Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor - Season 1 Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor - Season 1 Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 – New English Dub Edition – features an exclusive new dub produced for the special re-release. Distributed on home media by Sentai Filmworks, Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 kicks things off the series. Created by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 features action-thriller vibes. Produced by Manabu Tamura (Chronicles of the Going Home Club, Hunter × Hunter) and Toshio Nakatani (Hunter × Hunter, Lupin III: Crisis in Tokyo), Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 features animation production by Madhouse (Alderamin on the Sky, Death Note). Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 features a lead voice performance by Masato Hagiwara.

Kaiji (Masato Hagiwara) is one of the biggest losers of all time. Most would agree that Kaiji is nothing special and “loser” is the most apt description. Kaiji spends most of his days gambling away all of his money, drinking incessantly, and causing financial strains left and right. The gambling and debts of addicted gambler Kaiji are growing and growing.

The debit has become insurmountable and now Kaiji is faced with a live-or-die mission when the loan shark Endo finds him and decides to cash in on his growing burdens. If Kaiji can survive the night and win a massive game he could potentially break even and pay off his insurmountable debt. Otherwise, it might be the end of the road for Kaiji with death on the way. Gambling, alcohol, and a one-night spree take center stage as the fight to survive goes underway.

Masato Hagiwara does a good job as the central protagonist of the anime series. Masato Hagiwara delves into the loser sad-sack personality of the main character. Someone obsessed with gambling and on losing everything to enormous debts, the character struggles with his addiction to both gambling money away at the drop of a whim and to his alcoholic tendencies.

The character isn’t too far from drinking or gambling away his problems and must come to terms with these financial strife’s when everything comes to a head and it becomes a life or death situation with the debtor. Fans of anime series exploring gambling and other night- life elements may be drawn to these qualities of the series. The main appeal to the series is the gambling stakes – can the main protagonist win it all?

The character designs by Haruhito Takada (Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge, Mr. Tonegawa) aren’t particularly impressive. The designs are somewhat lackluster. The results could have fared better. Unfortunately, the designs just seem to go through the paces and provide a somewhat sub-par production offering overall.

The animation is one of the most inconsistent qualities of the production. The series features art direction by Norihiko Yokomatsu (Call of the Night, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie). The art is acceptable quality and not as bad as it could be but it doesn’t manage to make that special an impression, either. The art style seems somewhat bland and uninspired – more-so than on the average anime series. The art feels low-budget compared to the average production, too. Something about it just feels underdone and like it could have fared better under some different circumstances.

The cinematography by Oh Seong Ha (Hellsing Ultimate, Claymore) and Suk Bum Lee (Tokyo Mew Mew New, Claymore) isn’t much to write home about for the series, either. The cinematography has a somewhat laidback aesthetic style. The visuals aren’t as robust as desired. The visuals look a bit outdated. The cinematography doesn’t shine as much as a result.

The score composed by Hideki Taniuchi (Death Note, Real Drive) is average-at-best and doesn’t add too much to the production, either. Taniuchi provided a decent-enough score as a backdrop to the series style but the music still just doesn’t stand out much and that is a pretty notable drawback of the production.

Written by Hideo Takayashiki (Lupin III: Part II, Wonder Beat Scramble), Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 has a decent concept but it could be better. The concept is all about the world of gambling addiction – the fight for survival. Some anime fans might appreciate the story and concept more than others but ultimately it feels a bit tired and lackluster compared to more inspired anime series.

Directed by Yūzō Satō (Magical Warfare, Naruto: The Cross Roads), Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 won’t be a cult-classic or long-lost gem for anime fans. Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 is just an OK anime with some decent qualities but a series that isn’t as well done on the whole as it could be. That’s okay and it is what it is but keep it in mind. Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 isn’t a showstopper anime.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor - Season 1 Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 (New English Dub Edition) 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 sourced from standard-definition material and is an upscale. The release does not provide a native high-definition source material presentation.

The presentation does have obvious drawbacks and imperfections due to the source quality and the significant limitations present on the video. The video frequently has jaggies and line aliasing. A detriment to the presentation, the low-resolution standard-definition video looks frequently choppy, inconsistent, and there are bad panel transitions for the effects as the video looks outdated and not even remotely high-definition. The re-issue seems to have near identical picture quality to the other release. Any differences would be miniscule as either edition provides a somewhat lackluster and underwhelming presentation quality.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor - Season 1 Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 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 direction by Yasunori Honda (Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, Dragon Ball Super) is well preserved on the release. The lossless English dub audio is one of the big selling points of the release. The original release by Sentai only included the Japanese language audio. The new release of the series features the brand new English dub produced specifically for the release. Sentai has gone back to the drawing board for the English dub and the audio provides dub fans an alternative audio option for fans who prefer to watch anime with a dub cast over watching in the original language version (with English subtitles). All in the all, the English dub is a decent addition to the release and something that some established fans will appreciate – most especially if existing fans prefer dubbed versions and would like to listen to the new dub as a comparison to the original version.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor - Season 1 Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes in a standard Blu-ray case. The release does not include an o-card slipcover. The release does not include any additional collectables or bonus pack-ins for fans.

On disc supplements:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 00:52)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:13)

Unfortunately, the bonus features on the release are somewhat disappointing. The release only includes some standard cookie-cutter supplements. The release could have benefited somewhat by adding some exclusive audio commentaries, making-of documentaries, roundtable discussions, cast/crew interviews, comic-con panels, and featurettes- perhaps a new and exclusive featurette about the development of the brand-new English dub would have been appreciated by dub fans. Alas, the set only comes with standard offerings. A nice supplemental package sometimes helps sway some potential buyers to a purchase over simply opting for a one-time stream. Potential purchasers will want to weigh the pros and cons when making a buying decision.

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor - Season 1 Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kaiji Ultimate Survivor Season 1 has arrived in a new release with an exclusive new English dub.  The previous releases were limited to the original Japanese language audio option only. Fans of dubbed versions will prefer the new edition.

Nonetheless, one will want to weigh the pros and cons of a potential purchase. For example, those who own the previous release may want to skip the new one unless the English dub seems like a noteworthy enough reason to double dip (as the picture quality is quite similar between releases and has little of difference to note). Something to consider.

For dub fans who vastly prefer a dubbed audio experience, the answer might be clearer – the set might be worth a pickup if that is the preferred option. Fans of the series will want to consider these aspects of the release before making a purchase. Then again, for fans who do not own any previous release of the series the new reissue is an obvious choice as it adds a new dubbed version and does not subtract any real content.