed attrition of viewers’ intolerance. The ironic thing is that the series is built around battles, and perhaps the biggest battle this anime wages is with its own audience, finally grinding objectors down to sniveling co-conspirators who are willing to let Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere go about its often dunderheaded business without raising so much as a minimal complaint.

Season two picks up right where the first season left off, with our heroes aboard the Musashi reeling from a disastrous attack and attempting to find respite, if not outright asylum, in England (one has to understand that all of the “countries” in Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere are not their actual historical counterparts, but weird alternate universe versions of them, again rather like Strike Witches). The first several episodes of the second season deal with the Musashi trying to convince the English to allow them to enter, as in this version of “history”, the English are a neutral, almost quasi-pacifist, entity that doesn’t want to be drawn into the larger global maelstrom which is part and parcel of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere’s overall plot.

As with the first season of the series, there’s kind of an uneasy balance between the weird “bizarro world” recounting of history and the more typical anime shōnen antics of what might be termed the high school crowd aboard the Musashi. Some of the historical mirrorings are at least interesting, and often quite clever, but the day to day interactions between some of the characters are much more mundane, with slapstick comedy and silly dialogue the order of the day quite a bit of the time. The series in fact tends to ping pong back and forth between the quasi-history elements, many of which ultimately boil down to battle sequences, and the almost “slice of life” meanderings of the kids aboard the Musashi, as well as the various other characters with whom they come into contact.

There are some saving graces here, however. First of all, with this “cast of thousands”, there are plenty of characters to engage the audience, and this season tends to spread the wealth around rather liberally. Also the pace of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere is so relentless that even if any given sequence isn’t your cup of tea, a moment of patience will usually bring a change (though not necessarily always for the better). Probably the most consistent thing about Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere is its action element, something that the second season continues to exploit with considerable skill. Even those who, to paraphrase an old rock ‘n’ roll song, “don’t know much about history” will find these skirmishes well staged and well animated. Those with a passing knowledge of real history may be rolling their eyes at how this series bends the actual historical record, but evidently all is fair in love and war—at least in the wild and wooly world of anime.

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As with Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere: Season 1, Sentai Filmworks' presentation of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II features an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 that is an often extremely beautiful viewing experience. This is an unusually colorful and well designed series, with CGI well utilized and very well woven into the more traditional cel animation. Some of the sequences in this second season are done in an intentionally softer looking style (see some of the screenshots accompanying this review for some good examples). Line detail continues to be very sharp and well defined and the well designed characters and backgrounds look very clear and precise throughout this high definition presentation.

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Again as with the first season of this series, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes in both Japanese and English. These two mixes sound pretty much identical, without the slight but noticeable difference I mentioned in my first season review. Dialogue, effects and the series' enjoyable score are all presented cleanly and fluidly. This second season has some action sequences which probably would have benefited from a more boisterous surround mix, but what's here suffices more than adequately, with excellent fidelity and wide dynamic range.

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Horizon Teasers (1080p; 2:59)


• Horizon BD Commercials (1080p; 00:51)


• Far East Enlightening Lecture 2 (1080p; 7:34)


• Far East Enlightening Lecture 3 (1080p; 8:00)


• Far East Enlightening Lecture 4 (1080p; 11:02)


• Clean Opening Animation (1080p; 1:32)


• Clean Closing Animation (1080p; 9:02)


• Trailers for other Sentai Filmworks Releases

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere lost a little of whatever mojo it had, at least for me, as this second season trundled along. Some of the "reboots" of history were rather well done (much better in my opinion than in Strike Witches), but the show's manic back and forth between action and lunacy just started to grate on me after a while. This series seems to have split anime fans pretty much down the middle. If you liked the first season of Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, chances are you'll continue to feel the same about this second outing, since it's pretty much more of the same. If you were ambivalent or even negative to begin with, chances are this second season will leave you cold.