Laughing Under the Clouds: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Laughing Under the Clouds: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Laughing Under the Clouds is a fantasy-drama anime with a unique spin on the genre. The series comes from original creator Karakarakemuri. As broadcast on the Nippon Television Network (Air Master, Case Closed), Laughing Under the Clouds features animation produced by Doga Kobo (Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA, A Bridge to the Starry Skies). Produced by Hiroyuki Inage (Death Parade, Flying Witch), Jun'nosuke Ito (Flying Witch, Uma Musume Pretty Derby), Shunsuke Hosoi (Hanebad!, Laid-Back Camp), Tomoaki Watanabe (The World Is Still Beautiful, Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge), and Toshio Nakatani (Chihayafuru, Death Note), Laughing Under the Clouds offers anime fans a unique experience.

There are no greater strengths that test us than the bonds between family. Growing up as an orphan, Tenka Kumo (Yūichi Nakamura) finds himself with added responsibility as the guardian figure to his younger brothers, Soramaru Kumo (Yuuki Kaji) and Chūtarō Kumo (Tsubasa Yonaga). Tenka has an enormous gift as a swordsman. Tenka uses his skills as a swordsman to help aid him in his unique worldview while guiding his brothers. Determined to be a good figure for his siblings, Tenka has enormous pride in looking out for them at their shine.

Despite the familial bonds, Tenka finds unexpected peril looms within the clouds: an ominous obstacle known as the Orochi – a deadly serpent – becomes a threat that cannot go ignored. Set against the backdrop of the Meiji period, the stakes are high as the brothers must unite as one: the family will ultimately face a challenge that will test the abilities of all. There is even a mysterious and ancient prophecy that comes in to play. Can Tenka and his brothers survive the threats ahead?

 The series benefits from some interesting characters at the forefront of the drama. Tenka is a unique and compelling protagonist. There is something fascinating about the character and the manner in which the character helps to lead the storytelling forward with the emphasis on family and those undeniably special bonds between family members. The characters were more interesting because of these familial elements and the connectivity between the family members.

The animation is one of the most compelling elements of the production. The series has a colorful and robust aesthetic. The art style is certainly a fascinating element of the production and there is a good element of color and ambiance to the art style. The team of animators involved on the production enhance the series tone with the cloud-sky artistic approach giving the feudal setting more weight. Without these light and airy artistic approaches, the art style wouldn’t have made as much of an impression. This is all brought to the forefront through the art direction of Yuki Ikenoue (Himouto! Umaru-chan, Outbreak Company). Ikenoue did a solid job working alongside the animators on the production to achieve something more meaningful.

The character designs by Takao Maki (Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls, Mix: Meisei Story) make a solid impression as well. The designs certainly stand out and are better than expected. Maki is a gifted designer. The character designs are more unique than one might expect for the genre. A solid production element delivered by Maki.

The cinematography by Yasushi Kudō (Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA, Watashi ni Tenshi ga Maiorita!) is easily one of the most charming components of the series production. The cinematography has an interesting balance of light and colorful components to make the “under the clouds” title feel right at home. Kudo certainly showcases the characters and their respective environments with relative ease.

The original score composed by Shuichiro Fukuhiro (Genshiken: Second Generation) is an effective element of the series. The score provides a charming tone and it fits the series nicely. The music provides a reasonably good backdrop to the era of the story and the familial ties of the central protagonists. A solid effort by Fukuhiro.

Written by Yūya Takahashi (Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible, Tiger & Bunny), Laughing Under the Clouds might not break any significant new ground but it is a decent offering with a nice cast of characters at the forefront of the tale. Takahashi has fun with the concept and era of storytelling. The series has a reasonable storytelling approach and explores the family life of Tenka and his siblings nicely.

Directed by Hiroshi Haraguchi (KAHEY - A Certain Captain's Life, Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians), Laughing Under the Clouds isn’t a series that necessarily breaks any new ground but it does find a nice voice to carry the series forward. Director Haraguchi has fun with the concept and the time-period of the saga, unfolding the story with some compelling threads and remembering to focus on the production aesthetics.

Laughing Under the Clouds: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Funimation, Laughing Under the Clouds is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation benefits from a robust and colorful design. The high-definition video quality looks exceptional with bright and bold colors. The encoding is solid and capably handles the source. Background animation looks nice and organic as well. A solid presentation for the series.

Laughing Under the Clouds: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is a nice component of the presentation and it adds some extra depth to the production. The encoding is worthwhile and capably handles the background sound design and the central components – the dialogue remains clear and the score sounds nice and crisp on the release. A solid encode from Funimation.

Laughing Under the Clouds: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Episode 1 Audio Commentary

Disc 2:

Episode 10 Audio Commentary

Textless Opening Song #1 – "Brian no Kaze" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Opening Song #2 – "Ruten no Hi" (HD, 1:31)

Textless Closing Song – "Attitude to Life" (HD, 1:31)

U.S. Trailer (HD, 00:51)

The release also includes a selection of trailers: Blood Blockade Battlefront (HD, 1:50), Garo the Animation (HD, 1:05), Assassination Classroom (HD, 1:02), World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman (HD, 00:48), Fairy Tail (HD, 1:07), Yona of the Dawn (HD, 1:03), and Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (HD, 1:30).

Laughing Under the Clouds: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Laughing Under the Clouds is an interesting period anime series with a compelling concept revolving around family ties. The series benefits from outstanding animation. The release comes a strong video and audio presentation. The release also includes a number of exclusive bonus features (including some audio commentaries only available on the release). The Blu-ray set is worth a pick up for series fans. Recommended.