MM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

MM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

An anime for masochists.

MM! is a sadomasochistic comedy. The series is produced by Akimasa Sasao, Hiromasa Minami, Katsumi Koike, Takatoshi Senno, Takeshi Hashimoto, and Tatsuhiro Nitta. The anime has original animation from production company Xebec (Broken Blade, Elemental Gelade). Created by Akinari Matsuno, featuring original art by QP:flapper, MM! is a series that will appeal to fans of masochistic kink tales.

Tarō Sado (Jun Fukuyama) loves nothing more than to be used and abused. Sado is a masochist (or as he likes to call it - a “super masochist” who wants to be pummeled with fists and everything else that can be tossed on to him. Determined to get as much pleasure from pain as possible, Sado finds himself joining a school club led by Mio Isurugi (Ayana Taketatsu). Mio loves to be as sadistic as possible: beating the brains out of Sado is practically her day-job. Can Sado ever fit in with the other students? Being a super masochist isn’t easy!

The central character is a super masochist and as such the characterization makes sure to showcase Sado’s massive enjoyment of violence. Sado loves to be beaten as much as possible and to have a woman pummel him to the ground. The journey for Sado is one of affection for thrashings and it manages to bring him unending happiness.

The series has decent animation overall. The series animation arrives from chief animation director Masaaki Takiyama (Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!, Tokyo ESP) and Taeko Hori (Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Elemental Gelade). While this is not a top tier anime with consideration of the animation style and implementation, the effort is still commendable. The animation is colorful and showcases the energy of the team of animators.

"Time to be punished!"

The cinematography by Tomoyuki Nakata (Ladies versus Butlers!, Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox) does a solid job of highlighting the series aesthetic. MM! is certainly a series with a sense of visual finesse on the whole (with bright and vivid cinematography). Nakata seems to understand how to balance the storyline and the undercurrent of sadomasochism with a more upbeat tone.

The series features an original score composed by Yukari Hashimoto (Banished From The Heroes' Party, March comes in like a lion). The score isn’t that impressive and seems like one of the least effective elements of the production. The music simply doesn’t stand out from the crowd and sounds like background music. There isn’t a sense of strong character themes to the series.

Written by Rie Koshika (The Future Diary, Hayate the Combat Butler: Can't Take My Eyes Off You), MM! is a series with a fairly straightforward plotline. The entire saga revolves around the mission of Sado to enjoy his super masochism and get the most pleasure out of his kink as a result. Koshika wants for the anime to explore the mix of pleasure and pain for Sado and his appreciation of being tossed around.

Directed by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa (Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Clockwork Planet), MM! is a production aimed at fans of masochism. The series highlights the super masochism of Sado and everything kinky that turns him on as he gets more doses of violence than he ever expected. The production showcases how pleasurable being whipped and tossed around is for Sado and Nagasawa highlights these elements with a clear affection for super masochism.

MM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, MM! is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation is quite impressive on the whole. Color reproduction is excellent. The series has a vibrant looking style highlighting the masochism of the central protagonist. The encode is excellent and doesn't have compression issues. Sentai Filmworks did a solid job with the release.

MM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release comes with a selection of lossless audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (with English subtitles) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The lossless audio sounds crisp and has some excellent sense of depth. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The score sounds superbly detailed as well.

MM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Audio Commentary on Episode 3 with Ayana Taketatsu (Mio) & Saori Hayami (Arashiko)

Disc 2:

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

A Rather Extreme Short Story:

Mio & Yuno (HD, 1:56)

Mio, Yumi, & Taro (HD, 1:52)

Taro & Noa (HD, 1:40)

Taro, Tomoko, & Shizuka (HD, 2:36)

Mio, Noa, & Yuno (HD, 2:50)

Hidden Camera Shorts:

Mio (HD, 1:25)

Yuno (HD, 1:19)

Noa (HD, 1:17)

Mio & Michiru (HD, 2:50)

Japanese Promotional Video (HD, 2:02)

Japanese Commercials (HD, 1:09)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: To loveru Darkness (HD, 1:32), Maoyu – Archenemy & Hero (HD, 1:33), Heaven's Memo Pad (HD, 1:37), and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (HD, 1:32).

MM!: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

MM! is an anime series aimed at fans of sadomasochism. Sado is a lover of "super" masochism and the joys of being tossed around and whipped as much as possible. Fans of masochistic kink will find this a entertaining series about the joys of being submissive to a master. The anime series has decent and effective animation from animation directors Taeko Hori (Arifureta - From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Elemental Gelade) and Masaaki Takiyama (Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!, Tokyo ESP). The production benefits from decent screenwriting as well. The Blu-ray release has a solid video and audio presentation. This is another solid release from distributor Sentai Filmworks and it even comes with a selection of extras. Recommended.