KanColle: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

KanColle: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

KanColle Fleet Girls is an exciting action-adventure anime series. The series features stunning animation from production studio diomedéa (Action Heroine Cheer Fruits, Beatless Final Stage). Based on a popular online video game accessed in web browsers in Japan, the series comes from the original story and concept from creator Kensuke Tanaka.

Produced by Jun'ichirō Tamura (Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya) and Satoshi Motonaga (Kandagawa Jet Girls, Dropout Idol Fruit Tart), KanColle Fleet Girls is a series which will entertain fans of action series with strong female casts. The series is executive produced by Takeshi Yasuda (Blood Lad, Date A Live). A thrill ride for fans of the game.

The Deep Sea Fleet takes over the ocean. The dangerous and diabolical fleet pushed away humans from the sea. Yet the ladies of the Fleet Girls (who were each born with the soul of iconic Japanese warships), everything changes. The Fleet Girls do everything in their power to fight for humanity and for the sea. Could Akagi (Saki Fujita) lead the way?

Can these girls become the heroes of their own unique tales while out at sea? Making matters more interesting, Fubuki (Sumire Uesaka) is a Special Type Destroyer with unique skills. A part of the Naval group, Fubuki becomes part of the Torpedo Squadron Three. Can the ocean be saved from the Deep Sea Fleet?

The characters are compelling for an action-adventure production. The Fleet Girls are led by Akagi. With smarts and talent, the girl finds the power to usher in the adventure. The character has a lot of spunk and charisma. These qualities help the character to stand out from the crowd of anime productions.

The animation is excellent and one of the mosrt effective elements of the series production. The art direction by Maho Takahashi (Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, Tenchi Muyo! GXP) makes a splash. The art style is bright, vibrant, and creative. Under the chief animation direction of Mayuko Matsumoto (The Lost Village, Sky Wizards Academy) and Naomi Ide (Ahiru no Sora, Riddle Story of Devil), the series find a good balance for the creativity on display with the animation. The chief animation directors also handle the character design duties on the production. The character designs are impressive as well (and make the characters come to life in compelling ways). The designs certainly fit the respective characters on the series.

The cinematography by Yasuyuki Itou (Domestic Girlfriend, Happy Sugar Life) is vibrant and creative fun. The cinematographic style certainly aids the animation with more energetic visuals. Cinematographer Itou manages to imbue the series with excellent aesthetic qualities.

The score composed by Natsumi Kameoka (Inazuma Eleven GO 2: Chrono Stone, Inazuma Eleven GO Galaxy) is another compelling element of the production. The score certainly finds a strong artistic sensibility. The music finds a solid rhythm for these characters and the action-adventure of the production. A solid effort from Kameoka.

Written by Jukki Hanada (Beyond the Boundary, The Girl Who Leapt Through Space), KanColle Fleet Girls is more fun than audiences might expect at first glance. The writing has fun with the concept and the action sequences are well written. Hanada has a good time playing with the storytelling elements.

Directed by Keizou Kusakawa (Action Heroine Cheer Fruits, Sekirei: Pure Engagement), KanColle Fleet Girls has plenty of exciting adventure and is a good showcase for the visual strengths of director Kusakawa. The results are worthwhile. A solid pace, energy, and sense of upbeat rhythm.

KanColle: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation, KanColle Fleet Girls is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation quality is excellent. The colorful animaton appears vibrant and beautifully rendered. The encode does a solid job showcasing the art style and the design efforts. The action scenes are well encoded as well (and have little in the way of banding). A solid encode by Funimation.

KanColle: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release in excellent and does a good job of preserving the soundstage. The English dub track sounds especially impressive and the dub benefits enormously from the expanded sound stage with 5.1 surround audio. The surrounds help the score to be highlighted more effectively and the results are satisfying. Either way, the audio will please fans of both the English dub and the original Japanese language audio.

KanColle: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a selection of bonus features. The set does provide some surprising extras (including the added bonus of "Japanese Warnings" and these are certainly unexpected finds). Fans seeking a more extensive supplemental package might find the release to be a little lacking in the supplemental arena but the set still provides some nice bonuses for fans.

Disc 2:

Promo Videos (HD, 4:11)

Commercial Collection (HD, 2:04)

Japanese Warnings (HD, 19:25)

Textless Opening Song "Miro" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "Fubuki" (HD, 1:32)

Trailers (HD, 5:38)

KanColle: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

KanColle Fleet Girls is an entertaining anime with a compelling sense of action and adventure. The production has a number of impressive components (especially in regards to the wonderful animation displayed on the series). The character designs and background animation are interesting. Directed by Keizou Kusakawa (Action Heroine Cheer Fruits), the series has creative direction and there are some exciting action sequences staged by the director. The set provides a strong video and audio presentation. The release also includes a selection of bonus features. Fans of the series will be pleased to add the release to their collection. Recommended.