Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.5 |
| Video |  | 4.5 |
| Audio | | 4.5 |
| Extras |  | 1.0 |
| Overall | | 3.5 |
Kokkoku: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review
Time-Freeze 101. Can you survive Stasis?
Reviewed by Neil Lumbard May 12, 2019
Kokkoku Moment by
Moment is a
science-fiction anime series revolving around a world in which time
can be frozen and stopped. The Yukawa's are a family of magic-infused
beings who have a rare ability which enables them to enter “Stasis”
(a in-between world of sorts where time can be frozen perfectly still
in time). Statis is an entry point to an otherworldly like state
where everyone who is outside of stasis is unable to maneuver the
world.
The series revolves around
the
lead-heroine, Juri. She's a cool-cat badass who leads the way for the
other characters. Her nephew faces a perilous nightmare when he gets
kidnapped and it's up to the smooth Juri to save the day. As the time
freeze causes the universe to become out of alignment, the hope for
the world's salvation is in the Yukawa family's determination to
take-down the bad-guys and stop the demons which are infiltrating the
frozen time-world.
The anime is a bit of a
mesh between an
action-anime and science-fiction drama. The storytelling is often
convoluted but entertaining with its high concept ideas and execution. The characters are fairly
straightforward and there is not a lot of room given to
character-development or depth. However, the series thrives on it's
cool animation, kick-ass opening/ending themes, and action-packed
episodes.
Kokkoku Moment by
Moment has
some excellent animation which helps to sets it apart as an
enticingly well-produced science-fiction universe. The series uses a
lot of dark color hues with a Gothic overtone. The style of the
artwork seems well suited to the universe at play. It's an over
haunting universe which plays with the concepts of time-freezing with
a suitably dark and grown-up style.
The music score is composed
by Michiru
(Mitsuboshi Colors) is often haunting and moody but
altogether
effective in setting an eerie and mysterious mood. The cinematography
by Yuichiro Nagata (Ben-To, Gangsta.)
meshes well with
the art style employed and helps to make this a more-believable
otherworldly universe. The character designs are effective and fit
the tone.
Yoshimitsu Ohashi (Galaxy
Angel Z,
Witchblade) directs the anime with a firm grasp on
how to
genre-blend the story. The series is part science-fiction and
part-drama (with the final episode of the series taking on a much
more grounded reality with an epilogue-like nature to it's concluding
moments). Ohashi remembers to counter-balance the action with the
seriousness that is inherent in all good science-fiction. The
storytelling can make one ponder the universe.
Kokkoku: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
The series is presented on Blu-ray with
a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded presentation in the original television
broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The series has a strong
presentation that has excellent color reproduction and overall
clarity. The image does have some extremely minor banding on occasion
which seems to be source-inherent. The bit-rate is healthy and the
encode quality utilized is superb. Colors are vibrant and the tones
and hues are superbly rendered.
Kokkoku: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
The audio is presented in English and
Japanese (with English subtitles) in 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio stereo.
The audio fidelity is excellent with good clarity and detail. This is
a impressive lossless audio presentation. Dialogue is clean, clear,
and easy to understand. The music score composed by Michiru sets the
tone of the sci-fi saga and is crisply detailed with excellent sound
reproduction.
Kokkoku: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Clean Opening
Animations (HD, 3
min. 4 sec.)
Clean Closing
Animation (HD, 1
min. 32 sec.)
Japanese Promos
(HD, 3 min. 8
sec.)
The release also includes
trailers for
other Sentai Filmworks releases including Doreiku: The
Animation,
Parasyte: The Maxim, Land of the Lustrous,
and Made
in Abyss.
Kokkoku: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Kokkoku Moment by
Moment is a
engaging science-fiction yarn which brings viewers on an interesting
and altogether unique anime journey. The story in this saga revolves around a
peculiar type of time-freezing that characters refer to as Stasis (in
which time stands totally still for those who are "outside" of
stasis.) With strong animation and a unique energy, Kokkoku
Moment
by Moment is worth checking out. Science fiction fans should
consider it a thoughtful entry in the genre and medium of anime.
The Blu-ray releases
features superb
video and audio quality and is worth a pick-up for fans.
