Mysteria Friends: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		1.5

Mysteria Friends: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A brain-dead anime

Mysteria Friends explores a video game world. Adapted from a video game universe, the series is produced by Motoko Kaneiwa (Dream Festival! R) and Tatsushi Moriya (Ginga Densetsu Weed). Featuring a story by Satoko Sekine, Mysteria Friends is aimed squarely at those already familiar with the universe of the characters.

Mysteria Friends explores the friendship and journey of Grea (Ayaka Fukuhara) and Anne (Yoko Hikasa) as the students learn the tricks of the trade at an unlikely university which is attended by a diverse group of students: demons, monsters, and human-beings (oh my). Over the course of learning, Grea and Anne uncover more than they ever bargained for in each other. Despite their differences, the human-born Anne connects with half-human/half-dragon Grea. Could the unique friendship be more than each girl initially expected to find in each other?

The production seems tailed to an audience looking to expand upon the Mysteria Friends franchise. Newcomers will feel a bit lost by the mythology of the series (which seems to be all over the map) while established fans might feel the series offers more of what they already enjoy. Take note.

The animation is bland and uninspired. There is nothing that impressive about the production. The art direction by Ayu Kawamoto (Waiting in the Summer, Magi: The Kingdom of Magic) fails to be creative enough to make newcomers to the universe care about the characters and story. There isn't anything about the series that seems fresh or original.

The anime seems far too derivative of other anime series that were much more engaging. Under the chief animation direction by the duo of Madoka Ozawa (Dog Days, Kamisama Kiss) and Minami Yoshida (Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Love Live! School idol project), Mysteria Friends doesn't manage to find a distinctive voice. A missed opportunity.

"Lesbians!"

Even the character designs by Minami Yoshida (key animator on Blue Exorcist and Devil May Cry) are awful. The characters seem bland and there is nothing distinctive or impressive about the designs. The characters seem like cookie-cutter drivel. There is nothing remotely impressive about the dull effort displayed here.

However, the Gothic undertones of the production do stand out (even if in a bad way). Director of photography Hisashi Yonezawa (Konosuba – God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2, Princess Connect! Re:Dive) makes this production seem just as dark and bland as a generic video game. The visuals are over-the-top, uninspired, and boring. A total mess.

Another element of the production which is uninspired and boring is the music score composed by Takashi Watanabe. Watanabe usually works in music production in animation (and also episode direction sometimes) but this time he decided to give music composition a shot. Unfortunately, Watanabe failed to ignite anything original or interesting. The score is a total snooze fest.

Written by Kounosuke Umeshita and Satoko Sekine (Sengoku Collection, Is This a Zombie? of the Dead), these screenwriters need to learn the trade. Despite writing scripts, it feels as though these particular writers have no grasp whatsoever on how to tell a solid story. Many episodes seem to meander about with no purpose. The plot-lines are silly and over-the-top. There are times it seems like watching video-game cut scenes. Bleh.

Hideki Okamoto (After War Gundam X, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage) could have done much better if more effort had gone in to assembling a better team of animators, storytellers, and producers. Instead, Mysteria Friends is a total bomb that fails to muster anything remotely exciting. A waste of time.

Mysteria Friends: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Mysteria Friends is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The video is a mixed bag in some respects but is quite impressive overall. The image is generally sharp-as- a-tack. However, certain scenes have a slight softness and fogginess to them (which seems to be from the source). These fleeting moments seem to be a bit less crisp than desirable but it seems to have been intentional on the production side. The art work is otherwise quite impressively rendered and the crisp encoding delivers a top-notch presentation of the animation. While not one of the most visually creative series of late, Mysteria Friends did receive a reasonable encode that gets the job done.

Mysteria Friends: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes two lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless, high-resolution audio tracks are satisfactory and manage to make the listening experience much more enjoyable. The sound stage is somewhat sparse at times but the action-scenes have a more robust landscape that makes the viewing more immersive. Dialogue remains crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The English subtitles are also quite effective and a solid-match to the audio presentation.

Mysteria Friends: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Best Shots: Still Frames Gallery (HD, 5:54) showcases still art from the production of Mysteria Friends.

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Kino Lorber: Grimms Notes: The Animation (HD, 1:32), Release the Spyce (HD, 1:33), Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! (HD, 1:32), and To loveru: Season 1 (HD, 1:33).

Mysteria Friends: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mysteria Friends sucks. That's putting it nicely. The series lacks imagination, heart, and humor. The animation is boring and stale. The character designs are uninspired. The lesbian undertones might manage to make some check it out but the overall production quality suffers. The scripts are truly uninspired. On a more positive note, the Blu-ray release from Sentai Filmworks features a strong video-audio presentation.