Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is a drama anime series. Originally broadcast on Tokyo MX, Kansai TV, BS11, AT-X, and HTB, Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night aired between April 7, 2024 and June 23, 2024. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night features theme song performances by KanoeRana (opening) and Anna Tsurushima (ending).

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night features animation production by studio Dōga Kōbō (Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, Yuruyuri - Happy Go Lily). Licensed by Sentai Filmworks, Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night features voice performances by Miku Itō and Rie Takahashi. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is charming and sure to delight anime fans who appreciate the slice of life genre.

Mahiru Kōzuki (Miku Itō) meets solace in meeting Kano Yamanouchi (Rie Takahashi). The two girls’ bond over a street mural painted by a young Mahiru years before their encounter. The street art highlighted jellyfish and was a beautiful work of art. Kano was deeply inspired by the jellyfish artwork and it was a major source of inspiration to her as an independent musician.

Surprised Mahiru decided to abandon making artwork, Kano enlists Mahiru to return to her passions. Now Mahiru, Kano, and two other girls - Kiwi Watase (Miyu Tomita) and Mei "Kim Anouk" Takanashi (Miyuri Shimabukuro) – form an all-girl group of artists going by the name JELEE. Can each of these talented girls bring out the best in one another and take their art to the next level?

The characters are essential to the production. The core cast of characters are charming and add so much to the series sense of wonder. Mahiru Kōzuki and Kano Yamanouchi are especially wonderful characters and both add whimsy to the storytelling. The characters have a clear connection to each other and their bond over art and music is something that brings them closer together. As a result, the characters find a way to embrace their artistry, creativity, and passions. These character dynamics are impressive and add to the series.

The character designs by Junichirō Taniguchi (Genshiken: Second Generation, Tada Never Falls in Love) are beautiful and add a lot of charm to the series. The designs are artistic, creative, and engaging. An impressive design effort for the entire cast of characters. The leading characters feature especially impressive designs and these elements are essential to the production.

The animation is one of the best qualities of the series. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night features quality art direction by Yūji Kaneko (Blue Spring Ride, Ranking of Kings). The art direction is excellent and has plenty of beauty.

The animation style is highly creative and engaging throughout. There is so much wonder to the art style. The animation is bold and the colors of the animation make quite the big impression. The color designs by Kei Ishiguro (Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle) add to these artistic qualities in the animation in spades.

The costume designs by Shino Kuzuhara (The Shiunji Family Children) and Shōko Nagasawa add more creative style to the series. The costuming by Kuzuhara makes a solid impression. The costumes are well-done. There is a sense of creativity on display. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is all the better because of these design efforts.

Edited by Kashiko Kimura (The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card), Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is well-paced. The editing style is fun and capably highlights the music-icon aspect well. Well- done.

Featuring a score composed by Masaru Yokoyama (Arakawa Under the Bridge, Classroom of the Elite), Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night has a beautiful score. The music is a highlight of the entire series. An engaging soundtrack and one that adds a lot of wonder to the series.

Written by Yūki Yaku (Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki, Minami Nanami Wants to Shine), Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is well-written drama. The characters are compelling. The dynamics between the characters plays a big role. There is so much to appreciate about the character-based storytelling.

Directed by Ryōhei Takeshita (The Summer Hikaru Died, Pokémon: Paldean Winds), Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is a beautifully stylized anime. The artistic quality is a huge component of the series and it is a step above. The anime series has an incredible art style and the director helps to showcase the visuals in spades. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is certainly an ambitious and beautiful looking series well worthwhile for fans of unique anime series – especially those in the slice of life genre.

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation is beautiful and there is so much to appreciate about the visuals. The animation features bold colors and vibrant artistry. The high-definition encoding is well-done and capably handles the series style.

One of the strengths of physical media is the quality encoding. Streaming video services tend to have more variables at play – such as internet connection speeds, data caps, streaming tier plans, and number of connected users. Even unexpected variables such as power outages or storms can occasionally interfere with a presentation. There is something dependable about physical media – knowing it's simply there for you.

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The sound effects by Hiromune Kurahashi (Ascendance of a Bookworm, FLCL: Shoegaze) are well- done on the release. The lossless audio is an impressive part of the presentation. The dynamics are well-done. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score is a nice highlight of the release, too. English subtitles are impressive – free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

One cool thing about physical media and Blu-ray discs is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only offer lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. There is more compression to the audio with streaming video services. For audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts wanting to eek out the best possible sound quality achievable, the physical media format offers gains that are not present with a streaming counterpart.

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes packaged in a standard Blu-ray case. The release does not include an o-card slipcover. The release does not include any additional physical swag or pack-in bonuses. A standard edition. The release does not include any additional DVD discs and it does not include a digital copy code.

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animations (HD, 5:52)

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray release is close to barebones. The box-set does not have a lot of bonus features. The set could have used some behind- the-scenes, making-of featurettes, audio commentaries, cast/crew interviews, art galleries, and more. Alas, this is an underwhelming aspect of the box- set and in the age of streaming services a nice supplemental package sometimes helps inspire a purchase for collectors who might otherwise opt to simply stream.

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night is a charming anime with beautiful animation. The series has incredible production merits. The cast of characters are charming: Mahiru Kōzuki (Miku Itō) and Kano Yamanouchi (Rie Takahashi) are both a huge part of the success of Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night. The series music by Masaru Yokoyama (Arakawa Under the Bridge) is an important part of the series too. A series that has a fun concept and will appeal to those who appreciate anime about pursuing dreams.

The Blu-ray release provides an impressive high-definition presentation, lossless audio encoding (in both English and Japanese), and a small selection of extras. Collectors may wish to consider a purchase for their collection. Recommended.