Kekkaishi: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Kekkaishi: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Kekkaishi is an action-adventure anime. Created by Yellow Tanabe, Kekkaishi has a unique art style for action anime fans. Produced by Koji Nagai (My Hero Academia, Yatterman) and Naohiro Ogata (Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, Tales of the Abyss), Kekkaishi features animation produced by Sunrise (Mobile Suit Gundam, Cowboy Bebop). Licensed for release on Blu-ray in North America by Discotek Media, Kekkaishi was first released on home video by VIZ Media (Warner Bros) and was broadcast on the Cartoon Network action-anime block Toonami.

Yoshimori Sumimura (Hiroyuki Yoshino) has a special and magical gift – the kind that few possess. Yoshimori is a descendant in the line of the Kekkaishi. As someone who can wield the power of the Kekkaishi, he manages to excel with special fighting techniques few are capable of using.

Utilizing his magic powers, Yoshimori goes head-to-head against his rival Tokine Yukimura (Rie Saitou). The pair duke it out over who is the main heir to the Kekkaishi powers. While attending school at the Karasumori School, 14-year-old Yoshimori faces new enemies and evil villains while simultaneously battling the textbooks. Can Yoshimori come out on top against his rival Tokine?

Part of the fun of the series is the entertaining characters. Yoshimori is a great and compelling lead protagonist. The character certainly has a lot of energy and gusto as the lead fighter for Kekkaishi. Yoshimori is always striving to be his best as a fighter and anyone who has ever tried to be their absolute best in any goal or field can relate to that sense of determination. The supporting cast benefits from the strong rival character of Tokine, who imbues a sense of rivalry that makes the action and adventure all the more compelling.

The character designs by Hirotoshi Takaya (Puppet Princess, Tank Knights Portriss) are compelling and creative. The designs certainly feel appropriate for these characters and the action-adventure world these characters inhibit. The designs feel distinct and creative – providing Kekkaishi with designs that are superior to many other productions. A wonderful effort for the anime series.

Under the art direction by Shigemi Ikeda (Inuyasha, My Hero Academia), Kekkaishi is a beautifully animated series. Ikeda is a great art director and brings forth a lot of wonderful efforts from the energized team of animators involved on the production. The series was technically animated in a time period in which anime was still transitioning between cell-based and computer based animation and as a result some of the techniques used on the series can appear a little bit dated by comparison, yet the art is creative and engaging. The animators certainly had a creative style and make the series much more fun as a result.

The cinematography by Shigemi Ogawa (InuYasha: The Final Act, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz) is a compelling element of the production. The series has a unique visual sensibility and the cinematographer highlights the aesthetic of the animation well. The results certainly enhance the production and make the canvas of the action sequences more rewarding visually.

The score composed by Taku Iwasaki (Gurren Lagann, Read or Die) is an engaging and worthwhile part of the production. Iwasaki is a talented composer and the contributions to Kekkaishi make the series robust in a way the series may not have been without their score compositions. The music adds an element of epic adventure to the production. The results are certainly impressive and make this a remarkably fun score to aid the series.

The series features chief screenwriting by Hiroshi Ohnogi (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, The Super Dimension Century Orguss). Kekkaishi has a good storytelling sensibility and the writing has creative dialogue and characterization. Ohnogi tackles the action and adventure elements with a sense of cohesion and style. The scripting certainly works well for the production.

Directed by Kenji Kodama (Case Closed, City Hunter), Kekkaishi is first and foremost a fun action anime. Anime fans who enjoy a solid action-adventure series will enjoy the exciting adrenaline-packed punch Kekkaishi provides. Kodama has a good sense of what audiences are looking for in an action anime: plenty of engaging sequences of epic battles and a sense of thrilling adventure. Kekkaishi delivers. Audiences looking for something fun will appreciate these aspects of the series.

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

Arriving on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Kekkaishi is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The release is sourced from the standard definition material. The release has received a high-definition upscale presentation. This presentation is the result of the upscaling process of Discotek Media.

Even though the release is presented in high definition, given that the series source-material was only in standard definition it is not a native HD source and animation is comparably softer and less sharp looking when one contrasts the presentation with native high definition presentations. The image certainly appears softer and with less clarity than a native HD presentation.

Nonetheless, the Kekkaishi encode manages to eek out some extra detail in the video presentation. Clarity is slightly better looking on the release with a smoother encode and fewer compression artifacts compared to a standard DVD disc. This isn't night and day by any means but it offers a marginal improvement over a standard DVD presentation.

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

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo. The lossless audio encoding offers worthwhile audio. Even though the clarity and detail doesn't rival a modern production, the audio nonetheless sounds a little more robust with the encoding process.

Dialogue is clear and easy to understand on the release. The score is well reproduced and enhanced by the lossless presentation. The presentation may have improved some more with a 5.1 surround sound presentation but as it stands the stereo audio encode sounds crisp and satisfactory on the release. A solid audio encode by Discotek Media.

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

If there is one area of the Blu-ray release where the set could have used some more improvement, it is in the supplemental field. The set includes a handful of bonus features but the collection of extras isn’t as robust as on some other releases from distributor Discotek Media.

As an example of how the set could have improved, some sets distributed by Discotek include a nice assortment of art scans. These art scans showcase character art and background animation cells. An assortment of these types of scans might have made a nice addition to the set. Nothing of the sort is provided on this collection.

Nonetheless, fans will appreciate that the set isn’t entirely barebones and has a few extra goodies. The set also comes with a nice o-card slipcover. Though the slipcover has no extra texturing or embossing the slipcover adds a nice element of prestige to the release.

Textless Openings (SD, 6:24)

Textless Endings (SD, 11:07)

English Trailer (SD, 1:46)

Interview with Director Kenji Kodama and Producer Michihiko Suwa (SD, 17:51) as conducted by Anime News Network during Otakon 2007.

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

Kekkaishi is an entertaining and action-packed anime series. The production has a creative sense of energy and style. Kekkaishi is well-directed by Kenji Kodama (City Hunter) and features solid script writing by Hiroshi Ohnogi (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood). The production has beautiful animation. The series certainly is a worthwhile one with a lot of noteworthy production elements. Fans of action-adventure anime will enjoy it.

The Blu-ray release from Discotek Media features a presentation sourced from standard definition material. The presentation is an upscale and isn't as impressive looking as native HD material. Nonetheless, Discotek has done a reasonable job with the upscaled presentation and it looks moderately better than a standard definition presentation – highlighting good color reproduction and encoding.

The release also includes a selection of bonus features – including an interview conducted by Anime News Network with series director Kenji Kodama and series producer Michihiko Suwa. Fans will be pleased with the release. Recommended.