Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits - The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits - The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits is a romantic-fantasy drama as only an anime series could explore. The series comes from creator Midori Yūma and features original character designs by Laruha. Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits features animation from acclaimed production studio GONZO (Burst Angel, Chrono Crusade). Fans of the romance genre seeking something with a unique spin may wish to check out this program.

Aoi never expected to find herself in a bed and breakfast for spirits. Whisked away to a magical and hidden realm containing spirits, Aoi finds herself wanted by a ogre lord who has decided to make it his mission to take Aoi in as his wife. As the ogre tells Aoi she is indebted to him because of her grandfather and his past debt, the ogre says he is only collecting on the grandfather’s debt by asking her to be his bride.

Aoi doesn’t want to give herself away as a bride without putting up a fight first. Using her own sense of skills, Aoi decides to bargain for herself and she becomes in charge of dishes at Tenjin-ya. Whatever to do in a land of spirits?

One of the most effective elements of the series is the characterization. The central protagonist, Aoi, is a unique and compelling character tossed in to a surprisingly strange environment of spirits. As the main character of the production, Aoi provides the series with a compelling central lead for audiences to ultimately connect and relate to. Fans of romantic anime will certainly enjoy the series exploring the journey of Aoi.

The animation is excellent and one of the most compelling aspects of Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits. The series animation is colorful, robust, and well-stylized. The animation showcases solid art direction from Norifumi Nakamura (Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater) and superb animation direction from Hikaru Suzuki (The Tale of Outcasts). The team of animators involved with the production of Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits delivered the goods. The series has a wonderful tapestry of animation and fans of romantic-drama series will appreciate the unique animation qualities with the production.

The character designs by Yōko Satō (I'm in Love with the Villainess, Saiyuki Reload Blast) are effective at exploring the cast of characters as well. The designs certainly showcase some unique artistic elements, providing a range of creative design elements by Satō. Though not as good as some top-tier anime series, Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits still has impressive design work overall.

The cinematography by Naoki Kitamura (Ascendance of a Bookworm, The Book of Bantorra) is lush and organic looking. The visual element of the series is one that showcases the warm and vibrant color hues the production showcases. Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits excels as a romantic-fantasy offering with a cinematographic approach that understands the genre and works well within that framework of storytelling.

The original score composed by Takurō Iga (Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA, Magical Girl Raising Project) is a compelling component of the production. The score by Iga has fun exploring the characters as well as the romantic layers of the production. The music is often lush and relaxed sounding and is a good accompaniment to the series visuals.

Screenwriter Tomoko Konparu (Blue Spring Ride, New Maple Town Stories) does a solid job with the storytelling universe of Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits. The writing is effective at providing character-based storytelling alongside the fun romantic genre elements that fans expect to find. A worthwhile effort by Konparu and one with good dialogue.

Directed by Yoshiko Okuda (Horimiya, B: The Beginning), Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits isn’t perfect but it does offer a fun fantasy-romance series. Fans of romantic anime will certainly want to check it out. Director Okuda did a solid job with the production and brought forth some solid efforts from the team of animators involved with the production. Okuda certainly was a solid fit as the head director of Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits - The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation, Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The video quality is fantastic and offers fans of the series with a lush and colorful presentation. The encoding is worthwhile and handles the animation reproduction well. Fans of Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits will be pleased with how excellent the color reproduction is on the release. A strong encoding and superior to streaming options.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits - The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The English dub benefits from the surround sound presentation and the extra ambiance provided to the surround sound presentation. This adds a extra layer of excitement to the soundstage as the score and sound effects highlight more interesting elements inherit in the production. The Japanese stereo audio might be limited to stereo audio but for purists who prefer the original Japanese language track, the presentation will still be preferred and it benefits from the lossless audio encoding.

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits - The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 2:

Textless Opening Song "At the Mercy of the Light" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Songs:

"Irodori -color-" (HD, 1:32)

"Wish-Flower" (HD, 1:32)

"Sands of Time" (HD, 1:32)

"My sweet sweet love" (HD, 1:32)

"Breeze" (HD, 1:32)

Disc 4:

Episode 24 Commentary

Textless Opening Song: "Dream of Netherworlds" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Songs:

"Unknown Feelings" (HD, 1:32)

"Love Lullaby" (HD, 1:32)

"Eternal Bonds" (HD, 1:32)

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits - The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits is a colorful and vibrant romantic-drama anime series with a compelling cast of characters. The production has outstanding animation and some nice attributes (excellent music and animation being key areas). The Blu-ray release features a strong video and audio presentation alongside a selection of bonus features that are exclusive to home. Fans of Kakuriyo – Bed and Breakfast for Spirits will want to pick up the release for their collection. Recommended.