Kase-san and Morning Glories Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Kase-san and Morning Glories Blu-ray Movie Review

A beautiful and charming Yuri anime

Kase-san and Morning Glories is a charming slice of life anime which focuses on schoolgirls and their budding friendship and its twists and turns. Written and Directed by Takuya Sato (Say “I Love You”, Steins; Gate) and based upon the manga by Hiromi Takashima, the anime is a entertaining, highly engaging, and moving experience.

The brash and energetic Yui Yamada (Minami Takahashi) and tomboy Tomoka Kase (Ayane Sakura) are two close friends in high school who are experiencing the end of their time together at school. Graduation will soon be upon them. The young girls lives are extremely relaxed with them spending time at each other's houses, walking alongside the beautiful sidewalks of their town, and basking in the glow of the outdoor sunlight. Life and it's mysteries continues to unravel before these girls.

As the OVA feature progresses, the storyline delves into the girls relationship: could it be that there is more to their closeness than mere friendship? As it turns out, both Yui and Tomoka have feelings for one another that extend beyond merely “hanging out” together. These lesbian girls are just now starting to explore their feelings for one another and the mysteries of each other's romantic longings.

Love at First Sight

The animation quality in the release is exceptional with superb landscape artwork which adds a great artistic flair to every sequence. There are so many moments where this particular anime feels as if it was made just to be absorbed for its stunning beauty: the outdoors look picturesque and tranquil. It mesmerizes and enhances the enjoyment of the OVA to see such lush animation on display. It's clear that the animators of Kase-san and Morning Glories did their absolute best to enhance the quality of the film by adding minute details throughout the experience.

Takuya Sato did a superb job of bringing this storyline to life. The writing feels natural and organic. It never feels over-done or under-cooked. The girls in the story feel believable and genuine in the world of anime and the dialogue is effective at creating impressive characters that help to make the story one that is more transporting and effective. Sato is an expert in the anime field with his experiences on both Steins; Gate and Say “I Love You” both helping to lead this artist to this impressive production. Fans of these other superb productions will also find much to appreciate with the beautifully rewarding Kase-san and Morning Glories.

The feature is a superb OVA production which rewards viewers with a remarkable storyline that tugs at the heart-strings. The final scene in the feature feels rewarding and moving. By the time the ending is reached, one is certain that this is a quality slice-of-life anime production worthy or revisiting and sharing with others. Fans of yuri girl-love anime productions will be altogether impressed with the quality of this fantastic production.

Kase-san and Morning Glories Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kase-san and Morning Glories arrives on Blu-ray from distributor Sentai Filmworks with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio. Throughout the entire presentation, there is much to appreciate about the beautiful landscapes on display. The natural environmental shots look downright terrific and the environments are warm and welcoming.

The beautiful reds and lush greens showcase the impeccable artistry of the animators fine efforts in bringing flowers and their surrounding landscapes to life. The encode quality on the release is equally terrific with superb detail and overall clarity throughout. I noticed one scene in the OVA with a few seconds of banding that was barely noticeable on the video but this is otherwise a near-flawless HD presentation. This is a stunning looking Blu-ray release which won't disappoint viewers.

Kase-san and Morning Glories Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The OVA is presented in both Japanese and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. English subtitles are included for the Japanese language version presentation. The subtitles are free from any distracting spelling or grammatical errors. The release has exceptional fidelity and sounds beautifully crisp, transparent, and enthralling. One can become completely absorbed into the world of the film as remarkable details can be heard from the quiet serenity of the outdoors.

Dialogue reproduction is exceptional. This is a beautiful soundtrack which also capably reproduces the serene music score in equal measurement. The surround sound track is remarkably detailed throughout. While it is a subtle surround sound presentation which is used minimally for the environmental sounds and the music score, there is much to appreciate about how well balanced and inviting the surround track is as it enhances the experience tenfold.

Kase-san and Morning Glories Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Japanese Promo (HD, 1:35)

Japanese Teaser (HD, 00:46)

Lastly, the release also includes trailers promoting other releases available from Sentai Filmworks: My Teen Romantic Comedy – SNAFU (HD, 1:32), Tada Never Falls in Love (HD, 1:19), Bloom Into You (HD, 00:54), and Love Stage!! (HD, 1:30).

Kase-san and Morning Glories Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is an entertaining and highly engaging yuri anime which has some excellent animation and a beautiful storyline between the two lesbian girls. As their relationship unfolds, its clear that this production explores the beauty of their relationship and their deep friendship. The animation is remarkable, the music is sublime, and the script is top-notch. Highly recommended.