Mai Mai Miracle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Mai Mai Miracle Blu-ray Movie Review

A charming family-friendly film with plenty to offer audiences.

Mai Mai Miracle is a charming fable based on the story by Nobuko Takagi. The slice-of-life meets fantasy-adventure was produced by acclaimed animation studio Madhouse (Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits). A fun-filled odyssey for audiences of all ages.

Shinko is an imaginative third-grade elementary school student who dreams of what her town was like in the past (over 1,000 years ago). As she becomes close friends with another girl, Kiiko, the pair both embark on fun adventures together in the outdoors. Skinko also listens to the wonderful stories of her beloved grandfather. As fantasy and reality blend, the imagination of Shinko soars with creativity. A magical journey of past and present – and an exploration of friendship.

The production has a variety of wonderful elements. The art direction by Shinichi Uehara (The Tatami Galaxy, Flowers Will Bloom) soars and manages to imbue the production with a Ghibli-esque style. Though not in the same league as a Studio Ghibli production, the art work is visually wonderful: creative and charming. The line art is well-done and the background animation looks splendid throughout. Mai Mai Miracle has a traditional animation quality that brings to mind paintings: exploring the art with a special prism. The character-designs are also well-done.

The production design by Kenichiro Hori, Masao Maruyama (Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll), and Go Yoshida is another effective component. The buildings and layouts brought to life by the team of animators are imaginative and skillfully realized. The efforts are commendable.

An adventure of imagination.

One of the best components of Mai Mai Miracle is the original music score composed by Shusei Murai (Psychic School Wars, Terra Formars) and Minako 'mooki' Obata. The music imbues the film with an impressive sense of wonderment. The score helps set the tone and mood of the story. A fantastic effort from the composers of Mai Mai Miracle.

The cinematography by Yukihiro Masumoto (Summer Wars, Black Lagoon) is exquisite and well matched to the animation and its visual splendor. The bright and colorful aesthetic is the perfect complimentary element to the production. The colors soar vividly and audiences are treated to a fantastic experience. A joy of cinematographic excellence.

Kashiko Kimura (Tokyo Godfathers, Okko's Inn) capably edited the production. The film flows with elegance and never seems over-long or over-done. The edit has a good pace. The tone works well. Everything is edited superbly and the balance of the filmmaking is excellent.

With a screenplay and direction by Sunao Katabuchi (In This Corner of the World, Princess Arete), Mai Mai Miracle is a entertaining family-friendly film. The story is charming and the characters delightful. The film pulls at the heart strings. A good Ghibli- esque production with a great heart: experience this one with family and friends if you can.

Mai Mai Miracle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Nozomi, Mai Mai Miracle is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The colors are quite vibrant throughout the entire production. The vibrant aesthetic of the presentation is superb. This is certainly an outstanding visual experience that largely soars with strong encoding. Unfortunately, the last part of the film did showcase some slight banding and compression artifacts, which was surprising. Nonetheless, the encode is generally solid and satisfactory. The animation looks beautiful.

Mai Mai Miracle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes two lossless audio options: English uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo 24 bit and Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo 24 bit (with English subtitles). The audio quality on the Blu-ray release is superb. The lossless audio helps to pull viewers in to the filmmaking with ease. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The music sounds clean and dynamic. The track isn't the most active or engaging but it sounds nice and crisp throughout. A good audio presentation.

English "songs and signs" subtitles are provided as an option as well.

Mai Mai Miracle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The art-work sleeve comes with a beautiful inner art work print showcasing more visuals from the feature-film.

Interview with ADR Director Michael Sinterniklaas (HD, 15:19)

Mai Mai Miracle title-free ending credits (HD, 4:05)

Mai Mai Miracle Theatrical Trailer (SD, 00:30)

Mai Mai Miracle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mai Mai Miracle is a charming and heartfelt film which will appeal to anime fans who appreciate the works of Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro). This a good family-friendly effort and audiences will warm to its charms. The animation soars with bright and colorful backgrounds and enchanting cinematography. The Blu-ray release features a generally solid video-audio encode. Recommended.