Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection Blu-ray Movie Review

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is a feature-film released in Japan on July 22^nd, 2017. The action-packed anime fantasy features animation produced by Seven Arcs Pictures (Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls, Trinity Seven). Created by Masaki Tsuzuki, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection features original theme song music performed by Nana Mizuki. The voice cast includes Satomi Satou, Haruka Tomatsu, Kana Ueda, Nana Mizuki, and Yukari Tamura.

Kirie Florian (Satomi Satou) and Amitie Florian (Haruka Tomatsu) are close siblings who work tirelessly together on a project to restore the quality of the planet to its former glory. The planet is now in an underwhelming state of decline and these siblings find it their duty to make things better. Eltria is completely destitute as a planet with the landscape not even resembling its former glory.

The Florian sisters want nothing more than to rescue the planet but things come up that the sisters never expected to face. When the Florian sisters father, Granz, becomes terribly ill plans inevitably change and the big priority of restoring the state of the planet takes second fiddle to their parent. Amitie focuses on their father while Kirie decides it is time to set forth on a new adventure as she embarks elsewhere – going across the land in search of a different planet altogether – one that might be more habitable.

Kirie thus comes across the Book of Darkness tome and she soon meets Hayate Yagami (Kana Ueda), Fate T. Harlaown (Nana Mizuki), and Nanoha Takamachi (Yukari Tamura). Can a new world order be found or will darkness prevail? Can the Florian sisters save their father and return to their mission of saving their home planet before it is too late?

The characters are a charming part of the equation. The main cast of characters in the film exude great personalities and the sense of charm of the leads makes the film a lot more entertaining on the whole. The character designs by Kana Hashidate (Dog Days', Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation) are top notch and there is plenty to appreciate about the designs. Hashidate did great work with these design elements and the character style works well for the filmmaking.

The action scenes hit the right quotient for fans of the action genre. The action arena is one of the main areas in which the film excels as a production. There is an intensity to the epic battle sequences and these scenes amp up the drama and provide plenty of intense thrills. The action has such a joyous backbeat and there is so much adrenaline on display with the high octane battles that fans will be thrilled and on the edge of their seat. If for no other reason, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is certainly worth a watch for the fight scenes alone.

The animation is impressive and one of the best aspects of the production. The modern art style looks crisp and engaging with the film. Under the art direction of Akira Suzuki (A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Lupin III: Swallowtail Tattoo), Scott MacDonald (Majestic Prince: Wings to the Future, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man), and Seiko Akashi (Lupin III: The Columbus Files, Viewtiful Joe), the production shines in spades.

The chief animation direction by Issei Aragaki (ViVid Strike!, Waiting in the Summer), Kana Hashidate (Trinity Seven, Extreme Hearts), and Osamu Sakata (Dog Days, The Familiar of Zero: Rondo of Princesses) also adds to the visual style of the filmmaking. The animation is fantastic and bold. The entire team of animators brought something special to the table and the result is something meaningful.

A fun and engaging animation style that is more creative than some contemporary anime productions. The storyboards by Takayuki Hamana (Yo-kai Watch, The Prince of Tennis) are brought to life by the animators. The art helps elevate the film and the viewing experience.

The cinematography by Megumi Enomoto (Trinity Seven: Eternal Library & Alchemic Girl, Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls) is vibrant and colorful and there is much to celebrate about the vibrant style of cinematography. Enomoto created cinematography that provides a great highlight to the film and that which accentuates the visuals of the animation. The aesthetic is sleek and robust looking – with the art showcased by the modern style of cinematography.

Written by Masaki Tsuzuki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Dog Days), Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is a fun and charming film with some excellent character moments for the main cast. Throughout the film, there is a sense of ambitious storytelling as an undercurrent. The film has remarkable fun with the cast. Though the script isn’t as complex as the best written anime are, it delivers something fun and therein lies the charm of the script. The script provides a nice balance of character moments and action- oriented scripting.

Directed by Takayuki Hamana (The Prince of Tennis, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen), Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is a worthwhile trip. The action-packed anime film has a fun sense of style. The filmmaking delivers with energy aplomb and plenty of creativity. Hamana has a good sense with consideration of pacing for the film and the action flows naturally and in an entertaining way. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is well worthwhile.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. An impressive high-definition encode with solid presentation merits. The presentation provides good quality high-definition video quality with the transfer providing bold colors and nice line art detail. Throughout the transfer, the image appears to be crisp and engaging, and the animation benefits as a result.

One of the great things about the Blu-ray format is that it provides higher bit-rate video quality compared to streaming video services (which tend to offer a notably more compressed image with smaller video bit-rates). One of the reliable things about the Blu-ray format is the quality of the encoding is usually going to be superior to streaming services, thereby providing audiences with a more enjoyable viewing experience.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of quality lossless audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. English subtitles are provided on the release. The Blu-ray doesn't include an English dubbed option. The sound direction by Toshiki Kameyama (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Non Non Biyori) is well reproduced and helps to elevate the audio experience. The Blu-ray format offers superior audio quality to streaming video services with lossless sound encoding. The presentation on streaming video services is always provided in a lossy (non lossless) format, usually somewhere around MP3 or DVD quality – whereby the Blu-ray provide provides true lossless encoding with higher bit-rates.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes packaged with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The release includes the same standard cover art-work underneath the slipcover. Inside of the case, the cover-art has interior art. Discotek Media provides a subtle but nice and appreciable package design to the release – a nice collectible cover for the release. It looks and feels great when held in hand. There is something remarkably special about physical media and holding something tangible in hand.

The on disc supplemental package is a bit sparse and is not as robust as is sometimes found on releases by Discotek Media. The set comes with some standard supplements but nothing too extensive is on the package – the set perhaps could have fared a bit better in the extras department with some art galleries, audio commentaries, documentaries, and interviews. Unfortunately, as is sometimes the same with the release of anime Blu-ray editions, the supplements are slim and there simply isn't much to the package extras. On disc supplements are as follows:

Teaser (HD, 00:14)

Trailer 1 (HD, 1:00)

Trailer 2 (HD, 1:00)

TV Spots/Blu-ray Promo (HD, 3:09)

Yumina Introduction Shorts (HD, 2:00)

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Reflection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is an entertaining and action-packed anime film with a lot of fun spectacle. The action-packed adrenaline rush of the film is well worth experiencing and there is a lot to appreciate about the energy of the filmmaking. The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition video presentation alongside a quality lossless audio encode. The Blu-ray provides a nicely designed o-card slipcover, too. Recommended.