Is the Order a Rabbit?: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Is the Order a Rabbit?: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Is the Order a Rabbit? is a charming and cute anime comedy.  The series has received a newly reissued 10th anniversary edition from Sentai Filmworks. Is the Order a Rabbit? features animation production by WHITE FOX (Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious). Created by Koi, Is the Order a Rabbit? features production by Gaku Iwasa (Matoi the Sacred Slayer, Akame ga KILL!), Hiroyuki Kobayashi (The Demon Girl Next Door, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story), and Mitsutoshi Ogura (Black Lagoon, High School of the Dead).

Cocoa Hoto (Ayane Sakura) is going on a new adventure in life by moving to a whole new town. Life just won’t be the same. Yet Cocoa has a good future ahead for herself as she’s staying at a restaurant that doubles as a boarding house. Known as The Rabbit House, Cocoa finds both housing and employment working at the cute little restaurant where residents of the town come for drinks and good food.

Not only does The Rabbit House come with plenty of good food and drinks, the boarding house means a bunch of new friends and co-workers: Chino Kafū (Inori Minase), Syaro Kirima (Maaya Uchida), Rize Tedeza (Risa Taneda), and Chiya Ujimatsu (Satomi Satou). These nice and sweet- natured girls might seem a bit odd some of the time but the girls are Cocoa’s new best friends! There’s even a sweet little rabbit who serves as the restaurant mascot. The Rabbit House might just be the perfect new home for Cocoa – voila!

The characters are at the heart of the series. Cocoa is a wonderful lead character and the supporting cast of characters including Chino, Syaro, Rize, and Chiya add to the series sense of charm. A sweet, charming, and delightful cast of characters. One can’t help but be charmed by the girls friendship alongside their journey working at The Rabbit House. The character designs by Yousuke Okuda (Blend S, Shironeko Project: Zero Chronicle) are well-done and provide each of the girls with a bubbly personality and sense of charm. These designs are aimed directly at the kawaii crowd – and that is something that adds to the series sense of style.

The animation is impressive and a clear highlight of the series. Is the Order a Rabbit? is a beautifully animated production. Is the Order a Rabbit? features art direction by Satoru Hirayanagi (Blue Giant, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl) and chief animation direction by Yousuke Okuda (Celestial Method, High School Fleet). The team of animators involved on the series did a solid job with the series aesthetic and provide Is the Order a Rabbit? with a colorful and robust style. The animation uses a lot of bold colors and the aesthetic is more vibrant and with a sunny style compared to a lot of the darker and grittier anime series out there – by comparison, Is the Order a Rabbit? has a much more energetic and fun style with animation that is cute and sweet-natured – a perfect antithesis to the darker anime series out there.

The cinematography by Kentarō Minegishi (The Dangers in My Heart, Yuki Yuna Is a Hero) is another clear highlight of the series. Is the Order a Rabbit? features a vibrant and bright cinematographic style. The cinematography highlights the series vibrant use of colors and animation that is much more bright, energetic, and cheerful. These elements are well reflected in the cinematography.

The score composed by Ruka Kawada (If Her Flag Breaks, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague) is a wonderful component of the production. Is the Order a Rabbit? features solid score music by Kawada. The music is essential to the series charm. The series is certainly enhanced by the music and the sense of joy it brings to the production. There is plenty to appreciate about the engaging style the score brings to the series.

Written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Black Clover, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord), Is the Order a Rabbit? is a fun and charming kawaii series. Is the Order a Rabbit? is a step above. The series has fun characters and the screenwriter has fun exploring the cast for the anime. The result? A series with charming and enjoyable dialogue.

Directed by Hiroyuki Hashimoto (Classroom of the Elite, Magical Girl Raising Project), Is the Order a Rabbit? is an anime series that provides a sense of fun for the production. The anime is entertaining and that is something to commend. Is the Order a Rabbit? is certainly going to please audiences looking for a fun kawaii anime. Is the Order a Rabbit? provides a cheerful charm – well worth praising.  

Is the Order a Rabbit?: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Is the Order a Rabbit? is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation has been given a update for the 10^th anniversary edition. The new 10^th anniversary edition by Sentai Filmworks has been changed from the earlier edition. The original release presented the first season on one disc.

The new reissue presents the season across two discs so the compression should theoretically be a bit better compared to the earlier release. Sentai has gone back and re-encoded the release for the new reissue. I do not have the earlier release to do a direct A/B comparison but expect some modest gains in encode quality compared to the earlier edition. For video quality enthusiasts who want the best possible quality, the change from one disc to two discs for the episodes should provide a nice improvement even if it is a modest one.

One of the core strengths of the Blu-ray disc format is the superior video quality compared to streaming video services. Streaming services tend to provide video quality with lower bit-rates compared to the physical media counterpart. For home theater enthusiasts wanting to eek out the best possible video quality, even if modest gains, the format does offer higher bit-rates compared to streaming.

Is the Order a Rabbit?: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a lossless Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 presentation (with English subtitles). The release capably preserves the sound direction by Jin Aketagawa (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Bodacious Space Pirates). The lossless audio sounds crisp and clear on the release. Dialogue is well reproduced. The soundstage is excellent for a stereo audio design. The soundtrack score and audio effects are well integrated into the presentation. The English subtitles are well done and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

One element of the release that was a bit surprising is that the 10^th anniversary edition still doesn't include an English dubbed option. Given the 10^th anniversary reissue celebration, one would have expected an English dub might have been provided for the release. Alas, dub fans won't find an English language option on the release (outside of the excellent English subtitles, of course).

Is the Order a Rabbit?: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case. The release includes a newly designed cover-art with an emphasis on the color blue. The artwork is a huge improvement over the previously released version.

On disc supplements:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 18:27)

Unfortunately, the supplemental package on the release is close to barebones. The bonus features could have been more expansive. With the release being a special 10^th anniversary reissue, one might think the set would include some new supplements such as audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes, making-of documentaries, cast/crew interviews, photo galleries, and more. Unfortunately, the supplements are sparse and don't add much value to the package. This is a disappointment and can sometimes mean the difference between a purchase or a pass for collectors.

Is the Order a Rabbit?: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is the Order a Rabbit? is a cute and charming anime series. The series has a fun cast of characters. The animation is excellent, too. The kawaii anime is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a new edition. An impressive anime worth checking out.

Is the Order a Rabbit? features a newly improved presentation. The previous edition included everything on one disc. The new reissue includes everything on two discs. Sentai has gone back and done some tiny tweaks to the release. It might offer some modest improvements is one is considering the possibility of double dipping. Fans of the series may wish to consider the benefit of the release being spread out over two discs instead of one. The release includes a solid high-definition presentation and lossless audio in Japanese with English subtitles. No English dub option is included. Recommended.