Kinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Kinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! Blu-ray Movie Review

A worthwhile conclusion to the beloved anime series.

KinMoza The Movie Thank You is an enormously entertaining follow-up to the anime series. The feature-film continues the adventures of the characters audiences have come to know and love on the series. Created by Yui Hara, KinMoza The Movie Thank You showcases wonderful animation by Studio Gokumi (Yuki Yuna Is a Hero, Tsuredure Children). Produced by Fumiki Yamazaki (Blue Drop, Black Bullet), Hiroyuki Kobayashi (The Demon Girl Next Door, Castle Town Dandelion), Mitsuhiro Matsuo (The Familiar of Zero, Wanna Be the Strongest in the World), Sachi Kawamoto (Gourmet Girl Graffiti, House of Five Leaves), Shigeaki Komatsu (Bamboo Blade, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040), Shingo Yokota (Dragonar Academy, Non Non Biyori Repeat), and Youhei Hayashi (Girls und Panzer, Aria the Scarlet Ammo), the feature-film continuation of the anime series is a must-see for serious fans of the franchise. KinMoza The Movie Thank You is well worth seeing.

Shinobu Ōmiya (Asuka Nishi) goes on one last adventure with her best friends when the final year of her schooling occurs. Memories of the past school years and the adventures (or misadventures!) of herself joining her friends sweeps Shinobu up in a whirlwind of emotion). Yet the final chapter begins. With friends Aya Komichi (Risa Taneda), Yōko Inokuma (Yumi Uchiyama), and Alice Cartelet (Manami Tanaka) by Shinobu’s side, the journey is somehow just beginning and ending at the same time. This year the girl gang even benefits from some more activity from Karen Kujō (Nao Tōyama). A fun and festive Senior Year school trip is being prepped by the students. Can Shinobu and her best friends lead the way? Festivities await!

The film brings back the beloved cast of characters from the anime series. Shinobu once again takes the lead as the central protagonist of the story. The characters are given the spotlight again for a new and exciting journey in their last year at school. The journey of the cast brings new emotions and lots of excitement to the forefront. Shinobu finds herself in situations she never expected before and the journey of entering these closing chapters in this stage of her life is something that brings something memorable and compelling to the forefront of the feature-film continuation.

The animation remains one of the most beautiful and breathtaking elements of the production. The film features stunning art direction by Chikako Shibata (Fruits Basket, Chobits). Shibata brings a unique and keen eye to the production. The feature-film animation is even more bold and exciting than the series animation. The colors are beautiful and compelling. The art style ushered in by Shibata is at once both faithful to the original series while expanding the scope of the production with an even more ambitious undertaking.

One last stroll with friends.

The character designs by Kazuyuki Ueda (BanG Dream!, Hinako Note) also manage to make a solid impression. The designs are a great fit for the central leads. The designs by Ueda understand the fundamentals. The designs fit the bubbly personalities of the cast. Especially in regards to the ace character design for the lead, Shinobu. A great effort by Ueda.

The cinematography by Satoshi Yamamoto (The Misfit of Demon King Academy, Skeleton Knight in Another World) is excellent and ambitious. The scope and scale of the feature-film is even more engaging than the original anime. The feature film pushes the art style forward with bolder and ambitious cinematography (striking the right visual tone for the production).

The original score composed by Ruka Kawada (Is the order a rabbit?, If Her Flag Breaks) is a delight from start to finish. The score builds on the themes and motifs of the original anime while providing some enjoyable elements for the feature-film itself. The music is a great fit for the feature-film version. A beautiful score by Kawada.

Written by Yuniko Ayana (BanG Dream!, Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl), KinMoza The Movie Thank You is a well-penned follow up to the previous series and the OVA special. The film offers a opportunity for the screenwriter to return to the lore of the series after handing over screenwriting duties to someone else for the previous OVA production. With a return to the anime, writer Ayana is energized by the theatrical film format and provides plenty of opportunities for the central characters to shine. A strong effort from Ayana and with storytelling threads fans will appreciate.

Directed by Munenori Nawa (Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime), the filmmaker takes the helm with a clear passion for the project. Although Nawa is taking over directing duties the filmmaker brought back most of the same staff members for the theatrical film. Certainly, Nawa has a keen eye for visual storytelling. The film adapts and continues the series in exciting ways and it would not have been possible without a worthwhile filmmaker behind-the-scenes. Fans will appreciate the strong efforts of Nawa.

Kinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, KinMoza The Movie Thank You is presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation is superb and does a solid job with the colorful animation. The character designs and background animation are highlighted beautifully with Sentai's encode. A top-notch effort from the anime distributor. Colors shine brightly and the art is well preserved.

Kinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The release sounds exceptional with the lossless audio encoding. The score is well reproduced and is certainly highlighted well with the presentation. The stereo sound design is quite good. While a surround sound presentation would have been appreciated (and could have certainly helped to enhance certain scenes), the stereo sound design is in keeping with the soundstage of the anime series. Fans will also notice the lack of an English dub option – there was no English dub for the anime series, so this is no big loss. A solid audio presentation from Sentai Filmworks.

Kinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:51)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 3:48)

Japanese Promos (HD, 6:50)

More Kinmoza (HD, 2:10)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Iroduku: The World in Colors (HD, 1:33), Nana (HD, 1:27), Is the Order a Rabbit? (HD, 1:34), Bloom, and Rent-a- Girlfriend (HD, 1:32).

Kinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

KinMoza The Movie Thank You is a wonderful continuation of the anime series. The feature-film picks up the pieces of the series with more storytelling threads with the characters fans have come to know and love. The film provides a degree of closure for the series. The die-hard fans of the series will be most pleased. The Blu-ray release features a strong video and audio presentation. Recommended.