Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Kurokami: The Animation Volume 4 Blu-ray Movie Review

A definite downgrade from the exceptional storytelling in Volume Three.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner February 23, 2011

Kurokami: The Animation is an anime adaptation of the "Black God" Japanese manga series published by Square Enix. Interestingly enough, the series was written and illustrated by an all-Korean team, reflecting a growing trend in Japanese manga production. The resulting 23-episode anime series was licensed and produced by Sunrise animation studio, and directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi (The Twelve Kingdoms). Initially released on Japanese and North American television outlets during the first half of 2009, the series was chosen by Bandai as their first anime television production to be released on the Blu-ray format within the North American market. This fourth volume contains episodes thirteen through sixteen, plus an additional recap episode summarizing the events of the first half of the series.

Steiner's replacement.

The end of the last volume left us with Keita, Kuro, Yakuma and Riona narrowly escaping the Kaionji Group’s army of hired thugs. Meanwhile, Daichi and Raiga ambushed Reishin after securing the Tera Stone, eventually managing to destroy the powerful heir to the Shishigami clan along with the stone. As this new volume opens, we’re brought up to speed on the events that transpired since the prior episode, covering a span of several months. During that period, Daichi Kuraki rose to the position of Chairman over the Kaionji Group, and used his newfound influence to alter the balance of the Doppeliner system. Meanwhile, Keita remained in a comatose state under the protection of the Nobel Ones, who’ve begun to separate into factions loyal to the Kaionji Group and those still interested in their role as Tera Guardians. Most prominent among them are two leaders who’ve taken the reigns from their deceased ally Steiner, and teamed up with Kuro, Yakumo and Riona against the Kaionji Group. Among the problematic developments since we last visited our outnumbered heroes is Kuraki’s kidnapping and detention of Akane, who also happens to be the Master Root to Kuraki’s fiancé (and daughter of the founder/president of the Kaionji Group).

Considering the wealth of plot developments found in Volume Three of the series, this five-episode entry is notably less impressive. Beginning with the intermission episode that kicks off this volume, we’re basically given a well-constructed re-cap of the first 12 episodes in the series, meant to bring viewers up to speed on where we’ve gone thus far. From there, we flash forward to an outline of the new circumstances mentioned in the previously-described synopsis, before moving into what essentially becomes a drawn out rescue operation to save Akane. New developments still surface during the events of the four new episodes, but compared to the climactic developments in the prior volume, these plotlines rarely measure up. For instance, new allies and villains are introduced as we move forward, but the resulting action sequences seem a bit redundant and unnecessary in service to the overall plot, leaving far too much filler down the stretch.

I suspect part of my diminished enthusiasm can be blamed on the absence of several primary players that perished during the final episode of Volume Three, and weren’t sufficiently replaced over the course of Volume Four. One of those characters may resurface in the next volume (based on a revelation at the conclusion of Episode 16), but in the meantime we’re left with a primary villain (Daichi Kuraki) who lacks much menace.

Fortunately, all is not lost at this point in the series. As with many anime productions that take 20+ episodes to run their course, Kurokami is simply displaying the lows and highs that correspond to climactic developments in the story. I should’ve assumed the series wouldn’t maintain such intensity through its entire second half, so it’s understandable that this volume hit the reset button on a journey that still has a long way to go. In other words, I’m still anxious to discover what will become of Kuro, Akane, and Keita, but my overall assessment of the series has been tempered by the emergence of too many filler elements during this four episode run.

Kurokami: The Animation Volume 4 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 22Mbps), Kurokami: The Animation looks impressive on Blu-ray despite the inherent budgetary limitations of the production. It's easy to become spoiled by the precision of theatrical anime productions dominating the Bandai release slate, but it's great to see more anime studios turning toward their television catalog for Blu-ray options. When you remove the aspects attributable to the source material, this is a fine transfer with little room for complaint. Hand-drawn lines remain crisp, avoiding stair-stepping, aliasing, or blurring, and background art reveals adequate texture/shading, bringing a nice sense of balance to the environmental designs of the artists. Regarding the color palette of the series, this is fairly standard material, with naturalistic tones emerging from the real-world setting, and hues that never strive for an overly saturated spectrum. Black levels avoid ascensions into dark-gray territory (certainly a good thing), and contrast provides a nice balance between the lighter and darker elements within the image. Despite the continued strength of this release, the animation throughout these four episodes failed to dazzle on the same level as the prior volume. Part of this can be attributed to the sterile environments of the Kaionji headquarters, and part can be blamed on the mundane nature of most action sequences, which fail to deliver much intensity or variety to keep viewers interested. Despite such complaints, this is still a strong visual presentation that matches the quality of the opening chapters in the series, demonstrating a level of proficiency I'd expect to be maintained throughout the remaining episodes in the series.

Kurokami: The Animation Volume 4 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As noted in my prior reviews of the series, this is the one area that may stand as a deal breaker to some anime fans. If your taste is similar to mine, you prefer the native language track on most anime series. As such, I was notably disappointed to learn Bandai would be releasing Kurokami with nothing more than a dubbed English version available. Given the nature of licensing rights in various international territories and varying pricing structures within "Region A" territories, I'm left to assume this is one of those situations where Bandai had little choice. However, I still recognize the potential disappointment arising in some of the more hardcore anime fans. For those of you who are still with me at this point, I'll assume you're at least willing to hear an assessment of the English dub, and give it the benefit of the doubt.

First and foremost, Bandai assembled a talented pool of English voice actors to play the various roles in Kurokam, and the result is quite remarkable. Despite preferring the native language, I've listened to plenty of dubs over the years, and Kurokami definitely ranks within the top 10%. Each actor nails the tone of the character they portray, and the timing of the vocal delivery matches up nicely with the facial movements within the animation. Stepping away from the dialogue delivery within the show and moving toward an assessment of the actual audio presentation, I can't say I'm nearly as delighted. As commendable as it is to receive a lossless audio presentation, the fact that the show only encompasses a 2-channel track is somewhat of a let-down. Not all television series are produced with a surround sound focus, but considering Kurokami was released in 2009, I'd have expected more than simply a stereo mix. As such, we end up with an audio experience that's well-balanced and crisp, with solid fundamental framework, but merely adequate in comparison with other productions currently on the market.

Kurokami: The Animation Volume 4 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As with prior volumes, this disc contains clean opening/closing songs, and three trailers for other Bandai releases (Freedom, Gurren Lagann, and Sword of the Stranger).

Kurokami: The Animation Volume 4 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As reflected in the bulk of my review, I wasn't terribly excited by the direction taken in this fourth volume of the series. It almost seems as though the story reached a sufficient climax in episode twelve, and subsequently took ten steps back during the four episodes that followed. Perhaps the writers were merely establishing a new direction for the series, and failed to maintain the same propensity for twists or revelations in the process, but looking back it's difficult to feel the same level of enthusiasm I had when episode twelve came to a conclusion. Hopefully the final seven episodes will restore my faith in the series as a whole.